12V power center for ice fishing gear

[MetroEye]

Need some help here. Is there any way to use a 12V marine deep-cycle battery to run all of your electronic gear from - one power source for everything? Are there commercial electronic packages available to which you could plug all your equipment in to, it sits on top of the marine battery and the power output is limited to 7 amps? Don't know a whole lot about electronics so any input appreciated

Thanks.

[Hookmaster]

You certainly can run everthing off of one battery but you would have to run a few wires. As long as it takes 12 volts you shouldn't need anything else, except maybe a fuse if the apparatus comes with one. The amp rating of the battery tells you how long it will last depending on the draw of all the things running off of it. I haven't seen anything commercially available since the different apparati usually have different connections.

[rmh2o]

Somewhere I saw a battery box that was set up with 12v plugs on it but I cant remember where.A search on the web might pull up something.You could also take a plastic battery box and a trip to radio shack for some 12v plugs like cigerette lighter plugs and make one of these very easily.

[Ed Carlson]

There are special marine deep cycle boxs that can output many connections. Snoop through a cataloge like Cabela's or Bass Pro and you should spot one.

I have often thought an add on mini van center councel with the extra 12V plugs in them would serve well as a power station in a flip shack. With very little wiring you can get a handy-dandy moduler power station. Some have 2 front and 2 back cig-lighter style power plugs.

You might be able to add a 12 v DVD player and an X-Box while your at it too Eh.

[dockehr]

MetroEye and others, I have taken a 34amp deep cycle battery on fly in fishing trips for quite a few years. The neat thing about this size battery is that it fits nicely in the eight pack coolers put out by Coleman and others.

Use crimp-style spade male/female connectors for quick connecting/disconnecting locator, camera, lights, etc.

Create a channel for the wires so that the lid of the cooler can be closed. This really works. The components are easily obtained at Fleet/Farm, Menards, Home Depot, Ace Hardware, etc. Find a friend who is comfortable putting together a "power center". Good luck.

dockehr

Dr. Roland E. Kehr, Jr.

[MetroEye]

Thanks to all who responded. I am definitely going to a one battery system. My Aqua-vue Scout only runs 4-5 hours before the battery [PoorWordUsage]s out and the battery is a special size and difficult to get at. One battery seems to make sense. If I make a unit I will take a picture of it and post.