Homemade flasher

[Mr. Bear]

Just wondering if anyone has tried this. It would be a pretty hardcore do-it-yourself project for only the true nerds. My idea was to take my old laptop I don't use anymore and use LabView/LabWindows/VisualBasic to make an interface and control a port or DAQ card to operate a modified transducer. I could use my Microsoft GPS software in the background, attach notes to my spots, save flasher data and settings, have digital depth display, put in a scrolling graph, heck I could probably find an underwater camera that would work with it and split the screen between camera and flasher, take some "work" out on the ice and pretend my shack's the home office for my business and write it off on my taxes , or play some solitaire or pinball when the fishing gets slow . If I could just get wireless internet out on the ice, I could even be posting here.

I guess it wouldn't handle the cold too well and the batteries wouldn't last very long, but it's fun to think about. Ah, who am I fooling. I'm never going to do this, but it would be cool.

[iffwalleyes]

huh?? glad you know what you talking about .

[Studer]

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[smmurphy]

If you come up with any additional Ideas, the Panasonic "Tough-Book" is rated to handle cold. I don't know how much cold, but if you are using a laptop and take it with you to recharge after each outing you could do OK.

Otherwise, I've had the same idea, IF I could get wireless internet out on the ice I could put my full 40 hours in while fishing!

[FUZZER]

Its easy -- connect the doo-hicky to the thing-a-ma-jig and place that in the watch-a-ma-callit and there you have it -- a watch-a-ma-jig-a-doodle!!! Used one many times with great success.

[Daveo]

Well realy its not all that tough to get internet on the ice..Verizon has the card to do it with..and its fairly fast to..The software issue is allso pretty simpel..I would think that putting a transducer on your laptop would be the tougher task.The only way a batt. and cold would be a big deal is if you were fishing outside.So realy it could be done the question is,,,,why not do it?..well except for the cash output

[Mr. Bear]

Yeah, I think it would be a costly project even though I already have the computer and software to do it. Might as well go buy an LX-5 that would work better instead. Yeah, I'll try to run that one by the wife. "Look at how much money I'll be saving!" It would be fun though.

[Eastwind]

Sheventeen dollars. How's that?

[smmurphy]

I haven't tried that arguement with my wife, but my couch isn't that comforable so I don't think I will.

[smmurphy]

I can't even get cell phone service on the lake half the time, so I don't know about the feasibility of the Verizon card. (I have used them in other locations and thought they were great.)

[federline]

Good Lord, Mr. Bear. You are an animal! LabView!!! Of Course! Transducers are easy, if you know about Labview and since you had this idea, you would have no problem hooking a transducer to a powered interface board. Now, mind you, transducers are sonar - it takes a lot of power (relative to running a laptop) to send clean clicks down and back up, and you would need an aux battery.

Good Luck, man! Me, I think I'll shell out a few hundred smackers to go fishing instead of soldering!