Sounder / GPS question
I'm asking this for a mate:
Basically I am caught in the dilemma of looking at a combo for space and $ reasons and after visiting several dealers in Perth over the last week the advice I was given is that the new Lowrance HDS broadband technology is as good as any other sounder on the market even with the standard 600w transducer and from what I have seen seems to be one of the better featured combo’s on the market. I am interested to know if the claims regarding quality of sounder are true or is it worth looking at getting a furono dedicated sounder, given that in reality most of my fishing will be in 20-100m of water?
I also looked at the Simrad NSS8 which runs the same sounder engine as the HDS but has a few more features, interested to know if anyone has compared the HDS and the Simrad.
sea-kem
Posts: 15041
Date Joined: 30/11/09
Be watching this with
Be watching this with interest. To pardon the pun I'm in the same boat at the moment as I want to upgrade to a new combo Myself.
Love the West!
bouttime
Posts: 703
Date Joined: 27/07/06
If space is the issue I would
If space is the issue I would look at the simrad first then the Lowrance. I have heard mixed reports with the Broadband sounder but if set up correctly will have no issues fishing out over 100mtrs. If space was not an issue then go seperate. What I have found with the lowrance gear is that it is easy to use although can be a bit slow with the processor which can be a pain finding marks or searching the menu.
For the price af an NSS8 you could get a Furuno 620 matched to a HDS 7M with charts and change. That way will have a good sounder and good plotter.
I looked at the Simrad gear when i bought my HDS 10 and it was about twice the price inc radar and structure so went with the lowrance. If I had the money it would have been the simrad gear for sure. Next boat will be Simrad. Prices have dropped a fair bit since then so not to sure of the differences now.
hlokk
Posts: 4294
Date Joined: 04/04/08
I've seen at least half a
I've seen at least half a dozen of each in use, and the lowrances have never been able to hold a candle to the furunos. Even goes for the older furunos too. I have heard they should be as good, but yet to see it with my own eyes. Some say you need to set the lowrances up right, but no-one seems to know exactly what that is to get the same performance as the furunos. The lowrances would probably be better than most/nearly all of the other sounders out there, and would probably still pick up a lot of the same fish as the furuno, but yet to be impressed with the lowrances. Though, I've never seen the furunos used while whiting fishing, so would be curious to see how they go (on mine you can see the fish, so would be interesting how furuno shows it).
TBH, i'd be quite surprised if the lowrances werent up to scratch for the fishing though. Would still do everything you want/need quite easily, and still pick out fish well. However, I dont think they are as good as the furunos. There are a few other benefits to a combo though, like being able to mark exact marks on your sounder (plus backtracking and marking which I find really useful). I find a lot of those type of features really useful on my combo unit. You would also have the option to add structure scan which I find really useful (would especially be searching for diving/spearing ground), but a lot of people dont use. Also, get the HDS8 if you go lowrance for the the soft buttons.
MattMiller
Posts: 4171
Date Joined: 15/06/09
Been covered a few times
this. The consensus being that if possible (room and $) get a Furuno 585 or 620 and a Lowrance hds7 or higher as the plotter/backup sounder.
As Hlokk and others have said many times the Lowrance sounder just isn't as good as the Furuno. Some guys say they have to be setup 'right' but what does that really mean? Do you need a Lowrance expert to come round and set it up for you??? Hope not.
I've been on a few boats now with the Furuno/Lowrance combination and it certainly seems the way to go.
Quite happy to be told/proven wrong.
grayzeee
Posts: 2283
Date Joined: 09/07/09
If you go the lowrance, just
If you go the lowrance, just buy the huckstep book or dvd that tells you all you need to know about setting up to get good results
If I spent half as long fishing , as I do reading this bloody forum , I'd be twice the fisherman I am.
wicked game
Posts: 249
Date Joined: 13/11/08
Im also looking at buying a
Im also looking at buying a new combo.
what are the benifits of having broadband or ethernet connections?
Is it really that important?
I currently have an EAGLE GPS/sounder combo and she is getting a little old.
Also do u think the EAGLE's compare to the Lowrances or Furuno's or are they in there own league?
cheers
Lucky Tim
Posts: 2536
Date Joined: 28/11/07
it's been covered a lot
it's been covered a lot before but I've run a Furuno 585 and Lowrance HDS10 side by side and the Furuno eats the HDS in all regards. I'd be advising your mate to buy the Furuno sounder and a seperate GPS like a Lowrance. I took the advice of a Lowrance dealer and bought the HDS but I was sorely disappointed, hence the Furuno 585 which is what I should have bought in the first place. While a big GPS is nice, spend the money on a sounder as these find you the fish, the GPS just gets you to a location.
hlokk
Posts: 4294
Date Joined: 04/04/08
If the GPS just gets you to a
If the GPS just gets you to a location, then you're not using it to the full of its ability :p. Useful for lining up drifts, covering ground, sounding ground, trolling, etc (+display data). But then, no you dont really need a huge GPS for any of that though.
carnarvonite
Posts: 8673
Date Joined: 24/07/07
GPS
Tim is spot on, all the other stuff you mentioned we did long before they came around.
How many boats do you still see with marker buoys set up ready to go.
hlokk
Posts: 4294
Date Joined: 04/04/08
And you can triangulate your
And you can triangulate your position via landmarks, a compass and dead reckoning. You can also communicate with sea rescue with a carrier pidgeon :p.
Technology isnt required, but it makes it easier, and why have a piece of technology on the boat and not use it to its potential? Just because you could cut down a tree with a handsaw does not mean you shouldnt use your chainsaw if you have one ;) But if getting to the spot is all thats needed, why not just get a GPS receiver instead of a chartplotter?
carnarvonite
Posts: 8673
Date Joined: 24/07/07
Needs
It covers all my needs by getting me to a spot, storing new ones and giving me a more accurate heading for the trip home.
Son , Jeff , though can make it dance, tell distances between marks, tides,, you name it including what toilet paper to use I'm sure, but for my needs it covers all I want.
Lucky Tim
Posts: 2536
Date Joined: 28/11/07
that's not what I meant Matt.
that's not what I meant Matt. GPS are great for getting to a location, setting up drifts, monitoring movements, speeds, mileage etc. What I did mean is that a handheld GPS with no charts will do all of these things too, it is the sounder that tells you what is and isn't worth fishing and where to even hit the "mark" button. If I had to chose between a great sounder and a black and white cheap GPS, or a wizz bang plotter/GPS and a cheap b&w sounder it would be a no brainer for me. My advice is to spend as much as you can afford on a good sounder and the rest on a GPS. If you need to skimp, do it on the GPS.
fisho-ron
Posts: 2539
Date Joined: 26/09/09
mate,to many guys knock the
mate,
to many guys knock the hds's...
i run 2 hds's..a 10 and a 8 and they are both combos, so i always have a spare as well.
they talk to each other and no mater which unit i place a mark on it goes to both units at the same time, so also handy for way point back ups.
you can scroll back the sounder and ping a mark from there.
the gps side is exellent.
i have seen and used the furuno 585/600tranny in 100mtrs and i.m.o i think my hds reads much better with more detail in 100mtrs.
yes it was on 2 differant boats and maybe thats why.
if you go furuno/lowrance they will not talk to each other like the hds-hds, i started with the hds10/ and navman until i had the funds to buy the hds8 to replace the navman, since then i have never been able to fault them..
saying all that, i do like the furuno and i dont think you would go wrong with either units ,just think about what you wana do in the future and if you think you might upgrade later.
there are a few guys using the hds with great results so they cant be that bad, just look at steve231 for example!
good luck either way mate
ron
Lucky Tim
Posts: 2536
Date Joined: 28/11/07
the furuno and HDS talk to
the furuno and HDS talk to each other, just it's one way. I can use the cursor to mark soundings on my 585 and get a lat and long. The only inconvinience is I need to manually enter this into the HDS. This takes about 30 seconds but it's very rare I mark ground this way and not go back around for a look so it's a tiny inconvinience for a shit hot sounder.
As a GPS/plotter the HDS is excellent, my only gripe is sometimes it seems a little slow to acquire satellites.
Lamby
Posts: 3145
Date Joined: 04/08/09
One way pain in the arse, how
One way pain in the arse, how did you go about this connection anyway mate? I want to do the same with my 585 & HDS
Lucky Tim
Posts: 2536
Date Joined: 28/11/07
as per the wiring
as per the wiring instructions here Lamby
http://fishwrecked.com/forum/gps-combo-or-stand-alone
but the settings needed a little tweak from what I remember. I am away so if you wire it up I can send through my settings when I get home. Was fairly simple from what I remember
Lamby
Posts: 3145
Date Joined: 04/08/09
Yeah cheers mate that would
Yeah cheers mate that would be appreciated