Mad Frog Liberator/Scotty vs. Ram

[dsafety]

I am in the process of figuring out the same issues. I have a Revo and a new Humminbird Matrix 12. On this unit, the power and transducer cables permanently attach to the mounting bracket. The head slides in and out of the bracket, mating the cables with the appropriate plugs in the head unit. This is very nice except that I do not want to have the mounting bracket permanently attached to my kayak.

The Hummer 160 cables just plug into the back of the head and are not connected to the mounting bracket. I like the idea that the mounting bracket holds the cables tight and in the correct position. With the 160 you will probably have the same problems I had with my previous 215 where the cables do not always connect tightly to the head and the unit goes dead.

The best mounting solution for me would be to cut the power and transducer cables near the mounting bracket, attach a quick disconnect plug and leave the cables in the boat. The problem with this plan is that according to Humminbird, you cannot splice the transducer cable. If you do, the signal will be greatly diminished. There is no problem with splicing the power cable.

I have designed a removable mounting system for this unit which will slip into the sail mast hole on my Revo. I am also working on a new way to install the transducer inside the hull which does not require the transducer to be gooped in place. If this idea works, I will let everyone know.

The final challenge is what to do with the bulky mounting head when it is not mounted in the sail hole. At this point the best idea I have been able to come up with is to keep it in a dry bag stuffed into my front hatch. This is not ideal since I would prefer be able to wash and dry everything after use to reduce corrosion problems. Nothing stored in a closed up kayak is ever very dry.

The gears are still turning in my head. Maybe I will come up with a better plan. If anyone has any suggestions to share, please let me know.

Bob