Hi Guys,

I'm looking for your thoughts on a fish finder that has the following features:

really light weight and bulk
runs on AA batteries or something similar
no colour - too much power consumption
shoot-thru hull transducer (for my cedar strip)
smallish size
don't need a lot of features - I mainly need depth
would be cool to have a wireless connection to transducer but not a priority and must be reliable

To save time, I should mention I'm not really interested in the smartcast or the Norcross hawkeye, although the Marcum Showdown ice Troller looks interesting.

Thanks,

Moonman.

You might start with   (You need to Login or Register and work back through the links it provides.

There area several of us using one of the Cuda models powered from 8 AA batteries.  I may be one of the few that is shooting through the hull (mine is through a Kevlar hull).

dd

Agree there is a lot of info out there. Everyone was very helpful on my search a couple of years back. Settled on a Pirahnaxmax 210. Very lightweight, easy on the batteries, and easy to use. Didn't shoot through the hull, Kevlar, but didn't have much trouble keeping the suction cup attached to the side of the canoe. Vaseline applied to the suction cup tip provided on this sight very helpful. Just a gurgle here and there as we trolled the shorelines.

I run a Boundary Water Vexlar unit, but I dont think that is an available unit anymore...pretty sure that there are more cost effective and more modern units available...I am content with the unit; it aint broke so I dont fix it ;)There are many fishers here with sound wisdom and experience. I also am a suction cup guy, and vaseline helps it hold fast, and the gurgle is only a bother in absolute stealth mode...but I always am mindful when I head back to dry land with the transducer deployed...

Fish finder Recommendations (Read 23165 times)

Not bad for one thread.

Thanks guys, will check out the old threads. BTW, anyone have any success shooting a transducer through a cedar strip hull?

Moonman

Does anyone know if the Lowrance X-4 is the same as Cuda 300 (it looks like it) and does it take AA batteries?
sorry, thought i was posting on the other thread...now can't remove this post...

Yes, they are exactly the same. They are phasing out the Eagle brand name. Right now I'm looking at the new Garmin Echo 100. Specs look really good.

Moonman.

Thanks. The price is right on the Garmin 100 too. i'd like to see the transducers on these units. My bro has an old Vexilar LC-10 Boundary waters edition that i usually borrow. small transducer. shoot thru hull on both glass and kevlar boats. never a problem. a dab of silicone on day 1 and forget about it.

Sure wish Vexilar had stuck with that unit.  So far I see nothing that makes me want to upgrade from my P-I-T-A Fishin' Buddy....other than that Vexilar.

moonman wrote on Feb 9^th, 2011 at 4:27pm:

Yes, they are exactly the same. They are phasing out the Eagle brand name. Right now I'm looking at the new Garmin Echo 100. Specs look really good. Moonman.

 I looked at the specs for the 100 and I didn't see anything that said that it runs on AA batteries. I think thats a key for the BWCA or Q. Maybe someone can tell me if a small sized 12volt battery can last a week.

Android wrote on Feb 9^th, 2011 at 10:27pm:

I looked at the specs for the 100 and I didn't see anything that said that it runs on AA batteries. I think thats a key for the BWCA or Q. Maybe someone can tell me if a small sized 12volt battery can last a week.

I just went to Radio Shack and got a 8-pack battery holder for AA's and a 9-volt clip on adapter, wired it up to the battery leads and viola.

dd

DentonDoc wrote on Feb 10^th, 2011 at 12:10am:

I just went to Radio Shack and got a 8-pack battery holder for AA's and a 9-volt clip on adapter, wired it up to the battery leads and viola. dd

x2

There's no reason to ever carry lantern batteries in the bush anymore.  Just be sure you buy a regular depthfinder, not one marketed as portable.

Snow_Dog wrote on Feb 10^th, 2011 at 1:03am:

DentonDoc wrote on Feb 10th, 2011 at 12:10am: I just went to Radio Shack and got a 8-pack battery holder for AA's and a 9-volt clip on adapter, wired it up to the battery leads and viola. dd x2 There's no reason to ever carry lantern batteries in the bush anymore.  Just be sure you buy a regular depthfinder, not one marketed as portable.

Well, I'm guilty... I had an old Eagle "portable" and my son wanted to take it to WCPP with us. He said he didn't use it much and the TWO lantern batteries were dead in like three days I think. Once that thing was dead weight it doesn't seem so portable. I'm looking for something too.

Yup - AA is the way to go. After reading Denton Doc and others posting about converting standard, non portable finders it seems fairly straightforward. One of the reasons I'm not looking at the Garmin 150 is that its  200 watt rms model so more power consumption. The only thing I'm not sure about yet with the Garmin is the screen readability in direct sunlight. I'm used to eagle products and always found seeing the screen in sunlight fine with them. what I do like is the look of the tilt and swivel mount. Looking forward to seeing an actual unit when they come out in a couple months.

Moonman.

moonman wrote on Feb 10^th, 2011 at 2:59am:

what I do like is the look of the tilt and swivel mount.

I just made a tilt/swivel mount for my Eagle to fit the round thwarts on my Prism.

dd

I'd love to know the percentage of QJ members who use or don't use fish finders in the QP or BWCA.

I've never used one.  Always caught enough fish to eat.  

Would I catch more and bigger fish if I had one?  Probably.  Would I catch more walleye?  That would be enough incentive for me to bring one!

prouboy

Snow_Dog wrote on Feb 10^th, 2011 at 1:03am:

DentonDoc wrote on Feb 10th, 2011 at 12:10am: I just went to Radio Shack and got a 8-pack battery holder for AA's and a 9-volt clip on adapter, wired it up to the battery leads and viola. dd x2 There's no reason to ever carry lantern batteries in the bush anymore.  Just be sure you buy a regular depthfinder, not one marketed as portable.

Get two of the 8 pak battery holders, put your backup batteries in the backup holder. Tape all batteries in their holders with a few wraps of electrical tape. Then, when your initial set dies after about 5-6 days of heavy use, it's a simple matter to swap the whole set. Quick & easy.

PB, yes, you will catch more & bigger waldos if you are fishing where they hang out. I don't actually 'mark' waldos hanging on the bottom, but I can read the structure to determine where they are if they are home. I do see suspended fish which can serve as an indicator. ;)

Most depth finders are designed to operate in a motor boat with a car type battery.  12 volt car batteries are about 14 volts and when charging are about 16 Volts. I have read where others (Jimbo) reported his detector worked better on lithium batteries.  He was using 8 AA batteries.  Lithium batteries are a little higher voltage than alkaline batteries.  I use a power hog detector so I need to use C cells to operate it for a week (C actually last quite long).  I found the detector did not work well and got lower performing as the week went along running on 8 C cells.  I changed to 10 alkaline C cells and the detector worked very well.  When the 10 batteries are fully charged the detector is getting about 16 volts which is not higher than what it could be in a running motor boat.  The detector seems to work quite well ( can pick up a rubber twisty tail) between 12 and 16 volts.

wrote on Feb 10^th, 2011 at 10:47pm:

I have read where others (Jimbo) reported his detector worked better on lithium batteries.  He was using 8 AA batteries.  Lithium batteries are a little higher voltage than alkaline batteries.

I run a lithium AA 8-pak.  Seems to be enough to carry me for a two week trip (under moderate use).  As a matter of fact, on the last trip I pulled a couple out to put into my GPS who's batt's had succumb (since I wasn't fishing my way out to the exit).  I've used the GPS several times since my trip and the batt's seem to still be going strong.

dd

If you get better detector performance out of lithium than alkaline it is a sign your detector is voltage starved.  I would recommend Lithium if you are using 8 batteries on a detector. For 4 reasons
1 more power per pound of battery.
2 more power per battery.
3 better voltage match to load.
4 better discharge characteristics (voltage does not droop until the battery is almost dead).

Hey DD,

I was lookin' at buying a locator for this seasons trip. Then I saw your suggestion of the 8 "AA" holder and thought, "I have an older locator I could just convert!". The battery holder only costs about $2.50.

Here is my question. Could you (or anyone else who has preformed this operation) give us a link to a thread or picture that show a detailed description of preforming this conversion?
Thanks :)

Never mind DD I figured it out by looking at the pictures of the products on Radio Shacks web site. Looks easy! the holder costs $2.50 and the 9 volt clip cost about 2 or 3 bucks. Cheap and easy! ;)

Android wrote on Feb 11^th, 2011 at 11:08am:

Never mind DD I figured it out by looking at the pictures of the products on Radio Shacks web site. Looks easy! the holder costs $2.50 and the 9 volt clip cost about 2 or 3 bucks. Cheap and easy! ;)

It IS quick and easy.  Still I'd recommend putting a fuse clip of some kind in the line.  I used a small blade fuse unit and carry a couple of spare fuses on a trip.

OK.  That's the easy part.  Cutting out 20 or so feet of transponder cable and splicing it back together ... that's a bit more tedious.

dd