One fishfinder Two mounts?

[basshunter25]

I thought one time I saw a post where the guy had one finder and a bracket on the console and one bracket on the front deck. I can't find it and I can't seem to find any info about it. I am shopping around for a fishfinder and would really want that option if it is out there. Any help appreciated.

 

[wolfmjc]

my boat came with an older hummingbird depth/fish finder, grey display type, and it has 2 mounts and transducers. one for the front and one for the back, i just move the unit.......not sure about the newer stuff, but if you just bought 2 mounts/transducers wouldnt that be just the same? sorry this prob. not much help......by the way the front transducer is on the trolling motor.....

 

[redbug]

you would need two mounts and the power cords and you may also need a second transducer.
if i were going to do it I would get the second transducer to mount on the trolling motor

 

[longjohn119]

I had my old boat rigged up that way for a while but it wasn't a 'plug and play' installation. I spliced into my transducer line and ran a high grade 4 conductor shielded data cable to the front of the boat. I made a 'pigtail' for the main unit/screen with the regular connector on one end and a DB9 serial port connector on the other end. then I used a DB9 chassis connector in the front and rear of the boat. You'd just unplug the DB9 connector and then plug it into the other connector when you changed positions. I mounted the fishfinder mount to a round piece of 3/4" plywood and ran a 3/8" bolt through the center to make a post and just had 3/8" holes drilled in the plywood deck in front and rear to stick the post into. So all you did was unplug the connector, pull the fishfinder base assembly out of the post hole and stick it in the other, plug it in and power it back up.

It was fast easy and user friendly to operate but it takes a bit more electronics skill than the average person has to rig it all up, especially keeping the shield integrity of the transducer cable so it doesn't pick up extraneous electrical noise. My fishing buddy got an extra transducer given to him that fit it so we rigged it and the power clips to another DB9 connector, mounted the transduer on a board with a clamp on it (From my old clamp on battery powered nav light) and made a portable unit to use in his Dad's boat when we'd take it out. I restored everything back to original and put it on my boat when I traded it in back in March, I have a color one I use now and the Eagle that came with my new boat will be permanently mounted up front with the transducer on the trolling motor. I will have the color one mounted at the console because it ties into my computer and logs depths on GPS maps.

 

[basshunter25]

Yeah that seems a bit too difficult for me. I think im just gonna end up buying two. For the time being my console will have to serve both purposes. I just have to get a good sized one and one that swivels. Thanks for the input fellas.

 

[huntinfool]

Yes you can do it. If your just buying a simple cheap unit. You can just buy one whole unit, and then buy another power cord and transducer. Mount the transducer where you want it and then hook up the power cord and your good to go.

We have a boat with two identical fishfinders and we never know which one goes where, but they always work. Sometimes if I am in a hurry I will take the unit off at the console and use it at the trolling motor and I have no issues.

However if your using a more advanced unit that needs calibration or perhaps is a GPS unit then it might not work. But even those I believe will work the same way, as the head unit does not normally know which transducer is plugged into it.

 

[longjohn119]

Yeah that seems a bit too difficult for me. I think im just gonna end up buying two. For the time being my console will have to serve both purposes. I just have to get a good sized one and one that swivels. Thanks for the input fellas.

You are actually better off with 2 because then your transducer is always under your driving position whether its at the gas motor or the electric motor. That was my main gripe with the system I had was that when up on front I wasn't seeing what was under me but what was 14 ft behind me. But from the standpoint of saving some bucks it cost less than $20 to rig and at the time I was cash poor. (I was making double and triple house payments back then trying to pay off my house and get debt free by the time the Economy folded like I knew it would)

You can also go the route of buying one fish finder and an extra mount, transducer, and power cable but I bet you could buy two complete units for about the same price, they really jack you for extra accessories.

 

[talltimber]

If you get a FF with internal gps you can swap it back and forth between the two mounts/transducers. That's how I have mine rigged. I've got a HB 788ci, gps/chartplotter with internal gps ant. I had an old Wide 128 HB on the console, and a grey scale HB 565 FF on the front. All three used the exact same mount. I ran my transducer cord on the new transducer (side beam unit) to the console and into the old mount. On the front, I could use the same transducer that came with the 565 (dual beam unit), so I left it alone. The 788 has mode select for either dual or side beam transducers. I'll move the head unit forward when I start fishing and switch the mode to dual beam, and vice versa. Works good, and not $xxx worth of trouble to buy a second pricey head unit.