Lunker777 Posted January 25, 2013 Report Posted January 25, 2013 Hey everyone I was just wondering if it is possible to make my HDS7 portable for ice ? What would it require ? Thanks ?
BillM Posted January 25, 2013 Report Posted January 25, 2013 Does Lowrance make a portable pack for it?
Roy Posted January 25, 2013 Report Posted January 25, 2013 It would probably cost you almost as much to modify it as it would to buy a small reliable ice unit...plus you wouldn't be banging the HDS7 around all winter. IMHO
Terry Posted January 25, 2013 Report Posted January 25, 2013 lots of people do it it can be done cheap......buy a 5 buck tool box at walmart and a 7.5 amp hour battery you attach your transducer to a stick and it is portable or you can buy their portable kit that gives you power cable battery ice ducer and a soft pack to put it all in
Nipfisher Posted January 26, 2013 Report Posted January 26, 2013 Yes, you can. I bought the PP-1 Portable Power Pack from Radioworld for my HDS5. Came with a case, battery, ice transducer, and gimble bracket.
vinnimon Posted January 27, 2013 Report Posted January 27, 2013 Heres what I did, three 7 amp batteries and extra storage space .
BillM Posted January 27, 2013 Report Posted January 27, 2013 That thing must last a week on 3 batteries! Nice setup.
irishfield Posted January 27, 2013 Report Posted January 27, 2013 I bet it's plugged in each night Bill. My 102C eats two batteries by 3pm in the afternoon... starting at about 8am. If I stay inside with it on the lowest intensity it gets me thru the day 'till dusk. Terry's HDS-5 is dead by days end on two as well. I've actually started plugging my "box" in during the move on the sled with a Y adapter into my heated helmet cable to give it some charge on the run between spots.
BillM Posted January 27, 2013 Report Posted January 27, 2013 Wow, I didn't think they ate through batteries that fast.. My 747C is good for about a day and a half if I'm out for a full day.
vinnimon Posted January 27, 2013 Report Posted January 27, 2013 That thing must last a week on 3 batteries! Nice setup. Only charged once on three trips last year. Another bonus is that the monitor fits into the waterproof box. Spending that kind of $s on a ff, i wasnt going to cheap out on a box.
wormdunker Posted January 28, 2013 Report Posted January 28, 2013 Good idea for mounting your gear. I have an ice 55, fish all day with 1 battery & lots of power left at the end of the day.
Lunker777 Posted January 28, 2013 Author Report Posted January 28, 2013 Hmmm plenty of great ideas guys !!!! I guess I have some work to do !!
Lunker777 Posted January 28, 2013 Author Report Posted January 28, 2013 Yes, you can. I bought the PP-1 Portable Power Pack from Radioworld for my HDS5. Came with a case, battery, ice transducer, and gimble bracket. What is the price of the kit ?? I can't access the site @ work
Nipfisher Posted January 28, 2013 Report Posted January 28, 2013 Here is my HDS5 PP-1 set up. I use the battery from my aqua-vu as a back up and between the 2 batteries I get a full day use.
Nipfisher Posted January 28, 2013 Report Posted January 28, 2013 What is the price of the kit ?? I can't access the site @ work I think it was around $130. It comes with a transducer bracket that holds the cable over the hole but I didn't like it so I made the float using pipe-foam.
jedimaster Posted January 28, 2013 Report Posted January 28, 2013 I picked up a 5x DSI and at first I wasn't happy with it on the ice, but after this weekend it was awesome. I had the transducer pointed the wrong direction. haha. I haven't had a chance to actually do the battery setup I was lookging to do so in the mean time I have been using the 8 D battery rig it came with and the 8 D's lasted all day yesterday from 8am until 6pm. They still have juice so I am not too sure how long they will last in the end but it certainly got the job done, and was fairly fast reacting.
Lunker777 Posted January 28, 2013 Author Report Posted January 28, 2013 I think it was around $130. It comes with a transducer bracket that holds the cable over the hole but I didn't like it so I made the float using pipe-foam. Do you have to use that style of tranducer ? Or can I use the spare I have, meant for the boat ?
Nipfisher Posted January 28, 2013 Report Posted January 28, 2013 Do you have to use that style of tranducer ? Or can I use the spare I have, meant for the boat ? That one comes with the kit. You could use a square one but you would have to ensure it is pointing straight down. Wayne suggested ataching it to a piece of wood with a cross piece on the ice so it doesn't fall in.
SlowPoke Posted January 28, 2013 Report Posted January 28, 2013 Do you have to use that style of tranducer ? Or can I use the spare I have, meant for the boat ? The skimmer transducer will work but you'll appreciate the iceducer for the short flexy cord and always pointing straight down. If you opt for the skimmer transducer; mount it on a 1"x2" board about 6" longer than the depth of any ice you might fish. (ie. 14" of ice = 20" stick) Drill 1/4" holes through the face of the board 1" from the top and spaced 3" apart... the last hole being about 6" away from the transducer mount. Hold the stick in the hole lightly allowing it to find its own buoyancy and insert a 1/4" rod through next lower drilled hole. Make sure the rod is long enough to span your opening in the ice with some overlap. This will allow the transducer to dangle instead of float and will always be oriented correctly.
DRIFTER_016 Posted January 28, 2013 Report Posted January 28, 2013 Wow, I didn't think they ate through batteries that fast.. My 747C is good for about a day and a half if I'm out for a full day. My LMS-350 Lowrance with GPS would get 12-14 hours per charge on a motorcycle/snowmobile battery. A group 24 deep cycle would give me a week and change.
SlowPoke Posted January 28, 2013 Report Posted January 28, 2013 The backlight and GPS suck up a lot of juice. To extend your day, lower the backlight and turn off your GPS when not required. You can almost double your battery life in mild temperatures.
Terry Posted January 28, 2013 Report Posted January 28, 2013 how do you turn off the gps???????????????????????????????????????????????????????? on a hds unit
SlowPoke Posted January 28, 2013 Report Posted January 28, 2013 how do you turn off the gps???????????????????????????????????????????????????????? on a hds unit I'll look into that right now. I haven't used my HDS on ice yet but noticed a big difference in battery life on my LMS units.
Roy Posted January 28, 2013 Report Posted January 28, 2013 I have an external antenna and the GPS won't even power up without it plugged into the unit.
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