The "black box"

[Second Nature]

Just wondering what everyone's thoughts/ opinion are on the black boxes. I have heard many people tell me they swear by it and have seen there rigger hits more than double since installing it. I have read their web site and found out that each boat carries its own charge be it positive or negative. They even tell you how to go about determining what your boat has as a charge. I've even heard of people having brass blocks in their boat to " absorb" the negative charges put of by the boat and it's electronically equipment. My riggers catch fish but it has me wondering if I would catch more if I hook one up to the boat/riggers. Just wondering if anyones uses one currently or has any input as to how/ why they work and if they believe it to be worth it. Has it made a difference? Thanks boys!

[jekyll]

I have a small pyramid on the roof of my boat to absorb the negative energy. I don't know if it works but, the karma feels right.

Seriously though, I'm not an expert on positve ions but, when I switched from Cannon riggers to Big Jon, I wondered if the loss of P-ion might be a factor. I catch more fish now with the Big Jon riggers than I did when using Cannon. Probably just additional years of experience and learning.

Do a search for the black box. You will find several threads that address your question.

[Tim Bromund]

It all depends on what kind of charge your boat is putting in the water. Most boats are fine and a black box wont make a lick of difference, but if you have a grounding problem somewhere, it can definitely help. When I first got my current boat back in 2002, the first couple seasons, I could count on 1 hand the number of rigger bites we got over the course of an entire season, divers and cores caught plenty, but the rigger bite was dreadful. so I took my multi meter and tested like they suggest on the pro troll black box site and found that I was throwing .2-.28v off my rigger cables, so I bought a Cabelas black box and once I installed it we started catching fish on the riggers again.

Over the last 10 years I've rewired almost everything and replaced almost every fastener on the boat with stainless and somewhere along the way I must have corrected the problem, because it isn't necessary anymore, we get tons of bits on the riggers, so I no longer even have the black box on the boat, but at the time I absolutely believe it made a difference.

Tim

[bandrus1]

how do you go about testing your rig?

[Mortigan]

I haven't checked this yet but here's the steps: http://www.protroll.com/books/?id=5&p_id=4

[Blue Knight]

Before investing in a Black Box do the test & check each of your electronics one at a time to see if it makes a difference in the charge. If you do need one I suggest you get a Scotty. They're the original Black Box but none of them will attract fish just look after the type of charge your putting down your riggers. All I had to do was remove the metal snaps from the rigger cable & put on the plastic ones. Haven't had a problem since.