SlowPoke

Well done Chris! How much time do I have left to get up there and fish with you?!?

Shhhhh! I buy Shimano because I've never needed service. It's nice to know that when the day comes, I should be satisfied.

http://www.sailflow.com/windandwhere.iws?regionID=96&regionProductID=29&timeOffset=0

They must have waitied until you left! Actually, its been Shell for a while (Air Miles) and the sign is up for Denny's in the last week but they're still doing interior construction. London FINALLY gets the 'Grand Slam' breakfast and $6.00 onion rings Next time you're in the area; give me a ring, I live about a minute north of there.

All the service centres west of London are open. The Flying J is no more. It is now a Shell gas bar with a Denny's (still under construction) The "J" gas deal is gone too; they're as much as in town and they no longer have Flying J discount card. Fortunately for those that know, 10 minutes south of the J, gas is 6-8 cents cheaper.

Lew, my advice would be to avoid fueling near London.... around $1.06/lt Tilbury is your best bet around $.98/lt. When I go to LSC I stop at Bloomfield Rd. Esso in Chatham (100yrds south of 401) for gas usually about .01 more than Tilbury but they have a nice store, bathrooms and a 24hr Subway so you can buy your lunch at the same time.

Google "radio skip"

I rarely use mine anymore. Be warned if you're traveling near the highway/populated areas you will learn some new words; some may even curl your hair. I wouldn't advise having it on in the presence of minors, ladies, seniors... or anybody for that matter equiped with functioning ears. Its a great close range communication tool with excellent clarity; usually better than cell phone quality and no delay like the PTT phones. Outstanding for off-roaders. A spotter will have a hand-held to help navigate rugged terrain while the drivers listen. Some off road events will have fixed spotters and when you approach the obsticle you will see a sign telling you what channel to tune to for your spotter. This helps avoid cross channeling and talking over other spotters. 6 - Popular call channel for skip. On an overcast evening you can often hear calls from way down south. 9 - Emergency (DO NOT rely on this channel for help, nobody monitors it anymore) 13 - Popular community channel and boaters at one time. 19 - Truck drivers call channel (and many seem to think they can gab all the way to Montreal on it) 26 - Commonly used for french truck drivers as 19 would be. 40 - Popular trucking company yard channel. It's unfortunate that the airwaves have become so cluttered with filth and hatred.

It's just the graphs on that circuit and we've avoided it by powering the switch from battery 2. The downside of this is battery 2 also powers his bow mount trolling motor but he only uses that once or twice a year. Battery 2 is being charged when the kicker motor is running. I still haven't seen the mess in person; I don't know if its a tough job or a breaze. I do think we should VDT the other circuits to find out if this is an isolated issue -or- a tow call waiting to happen.

You haven't seen me work LOL By destructive I meant taking the boat apart. They are running off the same circuit. Voltage when disconnected is okay but nose dives when they are powered up. Everything is okay when connected direct to the battery so that eliminates the possibility Lowrance connectivity issues.

Thanks to Dan's VDT (voltage drop test) post we can narrow down the problem. To further diagnose it means removing interior panels to test harness plugs. We tried cleaning the fuse and fuse holder connections with no change. VDT testing tells us there is more than one issue with a .05v drop through the fuse block and an additional .13v drop between the block and switch. By Dan's description drops of that value are acceptable across a circuit but the combined loss .35v is unacceptable. Battery Terminals 12.58 Battery Connected 12.58 Fuse input 12.57 VDT via Boat harness VDT Batt to Fuse input -.17 VDT Batt to Fuse output -.22 VDT Batt to switch input -.35 VDT via jumper wire from battery to switch input VDT Batt to switch input -.17 So, now we have the switch connected to battery 2 and showing normal readings and not taxing the main/starting battery. We'll save destructive testing for a later date!

Excellent,EXCELLENT post Dan! We were going to check it with the ohmmeter but Emil is in Georgetown and I'm in London trying to walk him through it over the phone. Not only will this be an easier test, it will in fact pinpoint where the issue is. So far, we've narrowed it down between the battery and the fuseblock BUT there seems to be a connector(s) in the harness between them. Because we have the same model sonar units, we know his volt reading at the unit is lower than it should be. Now we have to find out why. By the way, I might drop by for an explanation on how to test my voltage regulator on my boat motor! I'm getting some whacky readings.

I hope you kept it for a skin mount, I don't think too many taxidermists will have a 27lb sheephead replica! Congrats.

So sorry to hear this Kelvin. You have lots of good karma in the bank, it's time to make a withdrawl. Best wishes, we're all pulling for ya's.

What type of job will YOUR WIFE be looking for while you're out fishing? hehehe Simon, you're living the dream of many 'round. Enjoy it (but not sooo much!)

I don't know if the test at the battery was to the cable or the post; maybe corrosion causing a .2v drop right there. We didn't get into taking things apart but that is the next step. The fuse block was behind a panel so we couldn't test or check the inout voltage/wire on the lug. I suspect it's the factory wire but it's worth checking for the sake of a few screws. The block test was at the fuse connection. I suggested it might be a bad switch; it's the most vulnerable link in the chain. This where it gets a little fuzzy because I was diagnosing over the phone. I was asking him to check input at the switch and comparing it to output at the switch, with the switch on. Perhaps bypassing the switch temporarily is the best test. (Emil: if the switch is a problem it must be replaced otherwise wiring direct will drain your battery. The external switch is the only thing to control on/off power to the network bus) I suspect he's using the Lowrance harness without small gauge extensions. To me, everything points to the switch. Good advice but I don't think that is an issue here and I will confirm. #1 It's a new battery on a fresh charge. His reading are higher with the new battery and the 525 doesn't shut down so we've eliminated part of the problem by removing the 5yr old battery. #2 Agreed, connections are a killer. I've witnessed voltage swings at a battery just by applying pressure to the connector.

Yes but he was also talking about aligator clips direct to the battery.

Charging your marine batt from the accessory outlet is fine but when you disconnect it and hook up the seat heater, make sure you have a fuse inline.... probably 20 amp but check what the seat heater calls for.

Just got off the phone with Emil regarding his voltage readings. The problem is; the sonars (Lowrance 520&525) are showing very low voltage when the motor is off. When he starts the motor, the 525 unit shuts off (low voltage) but the 520 stays on. He's never had a problem starting but it there seems to be more than usual voltage loss between the battery and the sonars. My 525&522 normally show 11.5+ after trolling on the kicker for a while. His get down into the 9's. All readings with the motor off; freshly charged, new battery and no other accessories operating than listed. 12.4v at the battery 12.3v at the fuseblock 12.2v at both accessory switches (1&2) with all electronics OFF 11.1v at the sonar accessory switch(1) with sonar ON 11.6v at the trollmaster accessory switch(2) trollmaster ON 10.7v reading according to the sonar volt gauge Drops into the 9v range with the key on. Any ideas?

Woodies, Jakes and HandleBarz is all I ever run anymore. I should sell the rest and take an early retirement!

What are you complaining about? That still leaves you with 116 hours to fish!!!

Unlike some of you; I didn't discover OFC by googling 'fisting', I lost a bet I don't recall how I found OFC but it was probably a google search of some kind. I do know why I stay. I've met so many great people over the years and even ran into a few I knew from decades ago. It's an active board with a wealth of knowledge and very well moderated. The get-togethers are more than just fishing now, they're a chance to catch up with new friends from all over the map. Its also caused me to try new techniques and fish for species I never would have bothered with in the past. I have to credit the tournament for that. Previously, I had no intrest in catfish, carp, panfish and whitefish but now I make room in my fishing schedule to enjoy them! Cheers to all I've met, yet to meet and most of all, the mod's keeping this ship on course.

I tested that theory about 20 times

Someone to direct traffic while he drags 'ole nessie around the river before netting it? LOL I'll be sure to have my 8 lb main line and 4 lb fluoro leaders ready to go for next time. Those creatures are so fussy. Good times, we'll do it again.

This team may be playing a little over their heads but I think the major difference between this team and the last few years is, there's no train-wreck type players. You don't need a team of super stars when everyone is playing competently.