Eagle Cuda 168 FF / Battery options

Hi folks,

I just ordered the Eagle Cuda 168 FF for $49.88 at BassPro.

Then I went to Cabelas and ordered the 12v battery and plug in charger for it. ($31.00 or so)

Will this 12v battery work for the Eagle FF? with i be able to wire it up and use the 12v power?

I went ahead and ordered the battery and charger. However, i was not able to find out any info on what the power source is or how much it needs.

Gee, life sure gets complex sometimes! I might get some fish after using this thing!

Thanks in advance!

John

That battery will work just fine.  If anything, it is overkill.  I believe it is a 7 Amp Hour battery and it'll last you at least a few days of fishing without recharging.   You'll just need to put some connectors on the power wires to connect to your battery.  I'd suggest making a battery box to keep water off of the battery when in use.  Also, use dielectric grease on all connections.  You can search the archives for more on all of these subjects.  Finally, if there is a spare plug-in receptacle on the back of your Cuda that is meant for a speed/temp transducer, fill that puppy in with silicone to seal it up (if you don't intend to use it that is).

I've gone to the 5 Ah batteries because they are much smaller and still get about 1.5 to 2 days of use before they die.

This is the battery box I made for my batteries... has worked very well.   The Lock -n- Lock containers are available at Target.



FYI... these gel batteries are available in all shapes and sizes locally at battery shops such as Interstate Batteries.

Enjoy...

Erik

wow! perfect idea! thanks for taking the time to help me out on this issue!

i'll make a box and i like the tip with the grease and silicone on the open receptacle!

i would have never even thought of this stuff.

Thanks a lot!

john

Just one more question, for the port where the fat 6 pin connector goes into the back of the FF do you use silicone to keep that sealed? Just wondering how to keep the port from getting in water and corroding. Is D Grease enough for that application?

Thanks!

John

John,

That's exactly where you use the dielectric grease Erik mentioned.   I didn't do this on my last fishfinder (and that may have been the problem) but I believe it's advisable to set the battery up with a fuse.   I'll post more when I found the reference I saw to that.

Brian

Thank you very much!!!!!

I think I will use that grease as I should and maybe fit a thin o-ring on it for a seal of some sort.

Thanks bsteves!

John

Here are some kayak fishfinder install related links...

http://kayaksportfishing.com/equipment/submissions/ted/fishfinder/fishfinder.htm
http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=29&Itemid=42
http://www.kayakfishinggear.com/fishfinder.htm

Correct...

Use dielectric grease on ALL electrical connections.

Install a fuse inline on the power cord.  Usually the cord is already equipped with a fuse / hardware... just leave it in line and I recommend making it so that the fuse can go into your battery box as well to shield those connections from moisture.

Erik

JohnGuineaPig - I see you are on the Peninsula. All Fry's have the smaller 12V battery, 12 V battery chargers, connectors up the wazoo, and even small Pelican waterproof containers that might even fit the battery in question.

Scott

thanks scott!!! i'll need to take a trip to fry's! get some nice connectors and all!

thanks for the tip!

john

I went to frys and bought a holder for 8 AA batteries which equals 12 volts. Then I bought a small Pelican box and drilled a little hole in it for the wire from the fish finder to come into, added some silicone to that and poof. I have a nice compact power supply for my fish finder. I didnt want to deal with those great big batteries. It works out pretty well.

Ok,

I am not an electrical engineer, but there is an EE on another kayak fishing site that supposedly is. And his take on it is this:

Running fishfinders on 12V is a waste. Because the fishfinders internally step the voltage down to 8V, using 8x 1.2V rechargeable batteries for 9.6V is more than acceptable, if not even the preferred way way to go.

And because I have the best wife in the entire world. I get to try this theory out. Yep, I got a fishfinder/gps for an early fathers day gift

Scott