All-In-One Ice Electronics: Are we close yet?

[McGurk]

How far away are we from a nice Ice combo unit that has a Flasher, GPS, and Camera all sharing a screen and battery? Both Lowrance and H-bird have Ice flashers that use screens, and some even have a GPS built in. There are some great cameras available now with color TFT screens and pretty tidy packages.

How hard would it be to make a unit with 5" screen, using all of the Flasher and GPS modes that are already out there, with an auxilarry input that is able to display a picture from an underwater camera? It would be large and bulky, but I think most of the extra mass and volume would be from the actual camera and cable.

Actually, you could make it so the camera and cable wound on a removable "rack", so all your would need to do to remove it would be unplug the camera, and unclip the winding rack. Honestly, it could just wind on a simply piece of plastic and get shoved in an external mesh pocket.

The screens are the biggest hitch in this equation, but we are getting nicer and cheaper small monitors all the time, and I think this is completely doable in the next year if someone would want an All-In-One unit, in the $6-800 price range. I think we have that much invested in the 3 components already in most cases.

[Coach1310]

sounds like a winner to me.... whip one up and send it over! I'd be happy with an innovation to limit the bulkiness of the camera and camera cable, but your idea sounds like the cats meow.... if there isn't already a company testing one, that means we'll have to wait a few years anyway...

[south_metro_fish]

They could make a wireless camera that has its own recoil and be place over the hole.

[jwmiller33]

i think problems would arise from having a transducer AND a camera down the same hole. i'm not sure how that would work out

[McGurk]

I never string the 'ducer and camera in the same hole with my separate units, so I wouldn't with a unit like this, either. I set them on the ice next to eachother already, why wouldn't they be able to share a screen? You could even have a split screen with a large enough monitor; a 7" monitor could give you 2/3rds camera and 1/3rd flasher, or flasher/GPS, or any single one at a time. This could work...

[dairyman]

I thought I saw a vex and camera set up on the web here ---

[quijibo]

Vexilar Double Vision, Gander Mountain exclusive(1yr).

[Ed Carlson]

Ah..Yup, it is very real, and doable today.

As in the Vexilar Gander Mountain Exclusive "Double Vision" and...add my trusty companion the Garmin Nuvi Sportsman 500, it completes the system very nicely.

[dairyman]

and the $$$$ Price is???

[albhb3]

saw one today at GM no price but I have no doubt that it will be 11-12+. I noticed as well the camera holder seemed really weak

[Woody61]

Everything on one monitor would be cool, Easiest for Marcum to do using the showdown/camera in a split screen.

[hoggs222]

If it's $1100-$1200, I'll stick with 2 units. Cool idea, but way too much for a person that already has 1 or 2 of the units. Plus, I already have a GPS that fits in my pocket.

[Esox_Magnum]

It is a Vexilar, won't be cheap....

[CAMAN]

$899 for everything, and apparently they are also available without the vex unit so you can use your own for $570

[slammer]

Give it a few years and not only will it be on the market, price should come down. Look how much TVs have come down in the last 1-2 years. Although gadgets like this seem to just get more expensive.

[bobbymalone]

Interesting concept. I'd be interested in the weight and battery life of it (does it have two batteries??) However it is and whatever problems it has, it's still the only thing like it. Wait until next year and I'm betting all the major manufacturers will have a comparable product. This trial market run might give vex a head start in figuring out exactly what people want and how to put it all together though.

It's not for me and not just because it has to be out of my price range. I haven't went to a camera yet. Played with a few of them and they are def cool and I'm sure under the right condition they will help you catch fish, I'm just not there. Call me old school but it, kinda kills the magic of the unknown, IMHO.

[Esox_Magnum]

Come with more than 1 battery?? A camera and flasher will not last a day on 1 alone.

[deadeye]

Waterproof/Tough tablet pc (think iPad) with a camera and sonar hook up. Plus GPS. Its possible with the the technology we got someone just has to make it happen. If that happens then I am game to pick it up.

[McGurk]

Waterproof/Tough tablet pc (think iPad) with a camera and sonar hook up. Plus GPS.

This... This is what I'm talking about. One screen, one battery, and make the camera/cable pouch removeable. The Vex option, while a step in the right direction, is still a boxy, heavy, double decker unit that is unecessarily too large. I like that someone is thinking outside of the box, though!

[quijibo]

I believe that it is $899.

Adam

[Ed Carlson]

McxGurk...the Tough Notebook/Laptop option with a digital camera system capable of winter field use is not very cost effective at this time. We are talking about 2K to 4K, or more for a system like that with somewhat limited battery capability's in the cold. A display and battery system rated to take -32 is use is limited, and costs are very high. I have looked into it, it can be done, but it's not cheap to do.

"Rugged Notebooks" makes the best field use laptops that would likely be prime candidates for such a system build. They are some tough Mama's, and can be designed to do a wide range of custom applications.....just not cheap. But...Man they are SWEET!

[Ed Carlson]

Come with more than 1 battery?? A camera and flasher will not last a day on 1 alone.

This system system uses far less juice than others. Plus a FL-20 Vexilar can operate properly far below 10 V (the FL-20 can run at 20% or less), while other sonars do not. With the Vexilar 10 amp battery, it lasts an average days use in moderate conditions...longer if kept good and warm.

If even longer use is required between charge cycles, you also have the option to easily power in from an outside 12 V source.

[Ed Carlson]

$899 for everything, and apparently they are also available without the vex unit so you can use your own for $570

Yes the Vexilar FS-1000 capable build pack is also available as you mentioned. An interesting option for sure, just add your existing Vex to it.

And to the "Out of the Box Thinker"...offers a lot of interesting end user options.

As in....get your tape measure out, and see what other toys may fit.

[albhb3]

wwow I figured it would be more than that

[McGurk]

I guess I'm not thinking a full laptop, just a monitor that displays gps and external video, and is used primarily as a flasher. Something along along the lines of a H'bird 385ci in an ice package, that has an input for external video, and a larger screen.