Portable Electronics

Okay guys. I'm in the market for a portable fish/depth finder for the tube, but i dont know anything about these electronics.

So my question is what do i look for when searching for the right finder for me?

Good question I will follow this thread I am looking as well

Well I just picked up the humingbird portable unit but have not even opened the box. LC has a cool setup on his tube. Very nice lowrance unit.

Dano67 wrote:Well I just picked up the humingbird portable unit but have not even opened the box...

WTF?

Which one do you have?

I was looking at the hummingbird fishing buddy portable finder. I don't like that it takes 6AA batteries.

The one I bought comes with a 12V gel battery. Really bought it for the boat but figured I would rig it for the tube as well.

I heard Hawkeye was a good one .

If ur looking for a portable tubing sonar, stay away from the obvious. Don't buy a portable unit! These are under powered, low on features and cost way too much for what u get. Ur going to have to addapt it to ur tube anyways.
Ok biggest rule for tube sonar, Keep It Simple.

Here are the thing I think u should look for in a tube sonar.
First: power. U should get one with at least 2000-2500 peak to peak power. Anything less and it's just telling u deapth, not bottome structure. Might as well have a long cane pole with u to tell u how deap it is.
Second: screen size. I like a 5" screen, but buy the biggest u can get. Simple.
Third: keep it simple, u don't need all the Si, Down scan stuff, he'll u don't even need color( although if u can afford color, it's real nice)

So basically get the strongest power and the biggest screen. The rest of the features u won't get full use out of in a tube, but if u get them in the one u like then so be it. They won't hurt u on a tube and if u get a boat ur set.

I almost forgot. Battery power. These things run on Verrrrry little voltage. I have run them on two 6v square lantern batteries for 20+ hrs. U can also get one of those small 12v gels at bps for 20$ and th are rechargable. Don't think u need a nomal size battery just because the unit is designed for boat mounting.

Anyways u can easilly find a new one for less than 200$, and they show up on craigslist all the time. U can get them for like 60$ from guys that upgrading to the newest and baddset stuff on their boat.

Another good topic.
As always , just my .02$

I'll take this info shopping . So stay away from the small portables eh?

This is the unit I use on my 11' bass boat. [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] I also use this same type of a unit in the Color version on my float tube. I actually will use either or on any given fishing trip depending on where I am fishing. The only reason I usually find use in a sounder is for bottom info. I want to know if I am fishing a hard bottom, soft bottom, or grass etc. I love color sounders. They really show in more detail what the bottom is. On my boat I use a Furuno Color sounder. I can tell what type of bottom I am fishing, to almost what type of fish are showing up on the sounder. After learning how to read and set your sounder, you can really differentiate what is what. Like the more dense the red color on a fish mark, the more I am apt to say it is a White Sea Bass or Yellowtail. Very much of that translates to the sounders we use on our tubes. I like color on my tube most of the time. However, I never discount B&W Sounders. They work just as good. I would look for one with a good gray scale level contrast variance. The unit I use on my tube is not made anymore by Lowrance. Actually, Eagle is making that unit now. The mount I use is simple. Either you can fabricate a custom mount of you can buy a Rhino mount from BPS made for the unit. The transducer is a simple bracket system with 90 degree brackets. I then use adjustable utility straps x2. Snap that around my tube and the Rhino mount strapped in nice and snug. The Transducer is mounted in the same fashion. When I am ready to launch, I just slide the transducer into position and off I go. As for power, the easiest way is to use 12v rechargeable gel cells. I just found that to be really heavy. I do something that I don't really think anyone else is doing. I am avid in the radio control industry so I use one Lithium Polymer battery rated at 5000mah. I can run my sounder all day and night and drain very little power. It is nice and light as well.

I think there is a level of excitement no matter who is looking at a sounder and see's a nice rockpile and a few marks hovering around it. It gives you a boost of confidence whether you hook one or not. If any of you want more detailed information, I can take some photos and give you some links. The lithium polymer battery route is kind of expensive. Battery will cost you about $80 and another $50 for a decent charger.

LC

I think that model from Eagle is on sale right now for $159.00 and it's color.

Yeah, I love color also LC. Once u go color u'll never go back. There are some pretty cheap units out there right now super nice too.