DIY Sonar Rig, $40 total materials

[chief8994]

Hey Everybody

Just wanted to post my homemade sonar setup. Took an old summer Eagle fishfinder and rigged it with some electrical conduit. Mounted the 7AH battery in a shotshell case padded with sponges and secured with velcro. Took a 3 inch aluminum duct cover and bent it flat for mounting the screen. Attached it to the shotshell case with 2 bolts. Mounted the screen with velcro also. Wired in a blue LED power switch to the case for easy on/off.

Used a length of 1/2 inch electrical conduit for the main shaft. Attached an L Bend and mounted the transducer with a nut and bolt. Attached the cord to the shaft with zip ties. Added two more L Bends at the top for holding at the top of the hole.

Turn up the ping speed to 100%. Sensitivity to 72%. Chart speed to 100%.....works like a charm. Battery lasts 3 days with the backlight off.

Sorry if that sounds complicated, feel free to post any questions. Even better, some suggestions would be great! Happy Macgyvering!

[chief8994]

Inside the box.

[chief8994]

The screen with my two jigs (5 feet apart) in two holes. The third line is my swivel. Very sensitive.

[bluenote]

Very interesting. The pictures compliment the description well.

Thanks

[chief8994]

The rig on a chair. Shows the 3 inch duct flap screen mount.

[chief8994]

Conduit Rig

[chief8994]

Conduit Rig down the hole.

[sdcaller]

I also use an old Eagle Fishmark 320 both Summer and winter.

For the winter I just use the portable case that came with it.

It is about 8 or 10 years old, but works well for my purposes.

I have a separate transducer on the boat and I just use the screen in the summer. Don't use the battery in the summer as it is wired into the boat.

SDC

[chief8994]

Ya I use that one in the summer too. I use the case because I fish out of a Zodiac. I velcro the screen to one of the tubes. Works fine for me. The one I have did not come with a case.

[bobbyb]

I too use a B&W 320 on the ice. Probably one of the best Eagle made.
Just an FYI - if you have a 320 Fish Mark, ice ducers are available for them.

Lowrance used the Eagle Technology (so I am told) and incorporated it on the following units:

(Lowrance Units that use the Eagle Transducer The X67C was a surprise to me.)

Elite 4, Elite 4x, Elite 5, Elite 5x
Mark 4, Mark 5x 200kHz, Mark 5x PRO,
Cuda 128, Cuda 168, Cuda 168 EX
FishEasy 240, FishEasy 320, FishElite 500C, FishElite 502C iGPS
FishMark 320, FishMark 480
FishStrike 1000C, FishStrike 2000C
LCF-1440, LST-3800, M56 S/MAP, M68 S/MAP
X47, X47EX, X57TX, X67C, X86DS, X96

[Knuguy]

There are various ways of rigging a regular Xducer for winter use. I posted my version a month or so ago.

One of the problems I was having was reading the screen in the suhlight. So I rigged up an old tackle box to contain the unit plus battery and have the box lid act as a shade.

[chief8994]

thanks for the ideas. Radioworld seems to sell all the parts one could possibly want. I may cave and buy the gimbal mount for $40. I had the money saved for the X4 and a pop-up and then.....needed new truck tires. I made the adult decision.

[dodge26]

I took the graph out of my Ranger, spent $10 on the tool box, $80 for the transducer and $35 for the mount. It works great and is very easy to transport.

[dodge26]

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[dodge26]

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