For a long time I have been contemplating replacement of the toggle switch on my 4 Walker downriggers. These switches are the latching on/off/on type. Sometimes my finger gets in an uncontrolled position causing a bird’s nest situation wrapping the cable around the inside of the spool. Trying to pull an 8 or10lb weight up by hand is not a good feeling with the hands. Also, once the weight is retrieved the task of unspooling the cable involves removal of spool feeling for possible kinks in the cable and prevention of further kinking. This has also happened with guests on my boat. I do like my Walkers which they have never failed me but changing the switch to different type would solve the issue. I have noticed Cannon downriggers have a momentary down/off/up, the momentary down has to be held in down position until depth is met which once released it returns spring loaded to off position. When retrieving weight in up position there is an auto-stop in the system, so you don’t have to hold the switch in up position for retrieval. Here is the question I ask of the Cannon owners, is the switch on your dr’s that have a momentary down also have a momentary or a latching on the upswing? My dr’s do have an auto-stop system.
Rodger an electrician I am not but the switch is a self-centering switch and the auto stop on the up is controlled by the board I believe. Not sure if that helps?
Roger, have owned 3 different sets of Cannon DRs. The up/down switch’s on all of them were/are spring loaded in both directions. To lower the weight, the switch must be depressed and held down until the weight reaches the desired depth. To raise the weight, the switch is pushed up and immediately released and the weight will rise until it reaches the surface and the current path through the cable is opened. This is accomplished when the non-conductive weight clip just reaches the water surface and the current flow stops.
I don’t know how the Walkers work, but would guess if you replaced the Walker switch with a Cannon switch, you would have to press and hold the switch in both directions to engage the motor up and down.
Just as an FYI, the Canon auto-stop feature only works with metal cable.
Some guys replace the metal cable with braid and lose the auto-stop feature.
But you probably already knew that..
If they didn’t know it when they replaced the metal cable, they found out real quick the very first time they tried to retrieve the weight. Also, I don’t think it will retrieve unless you press up and HOLD the button. There is no current flow to keep the circuit engaged.
Bob and Shane both correct on Cannon electrics the cable is connected through the spool to the mother board and as Bob mentioned when the wire/swivel/connector breaks the surface of water connection and stops. I had to tear one apart once, watched some videos from a cannon tech on how that works. Electronics are mostly over my head. On my old aluminum boat my auto stop quit working , I couldn’t figure out what was going on , then just by co-incidence I noticed a pull out metal switch that was mounted in the aluminum bracket the cannon electric was mounted on and controlled the nav lights was pulled out in the ON position, no nav-lights were plugged in the sockets so nothing to see or notice. I pushed it back in and the auto stop started working again ???
I noticed the switch appeared to have contact with the aluminum bracket. I took it out put non conductive washers on both sides of the switch reinstalled it. After that In on or off position never had a problem with the auto stop again? I don’t know how that made the auto stop not work? But, maybe the rigger was getting current through that faulty installed switch so it never “sensed” a break in current when ball came out of the water, my best guess
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This is how the Walker DR auto-stop works. It sounds like since Cannon interrupts the circuit, Walker does same thing using a different method
Auto stop on Walker downriggers works via a magnetic sensor. Small, tubular magnets are clamped to the downrigger cable at the desired stopping point and secured with heat-shrink tubing. When the magnets are reeled up and pass the sensor on the downrigger body, it triggers the circuit, automatically halting the motor. [1, 2, 3, 4]
The auto-stop sequence consists of a few specific steps:
- The Setup: Tubular magnets are fastened onto the wire cable just above the downrigger weight (cannonball). They are usually protected by a layer of shrink tubing. [1, 2, 3, 4]
- The Retrieval: When you hit retrieve, the weight and cable are pulled upward toward the pulley. [1, 2]
- The Trigger: As soon as the magnets reach the sensor mounted on the downrigger, the magnetic field triggers a switch. [1, 2]
- The Shutoff: This trips the electrical circuit, cutting power to the motor and bringing the weight to a stop safely before it crashes into the boom or hull of your boat. [1, 2, 3]
Because Walker downriggers are no longer actively supported with factory replacement parts, older models often require some DIY maintenance. Anglers commonly replace rusted-out magnets and re-seal them onto the cable using standard heat-shrink tubing. [1, 2]
Roger, is the Walker switch a spring loaded ON-OFF-ON (SPDT) switch like the Cannon switch? If not spring loaded, you may have to push and hold the toggle on the Cannon switch (if that’s what you replace the Walker switch with) to get it to retrieve.
My research into the type of switch cannon uses is the momentary in which a schematic indicates a 4 prong or pin for the wires. Walker uses the latching switch that also is a 4 prong or pin. Both are DPDT switches allow revearse direction for the motor. I have 2 of the style cannon uses which I can at least try 1 for the heck of it.
Good luck.
I was able to get the switch changed out butttt dr would only work when holding the switch in place in direction I wanted it to travel. Tried changing a couple of wires around which did not work. Back to the drawing board.
Yep, just like I thought. You will need a switch that isn’t spring loaded. Or better yet, just replace the Walker DRs with Cannon DRs. 
I put the original latching switch on, and all is working as before even with auto-stop. Was hoping to find a combo latching/momentary switch, no luck.