blacky Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 G'day fello raiders, I have just recently just bought my first boat and i am in need of some advice on choosing a Fishfinder/Gps. I have looked around alot but there seems to be so many models, brands and combination's i am lost. I don't really wont to spend a fortune on one and i also don't won't to regret buying one that isn't any good. Is colour better than Black and white ? I have been told that the good black and white models are better than the cheaper colour models. Please help as i hate regretting a purchase !!! Or if anyone out there has a good one they are getting rid of i also may be interested in a second hand one. Many thanks Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blacky Posted June 16, 2009 Author Share Posted June 16, 2009 Does anyone have any advice to give me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sniper Posted June 16, 2009 Share Posted June 16, 2009 Ask yourself -do you really need gps? Do you want it just for sounding depth? Do you really need colour? if no-yes-no a cheap one eg $200 should be fine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wahcat Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 (edited) I have always been told with the sounders to buy the cheapest and have a Navman 4432 on my boat. Paid $160 for it. I have seen other more expensive models both gray scale and colour and personally would not spend $600 - $1200 for a sounder as the show the same thing. As for the GPS. I have never found a reason to use maps in the boat but this is a personal thing. I have a 20 year old hand held that I use for finding my secret spots out at sea etc. wahcat Edited June 17, 2009 by wahcat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregL Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 I love my sounder and GPS, they are my eyes at sea! A good colour sounder will show you depth, thermoclines, water temp, bottom stucture and fish with bait schools. My GPS is my fishing treasure map, not only will it show on where to go and where I have been but I have found so many new spots it's already paid for itself. It's also my fish diary as every decent fish that has come over the side has a fish mark on the spot. Already since owning NEXT you can see clear areas where there are more fish than others. 7 months down the track of getting the boat it's already going in for an electronic upgrade, that's how important they are for me. I wouldn't even go snapper fishing without my trusty GPS. Greg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
checch Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 I Just got myself a handheld Garmin 400c GPS, its awsome, with pre-loaded maps and all.. I'm also looking for a decent sounder at the moment, but i guess if it finds structure theres gotta be fish right? so guess it doesnt have to be too detailed, meaning maybe a cheaper one is the way too go if your not sounding depths over 100-200m? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slinkymalinky Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 G'day Blacky, What you spend and which is the right unit is entirely up to you and based on the outcome you want. I've lived with both a cheap B&W sounder (basic navman), a decent B&W sounder (more upscale Lowrance) and my current more expensive colour one (Lowrance 337C-DF)... I wouldn't go back. BUT that's based on what I do with it and how I use it. My unit is a colour sounders with a chart plotter. Without the chartplotter/GPS there is no way I could reliably find a lot of the very small, isolated marks up here that produce the bulk of my fish. If all you wanted to do was say... fish in particular bays or rivers, then a GPS may be of no value. The price of sounders is related to a lot of things... my colour sounder has a larger screen and better resolution than my earlier one... more expensive but equates to much more detail on screen. Jewhunter will vouch for just how much we can tell from that detail... right down, with experience to what species of fish we're seeing, how big they are, what's growing on the bottom... etc. I couldn't do that with my older sounders. It makes a big difference to the number of fish we catch... last Sunday Jewhunter and I could see exactly the isolated spot where some snapper were sitting and sure enough, caught one and got busted up by another right on the spot. Colour also adds an extra level of detail that makes interpretation potentially easier. Other costs increases can come from more powerful tranducers (better for deeper water) dual frequency transducers (to optimise performance for shallow or deeper areas), etc. You pay for colour over black and white so it is the case that sometimes a better quality B&W sounder will outperform a cheaper colour unit... but a good colour unit can outperform a good B&W unit. The last thing is to be aware that getting good performance from your sounder is about 50% technology and 50% user proficiency. There's no point shelling out for the world's best sounder if you don't have the experience to use it properly. There is no 'best' solution... it comes down to how, where and why you want to fish and how much money you want to spend. Maybe give us some more of those details... Cheers, Slinky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
framedtrash Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 Great post slinky now i don't feel so bad about spending lots of money on my new sounder combo i got a garmin 420s and i love it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adjustedpete Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 thanx slinky for your awesome reply, i am in the same boat as blacky..... my pirhana fishfinder is on the blnk and I would love to hear from other raiders as to what is a good comproimise for gps and sounder. I want to spend about $300..$400.......???????? What to do??. I fish pittwater and middle harbour and I desperately want to target kingies and bottom bash while Im waiting..What to do????? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jewhunter Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 I can vouch for Slinkys' set up. It's awesome. Cheers, Grant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
framedtrash Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 sounders are awesome tools when used correctly i want to open up a thread dedicated to sounders and there readings that way ppl can take photos of there sounder readings and explain whats going on the screen so ppl who dont understand sounders can get a better idea of whats going on what ya reckon good idea or not ?? what section would one put a thread like that ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jewdreamer Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 Totally agree guys, Ive got a Piranhamax 215 and having real difficulty getting useful info from it. Help!!! Any advice would be great. Also, really having fun trying to get it to read whnen on the plane??? Cheers Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
achjimmy Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 sounders are awesome tools when used correctly i want to open up a thread dedicated to sounders and there readings that way ppl can take photos of there sounder readings and explain whats going on the screen so ppl who dont understand sounders can get a better idea of whats going on what ya reckon good idea or not ?? what section would one put a thread like that ?? Mate why not start with the Sounder Reviews thread in boating? Pinned here http://fishraider.com.au/Invision/index.php?showtopic=19566 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spongy Posted June 17, 2009 Share Posted June 17, 2009 I had an older B/W sounder on my boat and recently upgraded to a new basic B/W sounder. The difference was significant, with now being able to see multiple fish arches and not only seabad depth but what type of sea bed. Then I had the opportunity to upgrade to a 2nd-hand near high end colour sounder. The step up was amazing. I can now lock onto the seabed even at 30knots and can now survey so much more area than I used to in a shorter period of time. Im not sure whether to put this down to better quality electronics, or just pure increase in sonar power (600W RMS). There is also less false positive detection, and the arches are clearer and seem to show more individual fish. Whatever it is, I regret not upgrading sooner. So my recommendation is buy the best you can afford - There is a difference. At the same time, do some research so you don't waste your money on features you are unlikely going to use. In terms of whether to get color or black and white, generally color is better than B/W, but there are so many more important things to look out for which can easily make a higher spec B/W sounder far better than lower spec colour sounder. Just my 2c worth. Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blacky Posted June 18, 2009 Author Share Posted June 18, 2009 Many thanks to everyone's input you all have helped to make my decision easier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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