Got my 106SV out! Better battery life questions, Li-ion battery sources

[pdxfisher]

I finally got my new Ultra 106SV out on Sunday and it was everything I hoped it would be. I use this on my kayak so my battery size is a little limited. Right now I have an 18AH battery but only got about 6.5 hours out of it (I was hoping for more than 8). Eventually I will upgrade to a higher capacity Li-ion battery but in the meantime I have a few comments and questions.

1. I would guess that I don't loose anything by turning off the Wi-Fi. I assume notifications through bluetooth still work. If I am not planning on doing an update is there any reason to have the Wi-Fi on?

2. I stupidly left the screen on max brightness. I did not need to do that. I assume this should help a fair bit. Does anyone have a feel for if this is an important source of energy consumption?

3. I am looking for a Li-ion battery in the 30AH range. This is too small for a bass boat so I assume normal sources and sponsors might not have anything in this range. Has anyone bought smaller Li-ion batteries from China? There are a ton of places selling them. Just curious about any positive or negative experiences.

4. I had a hard time getting bluetooth to pair but the problem was with my phone. I had to unpair the ultra on my phone to get it to work. Somehow my phone had an old version (maybe cached, thought it was connected) and would not connect. As soon as I un-paired that ghost version and re-paired it worked immediately and flawlessly. If you run into a pairing problem this might help.

Overall I am super impressed with the unit and I can't wait to get back out there.

[Wayne P.]

https://ampedoutdoors.com/collections/lifepo4-battery

The 30A is 6.9#

[hays47]

Have several Amped Outdoors for my 12 volt dc needs. Top notch and trouble free plus Matt is great to deal with. He ships fast too.

[pdxfisher]

Thanks guys! So many Li-ion websites and many seem a little shady. It is nice to have a recommendation.

Their prices are great! I just ordered a 30AH battery and the charger. My 18AH SLA battery weighs almost 12lbs so lowering that to 6.9lbs is exciting!

[fishin couillon]

Not sure if how the WiFi/BT works but my guess is both work thru AC. So can you not use the AC app, turn WiFi off but still use BT, not sure but i'd say no. You can always try it out. If not using either until an update, then it shouldn't hurt if you turn them off.

For #4, same issue here.....in the eariler times of AC app, i believe my phone would connect automatically to the BT but now, seems i have to "unpair" everytime and put in the number code the units gives.

Cant help on Li batteries......

[pdxfisher]

Not sure if how the WiFi/BT works but my guess is both work thru AC. So can you not use the AC app, turn WiFi off but still use BT, not sure but i'd say no. You can always try it out. If not using either until an update, then it shouldn't hurt if you turn them off.

For #4, same issue here.....in the eariler times of AC app, i believe my phone would connect automatically to the BT but now, seems i have to "unpair" everytime and put in the number code the units gives.

Cant help on Li batteries......

Thanks, your summary of my first question is spot on. Do I need Wi-Fi on to have Active Captain connect via bluetooth. I am hoping the answer is yes. The Garmin Edge 1030 bike computer works that way so I do have some hope there. I will have to try it next time on the water, just figured if I could get an answer sooner that would be nice.

Interesting about the pairing issue. I will have to see if it persists. If it does that is only a minor inconvenience now that I know how to deal with it.

I went ahead and already order a Li-ion battery from Amped Outdoors. The recommendation on here coupled with a quick google search (good reviews on other sites as well) and I was sold. Seems like an amazing price on the 30AH battery. Hopefully the quality is good. With that battery I don't think I will need to worry too much about W-Fi drainage :)

[fishin couillon]

Do I need Wi-Fi on to have Active Captain connect via bluetooth. I am hoping the answer is yes.

Yes, as the BT setup is in AC on the unit. To have AC up and running you must turn it on on your phone and unit.

[pdxfisher]

Yes, as the BT setup is in AC on the unit. To have AC up and running you must turn it on on your phone and unit.

My comment was backwards. I meant to say that I am hoping that I can run Active Captain in BT only mode. I know the connection for BT is in the AC app. I just don't know if I can access that and make the connection with Wi-Fi off on the Echomap (and subsequently no Wi-Fi connection to the AC app).

I just want the notifications to work, I am not looking for full AC functionality.

[fishin couillon]

You can try but i dont believe.....

[pdxfisher]

Thanks, I will give it a try (hopefully this weekend) and reply to this thread with what I figure out. I am heartened by the fact that I just opened the AC app on my phone and the Pair Device button is blue (not grayed out). I am hoping that means it will pair without needing Wi-Fi enabled. At least the AC app on the phone seems happy enough.

[pdxfisher]

I just gave pairing without Wi-Fi a try in the garage and as it works as I hoped it would. I can turn Wi-Fi off on my sonar and still bring up AC and pair via bluetooth. Notifications work fine without the need for a Wi-Fi connection. Only need the Wi-Fi active when you are doing an update.

Also, based on the recommendation here I bought an Amped Outdoors LIFEPO4 battery (thanks Wayne P. and hays47). 30AH for 179.99 (plus another $40 for the 10A charger). I ordered on Monday, got on Friday. I am super stoked now - great battery to go with a great FF. If I can shake this flu I might head out tomorrow. High temp of only 39, a bit chilly in the kayak, but some times you just need to suck it up.