Author Topic: Echomap Portable Ice Fishing Kit  (Read 9358 times)

Offline kayl

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Echomap Portable Ice Fishing Kit
« on: Nov 01, 2017, 07:09 PM »
Has anyone picked one of these up yet? I'm considering picking up the kit so I can use my 73sv on the ice, but I want to see how the inside of the bag is set up. I'm debating between the Garmin kit and just buying the ice ducer and modding a Vexilar Pro II to fit my echomap. Garmin is really doing themselves a disservice with the limited photos that are out there.

https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/599587

Offline ErnieLearns

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Re: Echomap Portable Ice Fishing Kit
« Reply #1 on: Nov 04, 2017, 09:39 PM »
I am glad they got a kit.  I looked into getting the ice transducer last year.  The echomap 73 side view is 12 pins. The ice transducer is 4 pins.  Garmin last year said I could take a 4 pin to 8 pin adapter and then a 8 pin to 12 pin adapter and then I would have to manually select the transducer for everything to work.  It was too many steps.  Hopefully it is simplified.

Offline ErnieLearns

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Re: Echomap Portable Ice Fishing Kit
« Reply #2 on: Nov 04, 2017, 09:50 PM »
After looking at the specs available online: the ice kit come with a 4 pin to 8 pin adapter.  You most likely will need to buy a 8 pin to 12 pin adapter and manually select the transducer for the 73 chirp side view echomap units to work. 

Offline Cal64

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Re: Echomap Portable Ice Fishing Kit
« Reply #3 on: Nov 04, 2017, 10:58 PM »
Bought a discontinued 53cv, last year. Put it in a soft sided cooler, and played around with the open water transducer on the ice. Didn’t like how it worked, so ordered ice transducer, very happy with in now. It uses a lot more juice than other units I have used, so if you rig up your own, get a large battery, or 2 small

Offline jbird68

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Re: Echomap Portable Ice Fishing Kit
« Reply #4 on: Nov 06, 2017, 03:03 PM »
I got the EchoMap 73SV this spring for my boat. Thought about the ice kit as well. But it sounds like its not just a plug and play. How many adapters do you have to buy? Last year I bought the ice kit for my Lowrance Elite-5 and it worked pretty good. But the bag is not very well balanced and there is not a good way to hang the transducer over the hole. I don't like using the foam flat that came with it. So now, I just hang teh transducer out the front of the bag and in the side of the hole. The foam float just gets in the way.
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Offline Drift Dodger

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Re: Echomap Portable Ice Fishing Kit
« Reply #5 on: Nov 06, 2017, 03:51 PM »
I have a Garmin EchoMAP 75sv and a EchoMAP CHIRP 53dv. There are three separate 4-pin ports on the rear of each. The 'dv' CHIRP model has "XDCR", "NMEA 2000" and "POWER". The 'sv' (non-CHIRP) model has "XDCR", "SIDEVU", and "POWER". Each works fine with the 4-pin GT8HW-IF ice transducer plugged into the "XDCR" port, no adapter required.

Upon first power-up with the ice transducer connected:

EchoMAP CHIRP 53dv... select 'Settings - My Vessel - Transducer Type - GT8HW'.

EchoMAP 75sv... select 'Settings - My Vessel - Transducer Type - Dual-frequency 200/50 kHz transducer' (since GT8HW is not listed).


Garmin EchoMAP Plus 95sv, Garmin EchoMAP CHIRP 53dv, Garmin GT8HW-IF, Garmin GT10HN-IF, DeWalt DCD999B, K-Drill 7.5"

Offline mszczep1

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Re: Echomap Portable Ice Fishing Kit
« Reply #6 on: Nov 06, 2017, 07:02 PM »
I have the CHIRP 73sv for my boat, and got the ice ducer and the adapters.  Had to manually select the ducer, but the las OS update fixes that.  Had the $99 bag from my 53, but didn’t fit well.  Garmin said the new kit has a bigger bag and base that accepts the gimbal bracket, but that kit comes with a ducer and battery and is $399.  They said they may offer them separately in the future.

Til then, I’m using the big Clam bag and my 73 mounted to a block of wood.


Offline kayl

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Re: Echomap Portable Ice Fishing Kit
« Reply #7 on: Nov 06, 2017, 07:30 PM »
I have the CHIRP 73sv for my boat, and got the ice ducer and the adapters.  Had to manually select the ducer, but the las OS update fixes that.  Had the $99 bag from my 53, but didn’t fit well.  Garmin said the new kit has a bigger bag and base that accepts the gimbal bracket, but that kit comes with a ducer and battery and is $399.  They said they may offer them separately in the future.

Til then, I’m using the big Clam bag and my 73 mounted to a block of wood.

How do you like the clam bag? I'm debating between the official Garmin kit and the clam bag.  Any pics?  I can get the Garmin kit at a discount, so the difference is closer to $100 between the two options. (I need to buy the ice ducer) If I didn't already have the battery, charger,  and RAM mount the Garmin kit would be a pretty clear winner.

If I go with the clam bag, I'm going to build it out like this guy, since my 73sv is already on a team mount for my kayak: https://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=318976.0

Offline the force

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Re: Echomap Portable Ice Fishing Kit
« Reply #8 on: Nov 12, 2017, 10:37 PM »
If anyone has an update on how the echomaps and the new ice ducers are working out I am all ears. Currently have a 93sv that in considering picki g up a transducer and taking on the ice...
 

Offline jbird68

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Re: Echomap Portable Ice Fishing Kit
« Reply #9 on: Nov 14, 2017, 02:29 PM »
What's the target separation on the EchoMap 73sv? Already spent $650 for the unit. Don't want to spend too much more to be able to use it on the ice.
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Offline kayl

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Re: Echomap Portable Ice Fishing Kit
« Reply #10 on: Nov 14, 2017, 06:05 PM »
My transducer shipped today, I'll let you know when I get it.  What's the best way to test target separation?  Split shot on a line?

Offline kayl

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Re: Echomap Portable Ice Fishing Kit
« Reply #11 on: Nov 16, 2017, 10:50 PM »
What's the target separation on the EchoMap 73sv? Already spent $650 for the unit. Don't want to spend too much more to be able to use it on the ice.

I had a few minutes before work tonight, so I stopped at the lake and played around.  The below image is 2 "BB" size split shot about 3" apart. I think I had the gain too high to show separation with them any closer.



I will test it more on Saturday morning. It was neat to be able to adjust the beamwidth.

Offline the force

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Re: Echomap Portable Ice Fishing Kit
« Reply #12 on: Nov 16, 2017, 11:26 PM »
Right on man, thanks for sharing and looking forward to further testing! Did you get the whole kit or just the ducer? Did I read that correctly that you can select a 8 or 16degree beam width? Sounds handy.

Offline kayl

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Re: Echomap Portable Ice Fishing Kit
« Reply #13 on: Nov 16, 2017, 11:52 PM »
Right on man, thanks for sharing and looking forward to further testing! Did you get the whole kit or just the ducer? Did I read that correctly that you can select a 8 or 16degree beam width? Sounds handy.

I decided to go with the transducer only. I already have a battery setup for my 73sv since I use it on a kayak.  I'll be mounting it in a clam flasher bag using the RAM mount that I use on my kayak.

You can actually select any beam width from 8-16°. If you look at the picture I posted, the 3.0ft indicated on the bottom right is the diameter of bottom coverage that you have.  I was able to go from 3' (approximately 7ft² of coverage area) to 4.9' (approximately 18.8ft² of coverage area) with a couple of button presses.

I'll play around more on Saturday morning and take some actual screenshots on my unit.

Just a heads is, if you have a CHIRP SV unit, you'll need the 8pin to 12 pin adaptor cable. (https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/511579)

Offline the force

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Re: Echomap Portable Ice Fishing Kit
« Reply #14 on: Nov 17, 2017, 01:03 PM »
No kidding, that sounds like an awesome feature! Yes, I have a 93sv so thanks for confirming that I will need the  8-12 adapter.
What size battery are you running and how much time are you expecting to get out of it? I read somewhere that power draw is supposed to be between 0.75 and 1 amps/hr (not sure how accurate that is).

Cheers man.

Offline kayl

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Re: Echomap Portable Ice Fishing Kit
« Reply #15 on: Nov 17, 2017, 07:25 PM »
No kidding, that sounds like an awesome feature! Yes, I have a 93sv so thanks for confirming that I will need the  8-12 adapter.
What size battery are you running and how much time are you expecting to get out of it? I read somewhere that power draw is supposed to be between 0.75 and 1 amps/hr (not sure how accurate that is).

Cheers man.

Based off of the specs, your unit will draw around 0.91 amps/hour. I'm guessing that is a worst case scenario with brightness maxed out, but remember that the cold will affect the battery.  My unit draws around 0.59 amps/hour. I'm hoping to get 8 hours out of a battery in cold weather.

Offline Hardwater_23

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Re: Echomap Portable Ice Fishing Kit
« Reply #16 on: Nov 27, 2017, 01:13 PM »
What my best option? a hb35 or is there a way to use my 53dv on the ice for less than the $399 for the kit? I can get a hb35 for 205 before tax right now with the rebate btw.

Offline Drift Dodger

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Re: Echomap Portable Ice Fishing Kit
« Reply #17 on: Nov 27, 2017, 01:44 PM »
That kit appears to be intended for larger models. A less expensive and perhaps more suitable solution for the echoMAP 53dv would be this Portable Fishing Kit https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/543361 plus GT8HW-IF ice transducer https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/530137. The transducer is CHIRP compatible, but definitely works fine with my Garmin echoMAP 75sv (non-CHIRP model).
Garmin EchoMAP Plus 95sv, Garmin EchoMAP CHIRP 53dv, Garmin GT8HW-IF, Garmin GT10HN-IF, DeWalt DCD999B, K-Drill 7.5"

Offline Hardwater_23

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Re: Echomap Portable Ice Fishing Kit
« Reply #18 on: Nov 27, 2017, 04:08 PM »
That route would cost the same as a hummingbird 35 but it would give me charts and gps. Is the garmin setup as good of a flasher as a device designed as a flasher from the get go?

Offline Drift Dodger

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Re: Echomap Portable Ice Fishing Kit
« Reply #19 on: Nov 28, 2017, 06:58 PM »
That route would cost the same as a hummingbird 35 but it would give me charts and gps. Is the garmin setup as good of a flasher as a device designed as a flasher from the get go?

The Garmin echoMAP in flasher mode doesn't match the quality of my MarCum LX-5 as a flasher. However it is perfectly silent and does provide far more additional capabilities that no mechanical flasher can ... multiple settings and display modes, GPS/waypoints/routes/mapping/charts. With additional power cables and mounts, I can quickly detach and utilize the GPS functionality in my ice-kit, boat, UTV and/or truck without having to dismantle any wiring.
Garmin EchoMAP Plus 95sv, Garmin EchoMAP CHIRP 53dv, Garmin GT8HW-IF, Garmin GT10HN-IF, DeWalt DCD999B, K-Drill 7.5"

Offline the force

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Re: Echomap Portable Ice Fishing Kit
« Reply #20 on: Nov 29, 2017, 11:47 PM »
Kayl, any more info to share since you've been out? Been eagerly awaiting, though I probably won't buy until mid winter or spring when (hopefully) the price comes down some.

Offline jbird68

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Re: Echomap Portable Ice Fishing Kit
« Reply #21 on: Nov 30, 2017, 02:26 PM »
Found this Garmin GT8HW-IF Ice transducer cheaper here.

https://www.hodgesmarine.com/Garmin-Gt8hw-If-Ice-Transducer-p/gar010-12401-20.htm



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Offline kayl

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Re: Echomap Portable Ice Fishing Kit
« Reply #22 on: Dec 02, 2017, 05:07 AM »
Kayl, any more info to share since you've been out? Been eagerly awaiting, though I probably won't buy until mid winter or spring when (hopefully) the price comes down some.

Nope, it's been too wavy the last few times I've been able to stop by the lake. Assuming we have ice in northern WI, I have a multi-day trip scheduled for mid January; I'll experiment and report back. I just pulled the trigger on a FLX28 too, so I'll be able to compare and contrast for you.

Offline the force

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Re: Echomap Portable Ice Fishing Kit
« Reply #23 on: Dec 02, 2017, 11:18 AM »
Right on man, looking forward to it. We're just starting to make ice up in BC... One more deer to put in the freezer and I'll be out on it.

Offline Duncan77

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Re: Echomap Portable Ice Fishing Kit
« Reply #24 on: Dec 02, 2017, 05:58 PM »
Cabela’s has this kit on sale now for $349.99
Don't try to change me, my wife said that's her job.

Offline dekatronic

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Re: Echomap Portable Ice Fishing Kit
« Reply #25 on: Dec 06, 2017, 12:52 AM »
I just picked up an Echomap 45cv and want to set it up in a bag for ice fishing. Looking for ideas. Anyone have any pics of their setups ???

Offline Cal64

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Re: Echomap Portable Ice Fishing Kit
« Reply #26 on: Dec 18, 2017, 09:53 AM »
Had this soft side cooler, with hard plastic liner. Mounted the mount that the unit came with to a piece of plywood. Note the two batteries, I found my 53 cv is a bit of a power hog, but the increased features make it worth it. Also modified a battery tender jr, so I can unplug from my monitor and plug into charger

Offline Cal64

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Re: Echomap Portable Ice Fishing Kit
« Reply #27 on: Dec 18, 2017, 09:59 AM »



Offline fishin25

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Re: Echomap Portable Ice Fishing Kit
« Reply #28 on: Dec 18, 2017, 12:09 PM »
I am getting mixed info from Garmin and other forums on my echo map 73sv non chirp.  I bought it with the intention of using it on the boat and for ice fishing.  Garmin says the non chirp version cannot use the ice ducer (non compatible) according to them.  Obviously I don't want to have to buy the 400 dollar ice kit especially if it isn't going to work.  If someone has made the 73sv non chirp version work for ice fishing, could you please let me know what route you went to make it an ice unit?  Sorry this is so long, but Garmin says it won't work and I'm very frustrated.   Thank you

Offline Drift Dodger

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Re: Echomap Portable Ice Fishing Kit
« Reply #29 on: Dec 18, 2017, 12:49 PM »
I am getting mixed info from Garmin and other forums on my echo map 73sv non chirp.  I bought it with the intention of using it on the boat and for ice fishing.  Garmin says the non chirp version cannot use the ice ducer (non compatible) according to them.  Obviously I don't want to have to buy the 400 dollar ice kit especially if it isn't going to work.  If someone has made the 73sv non chirp version work for ice fishing, could you please let me know what route you went to make it an ice unit?  Sorry this is so long, but Garmin says it won't work and I'm very frustrated.   Thank you

My echoMAP 75sv non-CHIRP version works fine with the GT8HW-IF transducer (https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/530137) as previously posted here: https://www.iceshanty.com/ice_fishing/index.php?topic=346045.msg3732938#top.

However I can't vouch for the GT10HN-IF transducer (https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/599585#accessories) which is included with the $400 ice kit.
Garmin EchoMAP Plus 95sv, Garmin EchoMAP CHIRP 53dv, Garmin GT8HW-IF, Garmin GT10HN-IF, DeWalt DCD999B, K-Drill 7.5"

 



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