Ok, so I recently purchased a PiranhaMAX 143 depth finder for the BWCA, and am wondering about the best way to mount the transducer in an aluminum canoe, can the transducer shoot through an aluminum hull, or should I mount on the side of the canoe? The canoe I will be using it in is not mine, so silicone or epoxy isn't really an option.

Also, how to you go about the Battery conversion? Just pick up a conversion pack at radio shack, and than what?

Thanks,

~Wishful Walleye

You need to strip the wires and attach the leads to something like this: battery pack. Solder the two connections together then, and this is important, cover EACH wire connection with some heat shrink tubing like this. It's kind of pricey but it's marine-grade so I think it's worth a few extra bucks.

You can find plenty of tutorials on soldering on youtube. I had an $8 soldering iron from another project that did the trick just fine. The whole thing took maybe 10 minutes if you don't count the battery pack I fried because I wrapped BOTH unprotected soldered connections together which promptly caused a short and burned a little hole in my battery pack. This is again why I say to be sure to wrap each wire you solder individually before doing both of them (if so you so choose, I didn't). Live and learn (from my mistakes :) ).

I have no idea how to mount it, however. I'm going to have to get creative using a piece I have leftover from an old ski rack which will probably do the trick. There are some very long threads around if you search this site with pictures of others' mounted/converted units that you will likely find helpful. You should have no problem shooting it through the hull of the canoe so there's no need to mount the transducer, just set it on a baggie of water on the floor.