Tag: technology

SCOTTY CELL PHONE HOLDER

A cell phone became a reality in my life at the same time I earned my first USCG Captain’s Credentials and I needed a way to contact my customers on the road or on my boat. My first phone models were flip phones or other thin-line models designed to slide into a pocket or just secure in the glove compartment. About the only thing I could do with it was call someone, if I could get a signal. Many of the places I fished had sketchy service once I was more than a mile or so from the marina.

That’s changed. From weather radar, to weather forecasts, to apps to contact the Coast Guard, BoatUS, my boat insurance company and other features, I need to have my phone front and center. A phone stuck in my pocket is no good, especially when I layer on and off outer garments depending on the weather changes during the day. A quick pat down when I need the phone reminds me it’s either buried three layers deep or it’s in the vest or sweatshirt I took off when the sun popped out.

In my car and truck I use cheap phone holders to keep the phone in easy view for general use, more so, when I have the mapping feature activated to guide me to new destinations. It took a couple of tries before I found one that would fit the space on my dashboard, that would stick where I wanted it to stick and one that wouldn’t fall off the next time I hit a bump. 

Trying to find a phone holder that would work in my boat was even more taxing. The potential mounting locations were fewer. I have an open cockpit so areas out of the weather or spray are few. The first phone holder I tried on board snapped off as I slammed over a particularly big wave. The best bet was to stick the phone in the cup holder on the dashboard, except when it was holding my morning coffee or a bottle of water.

All’s well now that I have a phone holder kit from Scotty Products. I had a lot of faith in this product before I even got it out of the packaging. Scotty has been a pioneer in making fishing and boating gear (mostly from plastic) for over 70 years – good products that stand up to the use and abuse fishermen dole out both on the West Coast and on the Great Lakes.

The kit (#139) is just as tough and with more traditional suction cup mount or positioning arms that can integrate with their ball mounting system (often used for rod holders or electronics mounts) I found several options of where and how to mount the phone support. The mechanism that actually cradles the phone tightens with a wing-headed screw, not just a weak spring like car-models I tried. I haven’t hit a wave so far that moved the positioning supports or dropped the phone.

I was able to position the phone support between two other screens permanently mounted on my dash in what was previously just wasted space. I cleaned the fiberglass and the suction cup and pushed the little lever that forced down the suction disk creating the vacuum that holds it in place. It’s remained in place through wind, waves, heat and humidity. No duct tape needed.

If you want more info on this or other Scotty Products, go to www.scotty.com. They don’t sell direct from their website, but they do have a nationwide list of retailers shown on the website and Scotty Products are also available from numerous online sellers including Amazon.com   

FISH HAWK LITHIUM PROBES

Reviewed by: CAPT. MIKE SCHOONVELD

Me along with countless other anglers have always had a love/hate relationship with their Fish Hawk Electronics X4 models or the X2 model speed and temp measuring systems. We love them because of the many times the information shown on the display is what puts us on fish or keeps us on fish. I’ve had days when it’s meant the difference between a fish in the cooler and limits of fish in the cooler.

 For me (at least) I hate them because of the battery operated probe that goes down to the depths and measures the speed of the lures at that depth and the water temperature. When it’s working properly, when the batteries are fresh enough, when I can get the cap off the probe without tools or when the O-ring on the cap isn’t leaking water inside – it’s an okay tool. I’ve never thought of any of these examples to be a certainty. Not every time, but often enough, it’s not working, the batteries are unexplainedly exhausted, there is water or at least dampness inside the probe.

 Though the battery-operated probe is smaller than similar electronics I’ve used in the past, it’s still quite large. It’s large enough to create blowback on the downrigger cable used to take it into the depths.  Blowback is cumulative. At 20 feet it’s negligible. At 50 feet (on your downrigger’s counter) the actual depth is probably off by 10 percent or so, depending on trolling speed. At 100 feet, it’s almost a wild-azz guess about the actual depth (not to mention the angle it’s being pulled through the water which affects the speed at depth reading.

 Still, the Fish Hawk unit is one of the best available and widely used in every Great Lake. That doesn’t mean it can’t be improved and Fish Hawk Electronics has made it better with the introduction of their Lithium Probes. One model is the Ultra Probe, compatible with their X4D Bluetooth System, their Pro Probe, compatible with X4 and X2 Systems.

 Lithium battery technology is changing almost every kind of electronic tools, eliminating the need for traditional AA, AAA or other types of batteries, they are longer lasting, they recharge more quickly and, important for the Fish Hawk probes, allowing battery powered devices to be made more compact. Fish Hawk says the Lithium Probes are 40% smaller than the battery operated probes. It looks smaller than that – and because the case is more hydrodynamic, it doesn’t create the drag when trolled through the water it acts smaller. That increases underwater accuracy. 

 I recharge the one I’ve been using all season after every few trips. FHE says it will recharge in two to four hours and the unit will operate 50 hours or more. A quick, 20 minute charge will give you about 8 hours of use.  I charge mine indoors since the probe has to sit on end on a charging pad. On a docked or stable boat, the charging pad will plug into anything with a USB port.

 I now have a mostly “love it,” hardly ever “detest it” relationship with my Fish Hawk X4 unit. I can say the same thing about most every electronic device I use on my boat.  The probes are available at www.fishhawkelectronics.com, as some retailers and plenty of online sellers including Amazon.com.