Thread: Trying to figure out Livescope mounting with limited options

Well, I found a clamp-on TM mount and a metal tube that will fit it. That's a start.
Now I need to find the exact size fittings to make a turning handle.

Originally Posted by thill

Hard to compare to that one. Do you run the trolling motor off that one, too, or just the Livescope? Do you ever run out of juice?

No, I just run the Garmin 93sv & LS box off that battery. And no ... never run out of juice. And if I see my TM battery getting sluggish (29series), then I can switch them and finish out a long day.

Wow, that sounds like it's got some juice. So you run both Garmin units off of it, and at the end of the day you add the trolling motor to it too.

I may have to consider one of those after I get my setup up and running. Thanks for sharing your experience.

Originally Posted by thill

Wow, that sounds like it's got some juice. So you run both Garmin units off of it, and at the end of the day you add the trolling motor to it too.

I may have to consider one of those after I get my setup up and running. Thanks for sharing your experience.

No, no ... you misunderstood. I run the Garmin 93sv & the black box off the AGM battery, period ... that's all it does. I have a series 29 Walmart battery that runs the trolling motor & my Hook 7 ... and a series 24 Walmart battery as a starter/accessories battery. My series 29 trolling motor battery is over 6yrs old, so if I'm standing on the trolling motor a lot during the day, it can get discharged down pretty far. When that happens I can switch it out with the AGM, and the series 29 will still have enough juice to run the Livescope setup. It's only happened once, so far, but tells me it's coming time for a new trolling motor battery for next year.

When I got the Livescope setup I was under the impression that, between the black box & the 93sv unit, there "could be" as much as a 6-8amp/hr draw (at max settings) ... so, the 68ah AGM battery was purchased to insure I had juice to spare.

Okay, now I understand.
Still... 6-8AH per hour is a lot of juice. THe 20 AH I just ordered may only run it 3 hours. I have an extra group 29DC, but let's see how the AGM does. I like the small size of the AGM's.

I've heard that some run their LS setup using an 18V Milwaukee battery. Aren't' those only something like 6 AH? I thought buying a 20AH would put me in the safe zone.

Originally Posted by thill

Okay, now I understand.
Still... 6-8AH per hour is a lot of juice. THe 20 AH I just ordered may only run it 3 hours. I have an extra group 29DC, but let's see how the AGM does. I like the small size of the AGM's.

I've heard that some run their LS setup using an 18V Milwaukee battery. Aren't' those only something like 6 AH? I thought buying a 20AH would put me in the safe zone.

Yeah, I don't know about all that. I'm not sure what "max draw" is, either.

Here's a copy of what I posted back in 8/2020 in answer to why I bought a 68ah AGM battery ...

"This is how I arrived at the 5amp draw of Livescope:
To calculate the amperage draw of a chartplotter or other components, take the maximum wattage (found in the devices installation manual) and divide that by the voltage of the connected battery.
The unit says it draws a max 58 Watts.
58 divided by 12 = 4.83

(but I've also read that the average draw is closer to 2a/hr and the ~ 5a/hr draw is with everything "maxed out", whatever that means. It comes equipped with a 7.5a fuse, so there could be something to the "max" draw of nearly 5a/hr)"

________________________________

Even so, the 93sv draws about 1.5a/hr, and if you add the avg draw of the LS system ... that adds up to a 3.5a/hr draw (on avg.).

CrappiePappy,
Thanks for doing the math for me! I guess if you turn screen brightness, gain, sensitivity and range all the way up, you will get max draw, but I'm just guessing.

Still, 3.5AH is a lot better. If that's correct, I see about 5 hours of use with the 20 AH battery. That's not bad. I usually only stay out 3-4 hours. Even so, I'm wondering if I shouldn't look for a bigger battery, maybe something closer to a 50 AH. I'll have to see if anyone has them on sale.

Heading out to the shop now to see about getting my livescope set up. I'm excited!

So I've pulled the livescope, laid everything out and read all the instructions carefully. The 3.5 AH calculation was good, thanks again, Pappy.

It looks like I need to add some 1-1/4" pipe to the end of my down rod so the 'ducer will clamp on securely.

I've decided that to start with, I'm going to mount the LS10 under my console and use a pole mount from my rear deck. That way, I don't need any extensions, I can leave the head unit where it is, and everything should work out just fine. I just need to keep the fish to the side of the boat. I typically fish this way anyway, so everyone has a shot at the fish. My nephews like to be in the front, and I usually stay near the wheel. I can control the Terrova from wherever I am, so that part doesn't matter. It might get tricky with wind, but we will see. I can always change it .

I've got an initial plan now, so I'm that much closer. I hope to do most or all of the installation tomorrow afternoon. No rain, for once.

In the meantime, I have to figure out how to get the updates downloaded and installed into my EchoMap 93SV.