Eagle 245DS install and new school power supply

I used a Pelican 1010 clear Micro Case ($11.99 at REI) for the power supply housing, a 10AA battery holder ($3.45 at San Mateo Electronics), and a 2-wire/pin tow harness from Pep Boys (a couple bucks)... I know the Lock-n-Lock boxes are cheap and popular, but they are soooooo ghetto compared to a bling-bling Pelican case!





A little bit of solder to attach the trailer harness wire and fuse holder wire to the battery holder, plus some wire crimps ...



...and voila...



...Silver Buller and weathered ab shells for scale!



...to keep everything snug I Gooped the fuse holder (came in the Fishfinder box) to the battery holder, and also added a couple small pieces of foam to the inside of the box.  Note that one small piece of foam has been slit to accept a spare 3 amp fuse!  Now that's foresight!



...if you look inside the box when it's shut you can see how the fuse holder foam is keeping everything snug... Goop also seals the tiny holes I drilled in the top of the case for the wires to pass through... a watertight seal with lots of pullout strength!



I also Gooped some thin sheets of high friction neoprene to the bottom of the Pelican case so it won't slide around in the yak... just set it... and forget it...



The fishfinder itself is mounted to the yak detachable-style... I used a Scotty mount and a hard-to-find Scotty fishfinder adaptor plate (I think I got that from captaindick.net for about $10.00), and then I fabbed up an adaptor plate using future-Mrs.-Backcountry's cutting board (oh sh!t)... 





...easy on, easy off...



For now, I run the wires from the fishfinder through the front hatch... quick, easy, and no extra holes to drill... the transducer is mounted pool-noodle style...



Ah yeah, stone cold pimp'n!

   Backcountry

boy, hard to beat that, but I would have mounted the transducer not in the middle of the boat but a little to the side as it can get whacked stowing and unstowing where it is.

I put the transducer to the side and keep my (heavy) battery in the center of the boat.



http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php/topic,5078.0.html

interestingly enough between my two kayaks and he-uge batteries, I have not had to recharge a battery once this season.

I also don't re-rig my kayak, I transport it right side up.

now that's set and forget,  .

Very Clean Backcountry! 

Is there any way we could figure out how to charge the AA in the case. I hate taking them out and loading them in the charger...

one more tip....apply some nail polish on the bolts to keep them from rusting  It keeps the bling bling factor intact 

Is there any way we could figure out how to charge the AA in the case. I hate taking them out and loading them in the charger...

I was wondering that too. My only ff failure was when 1 battery disloged while on the water. I wonder if one of the smart 12v chargers would do it. You would think it would be similar to an RC power pack set up.

Goodness knows I'm certainly not an expert on NiMH cell charging, but I have done a small amount of reading on the subject. As I understand it, if you use a simple trickle charger that is constantly connected, or a simple overnight type charger on a timer you'd be good to go charging the cells while in the holders. Otherwise you'd need a charger that relied on voltage drop instead of temperature increase to detect full charge.

http://www.powerstream.com/NiMH.htm
http://www.angelfire.com/electronic/hayles/charge1.html


Regards,
Scott

Is there any way we could figure out how to charge the AA in the case. I hate taking them out and loading them in the charger...

That's the main reason I stuck with the heavy old school battery (though I did recently get a 4Ah which is a little smaller).

BTW Backcountry - great job on the installation.  very clean.

Is there any way we could figure out how to charge the AA in the case. I hate taking them out and loading them in the charger...

I'm not sure about being able to charge the batteries while still in the holder... however, I'm thinking about designing a new-new-school power supply... something along the lines of a very small scale thermonuclear reactor that never needs recharging... as long as the kayak is in the water there should be enough thermal inertia to keep a full blown meltdown and global catastrophe from occuring... the EPA is is going to be a stumbling block though... they frown on homegrown transportable reactors, even if applied to something useful like running a fishfinder...

...on the other hand, maybe I better just stick with my day job!

Thanks for the props and the tip on the nail polish... Mooch, I may have to borrow some of yours because I'm currently all out of nail polish... 

   Backcountry

Mooch, I may have to borrow some of yours because I'm currently all out of nail polish... 

negative....buy your own 

I also Gooped some thin sheets of high friction neoprene to the bottom of the Pelican case so it won't slide around in the yak... just set it... and forget it...

Great tutorial, Backcountry! I especially like the neoprene on the Pelican case--ingenious! Thanks for sharing.

BTW, JMairey: What do you use the pool noodle for that is between the footwell and gunnel of your kayak (on the right side of your pic)? Flotation?

Janice aka "Big J"

The only difference with mine is that the connection on my battery holder is not soldered. The connection resembles that of a 9v battery. This way I can unplug the entire pack and remove it from the case. It makes it a lot easier to remove the batteries for recharging.
Here is where I ordered it:
http://www.thomas-distributing.com/battery-holders.htm

Back country ,
Or anyone using the cutting board material in fabrication.  I'm trying to find an adhesive that will glue it to itself or the cutting board material to anything else.  What I'm attempting to do is modify an older Eagle (rabbit ear) depth finder to an adapter plate I've created from a piece of Cutting board, however nothing from "Super Glue" to 5 minute two part epoxy seems to hold it to itself or anything else.  Any thoughts as to what may work.

Thanks in advance.

Gorilla Glue? Seems to bond just about anything. It is a bit messy as it 'foams out' as it dries

Lexal or 3M 5200