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| A request for advice - I am in the market for a portable depth finder to use on a fly-in shield lake (i.e. - no electricity, small outboard boats provided). Specifically, I'm looking for a model that can accurately illustrate depth while moving around a lot and show the key structural elements of the bottom. I've reviewed the specs on the Hummingbird Piranah Portable, Hummingbird PirahnaMax 10, and the Garmin Fishfinder 120....all of which come in portable models with suction cup transducers and priced in the $100-200 range. Does anyone have experience with these models? Any other suggestions? Thanks in advance for your advice! |
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Posts: 2515
Location: Waukesha & Land O Lakes, WI | Go with the new Fishmark 320 by Eagle/Lowrance
320x320 screen resolution with 1500 w peak to peak. You can also use portable "gel cell" batteries in this unit. The same batteries that a Vexilar would use. It comes with the suction cup and tranducer.
Price is about $200.00 |
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Posts: 1335
Location: Chicago, Beverly | I say dump the suction cup and get a 2 foot piece of wood(1"X2"), screw the transducer to that as you would to the hull of a boat.. then get a C-clamp to clamp it onto the transom. I would think a 2 foot piece of wood would be good because of how some transoms are shaped, it would leave you some adjustment to raise or lower it as needed. I use this method for a couple depthfinders I sometimes use in my canoe.. Bottomline tbl100, eagle magna II plus and a hummingbird 3004(I rigged them all like that so I could see which I liked using beter in the canoe). As for the portable gel battery mentioned..where can you buy those and how long do they last?
Edited by kevin 4/7/2004 11:46 AM
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| <p><font face="times new roman,times,serif">Andy, I was looking for the same thing a few years back. I ended up getting a store demo Lowrance X71 from EBAY and made it portable (alot cheaper than the retail price) by purchasing a portable transducer mount from Cabelas along with their little rechargable battery. I mounted the unit on a piece of oak (maybe an inch thick and probably 7 x 9)and use C clamps to affix the board to the boat that I am renting if possible otherwise the oak is heavy enough that it will stay in place is just resting on top of something flat. It has worked flawlessly for me so far. The transduce mount is easy to put together and easy to adjust for different boats. Shoot me a message if you have any specific questions.</font></p> |
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Posts: 585
Location: Gaithersburg, Maryland | I had a Humminbird Wide 100 portable. It worked fine for me. However, when I went to the X-87 with 320x320 pixels, and 1500 watts, I realized that the unit was not as good as I thought. The pixels, power and cone angle of the transducer are much better than a portable unit. Go with the unit mentioned OR get a regular model and modify it for your needs. In addition, get the tranducer that will give you a wider cone angle and you will see much more.
FYI: Some of the major brands sell reconditioned models with good savings and the same guarantee as a new model. |
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Posts: 1189
Location: Bagley,MN 56621 | Andy, I have one I would be willing to part with. I bought it at Gander like 3-4 years ago, it's a Hummingbird..100...or maybe a 200?? I'll have to look.
I used it for that week only and it's been in a box ever since thinking I was going to do another fly-in someday and I'm not sure I will. The unit worked great. Might not be as fancy as some new ones, but thought it marked stuff and bottom changes very well.
e-mail me if interested, I'll find out the particulars on it.
anything to trade maybe? |
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Posts: 267
Location: Lake City,Pa. | We run a eagle 128 portable on are front elec. We are very happy with it. Batterys seems to last forever. |
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| Many thanks for all of the great advice. I now understand all of the options! I have decided to get the Eagle Fishmark 320 since I've heard so many great things about the model. The price seems very reasonable! I'm now deciding between the suction cup and regular transducer.
Tight lines,
Andy |
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Posts: 355
Location: Wausau, Wisconsin | I agree with the other gander guide. Fishmark 320 portable is the perfect balance of price and performance. No question in my mind on this one.
Justin Gaiche
www.hooksetters.biz
Gander Mtn. Pro Staff |
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Posts: 1764
Location: Ogden, Ut | Vexilar makes one (or used to, anyway) called the 'Boundary Waters' that is pretty servicable. All week on a set of AA batteries. |
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