DIY Sonar Case

[El_Matador]

Like many of us I am a mega cheapskate. I wanted a sonar unit I could use for ice fishing and also on my pontoon, so I picked up a Humminbird Helix 5. They do offer the Helix 5 in an ice fishing kit with a nice case and everything, but I wanted the down-imaging unit for my pontoon and DI isn't offered with the ice kit. Humminbird sells the ice fishing case with a battery and "shuttle" for around $130 however. I was determined to do it cheaper! I looked around for a while to find a good case to use, and while at Home Depot I found something that's perfect. They call it the Husky 9 in. Lunch Cooler. Here's my setup:

12v 8ah battery from Cabelas (cheaper in the motorized decoy section than in the boating section): $20
Portable lunch cooler from Home Depot: $20
Battery Tender Jr from Amazon: $25 (I splurged a little on this, but I think it'll be much nicer to my battery than the cheap 12v chargers)





You can't see the shuttle in the pics, it's basically just a few pieces of 3/4" thick wood. I cut a piece for the bottom about the size of the opening and laid the battery down on it's side. A piece of wood on either side of the battery, and a piece across the top. I made the top piece hinge so I can adjust the angle of the finder or get the battery out if I need to.

I cut a small hole between the main compartment and the front compartment of the cooler. The transducer cable and battery charger cord go through this hole, so all cords can be accessed from the front.

The top handle is awesome and can easily be used to carry the unit around when the lid is open. And there are side pouches and a pocket on the back for extra storage.
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[wiperhunter2]

Nice setup, have you figured out how you are going to mount the transducer, while ice fishing or on the pontoon?
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[El_Matador]

For ice fishing I'll have to experiment a little. Going to bring some foam pipe insulation, zip ties, and a piece of stiff wire and play around with it.

I'm going to buy a bigger pontoon, maybe a Fish Cat 9' since my dog gets mad if I don't take him with me. I'm thinking a stainless or aluminum rod that I can hook to the frame and dangle over the side, then pull it up when I go ashore. I'll have to update this thread with some pics when I get it all sorted out. I've been using an old Fishin Buddy unit for a number of years so I'm excited to test out the fancy new one.
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[wiperhunter2]

Go to the float tube board for some great ideas on mounting it on your tube:
http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gfo...ategory=66
I'll take some pics later of how I mounted my transducer and show you my setup for ice fishing.
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[albinotrout]

[quote El_Matador]For ice fishing I'll have to experiment a little. Going to bring some foam pipe insulation, zip ties, and a piece of stiff wire and play around with it.

I'm going to buy a bigger pontoon, maybe a Fish Cat 9' since my dog gets mad if I don't take him with me. I'm thinking a stainless or aluminum rod that I can hook to the frame and dangle over the side, then pull it up when I go ashore. I'll have to update this thread with some pics when I get it all sorted out. I've been using an old Fishin Buddy unit for a number of years so I'm excited to test out the fancy new one.[/quote]

Great idea on the bag. PVC is a great material for mounting t on your toon. Used that myself. [cool].
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[wiperhunter2]

Ok, here are the pics of my old fish finder, I used PVC to hold the transducer and it sits right on the edge of the hole, taking up little space. On the other hand, I bought a Showdown 2.0 at the end of last season and I like the read out but the transducer, with the foam around the cord, like you want to do, takes up a lot of space in the hole. I'll also show you my tool box/ tackle box, that holds it all.
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[El_Matador]

Thanks for the pics and ideas. I took my sonar out for the first time last weekend and it worked great. The transducer was a bit of a pain (I just tied foam to the cable). It worked ok but sometimes it wouldn't point straight down and I had to mess with it. I like the PVC idea. I will check out the link for pontoon mounting as well, it's gonna be spring before we know it.
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[wiperhunter2]

Yea, thats why I showed you those pics, you really can't get a good view straight down without having some type of bracket, so the transducer is flat. It does not really matter if you don't want to see your jig but its tough to get the right angle without a bracket. If you have one of the transducers that are designed for ice fishing, those foam tubes work great but they are designed to work that way.
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