Electronics....
(all you down to earth "organic" folks beware, this post might give you headaches or worse...)
Well so slowly the project is approaching the part with the installation of all the electronic gadgets.
(And beeing sort of a tech-geek I sure have been looking forward to all this)
I just ordered some RAM mounts for the fishfinders, the vhf radio and the electronics/battery-monitor/displaybox.
The RAM C-balls that I tested so far has no trouble to hold the weight of the larger fishfinder/plotters even in rough conditions.
The RAM system makes it fairly easy to remove the units when needed for longer transport, maintenance or to reduce the risk of theft.
They are a bit "pricey" but in my mind well worth the cash.
I just wish you "Yanks" would use metric screws and bolts as the rest of the world? Please??!!
Its allways such a hazzle to find replacement bolts in Sweden when needed.
The two fishfinders/plotters will hang on the grabrails (one on each side) with RAM C-balls mounted in the middle of the yak. With the long RAM mount arms the distance is perfect for both visibity and hands-on adjustments sitting in the rear seat without impairing the space needed for fishing.
At the moment I am running a Lowrance HDS 7 gen3 system but will upgrade to the new Carbon 9" for next season.
(I hope Santa has received my wishlist??
)
The new Lowrance Carbon screens are supernice and gives very good visibility even in direct sunlight. Also I often find the old 7" HDS screen a bit small for my aging eyes.
The 2 screen system will give me the option to run 2 separate transducer systems (Sidescan/3D + Spotlightscan) simulaneously and still enable to access the plotter and other functions at the same time.
The Lowrance Vhf Link8/AIS recevier will sit on the port side of the rear seat mounted in the rail system in front of the 4-stroke. The AIS positions will be displayed onto the plotter on the HDS/Carbon units. This gives good extra security to avoid any boats/ships in the area with AIS transponders.
(I am of course allways carrying a small handheld Vhf in my PFDvest toghether with the EBIRP)
The monitor box (custom made) will house voltage/amp displays, automatic fuses, switches for all the elecronics/pumps/lights etc and some usb/12v outlets. I am still deciding exactly where to mount the box but it will probably sit on the port side in the rail under the grabrail in the middle of the yak.The displays will show the voltage realtime for all the eight LiFePo4 battery cells in the system and warn if some cell is aproaching low voltage levels.
I will run 2 packs at 4 cells each making up the double 12v (14,4v) system. A masterswitch will make it easy to quickly switch between the two 12v packs. The packs are 100Ah each with a total weight of 22 kgs. They fit snuggly in the front hatch just in front of the mast support struts.
I will place a batterytray on the bottom and fill some soft PU-foam underneath to spread the load on the hull. The battery packs will be made easily removable with option to use one or two packs.
I will charge the cells individually with my " iCharger 4010 duo " (a very smart and intelligent hobby charger
) that will charge the two packs (4 cells) balanced at 40amps each making the total maximum time for a full charge about 2-3 hrs. The total 80amps (12v) needed is supplied from a 220v-24v/2400w power supply that drives the charger.
From the battery pack a voltage stabilizer 12v/15A will drive all the electronics to avoid any interference from the electric trolling motor or pumps.
A 100A main fuse is mounted on the batteries and a separate 60A fuse for the Xi5 55lbs motor.
Some navigation lights and some waterproof head/spotlights will also be mounted.
On the transducer arms I will mount underwater lights (for the night fishing sessions).
I will run most of the cables through a couple of 2" tubes that I am installing inside the hull to make the installation easy and avoid a messy tangle of cables inside the yak that might tangle with other gear packed inside.
So there is a lot of clever electronic wizardry planned for my TI3 project.....
I just wonder if my own limited brainpower can keep up with all the new tech??
This installation job is perfect work for late dark cold rainy weekday evenings and "luckily" I have lots of theese type of days in Sweden.