Just thought I’d share the conversion of my Lowrance X98 from boat to ice. Hopefully this may help others with their conversions and better ideas may come out on conversions done by others for ice fishing.
I hand to go out and buy the following:
New power cable - New 20 deg Lowrance Skimmer transducer though there were some interesting options available talking to the Lowrance technician on the phone. - Marine 12 volt socket and adapter plug. - Various crimp on style connectors and 14 gauge wire. - Plastic Ammo & Dry Box - 1-1/2 mounting ball for existing R-A-M arm on sonar - Stainless bolts and nylock nuts
Things I had already:
12 volt Cabela’s battery. - R-A-M mounting system used on boat. - Cabela’s 12 volt battery - Lowrance X98df sonar & gimble bracket
The first pic is what the unit looks like attached to the ammo box minus the transducer bracket. Notice the 12 volt power plug. I wanted a way to keep thing as dry and clean as possible. The R-A-M mounting system is the same as the boat’s so it was easiest to buy a ball to mount to the ammo box and use the R-A-M arm I already had. The second picture shows how the battery is stored and wired to the 12 volt socket. Also I cut all the transducer material, which BTW was 3/4 sch 40 PVC pipe, to not only fit but also keeps the battery from sliding around while transporting. Everything, except the sonar unit itself, fit snuggly into the ammo box. If I was to do it again I might of bought a larger ammo box so the sonar unit might have fit also. Picture 3 shows the transducer bracket assembled with the transducer attached with a stainless hose clamp. The transducer bracket was designed to span the ice hole and hang the transducer into the hole. When I first tried it out the bracket did not hang straight down because of the weight of the transducer offsetting the center of gravity. I fixed this by adding lead to the inside of the PVC pipe holding the transducer. 3 ozs of lead got the center of gravitiy back on center so the transducer bracket hangs straight down. I used UV resistant nylon ties to hold the transducer cable in place. The fourth pic shows a close up of the 12 volt socket and adapter mounted to the side of the ammo box. This supplies the power from the battery to the sonar unit. [left]This is what I came up with but if you have a killer idea that you came up, how about sharing?[/left]
Nice set up BLM, I like seeing how other people rig their stuff. My setup isn’t killer, but it works well for me.
I use a DeWalt cordless drill set up for mine. I attached my mount directly to a DeWalt charger and soldered the power wires directly to the existing battery terminals. I drop in an old 12 volt DeWalt battery and I am ready to go.
I have found that old used up DeWalt batteries have enough juice to last 10-12 hours and I have an abundance of used up batteries so I just take more batteries for extended trips.
The transducer mount is one I found in a clearance bin at a hardware store and mounted it to a couple of pieces of aluminum. I added a couple plastic head bolts for adjustability and a rubber coated wire clamp to attach the transducer wire.
I too had a problem with the balance on the unit but I just adjusted the angle of the transducer so it aimed verticle even though the balance holds the mount off plumb.
The whole thing folds up and fits in my padded tackle bag but it takes up the space I usually put my lunch in. I like BLM’s idea of a water proof ammo case, I might get one to mount the whole thing in with some room for a few extra batteries.
Attached are two pictures, one with the head unit on and one with it off.
I will be redesigning next week when I open my X-98 for christmas. I don’t think the DeWalt battery system will hold up to the power usage of the X98 compared to my Humminbird tx400 so I will probably just get a bigger battery.
Sonar works good through clear ice so having the transducer below the ice should never be an issue, especially considering the cone angle from the transducer.
For those who showed how you rigged your fish finders, nice work. Very nice.
Hey, now Pred! The Bear hasn’t froze up yet and The north end of the Gorge is just thinking about it so there’s no hurry to get the ice shelter out yet. There’s still a lot of good boat fishing to be done this year! I did get a cover for it though. After piling the old jet sled up with snow from Skeeter’s snowmobile, I took your advice and got one.
MH, Matador is absolutely correct. A transducer will shoot right thru good solid ice. If there is a lot of air in the ice or it’s rotten it doesn’t work as well. I have a couple piece of that PVC and a few PVC couplers that allows me to extend the transducer bracket length over 24" deep. I don’t like the transducer hanging below the ice. There’s a chance for a tangle up with a hooked fish so I keep it just above the bottom of the ice unless it’s pretty thin.
BLM,
I’ve always put my X series finders on a Genz ice box. It has room for a battery, wires, and a place for the gimbal bracket. It looks like most of them come with an eyelet type of bracket for the Vexilar type of trancsducer, but they make a ball joint and rod for attatching other transducers. Everything in one package. No assembly required at the lake.
I had an X98df ordered at Sportsmans’ Warehouse before Thanksgiving. They called me the day before turkey day to tell me that they couldn’t get the X98df. Lowrance has already stopped production of them, and moved up to the X136df. I haven’t even been able to find out what the new specs are on the thing. If they do what they have done in the past, it will have more pixels, but who knows what else. I thought about going elsewhere to get the X98, but even the online dealers are out of the X98. So, I guess I’ll have to have the X136 when it gets here.
Lowrance updated their website in the last day or two and included the new units for 2004. The X136df will have 480X480 resolution. That is 50% more than the X98df. It looks like everytihing else is the same as the 98.
BTW it doesn’t matter if your transducer is below the level of the bottom of the ice or not. At least with the units that I’ve used. I was at Fish Lake in '92 with 36 inches of ice. I can only get the 'ducer about 7 or 8 inches under the water, so the transducer was still almost 30 inches from the bottom of the hole, and I didn’t have any trouble using my fishfinder.