Portable Fish Finder, with removable transducer?

I have been looking at fish finders, still have no clue what I want   But I ran across this one from Hummingbird that has a suction cup transducer?  My first thought was, hey, must be for guys that don't want to go through the trouble of mounting a regular transducer.  But then I thought more like, What? is this the perfect kayak transducer?  I also like the idea of the battery pack being built in.  Though I have no idea how well it works, I wonder if anyone out there has given this guy a try. 

PiranhaMAX 210 Portable

http://www.humminbird.com/products.asp?ID=1003

Some Specs from that page:

Portable Features

    * Rugged portable case protects fishfinder while in storage or transport.
    * No-skid bottom helps keeps fishfinder in place
    * Built-in transducer cable wrap with cover
    * Suction cup transducer mounts on most aluminum, wood and fiberglass hulls with smooth surface.
    * Operates on 8 easily available AA batteries

Fishfinder Features

    * High definition 160Vx132H 3 7/8" diagonal display
    * True 4-level grayscale delivers clearly better image of bottom, fish and structure.
    * Easy One-Touch™ control accesses full set of advanced features
    * Water temperature included in transducer
    * Ultra-compact size mounts almost anywhere

You don't need to go the portable FF route to get a FF that you can use on another kayak.  With an inexpensive Scotty FF mount (or a more expensive RAM mount), you can mount the FF head almost anywhere.  With the pool noodle holder, you can easily and effectively mount transducer.  Removes after every trip.  There are several comments in the gearing up section.

I don't have experiense with the portable Piranha line, though several people use them.  I used the fixed Piranha Max 20 and it worked well for a season and a half.

Good luck - Kevin

Well, took another look at the transducer info on the site:

"Portable transducers mount on the transom or side of most smooth surface wood, aluminum or fiberglass boats. A heavy duty suction cup provides temporary installation and holds the transducer at trolling speeds only. 15ft cable and hardware included."

So I don't think it would stick on the outside of my kayak and stay there. Was thinking that this would mount inside the yak.  But then I read a bunch on the puck transducers, and understand that is what is needed and (duh) why the pool puck method looks so popular!  Maybe I'm unrealistic, but seems that one could be made some day to fit a scupper hole or something

Humminbird makes great yak units, but the Piranha series has a reputation for corroding QUICKLY!

Maybe I'm unrealistic, but seems that one could be made some day to fit a scupper hole or something

The Prowler BG has a transducer insert.  Cool idea.  Others have installed the transducer through a scupper hole but I'm not sure how it worked out for them.  I would think (like the ext suction cup t/d) it would be prone to snagging kelp.

the suction cup works well, as long as you're not paddling through kelp.

Ocean Kayak is putting the transducer insert/scupper cutout on the Prowler 15 and I think 13 now.  the neww Prowler will have it for sure.

I have used the huminbird portables for a few years now.  Very high maintenance if you want them to last.

If you get one, let us know and I'll post my maintenance regime which has kept my latest alvive for a couple years.

Allen

Humminbird makes great yak units, but the Piranha series has a reputation for corroding QUICKLY!

Very high maintenance if you want them to last.

I agree with what Sean and allen - you really need to take care of these units. I believe Chuck still uses one as well. In the past, I had to return 3 of 'em  After the 3rd one failed on me, I decided to get the Matrix (non-portable) - never had problems

When this Piranha Max 15 began to do the usual - the sockets inside the head loosen up and the power won't stay on all the time unless the cord is held down with a rubber band to force the pins and socket into contact - I decided to go with the Eagle 245DS, and the pool noodle donut method, which makes it portable in my P15- but turned the Piranha, which wasn't dead enough to throw away, into a portable that could fit on my son's Tarpon 160, and, if I needed it in a pinch, on my P15. 
   Finding the suction cups took the longest - ordered them online, free delivery to Ace Hdware store, about $4.50 for two.  I was able to get the Radio Shack 8 AA holder plus fuse holder inside a modified plastic sesame seed bottle(gooped up the top, put a foam gasket in lid, drilled hole in it, inserted wire, gooped that up) .  The metal U bracket that holds the T/D to the suction cup was from a caster wheel I got from OSH and ground off the pins, then used a nylon locking nut on the bolt. All the extra cable is nytied around the suction cups. I later added a small safety lanyard to attach the head/battery part to the yak in case it came unstuck - it didn't.
   We tried it out yesterday, and it stayed on and worked, tho we didn't go through any kelp, I don't think it would stay on in that stuff.  Zan had put the T/D to one side of the C/L of his yak, and he said he noticed it had enough drag to make it turn that way a little, he said he'll stick it more to the middle next time.  Otherwise it worked well, except for the wet sleeve he got!
     If you're starting fresh, I'd go with the Eagle and the donut method.  But it is amazing how small and light a package the New School Power Supply can be compared to the lawnmower batteries of a couple of years ago.

The Humminbird Piranha portable base units are still the best compact bases around.  The whole FF is stows nicely in my little orange Plano box with all of my other tackle.   That's why I still use it despite the problems I've had with the heads.  Although my transducer still has the suction cup attached, I prefer the using the pool noodle puck method for holding the transducer in place.  It's worked flawlessly.  Someday, when my Pirhana heads die, I'll probably replacing them with Eagle 245's just like Fuzzy Tom.

Like SCAllen, I've also developed a routine that seems to keep it running for now.
1) Use dieletric silicone grease on the connectors
2) After use in the saltwater, simply wipe clean with a damp towel.  Rinsing under running water just causes more problems.
3) At the end of the day, unplug the power cable connecter from the back of the head.  Leaving it plugged causes the fragile pins to corrode faster.

ChuckE  did you use the transducer that came with the PiranhaMAX on the inside of your hull or did you have to change transducers? 

To confirm what scallen said, both of this year's Prowler 15's and 13's have the scupper insert design for transducers.  That being said, I haven't yet found where you can get the transducers that fit, but I haven't been looking that much.

Also, you can get suction cup transducers from Humminbird for other FF besides the one marketed as portable.  I just got one for a Matrix 17.  Check here ... http://www.humminbird.com/normal.asp?ID=799#portable and if it's not on that list there are more here ... http://www.humminbird.com/retail/category.asp?catalog%5Fname=Humminbird&category%5Fname=Portable+Transducer&Page=1&cookie%5Ftest=1.  If you click through the "name" column you will get more info as to which models that transducers fit.

-Allen

ChuckE  did you use the transducer that came with the PiranhaMAX on the inside of your hull or did you have to change transducers? 

I still use the stock transducer sitting in a foam puck on the inside of the hull .  My transducer is still attached to the suction cup as a backup just in case the puck starts to leak and fail.

OK good,  I am going to rig mine up that way with the foam puck.  Probably just run the wire out the front hatch and see how that works before I start drilling holes.   Thanks