Snow geese have spectacular nesting season

Ram mounts are nice, but I still prefer the Jonny Ray’s if you are going to mount on the dash and that is the “home” for the unit. RAMs are nice for moving the face of the unit for views at all angles in the boat. The draw back is that they don’t hold up well in rough seas. They tend to “drop down” in the bouncing of the waves.

As for location of the GPS antenna, that all depends on your rig. Place it out of the way, but in an open spot that is also easy to mount and run the wires to. Popular locations are by console/gunwale.

I use RAM mounts. I have had good luck with these. Mount your GPS puck were it will be out of the way on the gunwale and not be obstructed.

For me Johny Ray first and if the mounting location is odd then I will go with a RAM, if you go RAM get the biggest ball mount you can they do move if you skimp on the size

Congrats on the X27 . I have both mounts on my Tyee, Johnny Ray on the bow and Ram under the windshield. The Ram does slide down in the big waves but, I’ll put up with that for the flexibility to point it anywhere from under the glass. Due to the angle of the windshield I couldn’t do that with the Johnny Ray. If it fits the Johnny is a more solid unit (my thought anyway). I mounted my GPS antenna close to the location of my sonar transducer. Some of the structure I fish is 6′ x 6′ in 25′ FOW, with nothing around it and hard to find. When I’m on a waypoint the transducer is right there, not 9′ or 10′ away like it would be if I mounted it by the SONAR/GPS unit. The GPS isn’t exact but, why add to it? Having the two close together seems like it adds to the accuracy of the combination. My 2 cents worth…

Thanks for the reply’s. It sounds like Johnny Ray and RAM mounts are both good. Guess i’ll just have to see what fits and works best in my Crestliner with the limited space on the dash.

Thanks again.

RAM mounts are good on clear calm days.

Give the Vexilar pro mount a try. Much better and cheaper than the Jonny Ray.
More Info

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The Ram does slide down in the big waves

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Has anyone tried sanding the ball to rough up the surface a little? How about wrapping the ball with a strip of adhesive-backed sand paper?

Just curious.

Lars

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RAM mounts are good on clear calm days.

Give the Vexilar pro mount a try. Much better and cheaper than the Jonny Ray.
More Info

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Derek will that work for a LCX 38?? Thanks

Yes. even the the 10 inch units. The PWT guys really like the Pro mount..

That looks like a nice mount also Derek. I may have to consider that one. However , with that mount and my windshield, I wouldn’t be able to rspin the locater at all if i wanted to see it from the bow. That not too big of a concern being that we may put the locater that came with the boat on the bow.

Next Question: With a lowrance on my dash, and a Raytheon that came with the boat on the bow, and both transducers out the back of the boat, will i get a bunch of interfearance on my Lowrance?

Shoot/n/release;
the RAM mount balls are already rubber coated. They stick good, but when you have a heavy electronic bouncing, they give unless you crank the snot out of it.

It is pretty hard to not go with a Johnny Ray mount considering they have been fool proof and unbreakable for so many years. You just never hear a complaint about them. They are easy to use, reasonably priced, last forever.

There is a guy that fishes the FLW I believe his last name is Priesner? He makes a ROCK solid mount that is AWESOME. I will do more digging to get the exact info. That thing will never move. Maybe some of you have heard of it? It appears to be all aluminum.

Don’t forget about these.

They look nice and the price isn’t too bad.

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RAM mounts are good on clear calm days.

Give the Vexilar pro mount a try. Much better and cheaper than the Jonny Ray.

I just ordered two Vexilar mounts, for a 7″ Lowrance and a 10″ Lowrance. Thanks for the information. I was just about to order two of the Johnny Ray’s and that would have been
double the price of the Vexliar.
More Info

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I’ve been running the Pro-mounts also! Easy on and off, swivels to boot!!!

Well we got our locator hooked up to the boat. Ended up using a Johnny Ray mount that a buddy had extra. Seems to be a little play in it when you slightly turn it from side to side, not sure if anyone knows what i mean but should they usually hold tight without any play? Do the vex mounts hold solid?

Also I am having a hard time with the gps. It says “Gps module not responding”. Anyone have any idea what i may have done wrong or any tips on things to check? We have looked it over quite a bit and seems like we did everything the way the instructions say.

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Also I am having a hard time with the gps. It says “Gps module not responding”. Anyone have any idea what i may have done wrong or any tips on things to check? We have looked it over quite a bit and seems like we did everything the way the instructions say.

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Module Not Responding LGC-3000/LGC-2000 / LGC-Baja

These GPS modules are designed to operate with NMEA 2000 compatible systems. These require a power supply to operate. This is either supplied directly to the network or through an extra cable (NMEA 2000 Power) on the unit power cable. This is often overlooked.
Ensure proper power is supplied to the unit for operation. Follow trouble shooting for blue connector unit power related issues here or red connector unit power related issues here if needed.
Ensure proper power is being provided to the GPS module. If not configured for a network, power should also be applied to the NMEA 2000 Power cable. Apply the red wire to a fused (3A) +12V supply. Ground both the black wire and the shielded ground (bare wire). To determine if an interruption in power is preventing the GPS operation, review this document.
Check and clean connections between the display portion of the unit and the GPS module. A minimum of two connections will be in the cabling and possibly more. Trace the cable and clean contacts at each connector as needed. Clean all connections with an anti-corrosion clean for electronics as needed.
Ensure that a Liner Architecture is observed if using a LowranceNET or NMEA 2000 network.
Check the terminating resistor(s). There may be one 60 Ohm terminator or two 120 Ohm terminators. Simply check the short end of the Y cable. If a hard plastic “T” is in use, check the end for the terminator. Any evidence of scorch or fowling may indicate a replacement terminator or cable should be obtained.
Isolate the RS-232 communications (NMEA-0183) cable. This will have 4 wires, yellow/Orange/Blue/Shield. Tape each wire individually and then together if not using the NMEA communications.
Update the unit and the GPS module to their latest software version. If an earlier version of software for a module is operated with an newer version of the unit, communications may not function properly. Update the unit and GPS module accordingly by following this link.
Reset the unit. Resets for your particular unit are available here.
After updating, check the NMEA 2000 Bus. Press menu from a main operating page and select the NMEA 2000 menu and choose the Bus Setup option. If other devices on the network are visible, check the connection at the GPS module to the network as well as other cabling between the module and other properly operating devices. If the LGC-2000 is visible, select this option to view data for software version, and additional data. The status may indicate not-configured or OK. If not configured, change the instance to 255.
Reset the network by removing power from the NMEA 2000 power cable. Keep power off for a couple minutes to allow all devices to properly reset. Reapply power to the network.
If problems persist, it is difficult to determine the actual fault due to the cables, terminators and other devices in use. Attempting operation on another available system to isolate the communication error is ideal if possible.

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… The draw back is that they don’t hold up well in rough seas. They tend to “drop down” in the bouncing of the waves.

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The ram mount has a washer between the handle and main shaft. The washer allows enough space to tighten the handle down on the balls, however the washer doesn’t exactly allow a sure grip. Replace the washer with a nut, by unscrewing the handle all the way off. The nut should be about an 1/8 inch (or at least thicker than the washer) and large enough to fit over the bolt, do not use one that will fit on the bolt. This creates a bigger gap between the handle and the shaft and allows you to tighten down on the balls like you’ve never tightened before.

Saw in Cabelas a GPS adapter plate for RAM mounts. Antenna sits behind sonar. Anyone used this?

I would not recommend this. A good friend is having terrible reception issues on his with his puck right next to the unit. He also has a full windshield.

I personally want my antenna out where it has the clearest view of the sky.

Snow geese have spectacular nesting season in Arctic; experts predict huge fall migration
By Chris Niskanen on September 1, 2010 2:58 PM
Think North America already has enough snow geese?

Experts describe this summer’s nesting season in the subarctic region of La Perouse Bay in northern Manitoba as “spectacular.”

Because of a warm spring season and extremely wet conditions, nesting success was very high for snow geese, which are already at record high levels, frustrating biologists concerned about their impacts on the fragile arctic tundra.

“This is a huge production year,” says Dr. Robert “Rocky” Rockwell, a biology professor at City University of New York and one of North America’s leading authorities on snow geese. He said the number of juvenile birds migrating south would be usually high this fall.

Delta Waterfowl, a conservation group, said that should mean better hunting success for snow and Ross’ geese, a similar-looking white goose.

Overall populations of snow and Ross’ geese remain very high. One population, near Karrak Lake in Canada, has grown from 400,000 to more than a million in less than 10 years.

Snow goose survival rates have not declined since 1989, even with liberalized hunting regulations and a special spring conservation hunt.

We’re not giving much thought to early goose this year…..but three trips to the Dakotas with white rock decoys in tow should make for a GREAT fall.

Hubba, hubba, juvies……

Good Luck and on them dirty juvies