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[fisherman]

Hi Guys,

Thanks for allowing me to intrude onto your forum.

I, as you may have guessed, am an angler who [shortly] intends to purchase a remote controlled boat for angling use.  Nothing new there, as I am sure many of you are aware, but I would like to contact someone who could fit my boat with a good quality echo sounder [which I already have] but the sounder I have, although new, is not intended for RC use, so will require a transmitter/receiver.

I am aware that you can already purchase bait boats, with echo sounders, but on the whole these are poor quality and v. expensive.
The conversion etc would have to be very robust [due to the weather] and be of excellant quality and design.

Can it be done ? how much would it cost ?  etc. etc. etc.  I am in Grantham, Lincolnshire.

thanks chaps.

[toesupwa]

I, as you may have guessed, am an angler who [shortly] intends to purchase a remote controlled boat for angling use.  Nothing new there, as I am sure many of you are aware, but I would like to contact someone who could fit my boat with a good quality echo sounder [which I already have] but the sounder I have, although new, is not intended for RC use, so will require a transmitter/receiver.

Hi Fisherman, welcome to the MBM forum

As both a modeller and an angler myself, there seems (from your description) to be a missunderstanding of the scope of Radio Control.

Radio Control equipment can be used to control the movement of the boat.. Forwards, reverse, left and right, its speed.. and a few other on / off or movement functions (such as sounds, guns rotating, etc) but it cant transmit information back from the boat receiver to the transmitter on the bank. This needs a seperate device, a transmitter (video sender etc) to transmit data from the boat to the bank

The manufacturer of your echo sounder should be able to provide you with a 'transmitter' that fits in your boat and will transmit the data from your echo sounder  back to a receiver on the bank (with you) so that you may view the data.
The transmitter for your sounder unit should just be a case of putting in the boat and switching it on..

From your 'a remote controlled boat for angling use', are we to deduce that you are proposing to also use your model boat for fishing from?. This is NOT advised!!!.
For echo sounding a lake, yes... for dragging a line out to a pre determined point and releasing it, yes... but NOT for actually 'fishing'. Even some of the larger model boats on  here would have serious trouble holding on to say a 10lb Carp.. This could result in the loss of your boat (RC gear AND echo sounder) as the fish drags it backwards and under the water.

To use a well worn expression "You are going to need a bigger boat".. 

[cos918]

Hi there and welcome. MY local model shop Howe's of Oxford has had these bait boats in stock. Looking at them they seam a lot more tougher than most scale boats or toy boats. In bad weather I would think they would stand up better as there Is no scale shape to them meaning they can take a greather knock.. As for cost I don't know how much they charge for these bait boat . But bye the time you brought a boat kit that can take the weather + you sounder and the rest the the kit it going to add up not to mention the time in putting it all together. Do you have the size and weight of this sounder and any specks as to what it requires as this will govern any choice.

john

[cdsc123]

Here's one which is "Fishfinder Ready". I fancy the 600m range may be a tad optimistic.
http://www.fishingmegastore.com/acatalog/Bait_Boats_.html

[Philipsparker]

Howes (http://www.howesmodels.co.uk/RadioControl/index.php) don't have a bait boat on thier website so I suspect they don't have any in stock.

This is a pretty sophisticated boat you are looking for though. I can't see a cheap option if you want the echo sounder built in and sending a signal back to the bank. I't going to need some electronic developed for it which isn't going to be cheap. The Glasgow boat looks neat and you can buy a set ready to install. At least that way you know it should work out of the box.

Phil

[grasshopper]

If the boat is already radio controlled, what you need as an extra would be a video link from the output of your fishfinder unit to a suitable screen on the bank.
If you have the relevant outputs / inputs then easiest way to do it is to use a video sender / receiver that works on the 2.4Ghz band - bit like those wireless kiddy monitors.
obvioulsy for portability it would have to be a12v system...

I'm certainly no wizzard but I could be regarded as handy - you know why Fisherman?   I live in Grantham too!

[fisherman]

Thanks lads for all your replies.

Sorry, maybe I did not explain myself that well.

Buying the baitboat is not a problem, its just they ALL have rubish echo sounders.

I would like to have a decent echo sounder fitted, but these are not generally wireless.  Which is where my problem lie's.

How can I get my "good" echo sounder fitted to the baitboat and transmitting a signal back to the screen [up tp 200 yards away]
Help ! my head hurts !   ??? 

Loved the idea of actually fishing from the bait boat ! PMSL 

thanks again.

[toesupwa]

I would like to have a decent echo sounder fitted, but these are not generally wireless.  Which is where my problem lie's.

How can I get my "good" echo sounder fitted to the baitboat and transmitting a signal back to the screen [up tp 200 yards away]
Help ! my head hurts !   ??? 

The manufacturer of the echo sounder doesnt make a transmitter / receiver for the unit you have?

Some of the bait boats i have found on the net have a transmitter / receiver (wireless) echo setup as an option... how do they do it?.
Angling Technics show a few examples.. so there must be a Tx / Rx setup available from someone.

[Stavros]

Ther is one but I am dammed if I can remember who makes it.You attatch it to a spod rod and cast it out and slowly retrieve it,you can modify the transducer to give a better range.

Smart cast is the make,what I haev seen done is to tow it behind a bait boat and when you fond a feature or fish the lads were dropping marker floats from the bait boat,done it my self in France works well as long as you go slowly.


http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/new-bait-boat-for-fishing-radio-control_W0QQitemZ380028606863QQihZ025QQcategoryZ72646QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Stavros

[OMK]

You don't need a wizard.
If your budget can take the strain, £100'ish will buy you a neat little transmitter/receiver get-up. There is no reason why you couldn't use one to send your echo sounder signals back to shore.
Anyhow, I thought you angling boys just loaded your bait into the baitboat, then steered it to where the action is, dump the bait, then bring the boat back home. So what's the deal with angler's and echo sounders all of a sudden? Sounds like you're having fun.
Care to share what you're doing there?

[toesupwa]

Anyhow, I thought you angling boys just loaded your bait into the baitboat, then steered it to where the action is, dump the bait, then bring the boat back home. So what's the deal with angler's and echo sounders all of a sudden? Sounds like you're having fun.
Care to share what you're doing there?

Some anglers like to know how deep the water is and what the bottom consists of.. is it weed, is it gravel, is it mud, rocks etc..

[fisherman]

Hi lads,

yes you can get one called a smartcast.......but guess what, they are rubbish, almost a toy.

The echo sounder I have is a very good one. 
Before I go and buy a receiver/transmitter, what do I need to know about fittings and connections etc. 
I am very unsure of what to buy ? 

Sorry, electronics just aint my thing !

[grasshopper]

basically you have to know IF there is an output socket, what the output is signal wise (check instruction manual ) and then a suitable monitor that's compatible with your sender / receiver unit.

As a monitor, if your echo sounding kit isn't seperate, then a mini t.v. or similar (I actually have a 12v colour 7" flatscreen telly for sale).

[Stavros]

Fisherman sorry but you are so wrong with a modification you can get readings from 300yds away,they are accurate to 1foot compared one to a Garmin proper fish finder guess what the smartcast won



Stavros

[tobyker]

The model aircraft fraternity use telemetry to tell them all sorts of stuff - maybe you could adapt some of this kit to send your signal back - or (and I know nothing about this at all) could you use a laptop and wifi?

[OUZOANDCOKE]

I read an artical somwhere a while back how a fisherman fitted an echo sounder and a PDA into his boat.  Pda had GPS technoligy and logged GPS stats and echo sounder reading.  The whole lot could then be downloaded into his computer and he would then have a 3D plan of the pond / lake.
 
How far do we have to go to catch fish

[john s 2]

Sureley the point of fishing is skill? Not who has the latest Gismo, Gadjet. John.