I have an idea to build a speed and temp probe

[bruceleogould]

Has anyone ever taken an old fish finder and mounted the boat speed wheel and transducer to a cannonball I know the 2 wires would need to be extended as they are only 20 ft but my only concern is if the transducer will cause interference with my new fishfinder old is lowrance x91 new is lowrance hook 7 with chirp

Newfie Bruce

[lost a lure]

Good idea. Try it and let us know

[bruceleogould]

I think it's gonna work great I'll put it on a manual down rigger on the bow that way I won't have to worry about tangle ups when I get a fish on

Newfie Bruce

[Bozeman Bob]

Your transducer signals will bounce off the bottom directly below it and should not interfere with the new ducer as they are way too far apart..... Now ,how are you going to spool up the ducer cable when you retrieve it and how are you going to attach it to the rigger cable so it doesn't bow way out from all the resistance as it has a big diameter.If you try to tape it to the rigger cable and retrieve it on the spool your going to pinch that ducer cable so bad its going to destroy the ducer cable in no time. What happens when the ball starts to pinwheel and wraps up the ducer cable ? How are you going to waterproof all the connections of the ducer cable that are underwater ? IMHO its a waste of money to buy a few cables and cob some stuff together and a PIA to use vs a unit that is hooked up to rigger that has two purposes,temp,speed unit and a fishing line. Save your money and do it right the first time. Christmas is only like 11 weeks away, ask Santa nicely !

[fisherdude]

i tend to agree with Bozeman Bod . sounds like a mess . i would spend my time washing lures and changing speeds letting the fish tell me what they want . 

[Bozeman Bob]

Besides what I already mentioned the unit you want to " convert " is not calibrated for trolling speeds, so its accuracy is probably not going to be anywhere near a dedicated unit. Those units reed in tenths of a MPH.

[mr 580]

What would you use for wires? Has to be very small. Years ago we'd take temp readings with a hand held temp gauge hooked to the rigger with boat in neutral. Had two rubber coated wires-blow back didn't allow you to leave probe hooked to rigger if you went in gear. To me not worth the energy to monkey with this-just buy a commercially made speed and temp.

[FishnChef]

Most ducer wires are shielded wires so you would most likely have to buy proper extensions instead of simply splicing more length in,then you would have to make them truly waterproof. Sounds like more trouble than its worth imo. Good thought tho

[bruceleogould]

Your transducer signals will bounce off the bottom directly below it and should not interfere with the new ducer as they are way too far apart..... Now ,how are you going to spool up the ducer cable when you retrieve it and how are you going to attach it to the rigger cable so it doesn't bow way out from all the resistance as it has a big diameter.If you try to tape it to the rigger cable and retrieve it on the spool your going to pinch that ducer cable so bad its going to destroy the ducer cable in no time. What happens when the ball starts to pinwheel and wraps up the ducer cable ? How are you going to waterproof all the connections of the ducer cable that are underwater ? IMHO its a waste of money to buy a few cables and cob some stuff together and a PIA to use vs a unit that is hooked up to rigger that has two purposes,temp,speed unit and a fishing line. Save your money and do it right the first time. Christmas is only like 11 weeks away, ask Santa nicely !

I am going to set it up to hand lower it on 1/4 inch cable I will zip tie the wires to it every 5 ft with different colors ties so I will know my depth

Newfie Bruce

[bruceleogould]

Most ducer wires are shielded wires so you would most likely have to buy proper extensions instead of simply splicing more length in,then you would have to make them truly waterproof. Sounds like more trouble than its worth imo. Good thought tho

If that's the case then yeah it'll be a pita so I'm hoping the temp part of the duce is a splice solder and seal

Newfie Bruce

[Bozeman Bob]

Hand lowering and RAISING a cannonball and probe/not so aerodynamic ducer/ 100 or so feet will grow old pretty fast. One mess in the bow area and blistered hands = not fun fishing. IMHO its got Hiddenburg written all over it.

[Bozeman Bob]

You will need a weight on the ducer, up cable isn't going to cut it. What happens when you troll 1/4 mile and the temp/underwater currents changes,, if you just plan on using it to get a initial reading ? Should be in the water the whole time your trolling.

[Bozeman Bob]

Cant figure out how to go back and edit.------ Just the cable isn't going to cut it-----

[FleetTracker]

Agree with the consensus here. Good thought. Won't work effectively. Will be a major PITA.

Just get a Fish Hawk and spend your time and energy fishing instead of monkeying with some cobjob.

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[rolmops]

"Just get a Fish Hawk and spend your time and energy fishing instead of monkeying with some cobjob."

 

 

Whether it works well or not is a mute point because of the logistics involved, but it sure helped me understand the basic principles of a speed and temperature probe. It shows that it is not a great new technology but just a different use of existing technology while using different packaging. Besides, it is because of people puttering around and trying different ways to get something done that we can use a chatroom today.

Keep up the good work!!!

Edited October 2, 2016 by rolmops

[Captain Carl Bish]

We delt with such issues in the late 1970's, first the pro combinator, then EMS, Subtroll, Cannon.

 

But look not further we have this thing called a FISH HAWK!! go get one and you will save much time and money in the R&D of your product!!!

 

If you really need a problem to solve, find a machine to get my wedding photos off of a 3.5" floppy disk.....I am in really big trouble for putting them on there!!!!

[garrymny]

I was going to do the same thing, and connect it to my lowrance elite 4 chirp. Decided against it for the reasons stated above....I did get a fish hawk TD though. 

[Xxx]

I am going to set it up to hand lower it on 1/4 inch cable I will zip tie the wires to it every 5 ft with different colors ties so I will know my depth

Newfie Bruce

I thought the same thing, zip ties!! Why couldn't you use a manual rigger dedicated just for temp. First try it on a rigger you use start at the ball and zip tie it every 10ft, yes it will be a pita at first, as far as adding cable use a light weight 50ft extension cord in the middle, I don't know how many wires are in the cable, but you won't need them all, temp power, what ever controls the temp on the unit, just say there's four wires but one or two control the temp. and sonar unit, then you might only need two. In this case you could use 16 gauge wire solder and shrink wrap and silicone goes a long way. If it works I have a manual cannon you can have for a dedicated temp rigger. I can screw around a lot for $800.00. Good luck with it and keep me posted!!! Edited October 2, 2016 by pap

[Xxx]

"Just get a Fish Hawk and spend your time and energy fishing instead of monkeying with some cobjob."

 

 

Whether it works well or not is a mute point because of the logistics involved, but it sure helped me understand the basic principles of a speed and temperature probe. It shows that it is not a great new technology but just a different use of existing technology while using different packaging. Besides, it is because of people puttering around and trying different ways to get something done that we can use a chatroom today.

Keep up the good work!!!

X2, if you say $800.00 real fast it doesn't really hurt that bad. I like your way of thinking, I just went through something like this, this week, my buddy's GPS went south so I put a thread out on here, people on here said there was one on eBay for $150.00 well till the last few minutes it went for $225.00, a few days later I got a pm from a guy in MI said he had one and let it go for $75.00, but found out that eagle had the same puck but differant plug and differant colors than Lowrance, so I called lowrance and they told me their colors and what they did. I didn't get to eagle because LOU came through for me, well my buddy. He's older than I around 62, his son died from cancer and his wife had a stroke and needs attention 24/7. Financial he couldn't throw out his unit and buy a new one.

[bruceleogould]

I thought the same thing, zip ties!! Why couldn't you use a manual rigger dedicated just for temp. First try it on a rigger you use start at the ball and zip tie it every 10ft, yes it will be a pita at first, as far as adding cable use a light weight 50ft extension cord in the middle, I don't know how many wires are in the cable, but you won't need them all, temp power, what ever controls the temp on the unit, just say there's four wires but one or two control the temp. and sonar unit, then you might only need two. In this case you could use 16 gauge wire solder and shrink wrap and silicone goes a long way. If it works I have a manual cannon you can have for a dedicated temp rigger. I can screw around a lot for $800.00. Good luck with it and keep me posted!!!

I do have a scotty manual downrigger that clamps on to a canoe that I was going to use for this project and that's what I figured with the wires I only need to figure out which one is for the temp on the ducer

Newfie Bruce

[jimski2]

I believe a dissolved oxygen sensor on a cannonball would improve your fishing but no one seems to want to design one. A Mentor Ohio company sells something to do this.

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