Piranhamax 197cDS

[sonny.barile]

I have a Piranhamax 10 portable. The old kind that has a plastic battery box that acts as a carrier. You could wrap the coords around it and it holds 8 AA's I don't remember exactly what year I bought it but I think it was around 2003. I remember buying it in Boaters World on sale. It was billed and priced as an entry level finder. I was low on cash so it filled the then current need. I remember saying to myself that this was cheap and soon as it goes I will buy something better. Well the joke was on me. It has served me well.
I have been thinking about getting something more modern with down imaging. Needless to say I am sold on the Piranhamax quality for the money. Anyhow, I have a brand new Piranhamax 197c DS coming in the mail today. There are plenty of nice finders on the market and they come with a big price tag to prove it. Lowerance has some nice stuff in the same price range but I think I will stick with the brand I trust from experience. 12 years later and Piranhamax still looks like a lot of finder for the money.

I feel like a kid again, waiting on the mail man. Cant wait to rig this thing and go fishing.......

 

[Jake11]

I was actually just playing with one of these at cabelas today. I have been in the same boat and had the entry model for several years and it has served me well. It has been 3 or 4 years since I've even looked at New finders and though it was only the demo... I was blown away by the imaging at that price point. I'm seriously considering ordering one as well. Let me know how you like it after some use!

 

[sonny.barile]

I was looking at the Hummingbird and Garmin portable bag setups and they are super expensive. They want $169 for it with the battery and charger Thats more than the finder cost. I already have a small 12v rechargeable that I bought to power something else. It is 3 amps which isn't as big as what they give you in the Hummingbird setup but it should still do the job. The draw on the Hummingbird units is only 170ma.

I set it up using the Harbor Freight 11 in canvas bag. It was about 5 bucks. I soldered on a DC coax connector from Radio Shack that was $3 to the power cable to connect it to the battery. I installed the finder on a plastic board I cut in work that I put in the bag. (same size as inside floor of bag)

Here are some pics...

The finder


Rigged to the board


Folded down in the bag


Tucked away


Up and running (simulator)


Down imaging


Sonar


I will post a review of it just as soon as I get some time to fish but so far i really like this.