looking for advice on chart plotter make/model

[Tobias Peter]

Need to buy chart plotter (ocean) and don’t want to spend more than $700 including all the parts….last year I used Navionics app on the phone but that’s no good…any advise on make/model?

 

[dingbat]

Need to buy chart plotter (ocean) and don’t want to spend more than $700 including all the parts

What functionality do you want or need?
Maps alone could take 1/3 of your budget

 

[Tobias Peter]

What functionality do you want or need?
Maps alone could take 1/3 of your budget

maps, gps, fish finder?

 

[dwco5051]

Define ocean a little better. Running 90 miles out to the trenches from New Jersey, fishing wrecks within sight of land off North Carolina, Florida Keys??
700 bucks is about the starting point for a decent 7" unit with GPS, Sonar, and down scan with preloaded maps for fishing inland lakes. How deep do you want to find fish?

 

[Tobias Peter]

Define ocean a little better. Running 90 miles out to the trenches from New Jersey, fishing wrecks within sight of land off North Carolina, Florida Keys??
700 bucks is about the starting point for a decent 7" unit with GPS, Sonar, and down scan with preloaded maps for fishing inland lakes. How deep do you want to find fish?

 

[Tobias Peter]

Pacific…not more than 10 miles off shore

 

[Toyelectroman]

I have been using garmin echomap 7 and seems good for a basic chartplotter. Mainly got it to show engine stats via NMEA2k.

 

[dingbat]

Pacific…not more than 10 miles off shore

How deep do you need the fish finder to read?
Will not get into specifics but anything over a couple 100’ will be problematic in that price range.

 

[Tobias Peter]

How deep do you need the fish finder to read?
Will not get into specifics but anything over a couple 100’ will be problematic in that price range.

I don’t usually fish in more than 200’…

 

[mike_i]

Just curious, what area do you fish?

I don’t usually fish in more than 200’…

 

[dingbat]

I don’t usually fish in more than 200’…

That's not too bad but beyond side and down scan practically. Would focus on CHIRP performance.

I would recommend the EchoMap UHD 94sv with the caveat that you need to watch which transducer is included in the package.

The latest push (fad) in consumer grade units is "Ultra High Definition"(UHD) images. While the higher frequencies require less power and provide better shallow water resolution, it comes at great expense to your depth capabilities.

Case in point, the GT54-UHD (150-240 kHz) is a high band, 250W CHIRP transducer. Rated to 800 ft. but don't expect much past 300-400 ft.

On the other hand, the GT51M-TM (80-160 kHz) mid-band, 600 W CHIRP transducer. Rated to 1,800 ft. but runs out of juice at 750-800 ft.

 

[Tobias Peter]

think I decided to go with the Garmin Echomap UHD75sv, still trying to understand if that comes preloaded with ocean charts for B.C. or that’s extra…

 

[dingbat]

think I decided to go with the Garmin Echomap UHD75sv, still trying to understand if that comes preloaded with ocean charts for B.C. or that’s extra…

The 75SV = Canadian Lake VU G3.
The 74SV = Bluechart G3 (Saltwater)

 

[Tobias Peter]

The 75SV = Canadian Lake VU G3.
The 74SV = Bluechart G3 (Saltwater)

74SV is for US only I hear…meaning I got to spend the extra $200 on BC and Alaska, right?

 

[dingbat]

74SV is for US only I hear…meaning I got to spend the extra $200 on BC and Alaska, right?

Not that I’m aware of……my 94SV unit came with the US001L map set

There ate no US export restrictions on the importation of the technology to Canada. If that is what your supplier is telling you, buy from a US based retailer