Questions on GPS/Fishfinder

[ZK]

I want to buy a GPS/Fishfinder. I don't go fishing often, but I'm interested in things like water temp, depth, and my boat's speed.

I've found a few GPS/Fishfinder combo units, and I like them, but I'm not sure which one to go with here...

It's gotta be pretty cheap, like under $400.

And I'd like to have the temp, depth, speed, backlight... And even maybe the ability to display either GPS or fishfinder, or both.

Any ideas?

This is the first one I found.

I like it, I don't think it's as detailed as I want it to be, but I don't really know.

 

[Boatist]

Re: Questions on GPS/Fishfinder

I am not a fan of humming birds but that is mostly from the old days when their transducer had trouble seeing bottom over trolling speed. Today they seem to be much better.

You do not say what type of waters you fish. With 250 RMS Watts of power will be good in shallow water. In salt water I would expect you to be able to see fish down to about 150 to 200 feet with the 200 KHZ transducer. I not sure what the cone angle is on your transducer is but my guess is about 12 degrees. It says 20 degrees at -10DB. Well the standard is to rate at -3 db so I think it will be about 12 degrees. The narrow cone angle helps see deeper in the Salt Water. The disadvantage is in fresh water fishing about 30 feet you will only see about 7 foot circle. The vertical resoultion is very good for seeing small fish. The 83 degree transducer has a wider cone angle but also is lower detail so not as easy to see fish seperation.

GPS seems pretty good in terms of waypoints and routes. I know nothing about their bass map. Ofcourse the gps will have speed over the ground but not speed thru the water. As a starter unit looks pretty good.

I personally like Lowrance products and Eagle better but again that is more about the problems Hummingbird had in the past.

 

[Jarhead44]

Re: Questions on GPS/Fishfinder

I have the Color Eagle GPS/Fishfinder which is the cheaper version of Lowrance. Its been pretty good, but as far as care don"t leave the control head in your boat under the cover. I got lazy last year left it on borrd and cooked the display and it was out of warranty.

 

[Pat Curtis]

Re: Questions on GPS/Fishfinder

ZK, I recently bought a 597ci to replace my 383c....which I don't need anymore. I bought it new last summer ($400)..used it a dozen times...then upgraded recently.

I figured I'd keep the 383c as a backup....but the chances of me needing it are fairly low. If you're interested PM me....I give you the info.


This is the unit from their site:

http://store.humminbird.com/humminb...ombos/300-series/383c-combo/prod406540-1.html

 

[Edko]

Re: Questions on GPS/Fishfinder

I just recently did alot of shopping and went with Humminbird, cost wise they are hard to beat for features.

Since I already had a fish finder I went with a Chart plotter only. You can go with separate components as well if you don't mind that route. Just an option.

Now if you want any unit, combo or separate, the markup at retail stores is pretty significant. Retail stores are a great to do some hands on testing, but not necessarily buying. I would suggest putting the power of Google and eBay to good use. iboats has decent prices as well if you are worried about company reliability. However, I found my chart plotter on ebay, it was new in box, covered by the warranty, etc.

I focused my searching mainly to Garmin, Humminbird and Lowrance. There are other reputable companies but those seem to be the most popular, most supported units. Having a HB fishfinder already I had no problem purchasing their chart plotter product.

In any case, with '09 units coming out you can find great deals on older models. A HB 595 combo runs $319 and up (Google search).

 

[John_S]

Re: Questions on GPS/Fishfinder

If you are looking at older designs, including clearanced units, be leary of internal GPS receivers. Eagle, Lowarance, and Humminbird had receivers mounted mid-unit which can lead to position aquisition and lock problems, depending on your installation. I think it was mainly the fishfinder companies coming up the the learning curve of GPS. Most new units have them near the top edge, to reduce this issue. If you go with an internal, make sure it at least has a connector to add an external receiver.

I had an Eagle Intellimap 502ci which would take considerable time to get position (on an open console), compared to my external receiver unit. While that is still the current model, it also did not have provision for external receiver.

 

[jhebert]

Re: Questions on GPS/Fishfinder

Here are reviews of three moderately priced GPS receiver, chart plotter, and SONAR combination instruments. I don't know if you can find these for $400, but some of these models are being sold at a discount price by various vendors.

Raymarine A60: http://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/A60.html
Lowrance LMS-520c: http://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/L500.html
Standard Horizon CP300: http://continuouswave.com/whaler/reference/CP300.html

 

[jtcarter]

Re: Questions on GPS/Fishfinder

Go with a color unit, you'll thank yourself for it after a few times out. You'll be able to distinguish bottom types so much easier and seperate fish from bait and cover. If you want hummingbird then the 383 that the guy suggested to you sounds like a good way to go. If you want lowrance then the lms-520c is a solid choice.

I favor lowrance myself, I have two 522c's and i love them.

 

[Pat Curtis]

Re: Questions on GPS/Fishfinder

Bump for ZK. Check ur PM box.

 

[snookhooked]

Re: Questions on GPS/Fishfinder

With a tight budget, I was told this was a good Hummingbird Matrix 12 for $145 plus the GPS receiver which runs 100 bucks. , maybe down the road in time I can upgrade to a better one. its B/W but with a limited budget, you have to do with what you can get. it will be at least 2 weeks before I can complete the system. for right now, I got the GPS receiver part. I looked for awhile on Ebay but its not that better in price range and you risk getting something that you cant return or have fixed under warranty. I just figured do what you can to have something in your boat and save up for what you want in the future. this is the one I can afford at this time. hope it works go enough to get by.

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wc...=true&storeNum=3&subdeptNum=null&classNum=706