12-28-2004, 07:31 PM
[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3]Ocean,[/size][/black][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3]Your cheapest route is to go with your exisitng fishfinder and modify it to use on the ice. There have been several threads of what's best on the ice, how to rig a fishfinder for the ice and what are the best batteries. The bottom line is how much do you want to spend?[/size][/black][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3]Bottom line to make yours work for ice:[/size][/black][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3]1. Any 12V battery. It doesn't matter what you use. A car battery, a motor cycle battery, etc, etc, etc. Your unit does not draw enough power to put a dent in a motorcycle battery. Use what you can lay your hands on. The batteries at Sportman's are nice because they are small and don't weigh much. You can upgrade as you go.[/size][/black][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3]2. A new power cable for your fishfinder. Don't take the power cable out of your boat unless it is VERY easy to remove. Power cables are realitively cheap. Put battery clips on the end to hook to the battery terminal. Some have adapted 12V accessory plugs to make things cleaner and easier. You don't need to do this.[/size][/black][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3]3. A new transducer if the one on the boat is permanently mounted. Hook it to anything you can to get it down the hole and shooting in the direction you need. You can build a transducer holder from PVC or other materials or buy a ready built one from
Sportsman's.[/size][/black][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3]4. Some kind of container to house all this stuff. A lot of guys use ammo or dry boxes. others use soft sided bags and mount all their stuff to a board that fits inside, so be creative.[/size][/black][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3]Do a search on this site on fishfinders, batteries, etc. There are lots of threads that have discussed this in depth.[/size][/black][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3][/size][/font] [center][font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3][url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?post=175370;#175370"]Posts on Batteries[/url][/size][/font][/center] [center][font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3][/size][/font] [/center] [center][font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3][url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?post=174807;#174807"]Making a FishFinder Portable[/url][/size][/font][/center] [center][font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3][/size][/font] [/center] [left][font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3]I just did a very quick search and came up with these recent discussions. There is more out there. Good luck![/size][/font][/left]
[signature]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3]Your cheapest route is to go with your exisitng fishfinder and modify it to use on the ice. There have been several threads of what's best on the ice, how to rig a fishfinder for the ice and what are the best batteries. The bottom line is how much do you want to spend?[/size][/black][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3]Bottom line to make yours work for ice:[/size][/black][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3]1. Any 12V battery. It doesn't matter what you use. A car battery, a motor cycle battery, etc, etc, etc. Your unit does not draw enough power to put a dent in a motorcycle battery. Use what you can lay your hands on. The batteries at Sportman's are nice because they are small and don't weigh much. You can upgrade as you go.[/size][/black][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3]2. A new power cable for your fishfinder. Don't take the power cable out of your boat unless it is VERY easy to remove. Power cables are realitively cheap. Put battery clips on the end to hook to the battery terminal. Some have adapted 12V accessory plugs to make things cleaner and easier. You don't need to do this.[/size][/black][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3]3. A new transducer if the one on the boat is permanently mounted. Hook it to anything you can to get it down the hole and shooting in the direction you need. You can build a transducer holder from PVC or other materials or buy a ready built one from
Sportsman's.[/size][/black][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3]4. Some kind of container to house all this stuff. A lot of guys use ammo or dry boxes. others use soft sided bags and mount all their stuff to a board that fits inside, so be creative.[/size][/black][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3][/size][/black][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][black][size 3]Do a search on this site on fishfinders, batteries, etc. There are lots of threads that have discussed this in depth.[/size][/black][/font]
[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3][/size][/font] [center][font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3][url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?post=175370;#175370"]Posts on Batteries[/url][/size][/font][/center] [center][font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3][/size][/font] [/center] [center][font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3][url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?post=174807;#174807"]Making a FishFinder Portable[/url][/size][/font][/center] [center][font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3][/size][/font] [/center] [left][font "Comic Sans MS"][size 3]I just did a very quick search and came up with these recent discussions. There is more out there. Good luck![/size][/font][/left]
[signature]