opinions on garmin echo 300c
Submitted by hekser on Mon, 2012-08-27 17:15
G'day guys, just ordered a Garmin echo 300c. i know they arent new or anything but wanted an upgrade from the eagle ive got on the boat, 200$ delivered from the US, anyone using one atm or have used in the past? good unit? issues?
also ordered a new stradic fj 8000- at 200$ delivered from the US as well. bit of a spew shimano dont give u a spare spool with the new gen of stradics :(
also grabbed some of these http://www.aliexpress.com/product-gs/569529068-Fashion-3528-SMD-Flexible18-Led-strip-light-White-12V-Waterproof-30CM-Free-shipping-3723-W-wholesalers.html to use as nav lights, can anyone see any issues? just going to tape them to the side, green . red and i got some white ones for a bit of lighting..
cheers, hekser
Troy Summers
Posts: 408
Date Joined: 14/08/11
Ive got the Garmin, seems to
Ive got the Garmin, seems to work fine, probably a little small, but I only got it as an inbetweener. Works well at 30m so far(havent tried it deeper yet)
Redbucket
Posts: 160
Date Joined: 10/03/10
I've got a 300c in my tinny.
I've got a 300c in my tinny. Good for the money.
hekser
Posts: 572
Date Joined: 31/03/10
sweet cheers
its going in my tinny, mainly just gonna be ffb and inshore- as long as ill get a good reading up to 60 m ill be stoked...
hekser
Posts: 572
Date Joined: 31/03/10
.
doublepostdeleted
Gotcha (not verified)
Posts: 16
Date Joined: 01/01/70
I have one in my tinny too...
I have been using the Garmin in my tinny for yonks, great low power consumption unit and has been used for about 30 hours on a small sealed dick smith battery, and still going strong.... mounted the transducer under the front seat with gutter and roof sealer for a through hull signal, but hindsight, would move it back to the centre of the boat if you have a deck, as when the boat is on the plane, I loose signal as the front seat is above water level, or in the foam, so does not read - standing up front helps, and it reads fine up to 15 knots - the display is great, even in the sun... Once you get the hang of the garmin menu layout it is great, but almost feels arkward through the menu, as I have an Iphone, so the wife enjoys watching me try to use the display as a touchscreen...
Love the unit and great for the price - thought I only paid $199 on a special at BCF though....
No issues at all, except the unit resets to factory settings when removing the battery... I just take the battery out and charge it, so this pisses me off.... but it is only every few months.....
Troy Summers
Posts: 408
Date Joined: 14/08/11
Thats funny, caught myself
Thats funny, caught myself touching the screen too.. as for batt removal, I havent noticed it change settings when I turn the batts off on my boat... might have to have a good look at that cause I tuned it up nicely back b4 my boat went to the mechs(dont ever use em) 13 wks ago!!!
Troy
hekser
Posts: 572
Date Joined: 31/03/10
bit wary cutting a hole
in the tub... not a bad idea to mount in in floor- i got some jb weld marine grade on the way, any tips or its pretty straigh forward? cut a hole.. smash it in. glue it up?
is it a huge advantage to have in hull instead of mounted on transom?
Dreamtime
Posts: 658
Date Joined: 21/09/09
haha
lol i got a brand new hds5 with a 50-200 khz ducer for $500.
Gotcha (not verified)
Posts: 16
Date Joined: 01/01/70
Mounting the transducer..
I have a tinny, so it was simple - chose a place and glue it to the floor, put the deckboard back... 123... I think if you searched this topic, there has been detailed discussion about this transducer position/fitting thing on fibre boats... the trick is to make sure the base is solid, air in the epoxy, or a bad surface area joint will give crap signals - be careful your epoxy does not eat the plastic of the transducer - not sure what jb weld is, but the gutter sealer is dense and removable if need be - also a bit flexible, so someting too hard will crack and may not dry without airspaces... just check that out.. make sure the transducer faces 90 degrees down from the water - if your hull is angled, you will only be seeing what is left or right of your boat, not straight down...
I had a transom mount on my other boat and had foam issues, splashing over the back, kids stepping on the transducer etc... worked fine if the boat was stopped and engine off, but not cool for hunting fish.... it was a Gaurdian though, with a stepped hull, so not the norm....
No cables going through or over the transom if you hull mount either, depend on your deck though - the Gaurdian had a sealed pocket under the deck with sections for floatation, so hull mount without cutting the deck was impossible. If you cut into a sealed hull, make sure you seal it up again, as it is the floatation on your boat and stops it sinking - may save your life one day, so make sure you do it right - that is why i did not do it on the Guardian...
Good luck mate...
Cortez474
Posts: 109
Date Joined: 24/01/12
Mate ive got the
Mate ive got the 550c......only used a couple times since buying but im pretty impressed with it.......got my transducer on the transom and dont see any issues with it.....apart from the crazy rooster tail.....still got a reasonable bottom reading in 15m doin 23 knots.....just gotta work out how to set it up properly.....