[paffoh]

Looking into purchasing ( or hopefully purchased for me ) a sounder, probably the Humminbird matrix 12x or something along those lines and need some help on how people power there system.

My knowledge on power and battery consumption is alittle poor so after a short chat to my Dad on the above subject im even more confused :? .
Ive read some good articles on AKFF on alternatives and i am looking for the smallest battery size possible with around 10 hours of running power, but what do people use to power there FF?

The specifications of the FF are available here :

http://www.humminbird.com.au/index.php? ... 87a4cc201a

Specifications:
Add-on Accessory Capability: GPS Receiver, Matrix-SmartCast Wireless Sonar Link, WeatherSense barometric pressure & speed capable
Depth Capability: 260 metres
Display window size: 127 mm diagonal
Display Matrix: 240v x 240h
Display Type: 12 level greyscale contrast FSTN LCD
Power Output: 250 watts (RMS), 2000 watts (peak to peak)
Operating frequency: 200 kHz
Sonar Coverage: 20° @ -10db
Target Seperation: 63 mm
Transducer: Transom mount
Power input range: 10-20 VDC
Mounting: Tilt & swivel quick connect mount system
Unit Size: Installed: 178H x 184W x 102D mm
Head 149H x 184W x 44D mm
Optional GPS Features: 750 waypoints, 10 tracks with 2000 points each

* Transducer requires clean non aerated water flow path

Any help would be appreciated

 

[aleg75]

Hey Paffoh

I just recently installed my Humminbird Max10, I think they all take the same type of battery, mine is a 7ah 12V battery, ran for two hours today no worries, it's a bit heavy, but supposed to last quite a bit longer than the others. I also got the charger and a plastic box to house it inside the hull, water proof it and protect it a bit, I did have to buy some connectors as the fish finders have a cable with two wires, so some soldering (spelling?) will be required, and I assume most models come like this. My trasnducer is stuck with silicone insode the hull, seems to work fine, read out the depth fine today and even picked up a fish (using the fish alarm thing)..........I am not to experianced about this sort of stuff, I am surprised I even own a solder iron.......about $50 for battery and charger plus the extras should do it.

Ash

 

[paffoh]

Cheers mate, thanks for the input... Were did you get the battery from?

 

[andybear]

Hi Ash,

Probably a good idea to get some Sikaflex on hand. Most of us have had the experience of silicon holding trandsducers in place for limited time and conditions, and then it tends to let go, at the worst possible time.

On the other hand, you could get lucky :lol:

Cheers Andybear :lol:

 

[PeterJ]

I got my battery from dick smith for about 15 dollars.

 

[RedPhoenix]

Unfortunately, due to the change in ownership of this web site and the lack of response by the owners to my requests to remove my email address from all administrative-level notifications and functionality, I have decided to remove my posts on AKFF. Thank you for the great times, the fantastic learning experiences and the many many fish. If you are desperate for the old content of this particular post, it is available below base64 encoded and bzip2 compressed.

Red.

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[Dodge]

About 25hrs and still going strong, on 7ah battery, $30 at battery world,
and charger to suit at SuperCheap $19.95.

Believe you could easily go smaller size battery than the 7ah

 

[simond11]

Bought a McNair lead-acid battery 12V 4.5Ah which I will be using solely for the FF. It's 10cm high, 8.5cm wide and 6cm deep. Bought it in Singapore for $15 plus $10 for the charger. I will use it for my Lowrance x50DS finder
I had one of the 7Ah batteries but I found it too big and heavy. As I do a lot of ocean fishing I want to minimise the amount of gear and weight I take down to the beach with me.
Cheers

Simon
Prowler 15

 

[Davey G]

i use the 7ah 12v battery which comes complete with charger from whitworths marine for around $50. this can give up to 10 hours of charge and holds enough juice to also power lights and other accessories. the size of this battery is approx 10cm high x 15cm long x 6cm wide. Sits in a tupperware box inside the hull.

Smaller batteries are available (best option is to buy a cheap rechargable drill with spare battery for $30 from your local harware), however the charge on these will only last for 2-3 hours max.

 

[fisher]

I've gone down the 8 x AA batteries route - I went this way due to the light weight and ease of storage. It works well so far, but did fall for the trap of buying cheap rechargeable batteries which did not work for very long. I ended up buying some cheapish AA's from Dick Smiths, and they have lasted over 4 hours so far - easily enough for what I need it for.

 

[paffoh]

Cool cool...

I havent really had the chance to get some hands on experience with sounders in stores yet so didnt even know they could take AA batteries ( except i knew the Pirahna MAx series could ), do all makes have a slot for AA's or is it the case of buying a battery rack to mount and plug into the finder?

I often go out for 6.5hrs plus and was keen on the drill battery but id hate to run out on a special trip and have to attempt a battery change of any description, so would love 10hrs + on the sounder.

Thanks for your help guys! 8)

 

[RedPhoenix]

Unfortunately, due to the change in ownership of this web site and the lack of response by the owners to my requests to remove my email address from all administrative-level notifications and functionality, I have decided to remove my posts on AKFF. Thank you for the great times, the fantastic learning experiences and the many many fish. If you are desperate for the old content of this particular post, it is available below base64 encoded and bzip2 compressed.

Red.

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[fisher]

g'day paffoh - if you go the AA route you will need a battery rack to hold 8 x AA's, plus a connector - both cheap from Dick Smith's. If you search the forum you will find a number of discussions on how to set them up. good luck.

 

[spooled1]

Ebay -

8 x AA using an Eveready energiser charger.

Batteries are called Konnok 1.2V 2500mAh and totally go the distance.

Housing Dick Smith/Jaycar for cheap.

Easy get 6 hours sounder use without fail.

 

[JD]

I've just connected two 6 volt dolphin torch batteries in series. Light, no acid to spill and cheap enough. At the moment I store them in a soft cooler bag, it wedges into the side recess in the hull. Had about three trips of around two or three hours and they still have plenty of charge.

I used the same setup in my tinnie before I sorted the electrics. They lasted for a long time.

Also like the idea of using the battery from a 12v battery drill. And if you work for yourself it might be tax deductable!!!!! A second battery could be carried easily. Forget who had the idea, someone on this site. Clever people.

 

[Nod]

I have a Garmin 240 which has a similar size screen as what you are looking at buying but is 400watts RMS. I have tried a few battery combos. 8 x AA's (energisers not 2500mAh rechargables which would have been a massive improvement but cost $$$) lasted less that 10 minutes, a 1.3Ah 14.4V battery from the drill lasts about 1.5 hours. I'm now running it on a 7Ah 12V battery which lasts longer than me (should last at least 8.5 hrs)
:idea: I think the way you work it out is to find out what the Nominal Power Usage is (mine is 12volts @ 0.8Amps) and divide the Amps by the Amp-hour (Ah) rating of the battery (e.g. 1.3Ah divided by 0.8A = 1.6 hours).
Maybe others can try this calculation and see if its in the ball-park :?:

 

[Squidder]

Hey Paffoh,
You should get 10-ish hours at least out of a 12V 7Ah or even a 12V 4.5Ah. I've been using a much bigger battery to power my FF (Hummingbird PirahnaMax 15), it's a 12V 18Ah, I find I can go for about a month (6 or so 6 hour trips), and could probably go much longer, without having to recharge I use the battery for other lighting applications, and figured why not use it for the FF too rather than buy another battery. It is pretty heavy though.

The 12V 18Ah battery was about $40 at Jaycar.

 

[Dodge]

Fellas I'm seeing strange numbers in this thread.

When I bought my 7ah battery I asked the bloke about its performance in relation to my FF [Eagle 168] consumption which is 110mA with the lighting off, and he said to expect 70 or 700hrs [forgotten] with that amount of current draw from that size battery.

Since June I have had a number of trips and only gave it a charge of about 1 1/2 hrs [just in case] before going to Wivenhoe AKFF outing.

The sounder is the only draw on the battery and I guess I'm easily at the 25hr mark since the topup charge.

Have no expertise on this so cannot debate other than the above

 

[spooled1]

Very wierd numbers on this thread indeed? ':?'

Maybe they rate the current draw on maximum levels (illuminated screens).

 

[RedPhoenix]

Unfortunately, due to the change in ownership of this web site and the lack of response by the owners to my requests to remove my email address from all administrative-level notifications and functionality, I have decided to remove my posts on AKFF. Thank you for the great times, the fantastic learning experiences and the many many fish. If you are desperate for the old content of this particular post, it is available below base64 encoded and bzip2 compressed.

Red.

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