I was getting ready to buy a lowrance fish finder and i came across the vexilar sonarhpone (link is at the bottom). Has anybody had any experience with them? Not having to install a battery would be nice!

http://www.gandermountain.com/modperl/pr...er&i=772384

I haven't used it, but I've heard it does okay as a basic unit. However, I'd be hesitant to use my phone that way, as that will drain the battery on the phone, and I use my phone as my emergency call device and such. When I considered using one of these (I was using a portable fishfinder at the time in my yak), I reasoned that I'd end up installing a battery anyway because I'd need something to charge the cell phone anyway.

Thanks for the reply. What are you using currently?

What JR said.

Personally, I can't get past the idea of using a phone or tablet on the water due to the ergonomics and knowing what my display goes through during outings - slime, rain, etc. I do like the use of wifi to run data to your display however eliminating hard wiring.

I own one. Look at the thread below and read my review of it.

Vexilar Sonar Phone

I used it for the first time out on my new kayak a few weeks ago and it works great. Better than I expected. It's on par with the mounted fish finder and has just as many customizable settings.

To reply to using your phone out on the water... Waterproof cases. I have one and have not had a problem. I've even used it without a case. There is no requirement stating that you have to be using it the entire time you are on the water. Lock your phone and put it back in your dry storage when you don't need it. As for the battery life. It uses WIFI. I usually run the unit for about 4 hours and my cell battery is maybe at 50%. I really don't think that it will be a problem as long as your cell holds a descent charge. It may not be for you, but I like being able to pull it out and drop it in when I want.

One big bonus... anyone that is within range can also use the unit as a guest. They can connect to it while it's in use. Like you the admin and the other people can connet to view but cannot adjust anything on the unit... How many other finder will let you do that?

I actually like the idea, it's all about porability. I just hope that it performs as well as a good fishfinder, if it does I would definitly choose it over a traditional fishfinder.

I use a Humminbird 598ci now. I was using the portable Humminbird where you could cast out the green transponder. I used that for years because I could use it anywhere. When I upgraded, I decided to go with a typical fishfinder. I installed a battery (with fuse) in the kayak (super easy in my Cuda), and I use a RAM arm to extend the transponder over the side. I've been really pleased.

That's very cool. If I didn't already have a depthfinder in my kayak, I'd consider one. As for running your phone battery down, You could always get one of those phone battery backups.