sounder/plotter - which one

[streve]

Hi all raiders.

I am in the market for a new sounder/plotter. I am setting up to go offshore fishing, probably as far as the peak. Ive always river fished and travelled just outside the heads but now want to use my boat for what it is capable of.

My boat is a smidgen over 6meters and ive owned it for years so am very sure of its capabilities. But before going into the big blue i want to make sure everything is spot on. I will be getting an epirb, renewing my marine radio, and looking for a new sounder/plotter.

I was expecting to pay up to $1000 for a good colour model sounder/plotter but after a bit of research have come away with nothiong but confusion.

Has anyone paid a similar price for a unit that they think is the bees knees?

I am always happy to buy something on referal. especially if i get recommended the same product from a few people.

It also appears that with some models you buy the unit, then have to pay hunderds of dollars more for the australian maps. Do some of the units come with maps already installed?

Thanks in advance for your help

[a boat]

Hi, if your budget is $1K the best value is the the GME which comes with comes with Gold chart and offers the biggest screen for the lowest cost. The Humminbird, Lowrance are good units but if you can stretch to a few hundered more the new Raymarine A67 touch screen is the best in this size unit and for a very limited time and number it is well priced and comes with an Oz wide Gold chart too.

Cheers,

Huey.

[Geoff]

Do some of the units come with maps already installed?

Thanks in advance for your help

Yes , but varies from brand to brand & models within brands so you will need to speak with the retailer when making your choice.

I agree with Huey , for the $$$ your talking about , the GME G-Series Combo should be on the top of the list followed by the Lowrance Elite-5 DSI Combo.

The GME includes the Aust. wide C-Map , the Elite includes the Aust. wide XL9 Gold card.

Both cards provide similar information.

Geoff

[zmk1962]

Hi all raiders.

I am in the market for a new sounder/plotter. I am setting up to go offshore fishing, probably as far as the peak. Ive always river fished and travelled just outside the heads but now want to use my boat for what it is capable of.

My boat is a smidgen over 6meters and ive owned it for years so am very sure of its capabilities. But before going into the big blue i want to make sure everything is spot on. I will be getting an epirb, renewing my marine radio, and looking for a new sounder/plotter.

I was expecting to pay up to $1000 for a good colour model sounder/plotter but after a bit of research have come away with nothiong but confusion.

Has anyone paid a similar price for a unit that they think is the bees knees?

I am always happy to buy something on referal. especially if i get recommended the same product from a few people.

It also appears that with some models you buy the unit, then have to pay hunderds of dollars more for the australian maps. Do some of the units come with maps already installed?

Thanks in advance for your help

Bees Knees eh - I think it's all a compromise - unless $$$ are an infinite resource.

I can only tell you what I use and find works for me - I use an Eagle Seacharter 642c DF iGPS (DF stand for dual frequency transducer), with Gold Navionics Charts. Whole lot set me back just a tad over $1000. Its a colour GPS/Sounder and the Navionics charts are the Naval charts for Australia. I fish out to Browns and can sound bottom - I run the unit in split mode - half the screen as a GPS where the unit overlays the Naval chart details and my track and the other half as the sounder. When I get to a spot I switch it to full screen sounder for more historical detail. From memory, the DF feature runs at 200kHz or 50Khz one is wide angle (shallower) and the other narrow (deeper penetration) and there is a set and forget dual mode option.

There is a Lowrance equivalent model (Eagle is the "E" in LEI) but I am not sure what that is.

I installed my unit with a thru-hull shoot (my hull is fibreglass and I epoxied the transducer onto my hull floor at the back where I have a drain well), hence it has little turbulence interference apart what the hull naturally produces and reads bottom at >30kts, but not in reverse.

The unit works well, its also linked to my VHS Radio, I have not had any problems in the 3+yrs I have had it. I'd like a bigger screen, but then again I don't fish enough (sadly) to warrant more investment on this hobby. (Other hobbies also compete for cash - there's that compromise again.)

I've owned Eagle and Hummingbird sounders previously and for many years my GPS was a handheld Garmin GPS 45 fitted on a mobile phone cradle (I still have the 45 as a back up to this day - not worth selling and it still works.) In fact they all basically worked. So suggest you might want to tag along on a few boats that have different set ups and narrow down the features that you think would be "bees knees" eg. friend of mine would not look at a GPS unless it had Anchor Alarm - ie. a setting if you drift off your spot by a preset amount (say 100m) an alarm sounds.

BTW, there are also other alternatives emerging - I am now playing with an iPad and iPhone app (Navionics) which seems to be a reasonable GPS app for a smidgen of the price of any dedicated device.... But I am yet to seriously road (water?) test these two. Screen on the iPad is certainly bigger than my Seacharter 642c ???

Ahhh.... the toys... the toys....

[streve]

Thanks guys,

I have now started looking at the GME G Series which i had not even considered before.

At what depth do you think the G Series 600Watt 50/200khz transducer will be accurate too. I noticed that the Lowrance Elite-5 DSI reads the bottom to 76meters, so this may not accurately read all the bottom at the peak? (yes i know there is more than just the bottom to read) But to head up to the next Lowrance it appears i would need the HDS-5 Gen 2 which gets up there price wise as i need to then purchase a Navionics card.

I do like the option of sticking with one brand (GME combo, epirb and VHF radio) as i understand you can have the radio talk to the GPS combo in case of emergency.

Has anyone actually used the GME G Series? and what is your thoughts?

Thanks

[a boat]

Thanks guys,

I have now started looking at the GME G Series which i had not even considered before.

At what depth do you think the G Series 600Watt 50/200khz transducer will be accurate too. I noticed that the Lowrance Elite-5 DSI reads the bottom to 76meters, so this may not accurately read all the bottom at the peak? (yes i know there is more than just the bottom to read) But to head up to the next Lowrance it appears i would need the HDS-5 Gen 2 which gets up there price wise as i need to then purchase a Navionics card.

I do like the option of sticking with one brand (GME combo, epirb and VHF radio) as i understand you can have the radio talk to the GPS combo in case of emergency.

Has anyone actually used the GME G Series? and what is your thoughts?

Thanks

Hi, the simple TRUE facts about depth are that all these units in the same price catagory will go to about the same depth once they are set-up right. Do not for a minute think that what a manufacturer says a unit will go to is correct because that is ideal FRESHWATER depths and in the real world bopping around in salt water is a different story. DSI is only for inshore water in reality and your better off getting a Elite-5 STD or better yet(if you do not want to spend about $1,300 on the HDS-5 or even better the new Raymarine A67 touch) is get the GME like I said in my first reply. For the money it is hard to beat and buy that if you want the best bang for your buck or the Raymarine if you can stretch the budget. The specials I am having at the moment are hard to beat so PM me with your max budget and I will tell you the best to buy for that money and trust me there will always be something better just a bit more money so that is why the forst question I ask people when they take the time to come in-"what is your max budget?"

Cheers,

Huey.

PS-Yes I have used all I sell and my thoughts are like I have told you.

Edited December 4, 2012 by Huey @ Huett Marine

[zmk1962]

Thanks guys,

I have now started looking at the GME G Series which i had not even considered before.

At what depth do you think the G Series 600Watt 50/200khz transducer will be accurate too. I noticed that the Lowrance Elite-5 DSI reads the bottom to 76meters, so this may not accurately read all the bottom at the peak? (yes i know there is more than just the bottom to read) But to head up to the next Lowrance it appears i would need the HDS-5 Gen 2 which gets up there price wise as i need to then purchase a Navionics card.

I do like the option of sticking with one brand (GME combo, epirb and VHF radio) as i understand you can have the radio talk to the GPS combo in case of emergency.

Has anyone actually used the GME G Series? and what is your thoughts?

Thanks

I don't have experience with the GME G series, but I'm glad you're starting to narrow it down as you build up the list of features that you want to have. So far I have noted, for Sounder: Colour screen, >76m (250ft) max depth, dual frequency; and for GPS: NMEA In/Out (thats the GPS signal input and output capability that allows you to connect to other devices). I would suggest you build out this must have list of features for the GPS/Souder combo.

Start a similar list of must have features for your VHF set (So far DSC - Digital Selective Calling, and NMEA in/out).

Its only when you have that clarity that you can start to shop for the bargain combination. It's a trade off.

At this stage I would not be to fussed about buying the same brand (unless you feel you can negotiate a better deal) - as long as your sets support the interfaces and the international standards for the data that you wish to exchange you should be ok - and you can check for that compatibility online before you buy.

Eg. I found the wiring diagram to connect my Standard Horizon Explorer GX1600 VHF with my Eagle Seacharter 642c DF before I purchased the GX1600. BTW, the Seacharter has a max depth of 457m/1500ft. I have sounded down to 500+m but the 5inch screen makes it hard to be really effective (even with "bottom zoom" enabled - yet another feature to consider!!) so in my case the screen is a compromise. Nevertheless hasn't stopped me catching Gemmies and Blue Eye - as I can cleary find the Mountain and contours.

True some of the manufacturers offer newer Units with their own proprietary network implementations, and hence would be easier to interconnect, but I don't think they are in your $1000 price range.

If I can make one final suggestion, build up your knowledge - read as much as you can - Google some products that you are interested in and download the manuals that are available free online. Read up on the features and what they do and how "user friendly" the interface is to access those features.

Or... go to a dealer that understands this business and explain the type of fishing/boating you do and what your needs are and listen to their advice. I know this area can be quite complex and the fear is once the units are installed - you will have to live with them for quite some time. Best of luck.

[streve]

thanks guys.

Just 1 more question...can anyone tell me the difference between a 20/200khz transducer and a 83/200khz transducer.

Thanks

[a boat]

Hi, no such thing as 20/200Khz, there is a 50/200Khz some brands offer and that will go deeper than a 83/200Khz, but will not give the coverage of the latter frequency. Simple fact is for all inshore and close offshor work the 83/200 offers the best all round performance. For deep water the 50/200 is better and the best is a 1Kw or more transducers but they alone cost over your $1K budget.

As I said all along, the two options in this price range are the GME or the best is the Raymarine A67-its P58 transuder is the best and offers paddle speed too as well as GPS speed. Both come with gold chart at present.

Cheers,

Huey.

[streve]

HI Huey,

I think you sent me a PM regarding pricing for the Raymarine............but ill be stuffed if i can find any PM at all. Maybe i deleted them by mistake........no idea (im pretty ordinary at computers)

If you have sent me a PM is there any chance you could resend. Thanks and sorry for the stuff around.

If anyone else sent me a PM i have no record of it either?????????

[a boat]

HI Huey,

I think you sent me a PM regarding pricing for the Raymarine............but ill be stuffed if i can find any PM at all. Maybe i deleted them by mistake........no idea (im pretty ordinary at computers)

If you have sent me a PM is there any chance you could resend. Thanks and sorry for the stuff around.

If anyone else sent me a PM i have no record of it either?????????

No problem, I just sent you another one.