Re: fish finders
Don't forget the cone angle issue. If you are fishing offshore it is not an issue but if you are fishing in waters say 40' or less, think twice about the Furuno.
Having said that let me say I own a 582 now and have owned probably a dozen Furuno machines in my life. Here's the skinny: Furuno's 200kHz has a 11 or so degree cone angle, while Garmin [and everyone else] offers it with about 20 degrees.
Now, Furuno proponents will tell you to simply swith over to 50kHz in shallower water and get the 37 degree cone angle but that too is flawed as at 50kHz you get little detail.
Long story short, if you are fishing the bays and reefs I'd definitely stay away from the Furuno until they get Airmar to build them a 20 degree, 200 kHz transducer.
If you want more detailed info let me know. I actually did a side by side with a 6100 and a Lowrance x85 in 30' and the results would make you a believer, I promise. I took the 6100 off my little boat and replaced it with a Lowrance x-16 for these reasons.
Oh yeah, on the screen issue, whoever talked about the sunlight viewing is correct about the 1650-1850's. There have been some great advancements in how they "twist" the light to make a better screen image. Lowrance x-19 and 104 have it and the x15's do not. Furuno's 16 and 1850's have it, the others do not.
Tom.
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