Fly the Team Iceshanty Flag! Iceshanty Proshop
Drift dodger ... how are you liking your boostmi pro as a power source these days? Any estimate on what type of realistic AH rating you would give it as compared to standard 12V lithium batteries? If it was actually 18AH in real world use then it is a pretty killer price for that capacity, as compared to straight batteries being sold in canada. Thanks!
Hello everyone,I recently purchased a Garmin Echomap UHD 95sv that I intend to use as both a portable summer fish finder and flasher for ice fishing season. I intend to purchase the suction cup transducer mount to use with the included GT54UHD-TM summer transducer and pickup a ice fishing transducer for use as a flasher in the winter. Also a few other items to make the unit a portable kit for both.TLDR - primary questions are for reccomendations for 12v 10+ amp hour lithium batteries available in canada, particularly if anyone has experience with marcum branded lithium batteries and could comment. Other primary question is in regards to flasher bags and "shuttles", any suggestions on products that would accommodate my garmin echomap 9x series and either a couple 10-12 AH batteries or 1 larger 18+AH batteries. Also any links to guides on how to make my own shuttle or carrying devices would be great!Ice Fishing TransducerI am currently thinking to get the GT8HW-IF ice transducer to use in the winter. The garmin GT10HN-IF transducer is a bit tempting but reasonably more expensive, so i am leaning towards the GT8 model. My understanding is the GT10 has a bit more power, and a tighter angle/cone, but i would likely only see the benefit from that when fishing deep (40-150 feet) for lake trout. Not sure if the extra $100 CAD is worth it for the lakers, as the majority of my lake trout options are minimum 2.5 hr drive, and the better ones 4 hr drive. I love fishing for lakers, but i wont be able to do it nearly as often as i will for walleye/pike. Based on my research i think the GT8 is the way to go for me, but am open to anyones comment/suggestions in regards to the ice transducer.Battery OptionsMy preference is to try going lithium for the battery on this unit. I have used SLA batteries for my current portable fish finder/flasher (hummibird 345c) and they dont seem to last more than a couple seasons, plus are decently heavy. I thought originally the reason my batteries never seemed to last that long was due to the exposure to the cold, as the unit has often been left outside overnight while winter tenting at the lake being exposed to temperatures as low as -30 to -35 C, but after discussions with a battery salesman (who actually wasn't really trying to upsell me to lithium or anything) it appears that the battery being exposed to freezing conditions likely wasnt as big of an impact on the lifespan as i thought. My understanding is that lithium batteries should get me more than double the life span out of the batteries, and possibly i will be able to get a bit more hours of use out of lithium battery even with similar amp hours rating to a comparable SLA battery. It does not look like i have a ton of options when it comes to 12V lithium batteries with 10+ amp hours in a form factor that would be suitable for a portable flasher/fish finder case. I have read that amped outdoors are a great option for price and AH capacity, but unfortunately as a canadian i do not think i can benefit from these as much as my american fisher friends. Shipping and the potential for duties make these likely not the ideal option for me. I can get dakota lithium 12v 10AH from cabelas in canada (currently on sale too), but i am a bit worried about the 10AH not being enough for my garmin echomap UHD 9x series to last a reasonable amount of time. In a ideal scenario i would like to get about 16 hours of use, enough to cover say a 2 day trip where i wont be able to charge the battery overnight. One option is i could perhaps get two of these 12V 10AH batteries, and from what i have read on here, other forums and amazon reviews some people have said they were able to fit 2 batteries of this size along with the same garmin unit in a case (in particular the clam flasher bag). Does anyone have experience running this fish finder with similar (10-12 AH) lithium batteries? Any idea what kind of run time i might be able to expect? Ive mostly read about people using the same fish finder (echomap 9x series) but with the panoptix livescope transducers, which i assume would draw a reasonable amount more power than my proposed ice tranducer.https://www.cabelas.ca/product/130371/dakota-lithium-12-volt-10-ah-batteryAnother option appears to be marcum lithium batteries. There king version at 12V 18 AH looks like it wouldn't be too big and i like the amount of amp hours it has, i feel that would give me a good chance of getting 2 days use off one battery. Also i believe it should fit decently well in whatever case i go with. The only thing is i cant find any reviews or discussion on these batteries. Im not sure if they are equal or lesser quality than amped or dakota lithium. Or is it safe to assume that most lithium batteries would be similar in performance and lifespan etc regardless of manufacturer? Difference perhaps being customer service/warranties etc? Does anyone have experience with marcum lithium batteries and able to comment on them? I am hoping they go on sale this month in relation to black friday.https://www.cabelas.ca/product/143130/marcum-12v-18ah-lifepo4-battery-and-6amp-chargerI am currently tempted to buy one of the dakota lithium and charger for it from cabelas while they are on sale, and just hold on to it and not use it, with the hope that if a larger AH battery goes on sale i could grab that and return the dakota lithium to cabelas. Any other suggestions for lithium battery options available in canada would be very appreciated!Portable CaseRight now it looks like my best option for a case would likely be the clam flasher bag. Available in canada at cabelas. From reviews and forum posts i have read, it appears this bag is just big enough to house the echomap 9x series. Also one review i read suggested the person was able to keep 2 batteries (12V, 7 to 12 AH sized) in the case. So i suspect i should be able to fit 2 of those, or a 12v 18ah. Am i correct in thinking this bag would include a plastic base and handle? I should be able to find a way to mount my garmin unit to it and also the batteries? Or is this simply just a bag and i would need to create my own "shuttle" (just learning about the term shuttle now... forgive my ignorance!) Any tips/suggestions/guides on how to use this bag making my own portable flasher kit would be very appreciated!https://www.cabelas.ca/product/129428My other potential option is the summit shuttle bag. But it is not clear if this is just a bag, and the plastic base/handle would not be included as it would come from their other product the summit shuttle... either way the shipping on this bag is almost the same as the cost of the bag, ~$40-50 to get it shipped, so for that alone i do not think it will work for me...https://summitfishingequipment.com/collections/bags/products/summit-shuttle-bagIf none of the bag options include a base to mount the sonar and batteries on, it appears i may need to buy or make a "shuttle" and recommendations on products that would play well with my garmin echomap uhd 95sv and the clam flasher bag? Any good guides on making shuttles? I can start searching for this too now that i am aware the bags may not include these components. I probably will lean towards making my own to save some money... All this crap is so expensive and it adds up!!Other thingsPosting a few other things here that i am aware i need to get for my own setup, but that may be beneficial to others trying to emulate what i am going for with my setup...If i go with the GT8 ice transducer i will require a garmin 4 pin to 12 pin cable to connect the transducer to my sonar. Garmin product # 010-12718-00.I will also need to get the suction cup transducer mount, compatible with my GT54UHD summer transducer. Garmin product # 010-11849-17Thanks so much for taking the time to read my essay, or even just the sparks not TLDR version. Extra thanks in advance for anyone willing to help with comments, reviews or suggestions related to my mission to build my portable fish finder / flasher combo out of my new garmin echomap uhd 95sv. Cheers and tight lines to everyone this hard water season!
My 'custom' Garmin EchoMAP Plus 95sv ice kit ... Boostmi Pro jump starter, Trophy Angler bag (my son picked up in the US) to which I added a plywood base to mount the head unit and hold the ice transducer, EchoMAP Plus 95sv, GT10HN-IF transducer. The fit is tight, but it works! The screen was set to 30% brightness for this shot.Below with battery tucked away inside the bag. Screen brightness at 20%.Below ... all packed away for transport, as viewed from the 'rear'.
Drift Dodger.... What type of connector do you use from the Boostmi to the Garmin? Does the Boostmi last you all day long on the ice or do you have another battery option. I have a Jackery Booster Pack that I think is 14500mah r 14.5ah but I didnt think these would be comparable to a LIFEPo4 12v 10ah especially in cold weather use. Maybe in the warm shack no problem but out on the ice in -20 Celsius does the Boostmi hold up?Any info is appreciated...
... you need to download the blank quickdraw map to load on the unit for your own map making. ...
I’ve been following this thread. Did you figure out the ice flasher chirp situation. I thought for chirp to be effective you needed to be moving?
Update to my build:Bought the Garmin 95sv off GPScity along with the GT8 Transducer and the extra power cable and 4-12 pin cable for the transducer. Bought the Marcum 12v 10AH (with charger) from Cabelas this morning on Boxing Day sale - $99 CDN x 2Bought the GARMIN EXTRA LARGE CARRY BAG AND BASE - PART NUMBER 010-12676-05 - from Newegg.ca for $59.99 CDN Taxes and Shipping included - I am hoping this is going to be a good bag. I think it is the same one that comes with the Panoptix Package. Though this was a good deal. So I think I have everything I need to make this work. May need to build some kind of mounting base for the Garmin Mount so it all fits in the base but that should be simple enough - anyone have any pics or suggestions for this. Merry Xmas