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RickC - Are you using 12v 10a with the 798? How long will a fully charged battery last on the ice?
Wow, thanks for the info! I have a marcum LX5 that I use, but I also have a Humminbird 587 HD DI that I bought for my kayak. I've been wanting to turn that into an ice unit to have a spare (or even use with all my GPS plots!) for my wife... but I always thought since it was DI, that it wouldn't work. So all I have to do is update the software and we should be good to go? (other than purchasing the conversion stuff you outlined).
I use a 10 ah battery to power everything in my shack... HB 598 HD/Si, 110 inverter for charging camera batteries and my laptop or tablet or whatever I bring for tunes, and a small fan. Even with all that stuff the 10 ah gets me through sun up to sun down with more time to spare. I will also be adding l.e.d. lighting in the next couple weeks and have no intentions of going to a bigger battery. One thing I will note is that my battery doesn't get cold... I keep the Bayrunner around 80 degrees when on the ice, I'm guessing that helps my run times compared to a battery in a flasher bag sitting on the ice.Down imaging and side imaging won't work on the ice or anywhere stationary, you have to be moving for those features to work. But regular sonar will work just fine.
Will updating the software affect it's use in open water?
Also, does anyone know if there is a part # for just the plastic shuttle from Humminbird?
http://www.marinegeneral.com/productdetails.asp?productid=1621399&directoryid=&parentid= $20 cheap soft side case
you can also skip the ice ducer and use the skimmer
Here's what I did. I bought a used Piranhamax 150 Portable for $65 on ebay. I kept the bag, shuttle, and battery, then resold the Piranhamax 150 for $45. Take off $12 shipping, so I got the Humminbird bag, shuttle, and battery for about $30.