New sounder

[Bryant fish]

So looks like the h bird sounder i have has stopped working checked the plug and getting power but sounder kept turning off and now nothing so looks like a new one needed i am not real good with technology so am thinking only need sounder and gps what recommendations under $500 as most of the things on the old one I didn’t use would prefer not another hbird as it had a few issues with it 

[noelm]

I like Garmin, simply because they are so easy to use, and I have had a good run with them over the years.

[JustJames]

On my previous boat I installed a Lowrance Hook Reveal with a 9" screen.

 

Current boat has a Lowrance Hook (prev model) with a 7" screen.

 

I've been happy with the Lowrance units, but I miss the larger screen.  It's especially handy for splitting between GPS and sounder.  Your $500 budget will likely limit you to 5" units.  If you can, stretch to a larger screen.  7" is bearable, but I wouldn't want to go any smaller.

[Bryant fish]

The last one was 7 but dont need all the features it was a helix with side screen etc

[mossi]

Since all brands are basically equally as good these days I would just buy the biggest screen you can afford even if it means superseded models.

[JustJames]

It looks like both the major Aussie retailers that cover this sort of thing are preparing for a 'Click Frenzy' online sale, so it may be worth having a sniff around to see if there are any deals to be had.

[Marky mark]

I'm always fond of the Lowrance stuff from a durability point of view, their cheapest 7 inch is the Lowrance Hook Reveal 7x Splitshot which you can get for around $580 if you shop around. They pretty much all have GPS built in as well these days, hard to split screen even on a 7 inch, certainly not a 5 but if your running a separate GPS the 7 will be good. I've got a 7 inch combo and am seriously considering another GPS only unit as the split screen thing is a bit of a pain.

[Bryant fish]

Has anyone used the garmin striker vivid 7 does it have basic gps and whats the difference between the gps and maps  looks like i will go with 7 inch 5 is small

[Bryant fish]

Marky mark i looked at that on way home at the blue store $799 on sale where did you see it at $580. Just james why do you think there’s a sale coming on I’ve just spent a fair bit getting motor rebuilt and i don’t think my wife loves my boat like i do so trying to keep price down 

[JustJames]

2 hours ago, Bryant fish said:

whats the difference between the gps and maps

 

GPS tells you where you are on the planet, but just shows blankness around you.

 

Maps (charts) show you stuff that is around where you are..

 

My fishfinder has a corrupted Navionics card.  My marks are stored on the unit, so I can navigate to them because it knows where it is on the planet....the GPS still works just fine.  But without the chart, it doesn't show me what is around me.  I like knowing about shallow reefs in unfamiliar areas, and knowing where the cliffs that I troll against are deep where they meet the ocean, or if I need to be careful...some of my deep divers dive to 10 or 12 metres, so I might need to be careful.  I will be getting a new Navionics card so that I can see what is around me.

 

2 hours ago, Bryant fish said:

Just james why do you think there’s a sale coming on

Both the orange store and the blue store are currently having click frenzy sales.

[Bryant fish]

I rang hbird to see about a repair said it was too old but offered 15% off on a trade in (retail price)which brings it down to about same price as others i did say i wasn’t too fussed on features but latest tech makes sense i may have to learn something. One thing I didn’t like about the garmin was no maps for roughly the same price as the others that have them ,now i have to hear about how expensive boat is again from wife oh well

[JonD]

Ive owned Lowrance and simrad products for around 30yrs but moved over to Garmin 5yrs ago which was the best thing I did.

Before you spend money though, maybe when you turned off your H bird you accidentally turned the brightness down so dark you can't see the screen. This is something Ive seen people do on various sounders over the years and having the screen turned down you obviously can't see the brighten button depending on the model. If this is the case google how to brighten the screen in that situation.