I'm wondering if anyone has used any of the Smartcast series of depth finder on your canoe trips.  I want something light for the portages, and the only discussion I've seen is of the Pirhanamax ones and they seem to be a lot of weight with the battery.  My concern is that these small depth finders wont show much detail.

here is a good thread about the Humminbird Smartcast

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I looked for the Cuda II and didn't find anything.  Could anyone give me more info on this product and the setup.  I'm concerned about the weight and the transducer setup.

partschaser09 wrote on May 14^th, 2010 at 2:19pm:

Do a search on "cuda."  Most of the discussion is about 3 years old and back then the units discussed were the 168 and 242.  Part of the "Fish Finder Recommendation" thread discusses these units, powering with AA's and alternate transducer mounting options.  These are intermixed with discussion of other units.

dd

Current Eagle Cuda is the 300 and it sells for about $80. Way better value than the Smartcast.

After a good bit of research, it seems you have to purchase a suction cup type transducer if you use a standard depth finder.  That being the case, you might as well get the Hummingbird 230, which has all the equipment you need for portability and uses AA batteries, which should make it lighter than any other option. 
Anyone out there have one of these and can comment?

You can also buy just a suction-cup mount for Eagle/Lowrance transducers at many outdoors stores.  It's pretty cheap.  Far cheaper than buying the portable versions of the depth finders.  The only other thing you'll need is a 8AA battery holder which is like $1.99 at Radio Shack and you are in business

Kingfisher wrote on Jun 6^th, 2010 at 10:28am:



***************
KF,

You were right when you told me a year ago to "wait" on my purchase (which I didn't) and that a GOOD DEAL (like this one) would eventually turn up!

Oh well, you win some, lose some.  For anyone in the market, Darrel is right; this is a GOOD deal!

Jimbo   

You probably already know this but Lowrance and Eagle are essentially the same company. Eagle has always been a slightly less expensive version of Lowrance locaters. I like the both the X4 and X4pro in that price range. Eagle Cuda is about as cheap as you can get a full function locater and it does a fine job for a unit that is frequently available for less than $70.

zski wrote on Apr 23^rd, 2011 at 4:10am:


zski you lucky son of a gun!

first of all i was flat wrong about "impossible to compare".
it appears that the eagle 245 ds is like the lowrance x4 pro in many respects.

Eagle 245 & Lowrance X4 pro:  1500W peak to peak output, 60 & 120 deg cones, 1000' max depth.
Lowrance X4: 800W output, 60 deg cone, 600' max depth.

So:  600' is good enough, 120 deg cone is nice but not necessary, 1500W is almost double 800W power output. what this translates to in battery consumption is prob most important to me. i really don't know nor can i find battery life ratings on these, so most likely it's best to take the safer route and go with the X4 (that is if someone can shed some light on battery life).

Check to see if every time you turn the unit on if it has the back light on while it is starting up.  I have a Eagle Fishmark 320.  The manual for it lists that it is designed to run on 10 to 15 Volts.  I question that because they are normally used in boats that have 16 Volts across the battery while they are charging and near full charge. Eagle sells a portable kit that uses 8 D cells.  I made a battery holder for 8 C cells and tested the unit at home and it appeared to work ok. I put new batteries in it and went on a canoe trip. On about day 2 it started having trouble finding the bottom and would search for a long time.  On day 3 when the unit was turned on with the back light in full battery sucking mode it would load the battery down and shut its self off.     When I got home I cut the wires to the back light and the unit would work on the batteries from the trip. I have since started using 12 batteries and found the unit works much better.  The unit can now see a split shot and a twisty tail and tell they are 2 items as they are cranked up from the bottom.  I have gotten more than 12 days use out of 12 C batteries.  This spring I have used the unit several days running on 12 AA batteries and it works well.  Although This unit is a very good unit I believe the smaller units are more suited to canoes but check the back lighting on whatever unit you are considering. If it is incandescent and is on while the unit is turning on it’s a battery killer.

zski wrote on Apr 23^rd, 2011 at 9:05pm:


Both the Eagle Cuda 242 and 300 are run on 8AA lithium batteries - I converted both. One set of lithiums could get me through a trip if I conserve locater use. I take at least two sets and sometimes 3 depending on how important fishing is for each trip. Overall performance of both locaters was improved when I upgraded to lithium batteries. To conserve power do not run the locater alot over really deep water. The unit will modulate power to output just what is needed to bounce off the bottom and back to the receiver. Batteries last longer fishing in 20 feet vs 200 feet. Also do not use the backlight. And do not forget to turn the unit off when not in use. I've blown a whole set of batteries by accidently leaving the unit on overnight.
Neither the Cuda 242 or the 300 default to backlight when turned on. Whatever settings were in use when the power was turned off will be those that display when the unit is turned back on again except for backlight which is always off after start up and needs to be turned on when needed.

When you adapt your power source to the AA configuration, I'd make sure to put a fuse in the line and pack a few extra fuses.  I decided to use a small blade fuse carrier.  I was a little concerned about carrying the barrel-shaped glass fuses.

dd

Android wrote on Apr 24^th, 2011 at 2:18pm:

5 amp.

I saw in an ad today that Cabela's is now selling a combination locater/GPS unit for under $150. I believe it was the Eagle Cuda 350.

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Picked up a Lowrance X4
From Radio Shack: 8 AA battery pack, in-line fuse holder, some 9v type connectors. Used 3A fuse because that's what the manual described.
Connected it all up last night and hit the power switch hoping for signs of life and ... nothing. Not sure what went wrong. It all seemed pretty straightforward.

Lowrance and Eagle locaters are on sale here. These are probably going to be some of the lowest prices of the season.

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