Yet another Aqua View Question

[prov1900]

Maybe this has been asked before, and apologize now for redundancy, but my Aqua View Scout is not holding a charge, or not lasting more than an hour on the ice. The battery is the one that came with the unit, two years ago. Kept the battery up, like instructed, re-charge in the off season, etc. After about an hour, the screen gets smaller and smaller, than goes to a single silver line in a field of black. Assuming the battery is useless, I will replace it. Is there anything else this could be? It also seems that when I test it at home, before I leave for the lake, it works fine. Everytime, and I mean everytime, when I get to the lake, I have to jiggle the connection/cord to get it running. Do I have a bad unit, or is this somewhat common? Thanks for any and all replies.

[Bassman]

I had the same problem I brought mine back to the store. It worked fine at home for me to then I took it to the lake and it would do what yours does.

[eurolarva]

Are you using it inside or outside. Batteries that are going bad will really go bad in cold weather. If you have a way of measuring DC voltage I would do this after the charge, the day after the charge and then again right after you have the problem with the unit. I am not positive but a new battery is around 25 dollars at gander. Not sure if the models have changed over the last year but check the inline fuse on the red wire and verify it is seated real good and that it is tight in the fuse holder

[Reynolds]

I have a two year old ZT and the I had the same problems that you are describing, even right down to the unit working in the house but not out on the lake. Turned out that it was a bad battery.

[prov1900]

Well, I am pretty sure it is the battery, at least, but naturally, when I went to replace it today, Scheels was out. Does Batteries Plus carry anything like this? Was wanting something for tomorrow. Not that I live and die by the camera, got a Vex FL18 for that, but my buddies that I am perpetually recruiting to go with like the camera. Good for the kids, good for the adult beginners!

[Paul Waldowski]

Yes,

Batteries Plus carries them. Just make sure it is a 12 volt with at least 7 amps. I picked up a 12 volt 10 amp from there today that will give me a little bit more time than the 7 amp does.

[Agronomist_at_IA]

If your looking for a good battery to use on your camera go to a farm surplus store like bomgaars or fleet farm. Go to the Electric fence supplies and the solar powered fencers use batteries that work with your camera. I bought an electirc fence battery and it last quite a bit longer than the one that came with my camera. Plan on gettig a couple more of these.

[deja vu]

My MarCum LX-3 sonar unit and VS 350 camera unit use the same identical, interchangeable 12 v, 7 aH batteries...

There are many outlets selling 12 volt, 7 amp Hour rechargeables these days. Radio Shack sells them at just under $30, and several online vendors are now selling them under $20... the same bargain batteries from China the manufacturers supply with the original electronics.

Lots of choices...

[prov1900]

How long does your batteries last, on the lake on a cold day. I didn't get mine replaced yet, but I got three hours out of mine, which I feel is pretty poor. Better than previously described. I have a little fold up table that I can stick in my Yukon and put the camera up on that, along with my Mr. Heater (facing the other way of course). I think that gave me my extra time by keeping it off the ice. I will be going to Tractor Supply today to get a new battery. Thanks for the ideas. Try the table thing. I got it originally for camping. It is also nice for the heater because the ice didn't melt in the shack this time. The table top rolls up (made of wood) and the legs folt out, making for easier transport. Probably stands two foot high and is probably 1.5' X 1.5'.

[deja vu]

Quote:

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How long does your batteries last, on the lake on a cold day. I didn't get mine replaced yet, but I got three hours out of mine, which I feel is pretty poor.

---

I did some checking on how much electricity my LX-3 sonar unit and VS350 underwater camera unit actually draw...

Both of these units come with 12v, 7 amp hour rechargeable batteries. The amp hour rating tells how much amperage is available, if the battery were to be completely discharged EVENLY over a 20 hour period. A 7 amp hour battery should be able to draw a .35 amp (350 mA) load each hour for 20 hours before being fully discharged...

So far so good... According to the MarCum user manual (p.14), my LX-3 unit draws between 300 mA and 350 mA per hour, and it should last between 18 and 22 hours using a fully charged 7 amp hour battery. Of course, MarCum recommends: "To extend battery life, it is preferable to recharge after every use."

Can't find any electrical usage info in the skimpy manual for the MarCum VS350 camera unit, but the fine print in the label on the back of the monitor screen says 12v DC, 1200 mA. That might mean that the camera unit draws 1.2 amps (1200 mA) per hour, which is 3.4 times more than my sonar unit. Using identical 7 amp hour batteries, the camera battery would last less than 6 hours (5.9 hrs) before it is fully discharged.

So, your recent 3 hours usage on a fully charged two year old battery may indicate you are getting about 50% of what a new battery could give you, if Aqua Vu units draw approximately as much juice as MarCum units...

Incidentally, the Power Sonics brand battery that came with my LX-3 unit now costs $17.95 online; an identical Universal brand battery costs $15.99. Radio Shack's just under $30 pricing seems a tad high...

Good fishin'

[eurolarva]

My aquaview scout brand new lasted about 4 hours maybe a bit less. I have read past posts about similar results on this camera.