Transducer face soda blasted, what to do?

I had the yard soda blast my bottom, they didn't protect my transducer.
I even asked if I should tape the face--" No we will do that".
Is this a big deal? I have a SS75H-12degree.

Do I wet sand the face?
What grit?
My instinct would be to start with 220 and work thru to 2,000.

They did do a nice job on the bottom. 50 $/ft

Greg

Bye the way, Rosie and I installed this transducer last July

We installed the SS75 transducer last July. Looked great coming out of the water this fall.

If I were going to try to smooth the surface, I'd think about a plastic compounding wax. They seem to work reasonably well through a thin layer of marine growth. I'd be tempted to leave it alone.

Ted

I think I would try it before you do anything to it. If it doesn’t work correctly then have the yard haul the boat and replace it. Take photos and discuss it with the yard before you do anything. If they are a reputable yard and the depth finder doesn’t work they should stand behind it.

Transducers work just fine installed in anti-freeze cofferdams glued to the inside of solid fiberglass hulls. I would be very surprised if you notice any change in performance. I'd follow Comodave's advice though.


If I was going to tangle with the yard, I would do it on the basis that the now roughened surface will pick up growth and degrade performance faster; not that it may not work in the first few days or weeks. It will also be harder for divers to clean. The yard failed in their implied promise that the transducer would be the same when the job was done as when it began. There is a case to be made that they should just put a new one in now.

I would not spend time smoothing a transducer face, especially if I was going to paint it with AF.

Dont worry about it, it will still work fine.
I have seen them work with chunks missing.

You'll lose some performance. It may be negligible but there will be some scattering due to the rough surface. If they promised they'd cover it and didn't, I think it's pretty straightforward - they owe you a new one.

Please check with the manufacturer (Airmar) first. The damage could have affected the beam geometry. None of us here, including yourself or the yard, can comment with any authority on this. I would not attempt any repair yourself.

Transducers are the most important and sensitive component in any hydroacoustics system. In theory all transducers should be accompanied with a graph of the geometry of the beam—a so-called beam map. Any physical change of the transducer will affect that beam map.

Each transducer, even of the same model is different, depending on how (the resin) was poured.

JDCAVE said:

Please check with the manufacturer (Airmar) first. The damage could have affected the beam geometry. None of us here, including yourself or the yard, can comment with any authority on this. I would not attempt any repair yourself.

Transducers are the most important and sensitive component in any hydroacoustics system. In theory all transducers should be accompanied with a graph of the geometry of the beam—a so-called beam map. Any physical change of the transducer will affect that beam map.

Each transducer, even of the same model is different, depending on how (the resin) was poured.

Click to expand...

Airmar

The electronics inside have not been affected.
The transducer surface transmits and receives the sound signal.
Simply filling in the surface to make it smooth with no encapsulated AIR, the functionality is 100% again as new.
Transducers can shoot signals through water and fiberglass cloth and resin, and an outer rough painted hull surface but not through AIR.

Thank You for the comments.
I really appreciate everyone's opinions.
I am waiting for the Yard to reply.
The Service manager did seem concerned when I told him.
I plan on calling Airmar Monday.
Not ready to agree or do anything too quickly.
Greg

I use transducer anti fouling paint on mine, from the look you could just paint it if it works.

Make sure that Airmar, and the yard manager get you the correct Snell's equations.
The refractive index is important. Air = 1.00; Water = 1.33; Polyurethane = 1.34. At the ultrasonic boundary of the xducer and water, that delta of is critical. Note that water and poly... is about the same. That means not much will happen at that interface. Note also the big difference from water to air, that is significant, setting up a large reflected wave.
It's possible air entrapment may make an issue, in some cases. That's why I suggest painting; that should have a leveling effect.