# shortening elite 4 DSI transducer cable



## servo765 (May 25, 2013)

I am perfectly comfortable soldering coax cable, and see no reason why it shouldn't work, but when I called Lowrance, the guy gave me fire and brimstone about how he has seen it tried dozens of times and it hasn't worked once. The fish finder simply ceases to work if the cable is shortened, according to Lowrance tech support. I know it would void the warranty and such, but was hoping the guy would be able to give me a practical answer. Lowrance makes 20 foot extension cables, so I doubt the imaging is somehow tuned to the electrical characteristics of the transducer wires.

I have read a fair amount of posts on random other forums, of people claiming it works just fine. Does anyone have any experience shortening theirs, or know of a concrete reason why it should make a difference other than fear and speculation?


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## Crazy Pete (Jul 27, 2009)

Same thoughts here. Got a big roll of wire in my kayak but haven't shortened for fear of some impedance or field dependent factor but if Lowrance sells extensions then impedance gets larger like an extension cord. So also shielded wiring could be a factor. By cutting the wire I might also screw up some kind of field shielding, you know that aluminum foil wrapping.


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## skiff man99 (Oct 4, 2007)

I have spliced many ducer cables for various reasons with good results, that being said unless there's some different technology used in the Lowrance cables should be no issues. Just my $.02 FYI: I am not a Lowrance tech/engineer, just sharing past experience.


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## X-Shark (Oct 3, 2007)

But why bother? The extra can be coiled on either end to keep things looking neat and not break the Factory Watertight integrity of the piece.


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## MrFish (Aug 21, 2009)

X-Shark said:


> But why bother? The extra can be coiled on either end to keep things looking neat and not break the Factory Watertight integrity of the piece.


Yep, coiled and zip tied is much easier.


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## servo765 (May 25, 2013)

Well, not installing it at all would have been the easiest.

I am fishing out of a kayak, using a flexible RAM-mount arm to put the transducer over the side. The transducer and head unit come off the kayak with each usage, which means I need a large hole to stuff the coil of wire through each time and try to waterproof it, I need to leave a coiled mess hanging out where I am sitting, or I could simply shorten the wire. Were it a permanent mount transducer, I could just leave the 6pin plug out through the hull and snarl everything up inside. However the plug, while not connected to the head unit, is not waterproof so I don't like this solution for kayak usage either.

I may end up rudder-mounting the transducer and then leaving everything inside, and coming up with a way to deal with the power/transducer plug if I don't find someone who understands the electrical nuances of shortening the cable. Tech support provided no useful information other than I would be voiding my warranty, so I'm hoping there is someone smarter than me who stumbles onto this thread!


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## X-Shark (Oct 3, 2007)

People take the head unit off their boats and leave the plugs exposed all the time.

However.....The plugs need a coating of Diaelectric grease from day one. I see it a lot where this step is skipped and they then have corrosion.

I do understand about shortening now, as your not dealing with a real boat and don't have places to pack the excess away.


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## servo765 (May 25, 2013)

that's a good idea, i didn't even think about dielectric


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