Sunfish Pond - dont let a boy do a man's job

[lowviz]

Drove down to Cabela's to see if they had a better in-store deal on a depth-finder. No, not even close!

I was told that the features that I wanted could not be had for under $299 US. I told him that they could be had for $199 US. He disagreed and showed me the Hook 4. I directed him to the online Cabela's link (given above) and showed him the Elite-4 CHIRP 83/200 455/800 Item Set 023953 SKU# 04075640. I'm then told that unit has been replaced by the Hook 4. Product specialist at Lowrance told me the two are identical. Now, it all makes sense. The Elite-4 was just too far underpriced with respect to all competition.

I ask if he has one in stock, no. I ask if he can order an Elite-4 for me. "Let's see, don't know". Yep, my order goes through and since it isn't in stock the store policy is that they ship it to my home for free. Sold.

I offer this information in case anyone is toying with the idea of getting something similar. If so, I suggest that you move on it now before the last of the Elite-4's are sold.

We press on...


Edit: Be very careful if you buy. If there is an "X" in the product name, you aren't getting GPS and thus no mapping capability. Explicitly ask if you get GPS and a down-scan capable transducer.

 

[lowviz]

The sonar unit came today. Wow! $199 US, only lacking a 12V supply as stated.

I was expecting smallish parts. The unit is fairly chunky and the cables are heavy marine grade. The downscan transducer is a bit of a chunk too.

So next I call Alpacka Raft. I want to mount a downscan transducer to a Yukon Yak for sonar mapping. Great interest on their part. (They love this kind of stuff) We bounced around some ideas on how to attach it. Nancy is sending me some scrap material that I can sew Velcro to and then glue the compatible material patch to the raft.

As an aside: I asked why I can't get their rafts at REI (I like that particular outfitter). She says years ago they tried that route but the increased business swamped customer service and quality. They like the size that they are now, very busy, very happy.

 

[lowviz]

Done working my way through the ridiculously complex offerings of the fish-finder manufacturers. I remain convinced that I found the best value for what I need. Lowrance Elite-4 with chirp, downscan, and GPS. Everything came in one box for $199 US.

Linda (one of the top tier tech support people for Lowrance) answered all my questions. I asked for the frequency for taking data points, how to get the best bottom coverage, and the file structure of the sonar logs:

Don’t use chirp for surveying, it is meant for better ID of the fish in the water column. Use 83 KHz (for 20’ deep or less as it has a ~40 degree angle of coverage and use 200 KHz for deeper as its angle of coverage is ~20 degrees. You can figure your path offsets from the expected depth and beam angles to get whatever degree of bottom coverage that you desire.

File structure is proprietary and so is the rate of data points taken, I can only guess that this means that the rate is adaptive. No problem, I only want a good bottom profile. She relents and says that it would be best if I paddled at 3-4 mph during the survey. That was all I need to know. Thank you!

Other points:

The external antenna connection does not give you a better antenna, the external antenna has the same specs as the internal antenna. It is there for people who place the unit inside the boat and thus lose some satellite contact.

The quality of the image on the screen directly relates to the quality of the logged sonar points. Feel free to stop recording, change things, and restart a new logfile. The topographical mapping software can be given a lot of logfiles, it will figure them all out and make a map. Record for up to an hour and restart just to keep filesizes reasonable.

 

[JohnnyC]

Please post pictures of your setup!!!! My interest in this thread has been piqued.

 

[lowviz]

Will do.

Nancy at Alpacka Rafts called me yesterday and asked about shipping for the material. (???) I wanted a 4x4 INCH piece of material that I could sew two pieces of 2"x4" Velcro to and then glue to the raft. She got a 4x4 FOOT piece of material from the shop. Minor setback. Nope just put a scrap into an envelope. We all had a good laugh.

See pic, easy to imagine. I'm not even going to bother with the dovetail mount for the transom. I'll just Velcro the downscan transmitter to the side of my packraft.

 

[Basking Ridge Diver]

So I am not sure this really will impact it by much but may be worth mentioning...

My buddy has a fish finder on his boat and when we are sitting rocking in the boat with waves the sounder shows different depths and distortions. Anyway - you may be better off mounting on the transom or center keel - I say that because I don't know how much motion there is with you paddling. And I would think on the side will exaggerate the action versus the center. With a trolling motor I could see it being more steady...

But again I don't know if we really care about being off a foot or two... Measure with a micrometer and cut with an axe...

 

[lowviz]

... But again I don't know if we really care about being off a foot or two...

Couldn't care less. Just trying to keep this moving.

... Measure with a micrometer and cut with an axe...

One of my favorite quotes from a small biotech company person I used to work with is: "Anything better than 'good enough' is a waste of our time and money."

 

[kelemvor]

One of my favorite quotes from a small biotech company person I used to work with is: "Anything better than 'good enough' is a waste of our time and money."

Was it Theranos?

 

[lowviz]

Most excellent guess, but no.

Small biotech fermentation startup in Maryland.

 

[lowviz]

... My buddy has a fish finder on his boat ...//...

Carl, doing one's homework diligently offers the occasional unexpected reward.
Newark man catches state record tiger muskie

No way would I take a fish like that, but the au naturale pics could be memorable...

Just sayin' that we might have another local FW divesite. Not there yet, and only for those who can keep secrets...

Edit: replaced original with more accurate pic...