Sounder Problems

[Nolongeramember]

Im hunting down a new sounder that will work well (good) offshore.

Im having some trouble working out how much power is enough to get a good reading in deep water.

I used to have a Lowrance 125X with 2500W of power that says it can go up to 275m deep and the thing is USELESS in water over 25m deep. Sure it picks up the bottom but the screen hardly scrolls (moves) and basically stays in the same spot.

Another sounder my mate has is a 3000W Hummingbird and this is better, but as soon as we get into water 120m deep or more the screen scrolls across slower and slower the deeper we go and hardly moves even on the highest setting. Again, useless.

Im no expert but Im pretty sure this is because the unit is having troubble penetrating the deep water.

Im thinking of getting the 585 Furuno with the 1KW transducer. Will this read the bottom AND scroll across at a decent speed in deep water offshore? Say out at Browns Mountain?

What are some of you guys fishing out there using and how do you find the units?

Thanks for any responses...

Sorry had the wrong power (W) been edited now.

Edited June 8, 2008 by Roylo

[a boat]

Good Morning Roylo, the Furuno range are top shelf sounders and the 585 is a good unit and with the 1Kw transducer I think you would be hard pressed to get a sounder in this price bracket that would do a better job. A word of caution though, the 1Kw is a big transducer that might not suit your boat and depending on which transducer you chose you could also require a matching box. I am sure you are aware also that the 1Kw transdcuer is expensive compared to the 600w.

Cheers,

Huey.

[Nolongeramember]

Good Morning Roylo, the Furuno range are top shelf sounders and the 585 is a good unit and with the 1Kw transducer I think you would be hard pressed to get a sounder in this price bracket that would do a better job. A word of caution though, the 1Kw is a big transducer that might not suit your boat and depending on which transducer you chose you could also require a matching box. I am sure you are aware also that the 1Kw transdcuer is expensive compared to the 600w.

Cheers,

Huey.

I see, thanks mate. How big is the 1KW transducer? And what is a 'box'?

[choad]

have you considered adjusting the refresh rate on your unit?

also, sound will travel through the water at a constant rate regardless of which transducer you use. ie: the deeper it travels, the longer it takes to bounce off the bottom and get back to you. whether or not your transducer has enough juice and sensitive enough to pick up the attenuated/weak signal is another issue.

tech talk aside, GO FURUNO!

[a boat]

Hi Roylo, I do not have dimensions but they are big. I am not a Furuno dealer so I do not have one here to measure, but perhaps call Furuno and get them to send you the details. A matching box from what I understand is required to allow the unit to "talk" to the transducer, again not being a dealer the brands I deal with do not have such a thing so again perhaps ask Furuno if you need one and how much and what it is for.

Cheers,

Huey.

[Nolongeramember]

Thanks for that..

Can I get some feedback from people with the 585 or 620 Furuno. How deep have they taken there units and how did they perform?