 The Cakey modified Smartcast (pic 5) |
There has been a lot of interest on the forum about the Humminbird Smartcast fish/depth finder, which is a sonar device with a remote transducer (R40) that beams information back to the monitor on the bank.
The main criticism with the device is that it has only a short range of about 35yds but with some smart modification you can massively increase the range to about 175yds.
The Procedure
Very carefully, with a junior hacksaw, cut all the way around the RF40 and remove the top (pic 1)
Taking the top, drill a small hole in the funnel and glue in a tube (I use a cotton bud) YOU MUST SEAL THE TOP OF THE TUBE.
Now it should look like (pic 2).
Straighten enough of the spring to reach the top of the tube when assembled. It should look like (pic 3)
Assemble and seal the two halves back together to look like (pic 4)
The RF10 station needs the back taking off and the spring needs to be straightened then a phono socket needs to be fitted to the back above where the spring sat
Cut the straightened spring long enough to solder to the socket
Put the back back on.
Solder the rest of the spring to the inner connection of a phono plug, glue a tube over the top and SEAL
The finished unit should look like pic 5 above
Angling Technics Catamaran Baitboat Mod
I have fitted an R40 to my Cat, in the recess in the hull (pic 6)
The RF40 needs to be cut to look like (pic 7)
And when fitted looks like (pic 8)
Please, PLEASE, do not do this mod to a new cat because it needs to be stripped and you will invalidate your warranty.
