# Transducer modification



## yonderfishin (Apr 9, 2006)

I bought an old lowrance flasher on ebay and I am gonna have to figure out what to do with the transducer and how to use it. From what I get so far , I need to mount the transducer on a stick/pole of some kind so it can be put down into the water. For those who do that , how far down into the water do they typically have to be to work right and how then do you secure the stick so it stays put ??? And do you then fish from a seperate hole in the ice or the same one ? Also, does anybody know if its possible to find a puck style transducer for the older flashers like the LFP-250 that I got ? My guess is that most transducers are not interchangeable but I would like to figure out if I can make a floating puck transducer for it.


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## Shortdrift (Apr 5, 2004)

I usually position my transducer even with the bottom of the ice or a few inches lower. Get a pool noodle, cut it halfway through. insert your cable and tape it closed with electrical tape. It shouldn't take too much noodle
to float your ducer.


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## hardwaterfan (Apr 6, 2004)

one thing to add to shortdrifts advice is you have to make sure that when your transducer is floating, on whatever kind of float you come up with such as a pool noodle, that the transducer hangs so that it is pointing straight down or you wont get accurate readings. figure out what is straight down and then use wire or whatever you can think of so it maintains that position when it hangs. 

when its hanging straight down you should be able to get a reading off of a concrete floor (let it hang off a table or something) and youll know its right when if you move the transducer around (from freely hanging) that the "depth" never goes lower, only higher. hopefully the transducer has a flat surface to make it obvious where plumb is but you should check it to make sure, otherwise your sonar might show 20' when you are in 17', etc.

also, depth readings in air are not accurate for sonar intended for water use. so dont worry about the depth being off out of the water.

im not familiar with the transducer you have but make sure the tranducer will sink in water. if it doesnt add weight to it somehow.

i usually fish in the same hole as the transducer.


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## yonderfishin (Apr 9, 2006)

Does it matter what kind or shape the transducer is to make a floater out of it ? heres a link ( hope it works ) to a pic....Im hoping the think to the right is a transducer. 

http://good-times.webshots.com/photo/2428068770101421349YTxTRx


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## tomb (Oct 9, 2004)

As long as the flat part points straight down it should work. Go with Shordrift's pool noodle idea.


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## yonderfishin (Apr 9, 2006)

Also , if the water in the hole is rising and falling 2 or three inches due to the wind blowing or the ice flexing or whatever causes it, and its doing it a lot...will that affect how well it works ?


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## tomb (Oct 9, 2004)

Forgot to mention the bottom face of the tranducer must be slightly below the ice surface. You may need to rig up some kind of a spacer if it takes less than 10"-12" of noodle to float the tranducer.

Fluctuating water won't bother it.


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## hardwaterfan (Apr 6, 2004)

you could also make the float slideable, and use a stopper above the float. take a look at the vexilar float/stopper, just to see how it works. the stopper goes on the transducer cable above the float. that way the float can go up (float up) the transducer cable as the transducer sinks, until it hits the stopper, so you can position your transducer just below the ice. the float is a rubber ball with a slot in its side and a hole in the middle to grab onto the cable. you could probably find something in your garage to make this. any little hunk of rubber or soft plastic, drill a hole though it, and then cut a slot into it so you can put it on the cable, and then slide it up and down. the hole has to be the right size for the cable. it has to be able to slide, but tight enough so it wont slip. 

https://www.fish307.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=11368


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## SummersOff (Feb 11, 2007)

I had a very similar modle to what that seems to be a few years ago. It was called a Fish-Lo-Kator or something like that. I tried it a few times and couldn't get it to mark my lure so I sold it as a depth finder for a bit less than I paid for it. If it hangs straight all of the above ideas would work, as well as just letting it hang in the water and just giving yourself a foot or so of cord to allow it to get to the bottom of the hole and just moving the box according to how deep the ice is. 

Also another option if you don't wans to have a pool noodle in the hole is to order a replacement Vexilar float off of the web site, they even sell the stopper. I ordered one for my MarCum flashing finder, but decided I would rather just let the transduser hang freely in the hole. I hate having to pull up the floating foam everytime I catch a fish (which really isn't that often) and the hanging transducer/cord doesn't get in the way near as much as the float, especially if you have a small hole that you are fishing out of. 

Good luck.


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## yonderfishin (Apr 9, 2006)

The unit I got on ebay should be in the mail on its way here , I should have a better idea of what you guys are saying when I am able to actually see the parts mentioned and picture it in my mind. The unit I got should be a step or two above the old green box since its a little newer but if it turns out to not be sensitive enough well, I only paid 23.00 for it including shipping so atleast I didnt lose much money on it. For those who are looking into buying one or anything on ebay, remember that if you have been a ebay member for a while you should have a 10% off coupon in your mailbox to use with paypal....it saved me $2 on mine but if you get a more expensive one it could be some really good savings. Ya just have to use it before the 30th of this month.. My guess is that even if the old ones arent sensitive enough to see your bait , you should still be able to see any fish that move in close right ?


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## hardwaterfan (Apr 6, 2004)

you should not only be able to see fish but also your bigger baits from what ive heard. $23 isnt bad. one other thing though, youre gonna need a battery if it doesnt come with one. is it 12 volt or 6 volt?


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## yonderfishin (Apr 9, 2006)

I dont know for sure but I think its 12 volt. Im hoping I can use 2 six vold lantern batteries , if not I dont know what I'll do. Im not taking the extra weight of a big heavy automotive battery out on the ice with me.


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## hardwaterfan (Apr 6, 2004)

> big heavy automotive battery out on the ice with me.


welcome to the world of "SLA"

sealed lead acid batteries. an ice fishermans best freind. 

look here:

http://images.google.com/images?gbv=2&hl=en&safe=off&q=sealed+lead+acid+battery

and here:

http://images.google.com/imgres?img...images?q=vexilar+battery&gbv=2&hl=en&safe=off

you want 12 volt for sure, then decide on what amp-hour rating you want. the higher the amp-hour rating, the more juice the battery can store. but also the bigger/heavier the battery.

most guys use 12v 7 amp hour or 12v 9 amp hour. they are not "light" but they are far, far lighter and smaller than a car battery. and they can be recharged like a car battery. most come with a charger. 

you can also use 2 6v lantern batteries, but that seems like a real pain to me. less initial cost i guess, but then youre constantly needing new ones.


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## hardwaterfan (Apr 6, 2004)

also, if you decide to go with an sla, shop around. beware used sla batteries though, if you dont take care of them thats no good for them, and they do wear out over time, although ive never had that problem yet, my vex battery is around 6 years old i think and it seems fine.


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## yonderfishin (Apr 9, 2006)

I will look into those SLA batteries. Short term the lantern batteries may be the way to go for me though since I doubt I will go through one pair in a season with my limited time on the ice. Come to think about it those SLA batteries are pretty much what the kids power wheels vehicles run on and I have a 6 volt and charger I could use...all I would need is another 6 volt to run in tandem. Whatever I end up using , I will just have to try out a time or two and see how long they last before needing a charge or replacement , they arent much good if they only go an hour before dying on me.


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## yonderfishin (Apr 9, 2006)

As it turns out, the unit I got ( and just found out that it does in fact work ( , has a compartment for 2 6 volt lantern batteries wich is good because they dont weigh near as much. The only thing is I dont know how long they last. Has anybody rigged one of these that take the 2 lantern batteries and converted it to use the SLA ones ?


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