Battery powered Fish Finder

What Al said is the key to their life.  Go GPS and Color and you will run your power source dry a lot quicker., but if that is what you need make an extra power source.  --Jeff

I used 2 6 volt lantern battery's in series. Last forever!!! light weight. Got a sealed rechargeable for my new yak... Clearlake will be first trip out. I'll get to See how it well it works then??!!

I used to have the 10 AA setup but switched to the sealed single battery. It's so much easier to charge and is less prone to damage. The little plastic 10 AA holders are quite delicate. A couple drops of saltwater or if you drop it on the garage floor and it's toast. They have two sizes of the sealed 'brick' style batteries at Napa Auto parts here in Santa Rosa but if you need one of the 10 AA holders I can hook you up with one of those if you want. jim

8 cells if you are using alkaline batteries, non rechargeable 1.5v per cell. 

10 cells if using rechargeable NiMH or NiCd, 1.2v per cell.

My Eagle 350 color runs about 9 hours on 8 Alkiline AA batteries. It came with the holder for them and works ok. If I were to do it over again, I would not purchase the  "portable" and arrange my own power. I have used it only a few times so I can't talk much about how well it works since I am a rookie. I would think a black and white would run longer due to less power draw.

I used to have the 10 AA setup but switched to the sealed single battery. It's so much easier to charge and is less prone to damage.

+1 I've switched to the SLA battery as well after 2 years of using AA's.  I just got tired of having to rotate batteries in chargers all the time, having two sets and only being able to charge 8 at a time gets old quick.  Also, the price for a good SLA vs "good" rechargeable AA's the SLA is way cheaper.  Only drawback seems to be the weight, which like Ben said, I dont feel the weight when its in the kayak! 

ANy preference for the sealed 12v batteries? I was checkign out Radio shack and they had different ohms(?) and he said you can't use just any one( I guess these were for alarms). WHere is the best price if anyone knows? I am getting sick of charging very quickly also
thanks
jim
 

ANy preference for the sealed 12v batteries? I was checkign out Radio shack and they had different ohms(?) and he said you can't use just any one( I guess these were for alarms). WHere is the best price if anyone knows? I am getting sick of charging very quickly also
thanks
jim
 

i picked one up at napa auto, got the 12v 8amph for 23 and change the other day, cameron

I've tried the "AA" power supply (new school) but didn't like the results.
Than I went back to the sealed lead acid battery because:
1. I sit on my kayak not under it  so weight doesn't matter to me.
2. I get 3-5 full day trips per charge (w/ Humm. 383c)
3. I can charge with any 12v charger.
4. Batteries last average of 2-3 years before needing replacement.
5. Extra weight in bow helps in rough water.
6. If bite is poor I can use to electro shock stubborn fish
7. I'm to old to deal with this new school power supply
Fact is I get little time to fish as it is and I need the dependability of the lead acid set up. I don't want to try to figure out which of my 2,000,000,000 "AA" batteries has gone bad when time is of the essence.

Of course this is just my humble opinion and I'm sure some will disagree.
Good luck with your decision.

See Ya Soon,
Eric / Yakhopper

I got this one on sale for 20$ I believe around Christmas time:  http://goo.gl/BAp2v but its 30$ now. 

Thanks for the input boyz. Like I said, I'm not looking to use aa for my primary supply, just a back up for long term trips when I can't recharge. I use the 5 amp sealed batteries with no failures, except running out of power after time.

Hobie makes a FF installation kit that includes a dry bag to put in the battery pack, and a 8 aa battery housing that plugs into the line that splits off from the transducer.  The kit also has a foam block that the transducer fits into, and a=some other useful stuff.  Its around $60, It's not the cheapest solution, but very convenient.

John