FishFinders

Just when you think you have it all figured out, you find you know nothing Did you know that it depends on the retailer as to whether or not fish finders come with whatever details are listed with product? From the resolution to weather or not it comes with a tranducer. We had decided on the Humminbird 747C, found good price of $359.95 through humminbird.factoryoutletstore.com. The resolution said 640V x 480H Ultra-High Resolution. I'm not sure if this is a misprint, or if it indeed comes with that. But when I called, the guy said it did not come with a transducer, even when you clicked "add to cart" it said it did. He said it comes with a Transom Mount Included for a transducer (not included). I went to Humminbird.com and it says the Retailer determines whether or not the product comes with a transducer. So, my question is how in the heck are we suppose to order these things using the same part # and model and without reading the entire details of product, we may be buying something different. In this case, the part # is 406740-1, Humminbird 747C. BUT, this factory outlet store sales it without tranducer, and a different resolution than that exact part # from another retailer. Oh! I am soooo confused! Also, FYI: If you order directly from Humminbird the 700 series comes with a free weather sense. If you order elsewhere, you have to fill in a form, mail it in, and wait 4-6 wks. plus send shipping & handling.

Re: FishFinders

Thats a lot of bull!! I always thought the transducer was part of the deal.
All the Humminbird stuff i have ordered was thru Cabelas. Always had good luck with them.
I was missing a couple screws for the last one i ordered.I called them and they sent me another complete hardware kit.Extra mounting brackets and all.

Re: FishFinders

If you order from iboats you get what is advertised.

Re: FishFinders

I'd send it back and buy a better unit somewhere else. Good luck.

Re: FishFinders

I wouldn't even buy Humminbird. Mine stopped working after warranty expired.

Re: FishFinders

Selling the units without the transducer is something that has been happening more and more in the last few years.

People that are upgrading the electronics, and don't need a new transducer, and don't want to pay for something they don't need, so they buy the one without the transducer and save $55.

In the case of one fisherman I know, his boat had 2 locators with small screens and few features. He wanted 3, with big screens and better resolution, and more features. He bought 3 head units, plugged them all into his existing transducer. Saved him about $150 for the 3 transducers he did not need.

Re: FishFinders

BUT, does anybody know why the same model & part # can have a different resolution? Unless it is a misprint, it states 640V x 480H Ultra-High Resolution. Can somebody please tell me if there is much difference between that and possibly 640V x 320H Ultra-High Resolution which I bet is what it was suppose to state as having. Also, what does the initials TFT and FSTN mean after the display size? I have called the contact ph. # on website, but waited 65 mins. to talk with somebody who of course only knew about the product from what he was reading. I am still waiting to hear from iboats sometimes today. Please be patient with me, I am only a "woman"! (who hopes a fishfinder will allow her husband to catch more fish than her)!!

Re: FishFinders

TFT: (Thin-Film-Transistor)
Currently the highest quality of colour LC-Displays. TFT-displays are used in notebooks as well as in digital cameras. The TFT technology provides the best resolution of all the flat panel techniques, but it is also the most expensive. TFT screens are sometimes called active matrix LCDs.

FSTN: Film Super Twisted Nematic Display
Technology with the addition of a retardation film to the display that compensates for the color added by the birefringence effect. This allows a black and white display to be produced and provides for a higher contrast and wider viewing angle

The acronyms are telling you what type display the unit has in them..

640x480 is a little higher than 640x320... Not a HUGE difference but the 640x480 will have a superior picture.

Re: FishFinders

roscoe said:

Selling the units without the transducer is something that has been happening more and more in the last few years.

People that are upgrading the electronics, and don't need a new transducer, and don't want to pay for something they don't need, so they buy the one without the transducer and save $55.

Click to expand...

It’s more than money its all about options. The practice of selling head units without transducers have been going on with the higher end units for quite sometime.

A transducer can make or break a system and people have come to understand that one size or configuration of transducer doesn’t necessarily provide the best performance in a given application or installation.

The emergence of the after market transducer suppliers has opened up a whole new set of options. Anymore when purchasing a unit you have a choice of 2-3 different type of shot thru, 3-4 different types of thru hull, and a couple of transom mounts to choose from with prices ranging from $100 to almost $1000 for the high powered, high performance transducers.

Re: FishFinders

vertical pixels per inch is what matters most in my opinion. I'm satisified with 320x320 on a 5" diagonal screen (3.5" vertical) - 480x480 is marginally better, you can hardly tell the difference.

say your screen is 4" vertical....at 640 pixels that's 160 pixels per inch.
Say the bottom takes up 1/4 of the screen; that leaves 480 pixels to represent the depth.

At a depth of 10', each inch of screen represents about 3 feet of water, and each foot of water column gets 48 pixels, or about a quarter-inch of depth per pixel.

At depth = 30', its 16 pixels per foot of water with each pixel representing about 1.3 inches of depth.

At 320 pixels per vertical inch, you'd have each pixel representing less than an inch and only 8 pixels for each foot of depth.

Of course the screen really lights up when you zoom in (assuming you have that functionality.)

Horizontal resolution varies with boat speed, but I don't think it has the same impact.

Color would be nice but it'd be pure luxury for me.