I want to buy a fishfinder...........

[Skulley]

I want to buy a fishfinder and am wondering what everyone else out in bassfishing land is using.? Currently on the bow of my boat I have an old Hummingbird Wide 100.? It isn't bad, but I would like something with better resolution as well as water temp.? I have a Hummingbird Piranha on the helm.? It is a pretty good unit.? Economical at best.? Marks fish well and stucture.? It was one the Piranha 5 which was the better unit that they sold back in 2003.? I think the pixels are 320 x 320.? I like Hummingbirds but am open to other manufacturers.? I am willing to spend up to $300 bones.? Any suggestions from the forum? ?Thanks.

BD? ? ?

[MBell]

You can get some deals on used lowrances on ebay.  They switched all of the models a year or two ago and the old ones are cheap, basically the same stuff.  I saw an x-85 for $60, almost bought it for my little row boat.
-Matt

[Cy]

I have a Bottomline 480 on the bow and I hate it.  I got it cheap and Bottomline has replaced it once but I still don't like it.  It just doesn't have the detail the Lowrance does.  I have a Lowrance X125 at the helm and I love it.  I will be add either a second X125 this year or a LMS 332c.  The Bottomline is about $180 new, I got it $120 at Cabela's Bargain Cave.  The X125 is about $300, I bought mine from a guy on BBC for about $200.  If you look around you can find good deals on good stuff.  Cabela's Cave always has good prices on Lowrance products.

Cfruel

[Skulley]

I have bought a lot of stuff out of the Bargain Cave.  Actually, Cabela's is having their tent sale until the end of the month.  I am planning to go down there this coming weekend to see if there are any good deals.  A friend of mine has been running Lowrance fishfinders for quite a while.  He swears by them.  I may check one out.  I am reading a learning all I can about the new stuff with the new technology.


BD     

[djkimmel]

The Eagle 320 and 480 are pretty nice standard units for sonar. Nice pictures. Easy to read for nice prices. Includes water temps.

[Revtro]

I definitely love my Lowrance.? I have an LMS-480 and an X75.? I've never had a problem with any of the Lowrance units I've ever had.? You can pick up some X series units cheap, but consider Eagle as well.? They're the same units made by the same people from the same materials as I understand it.? A friend of mine has an Eagle GPS/Sonar Unit and we can't find anything different about it from my Lowrance LMS-480 other than the color of the plastic and a different hue to the screen because of the different backlight color.? I wouldn't hesitate to buy an Eagle.? I had an Eagle for a while and had no problems with it.?

[djmaclf]

I had a LMS-330c on my last boat.  Getting ready to get a Lowrance LMS-332c for the bow and a LCX-25c fot the console.  All connection for these 2 units are the same.  This way I have a backup if needed.

[fishon1219]

In my opinion the eagle cuda is one of the best thing i have ever bought. It has an internal gps/ as well as temp sensor. You can buy them now for around $149. I never had GPS capability in the bow before, but now I must have it. When fishing break lines, sunkin islands or whatever it helps you know exactly were they are. The unit also has great detail. While vertical jigging for walleyes in the detroit river I can actually see my jig on the screen in 40 ft of water.

[chase5004]

I've got a Eagle 320 up front and a Lowrance X-125 at the wheel no complaints with either.

Pat

[McCarter]

I was going to buy the Lowrance LMS-480 because they were giving a I Finder Pro away with it at no additional cost.  By the time i went to order it, they were discontinued. 

For the money, I think i may go with an Eagle now.  If i am not mistaken, the Eagle brand is just previous year lowrance unit with a new casing on it.  As fast as these units are advanceing, its impossible to keep up.  So if i can save a few bucks by going with a year old unit that is still brand new, i am going for it.

PoorBoy himself

[Revtro]

That's a good plan.  Yes the Eagle's are just the Lowrance units repackaged.  But they do have the lastest version of the software, so you won't be outdated by purchasing an Eagle.  I'm sure you'll be happy with it.  The only thing I don't like is the color of the backlighting (it's more of a yellow color), but it doesn't seem to affect how easy it is to see. 

[djkimmel]

I used that Eagle 320 all last summer and I really like it. I've use a lot of Eagle because they are a great value verses performance.

I bought that LMS-480 deal (thanks PB) and it was well worth it. Now I just have to decide if I will use my older X-85 up front or leave the Eagle 320. Not sure yet.

[yukonjack2]

I have all lowrance products - an x-15 on the console, and a 332C on the bow . I am very pleased with both units, although am definately impartial to the color unit.   I would suggest, no matter what unit you buy, spend the max your budget allows on vertical pixel density - the more the better - it really allows you to get the most out of the unit by split screen and zooming into a smaller zone with more detail. 

I would also suggest going to see lance valentine at gander mountain  and hear the sonar seminar - the boy is truly amazing in teaching (for free I might add) how to get the max out of your sonar unit.

[Skulley]

When is Lance Valentine's seminar at Gander Mtn??  I would like to see it.  I saw Mike Auten at a BASS Techniques class (now called BassMaster University) in Lansing some years ago.  His on sonar was very good.  I missed Valentine at the show a few weeks back.

BD     

[Skulley]

Well so far the only fishfinder I have seen with more than 320 vertical pixels has been the Hummingbird 565.? It has 640 vertical pixels according to the website.? I have been reading as much as I can about it.? That place that this website links to in Miami that sells Fishfinders has it for 189.99 plus shipping.? BPS has it for 199.99 in stock in the store.? I still haven't made up my mind.?

I would suggest, no matter what unit you buy, spend the max your budget allows on vertical pixel density - the more the better - it really allows you to get the most out of the unit by split screen and zooming into a smaller zone with more detail.

Well being somewhat of a computer geek and understanding lines of resolution because of the nature of my job, I have yet to find more pixels in a unit.  Any more suggestions from the forum.......I do appreciate all opinions on this subject.  Thanks.


BD   

[Cy]

From what I can tell the main difference between the Eagle and Lowrance is the output power.  It seems the main thing that separates price in all the sonar units is power.  For example all the sonars has 480 x 480 pixel; the Eagle 480 has 1500 watts p to p for about $200; the Lowrance x125 with 2400 watts p to p is about $300; the X135 has 4000 watts p to p and is about $400.  Other then the power the units are almost identical.  From what I have read and researched higher power means better clarity on the sonar screen.  The more power the unit puts down the better the return and the better the image.  I guess sonar watts are expensive.   

Cfruel

[Skulley]

I'm am going to talk to you like an Electronics Technician because that is what I do for a living.? Watts are measured in peak to peak so as to fool the consumer.? In other words, the manufacturer will use watts so that they can publish a larger number in the specifications of the unit.? Also watts has to do with only the signal that the unit sends into the water down to the bottom of the body of water.? The larger the watts, the stronger the signal that the unit puts out.? It has nothing to do with the clarity that you see on the sonar screen.? The clarity on the screen is only attributed to the pixel capacity of the unit.? So if you want a clear picture or better resolution, you need more pixels.? If you want more watts, then you are more concerned with how deep you would like your unit to read.? Notice in the specifications of all the fishfinders that the higher watt units also read deeper into the water.? In other words, the higher the watts, the deeper the fishfinder will read.? I have read a lot of articles in the recent past about this and I can honestly tell you that most of the authors of these articles are not electronics people.? That is why I don't agree with this:

From what I have read and researched higher power means better clarity on the sonar screen.? The more power the unit puts down the better the return and the better the image.

As I have said, I do electronics for a living.? You would only need more output power if you were in deep, deep water.? If you want a better picture, you need more resolution meaning more pixels.? I don't mean to insult or upset you so please don't take it that way.? I only want to educate you so that you won't have any misconceptions about electronics.? There are a lot of falicies about electronics and usually people who don't know much are obvious to me......because that is what I do.? What an electronics geek I can be.........

Anyway, Yukonjack2 made the most sense when he said:

I would suggest, no matter what unit you buy, spend the max your budget allows on vertical pixel density - the more the better - it really allows you to get the most out of the unit by split screen and zooming into a smaller zone with more detail.

BD? ? ? ?

Peace Brother!!!!

[Cy]

UAW,

Thanks for info.  I don't mind being corrected and I am always interested having the truth.  I do want to clarify one thing that I said and that you quoted me on because I  think I sounded like a moron.  Due lack of proper terminology I used the word "clarity" incorrectly.  I agree clarity is about pixels not about watts.  The point I was trying to make and I guess incorrectly, was that that more power would give you more detail of the bottom.  I took that info Lowrance's web site and I quote:

"High transmitter power increases the probability that you will get a return echo in deep water or poor water conditions. It also lets you see fine detail, such as bait fish and structure."

Now, I am not challenging you knowledge of electronics or trying to start an argument.  I was merely stating my source.

Thanks,

Cfruel

[djkimmel]

Pretty funny - I think I'm the king of sometimes sounding like a moron -depends on how poorly I slept the night before.

I wonder if more watts helps in soft bottom areas and with getting better readings on small or thin objects?

I also wonder - since I've been told this before - if to much power in shallower water - like we fish so much - will cause problems with clutter and double echo's or even spook fish that feel the sound waves? Been on my mind and I've seen some seemingly knowledgeable persons hit on this before more than once.

As far as offensiveness, heck, we are all learning from each other here... that's what it's all about!

[Skulley]

I have my moments of moronicness too fellas.  The statement the Cfruel makes on the power of the transmitter from the Lowrance Website makes much more sense to me now.  I am not sure how that is effected in poor water quality though because it is sound that is being transmitted through water and not light.  This needs more research.   

I might even agree with Dan in that having a real powerful unit may cause echoes.  I have done some sonar testing on occasion at work and now am wondering about Dan's statement about having too much transmitter power.  This maybe something that I can prove out in the lab.

Anyway, gentlemen, watts are usually measured in RMS and not Peak to Peak.  When converting from RMS to Peak to Peak, the number on the spec is usually going to be higher and much more impressive to the consumer.  One unit I looked at says that it had an output power of 2500 watts peak to peak and 250 volts RMS.  All they did was take the number and convert the voltage in RMS and convert it to watts at peak to peak.  This of course is by factors of 10 therefore you have 250 volts converting to 2500 watts......a much more impressive number to the layman. 

The research goes on....Oh and by the way Dan you can't be the king of morons.  I know too many people at work that make you look like an amateur at that.   lol   


Peace Brother!!!!!!!!!!
BD