Sadza Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 I am looking to upgrad my sounder to a GPS/sounder combo. I mainly fish the Harbour/Botany Bay/Pittwater. The 3 I am deciding on are: - Lowrance HDS5 - Humminbird 788 - Garmin GPSMAP 551 Does anyone have any advice on which one is preferable and if there are any special deals going at the moment with any supplier? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shady Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 I am looking to upgrad my sounder to a GPS/sounder combo. I mainly fish the Harbour/Botany Bay/Pittwater. The 3 I am deciding on are: - Lowrance HDS5 - Humminbird 788 - Garmin GPSMAP 551 Does anyone have any advice on which one is preferable and if there are any special deals going at the moment with any supplier? id personaly go with the lowrance due to my experience with them,there is a company i know called whitworths at drumoyne and other locations which you could find on the net,their number is 98196211. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 From a tech. / spec aspect the 3 units are similar. Price wise the Humminbird & Garmin are $200 more expensive than the Lowrance however , if I'm reading it correctly the external GPS aerial for the Garmin is an additional $89.00 , Humminbird , $220. It appears the Lowrance inc the GPS aerial but this needs to be confirmed. Based on the above , I would be leaning toward the Garmin as I prefer the horizantal screen but the Lowrance would be a very close second. Geoff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rickb Posted August 4, 2010 Share Posted August 4, 2010 I am looking to upgrad my sounder to a GPS/sounder combo. I mainly fish the Harbour/Botany Bay/Pittwater. The 3 I am deciding on are: - Lowrance HDS5 - Humminbird 788 - Garmin GPSMAP 551 Does anyone have any advice on which one is preferable and if there are any special deals going at the moment with any supplier? Hi Sadza. give me a pm and i will give you all the prices for ever model at whitworths. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
framedtrash Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 (edited) all of these units have internal aerials and there is no need for the external one unless you boat has fixed hard roof i have used all 3 units and i would be going with the Lowrance no questions asked if i had to rank them it would the the HDS,HB,Garmin the garmins are great units but there screen resolution lets them down if you start fishing deeper water your going to miss alot Edited August 5, 2010 by Framedtrash Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berleyguts Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 After talking to Huey (Craig @ Huett Marine) as I am looking for a combo in the same price range, I am leaning towards the Humminbird 788 as he reckons it has far better resolution (680 x 480). The Lowrance HDS5 scans far deeper than I will ever go and if you're in the Harbour/Botany Bay/Pittwater do you think you'll be fishing in 1300m of water? However, you can add side scan imaging to the HDS later but it need a second transducer and a box about the size of a ream of A4 paper - so ruled that out for my tinny! Huey - can offer a very competitive Fishraider price. I recommend you send him a PM. I'll be finalising my purchase in the next week or so. Baz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel Frost Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 The HDS-7 has come down a lot in price and would be a good option , definately worth checking out . Currently I have a HDS-5 and love it , Next week I will be installing my new HDS-8 and structure scan , can't wait . The Garmin units I have not really seen in action . The Humminbird and Lowrance units are great sounders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idolz Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 I have a Garmin GPSMAP550s (which is the superseded model but pretty much the same) It has worked great for me with NO problems, it is very easily upgraded via a download from the garmin website,,,, FUNNY THOUGH I problably wouldnt buy one again, I havent used many other sounders but I just feel there are better sounders out there, from what i have seen, i would like to buy a Lowrance HDS7, but I have heard that they have water proofing issues, they may have since fixed the problem, maybe somebody can can comment on their own experience, and better a 'user' comment and not a shop as a shop may be biased Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EGO Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 (edited) Whats the Price Range on a HDS5.. I too need a fish finder and people talk alot about this unit..? Must be a popular choice. Edited August 5, 2010 by EGO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sadza Posted August 5, 2010 Author Share Posted August 5, 2010 (edited) After talking to Huey (Craig @ Huett Marine) as I am looking for a combo in the same price range, I am leaning towards the Humminbird 788 as he reckons it has far better resolution (680 x 480). The Lowrance HDS5 scans far deeper than I will ever go and if you're in the Harbour/Botany Bay/Pittwater do you think you'll be fishing in 1300m of water? However, you can add side scan imaging to the HDS later but it need a second transducer and a box about the size of a ream of A4 paper - so ruled that out for my tinny! Huey - can offer a very competitive Fishraider price. I recommend you send him a PM. I'll be finalising my purchase in the next week or so. Baz Hi Baz I think the resolution is 640 x640 so even better. What price is Craig offering Cheers Sadza Edited August 5, 2010 by Sadza Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Berleyguts Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 Hi Baz I think the resolution is 640 x640 so even better. What price is Craig offering Cheers Sadza Sadza, You are right 640 x 640, 5 inch diagonal. I couldn't find my notes! Craig's Fishraider price he offered bettered any price I could find online but I suggest you send him a PM or give hime a ring. He gave me a lot of feedback over the phone to help me make my choice. I was fortunate enough to have a big birthday bash recently and a bunch of friends chipped in to give me a decent store credit at Huett Marine, which I will be taking up next week some time. Regards, Baz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
framedtrash Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 i run the hds8 and its a great unit upgraded from a garmin 420s (which is the AUS GPSMAP550) and i love it if you plan on using side/down scan you really need to go with the HDS8 or up with the 8 and 10 you can split the screen into 4 diffrent screens to display all the data you cant do this with the smaller models plus the addition of all the on screen buttons is pefect for on the fly changes to gain/freq and other sounder/gps settings very happy with my lowrance Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EGO Posted August 6, 2010 Share Posted August 6, 2010 I'm looking at a combo unit too. I'm starting to like the lowrance HDS5. Can anyone who has one give my anything they don't like about the unit? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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