i have a ocean kayak big game and just got a eagle 168 cuda. first is i went to radio shack to find the battery pack for the aa batteries and they had no idea but that may just be the store i was in. i want something that will last but isn’t to heavy and relatively in expensive but not cheap.
second is mounting the transducer. one scupper is actually designed for a transducer but for the hummingbird pirahna series. i’m just looking for some options on how to mount the one i have. any help would be appreciated.
battery pack
I made my battery pack from a piece of PVC pipe. I mused some springs out of an old dry cell battery and added some glue on end caps. I used 8 AA batteries for my Cuda 168, but that wan’t enough. You can have up to 17 volts for the input power, but 15 volts should be enough. You may even uses larger batteries, and use appropiately sized PVC for ir. Half inch did great for the AAs. I drilled a hole in each ennd of the caps, added my wire to thje springs and sealed the holes with silicone sealer. I never glued my ends and it still worked just fine. You may want to look into the screwed on ends. I later got some gel cell batteires and am using them now. I can recharge them. You could use some nicads and do the same.
Transducer mount
My boat (WS Ride 135) came with mountind screws on the back for a rudder. So far, my 135 tracks well enough that I’ve never added a rudder. I used a piece of PVC again, and cut out a slot in the bottom to mount my transducer, and used the provided screws to mount the PVC. This is an option if you are doing the same. Just another idea.
Maybe its the term “battery pack”.
I’ve bought them at three different radio shacks, but they are probably better recognized by the term “battery holder”. There are two kinds, one is a long holder, the other more squareish. The long holder works best. You also need a nine volt pigtail.
As for the transducer, it can be mounted to the inside of the hull. Some use Marine Goop, others do a temporary mount with vaseline. With a search or a post requesting information, you should be able to find what you need to do to mount the transducer on either kayakfishingstuff.com or texaskayakfishing.com. You may have to register, but its worthwhile. Both are great forums. I’m more familiar with texaskayakfishing.com. It has a separate section on kayak rigging and you may find the information you want there.
Batteries
I have 10 nimh sub c batteries in a pelican box with the fuse in the box. 9 batteries is a minimum with rechargeable. You can use AA and fit 9 into a pvc pipe holder. You can recharge with a 300ma-500ma DC power supply without disassembling or hurting the batteries. My connections are soldered so no springs are needed.
My xducer is inside the hull and Gooped down. Just make sure there are no air bubbles. Sand and clean the area first. The cables reqire a 1/2" hole to go through the top hull to the ff. I attach mine with velcro on a plate the base mount is attached to. The hull (mine is on a hatch cover) is drilled at the location for my ff and I placed velro over the hole. I then cut a cross at the hole and pushed the cable through. I then Gooped the hole and cables. The plate with the xducer mount has a corresponding hole and I drilled the back of the mount. The cable goes up through the hole in the plate and out the back of the mount. This way the mount can be completely removed for transport or when not fishing.
Turn off the fish ID on your 168. It lies, especially when on auto sensitivity. If you are fishing shallow water, turn off the auto sensitivity and set it to 50% and work up or down from there.
transducer
is your transducer a transom mount or shoot thru the hull type(hockey puck)? also with the power you use, i’m no electrical tech so now i have a battery pack of 8 aa batteries and i really don’t think that will be enough for more than a couple hours. can i go to a electronics shop and get a battery holder for c or d cell batteries? thanks for your reply and help
battery pack
Nemo, you should be able to build your own battery paack, using PVC. I’m not sure if 3/4 would do it for C or D size batteries or not. !/2 inch will do just fine for AAs. Not sure about your particular FF, but you can look to see what the upper power range is for it, and use more then 8 batteries. I used 2 slip on end caps with mine. So far, I haven’t had to glue them. I used a couple of springs off an old dry cell battery to keep just a little presseure on them for a good contact. Not sure if this will help you or not. The nice thing about this battery pack is you can tape it to the inside of your yak with duct tapeso you can remove it to charge your batteried or replace the non charge types. Not sure if this will help you.
Any of the transducers that come
with the less expensive finders will shoot through the hull, even the ones that are designed with a rounded front for transom or bow mounting. Its the bottom of the transducer that does the work.
Rechargeable Batteries
Place the batteries in series and solder wires to make the connections. Leave the wires long enough to arrange the batteries in the configuration you need. 9 batteries can be can be formed into a triple stack and can be fit into an appropriate sized piece of PVC. Use a PVC nipple and screw on caps so you dont have to buy a whole stick and glue. You can use a little foam to pad the ends if it is a little too long. Drill one of the caps for you leads and make sure you goop the holes. Goop or Shoe-goo can be used to glue the batteries together if needed. The cap with the wires should go on first so you dont twist the wires. You can also use Pelican boxes as battery holders if you want 10 batteries. Mine is a sub C 10 pack in a Pelican box. It wieghs 2 lbs and Velcro’s in.
12v battery for electric fence controlle
http://www.tractorsupply.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay_10551_10001_36107_-1______?rFlag=true&cFlag=1
- Big D