Raymarine Ds500x

[achjimmy]

I know sounder comparisons have been done to death, but I have been anguishing over trying to make a decision.

I am considering the Raymarine DS500X. Personally I would like the Furuno 620 but can not justify the additional expenditure currently. The price I have been offered a new DS500X for is under $600, problem I have is I can not see one to demo. I looked seriously at the Lowrance X515 and while it has excellent resolution after having a play with the furuno and the clarity the digital sounder offers I don’t think I would be satisfied with the lowrance.

I know of the fogging issue with the Raymarine, other than that is there any other issues?

Fishing will be estuary and close offshore.

[Croydon]

Hi Jimmy,

I have the same sounder on my boat. Purchased it from the States about 12 months ago. I like the sounder and when set up correctly, works well at speed. It is the second Raymarine I've had and both suffered a little from fogging. So I wouldn't be surprised if you have the same drama.

I've taken the boat out to the shelf a few times and get readings to about 120 fathoms then it becomes a bit hit and miss. The unit only reads in fathoms and feet which can be a pain. Other than the fogging I can't complain about it. Hope this helps........

Dave

[a boat]

Hi Jim, we have fitted a fair few of these units in the past and I rate them. Only thing is I thought they were not made anymore, but if you can still get one and for $600 then buy it becasue for that money they are the best you will get. Only issue maybe warranty(if needed) because the company that used to import and sell them no longer does and I think it falls under Raymarine now so just get the serial number of the unit you are looking at and give Raymarine a call and confirm it is a Oz based unit and comes with warranty.

Cheers,

Huey.

[rodf]

Jim,

I've used Raymarine before, great sounders...... but when they fog up it can be annoying.

Like you, I sweated over the Furuno 620 - after everything I read I wanted one bad, but really couldn't justify the extra money. I only fish the estuary/shallow water, so that was the main reason I didn't go with the 620

Just this weekend, I upgraded from a Lowrance X52 to a Lowrance X510c (same as the X515CDF except the 510 is only single frequency, not dual 50/200)

The reason I picked the x510 was that it used the same transducer and power cabling as the x52, so there was bugger all effort for me in swapping over.....and now I've got a spare power cable and transducer!!!

The screen resolution/clarity and brightness of the 510/515 is sensational - coming from grayscale units, I can't believe it took me this long to change to color. I was very pleasantly surprised by the screen on the 510!

Good luck.

Rod