# Ice fishing power source



## DallanC (Jan 13, 2009)

I like gadgets, and it seems we haul more and more stuff with us out ice fishing. Cameras, sonar, tunes... its fun. But, we've been steadily adding to the overall weight. Its not a huge concern, we haul everything in a sled behind a snowmobile... but lately 1 thing would run low on battery juice (usually the underwater camera's) with other things at or near full charge.

So, one day I happened to notice two 12v 4.5AH SLA batterys fit just right side by side in a dry box. A light went on in my head and I dug out a 12v 7AH SLA battery and wala, it fit perfectly too in the same footprint when turned on end. I then got the idea to build a "power source" to drive all of our various electronics. I needed different output voltages, and with the help of eBay and cheap stuff from China, I was able to procure voltage converters for very cheap prices.

12v 4.5AH batteries are super cheap on ebay... you can even find 7AH UPS batteries for sometimes as little as $10

First step was to build a tray that kept the batteries from sliding around. I have a bunch of ABS sheets for different hobby needs and this worked well, cut to size and glued with ABS cement.

Next, I bought a CCTV power splitter cord off ebay for a couple bucks, and wired it with a fuse, to attach to the spades of two 12v batteries in parallel. That will give me around 9-14AH of juice in the field depending on what size batteries I use, which is gobs more than we usually use.

I got a 12v to 6v transformer to power the fan on the Buddy heater and the odd sized power jack it accepts. I bought a motorcycle USB kit that converts 12V to the 5V usb devices require. I wired all of these up to female ends of power cords that insert into the male CCTV power splitter. So I can add / remove cords as needed, and with the fuse there isn't a concern with burning anything up. There is enough left over space in the box to fit the Sonar and transducer so that's a nice bonus. No more taking USB battery banks to charge phones / bluetooth speakers, No D Cells in the big buddy. Can loose the battery on the camera. And it all seals up in the drybox when closed so weather / snow is a non-issue.



















Kindof homebrew, but not going for any beauty awards. Bring on the ice!

-DallanC


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