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5 gallon.... 5 gallon... 5 gallon Fish Finda !Just finished this setup this week, we will see how it works in the next week as ice sets in in SE MA. This is my 5 gallon fish finder...(Image removed from quote.)I have had my Eagle Cuda 168 (probably the most common finder used today due to affordablility) rigged to my Auto Jumper portable abttery power pack in my 16 ft. skiff for the last 5 years. I had it wired to a toggle swith on a plastic battery case, which inside held the Auto Jumper battery pack. as I was putting the boat away for the season I thought to myself, why this battery box is no bigger than a 5 gallon bucket. If you have transom mount fish finder, a 5 gallon bucket with cover, and a little lack of shame. You can do what I did.Image 1 - Finished unit.Image 2 -Transducer mount - Attach the transducer to 3/4" piece of wood about two feet long, mount on the reverse side. That way when the transducer sits in the hole, it is completely tucked away under the ice. This I like, don't have to remove it from the hole when fighting and landing a fish. Just use flush mount screws (counter sunk) with cap nuts on the back side, eliminates sharp or exposed edges that can lead to a cut off. Attach to sides of board with palstic electrical wiring staples (heavy guage).Image 3 - Mount finder unit bracket to top of 5 gallon bucket with 4 short bolts and cap nuts. One small hole required ot be drilled in cover for the plug to attach to the back of your finder unit. Lock on / snap off lids work best, so you don't have to try to unscrew lid with wires. Go begging at your local bakery for bicket with cover.Image 4 - Transducer board - drill holes every two inches down the middle to allow you to adjust the transducer depth to ice thickness in 2 inch intervals. I attached another 10 inch length of board to my bucket, this board has 3 1 1/2 inch long narrow bolts (size doesn't matter) held in place with adhesive, and one wing nut on center screw to hold transducer board in place when moving. The other two bolts just help hold the transducer board upright and straight. Mark depths at 2 inch intervals with center bolt on transducer board. Makes setting up at the hole a breeze.Image 5 - Power Supply - The power wires from the finder unit are directly connected to a "12 volt cigarette lighter adapter plug"! Ya, that's right, don't laugh it has worked just fine for over 5 years on a boat. I thought that a adding the toggle switch to my 5 gallon bucket was a little overboard (excuse the pun), even for one of my buckets. The adapter plugs into the adapter inlet on the Auto Jumper Power Pack. You never have to unplug it, as the power pack has on/off switch settings. At the end of the day, you just plug the power pack in to recharge overnight. Never had the Auto Jumper run out of charge on my boat, even though I have it shared with a "double cigarette lighter adapter plug" with my bow lights for 12 hours or so night fishing.Image 6 - Travel Position - flip the transducer board upside down and place on the three bolts and secure center bolt with wing nut. Now ready to carry or put on your sled. Weighs roughly about 7 -8 lbs.Image 7 - Ya baby, it works. That's the temp in basement today.It did not cost me anything, and it would have been sitting on my boat just collecting snow for the winter. Eagle Cuda 168 has fish alarm setting which should be helpful when I walk away from the hole.Wa Da Ya Dink ?
Nice work keeper reaper. I have an old hummingbird 300TX that never made it on the boat some years back, it's been collecting dust. If I can shake off this 'brown bottle flu' I'm going to build one of those 5 gallon fish finda's. You might want get a patent on this thing. Thanks for the detailed post.Question- Is there a fuse in the cigarette adapter or did you put an inline fuse on the cord? My unit installation instructions calls for a 1 amp fuse. Thanks.
So am I understanding this right? The jumper box is your 12volt source for running your fishfinder for the day? You don't need to purchase a seperate small 12 volt battery then for your fishfinder??You can still purchase these at an auto store I assume? I don't own one, so I don't know much about them. Thanks.
The best part of using these types of fish finders is they will shoot through the ice. You have to pour water on the the ice first. No hole.
I've heard this before, but never tried it. Does the transducer haev to be submerged in water to get a reading ?
Sorry about the delayed reply, I have been out looking for ice in our area or trying to trap some bait. There is an inline fuse in the auto jumper pack itself, I did not wire in a separate one... we will see. Same exact method it ran on my boat for 5 years without a problem.KR