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Transducer mounting (Read 10871 times)

jaximus Senior Member Offline Posts: 343 Location: wisconsin Joined: May 12^th, 2010	Transducer mounting Mar 21^st, 2012 at 2:09am	Quote Print Post
	Im picking up a lowrance x4 fish finder and I wanted to do mount the transducer to shoot through the hull of my aluminum canoe. First off, is reading through aluminum possible? Secondly, the thread about this is archived so I can't read it. Third, can I do it with the standard 60 degree reading external transducer or do I need a special one. I plan on doing a silicone puck under the front seat if it's possible to read through aluminum and if I can use the basic transducer for that application. I know basically nothing about how those electronics function, but I do know there can't be air bubbles in the silicone. Any input would be greatly appreciated!!! Thanks in advance!


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Kingfisher Voyageur Inukshuk Offline Posts: 1814 Joined: Mar 8^th, 2004	Re: Transducer mounting Reply #1 - Mar 21^st, 2012 at 4:07am	Quote Print Post
	The last I heard on shooting thru aluminum boat hulls was that it was possible but required a special transducer. Canoe hulls (being quite a bit thinner than boat hulls) may be different. Personally, I would not hesitate to go the suction cup route. It's not as much of a nuisance as you might think and it's quite possible that you will see better performance overall from your locater.


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Snow_Dog Voyageur Inukshuk Offline Posts: 1858 Location: Twin Cities Joined: Jul 11^th, 2003	Re: Transducer mounting Reply #2 - Mar 21^st, 2012 at 11:44am	Quote Print Post
	If you've got some spare time it might be worth playing around with on a local lake. Suction cup it to start and run it over a section of lake a few times to get a feel for how sensitive it is. Then mount it in silicone and run the same section of lake. That will give you a good idea how much, if anything, you are giving up in sensitivity for the convenience of the permanent mount.


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Magicpaddler Inukshuk Offline Posts: 1321 Location: Chicago Burbs Joined: Jan 7^th, 2004	Re: Transducer mounting Reply #3 - Mar 21^st, 2012 at 12:41pm	Quote Print Post
	Something else you could try on the local lake is to put ½ inch of water in the bottom of the canoe and set the transducer in the water and see if it works as good as the suction cup. Try to put the transducer away from the edges of a aluminum panel. If the boat has any kind of keel try to stay at least a couple of inches from it.


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jaximus Senior Member Offline Posts: 343 Location: wisconsin Joined: May 12^th, 2010	Re: Transducer mounting Reply #4 - Mar 21^st, 2012 at 3:41pm	Quote Print Post
	i got my hands on the lowrance x4 this morning. pretty slick unit. fleet farm had only the basic kit, so no suction cup or battery pack. i plan on heading to radio shack to pick up some battery clips. being that it runs off of a 12v battery i assume the 8 AA's are linked in series to create the 12v power. im going to mount the transducer on a thin block and use velcro to attach the mount under the canoe instead of the suction cup. industrial velcro is water proof and holds extremely well. i cant wait to play around with this thing


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Kingfisher Voyageur Inukshuk Offline Posts: 1814 Joined: Mar 8^th, 2004	Re: Transducer mounting Reply #5 - Mar 21^st, 2012 at 3:46pm	Quote Print Post
	I would be concerned about the velcro becoming packed with mud and debris and then failing but I'm interested to see if it works. If you want suction cup ordering and fabricating info just let me know. Did you by chance get the color version of the X4? If so I'm envious.


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jaximus Senior Member Offline Posts: 343 Location: wisconsin Joined: May 12^th, 2010	Re: Transducer mounting Reply #6 - Mar 21^st, 2012 at 9:34pm	Quote Print Post
	i got the straight up x4. not the pro(i heard not so good things about that one) and i think the color version is the x4 elite? as for the battery pack, i assume i can just link 8 AA's in series with basic battery holders. is there anything special i would need beyond that? just make sure the fuze is on the hot wire to protect the unit.


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Kingfisher Voyageur Inukshuk Offline Posts: 1814 Joined: Mar 8^th, 2004	Re: Transducer mounting Reply #7 - Mar 22^nd, 2012 at 2:56am	Quote Print Post
	Radio Shack has 8xAA battery packs in a couple different configs and the connectors. All are cheap (less than $5). Use alkaline batteries for goofing around and testing etc. but on a trip Lithiums really are much better saving weight and increasing run time. DON'T forget to turn off the unit when you are done using it! One set of lithium batteries can get you through a trip of nine days using the unit judiciously (just when fishing). Two sets should allow using the locater whenever you're on the water.


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Snow_Dog Voyageur Inukshuk Offline Posts: 1858 Location: Twin Cities Joined: Jul 11^th, 2003	Re: Transducer mounting Reply #8 - Mar 22^nd, 2012 at 12:55pm	Quote Print Post
	2nd that last post by KF. I like to troll a lot as I travel and one set of lithiums won't quite do it for a long trip. I find 3 sets of lithium will generally get me thru a couple 9-day trips with heavy useage. It would take 5 sets of alkaline to do the same, roughly.


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jaximus Senior Member Offline Posts: 343 Location: wisconsin Joined: May 12^th, 2010	Re: Transducer mounting Reply #9 - Mar 22^nd, 2012 at 2:59pm	Quote Print Post
	gonna have to get to radio shack tonight. i really wanna use this puppy. our trip is going to be 7 days and we do a lot of trolling. plus i plan on doing some underwater mapping. i would say heavy usage.


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