latindog Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 Hi all I was looking at fish finders for sometime now and came across the T-BOX SP200, for the price and good reviews and the fact that can be integrated with Navionics charts together with a big screen such as a tablet or IPad it really making me want to buy one but I'm still not 100% sure if investing on it is not going to hit me in the ass. The reviews I have read and seen in youtube seems to come from the same people advertising it so I'm wandering if anyone here with more experience has one and what do you think about this transducer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest no one Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 Theres also the Raymarine Wi-fish. I'd ask why are you looking at this option and why not a solid unit? I personally have a Lowrance Elite 4x with DSI which costs about $250 these days, then an iphone 6+ which I use my navman holder to stick it to my boats dash which uses the navionics app ($25), so i have the Sounder and Nav on display on 2 good sized screens which cost $275. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest no one Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 Id also say it would destroy your battery life so think about adding a charger onto your rig! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
latindog Posted May 13, 2015 Author Share Posted May 13, 2015 the fact that it can be displayed on a big screen was attracting my interest , my hart is not set on it yet that's why I wanted to hear if is worth investing on one and if somebody had actually used one, my plan over this winter is to setup a dual battery system with a solar drip charge all I need now is the second battery I have everything else and have the ipad or tablet mounted and plugged in , I haven't heard of the Raymarine Wi-fish thanks for the advise, will look it up now. I haven't discarded the thoughts of buying a normal unit yet to replace my Eagle, I think that will be the sure way to go but it is interesting that for such low price I can setup something close to those units costing over 1k Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oz_brett Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 Most units now days will operate on a tablet, some you will need to purchase a separate WIFI unit. Ive got the Garmin 751xs it has WiFi built in, the software for both I-phone / I-pad and all the ANDROID products is free from Garmin & gives full control of the unit. I have turned the unit on in boat while parked in driveway & sat in the house using the PC looking up GPS marks then adding to my unit via the galaxy tablet... so much better then trying to write them down. I also bought a pendo tablet from Coles for $50 just to have in the boat so that I can have the sounder anywhere on the boat while fishing. (the Pendo is not easy to see in sunlight though! Brett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NaClH2OK9 Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 (edited) You'll need to check when using a tablet on WiFi to a fixed unit what resolution you get. Certainly on my unit the max res you can get matches the display. I. E. If the screen resolution is 640 x 480 on the unit you may only get this in the app. Makes a big difference when you're thinking big screen equals big detail. Edited May 13, 2015 by NaClH2OK9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
latindog Posted May 14, 2015 Author Share Posted May 14, 2015 You'll need to check when using a tablet on WiFi to a fixed unit what resolution you get. Certainly on my unit the max res you can get matches the display. I. E. If the screen resolution is 640 x 480 on the unit you may only get this in the app. Makes a big difference when you're thinking big screen equals big detail. Hmmmm Plenty to think about, I checked the Wi-Fish as tef1on made me aware as an option, I really like it, it comes with chirp unlike the T-BOX SP200 does not, but the down view resolution is incredible on the RAYMARINE DRAGONFLY 4 , the what I’m not sure about this unit is the long transducer that comes with it. As much as would like the Garmin 751xs sound great but it is way out of my price range, man this is difficult, I’m going to BCF for some braid so I’ll check out what they have and ask for about the Lawrence range and what they think about WI-FI systems, will also some home research and check resolutions over the Wi-Fi feed as per NaClH2OK9 indicated Thank you all, the more info I gather the more time I have to make the right decision Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbaron Posted May 16, 2015 Share Posted May 16, 2015 I looked into these as well. These are old fashion sonar. You could get a second hand, 7 year old Garmin, and have the same fish finding capability. Like above said, get a Lowrance 4 HDI or Chirp! latest price is well under $200. http://www.chsmith.com.au/Products/Lowrance-Elite-4x-CHIRP-Fishfinder.html The HDI is even cheaper! (I I reckon just as good). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizardboy Posted May 17, 2015 Share Posted May 17, 2015 I have a sonar phone T-pod ( portable wifi transducer), I use it with my Packraft and iPhone for hike in trips. I am very impressed with the images I get, arches etc.. I also have a High end HUMMINBIRD sounder for my boat/canoe. I really like the sonar phone concept, I doubt there is a more cost effective way to get a decent sounder with basic features and a large quality screen. I'm not sure how deep you are fishing but I think the sonar phone t-box may not be ideal/ powerful enough for offshore work but should be fine for estuary work. The company that makes them have been making ice fishing sounders/flashers for years Cheers, Gus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
latindog Posted May 19, 2015 Author Share Posted May 19, 2015 (edited) Thanks bigbaron for the link interesting to know the price is within reach, I think the lowrance will be the one to get if I change my mind in not going wi-fi Lizardboy I think the t-box is better in deeps than the t-pod but I can't find anything on its depth capabilities however the Wi-fish depth Range is 600 ft (183m) and chirp which puts me in a big wander if I'm going for big screen or the lowrance now, thanks for the advise Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Edited May 19, 2015 by latindog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwicraig Posted June 28, 2015 Share Posted June 28, 2015 I love the idea of moving all the smarts into an app on a tablet. I noticed on the front page of the navionics.com.au website there is a free offer where you can fill out a form and they might send you a free t-box. I filled it out and have had an email back saying they are going to send me one, so will be really interested to see how well it works. If it works well I will be investigating the best way to waterproof and mount the old iPad into the boat. Craig Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ric001 Posted June 28, 2015 Share Posted June 28, 2015 Hey guys. I have the sonar phone paired to a repurposed iPhone that has navionics and to be honest I'm really impressed. I have it side by side with a lowrance elite 5 and it is giving me the exact same readings. For a small boat owner it is a really cheap cost for a Nav/plotter set up. For $25 I have the same charts as the Nav gold for a lot less coin. Ric. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ric001 Posted June 28, 2015 Share Posted June 28, 2015 Hey Craig. I'll pm you some screen shots form today one I figure out how. I received one of the freebies and the campaign has just finished. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ric001 Posted June 28, 2015 Share Posted June 28, 2015 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwicraig Posted June 29, 2015 Share Posted June 29, 2015 Hey Craig. I'll pm you some screen shots form today one I figure out how. I received one of the freebies and the campaign has just finished. Nice - my promo unit arrived today so I must have just snuck in. Can't wait to give it a go. Looks like I have project for the weekend. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ric001 Posted June 29, 2015 Share Posted June 29, 2015 Install is really easy. 12v power and mount the sensor. Too simple. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ric001 Posted June 29, 2015 Share Posted June 29, 2015 You can actually have multiple units reading the data output so, you could have a sounder in multiple locations on the boat. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
antonywardle Posted June 29, 2015 Share Posted June 29, 2015 great thread and its got me rethinking what I should be looking at Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zook2001 Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 (edited) I nearly purchased the sonar phone on Saturday so a big thanks to kiwicraig for mentioning the free promo, my freebie arrived today, you can add the sonar phone to your tablet and you can do live mapping in uncharted areas with the Navonics app, a lot cheaper than a Hummingbird ion at four grand plus. Edited July 1, 2015 by zook2001 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ric001 Posted July 1, 2015 Share Posted July 1, 2015 Hey zook, that hole in the photo I posted drops down to 8 meters plus in an average 2m deep channel. I received the freebie from navionics also and am looking forward to trying in outside the Illawarra, in botany and hacking. Free is way better than $4k. Ric. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwicraig Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 Here is a photo of my one in action. My mate gave me his wife's old iPad for free, I already owned Navionics and got the SP-200 as part of a promo. The only new purchase was the case. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amkr Posted July 10, 2015 Share Posted July 10, 2015 that free promo unit must be over? I cant fine it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ric001 Posted July 11, 2015 Share Posted July 11, 2015 I received email yesterday confirming that the beta testing is over but supplied links as to where to purchase it from. I received mine under the free promo and am very happy. All it cost me was the navionics charts for my spare iPhone without a SIM card. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ric001 Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 Hey guys. It looks like the sonar phone freebie might be on again. Have a look at the site. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amkr Posted July 28, 2015 Share Posted July 28, 2015 http://www.sonarphone.mobi/ Doesn't look like it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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