Combo Plotter/Sounder units...

AlexT · #1 12-12-2002, 11:12 PM

Curious to know about the reaction of people who have gone this route. I certainly am aware of the benefits of having dedicated unit for each, but given constraints on space and not being a sounder freak, I'd like to know whether folks who have combo units are happy with them.

Right now I'm leaning towards the Furuno GP 1650 DF or the equiv. Garmin unit. The only comparable Lowrance unit is way out of range in price.

***FYI meant to post this on a different board but suffered from "windows confusion" from having too many windows open and accidentally posted this here. Figured I'd leave this up as most of you are fishermen anyhow. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] ***

[ December 12, 2002, 10:15 PM: Message edited by: Alex ]

Finster · #2 12-12-2002, 11:38 PM

Uuummm, I tell everyone you get what you pay for. You can't spend $600 and expect too much. I use the lowrance Lcx-16ci and think it's the best combo out there. It's not cheap, but any good color unit is going to cost you some bucks. I also have a Lmx-15mt (mono version) and thats equaly as good, even better in direct sun, but once you go color you'll never go back.
A lot of people shoot down lowrance and I can't figure out why, if you talk with anyone that has one they'll tell you the same as I.

Capt. C Handel
Little Egg Charters

(sounds more offical) [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

I think I got off the subject a little.
Combo's are fine if you have a big enough screen to see both when you have them split. Individual units great but.....

[ December 12, 2002, 10:44 PM: Message edited by: Finster ]

ocuyler · #3 12-12-2002, 11:54 PM

Alex,

I did alot of homework and have decided on the Lowrance LCX-16ci color combo for my 23 CC redo.

I like the Garmin 2006c with the black box, but I wanted to keep it under $2,000 all in.

Oh, baby, I can't wait to use it. It'll be spring in, what, 5 months?

Otto

AlexT · #4 12-13-2002, 10:37 AM

I haven't seen the Lowrance for under $2k anywhere. The Furuno runs about $1.6k from what I have seen.

Granted, the Lowrance is probably the most modern, feature-packed unit, but I don't really need all that. As a fly fisherman sounders are of limited utility to me (don't fish deeper than 30' or so, and usually over/around obvious structure) so I don't want to pay for a bunch of functionality I'll never use.

While the Garmin unit looks good, I kinda like the horizontal screen of the Furuno; when you split the screen you have two vertical side by side areas instead of two horizontal stacked ones, which seems more useful and readable.

John R · #5 12-13-2002, 11:00 AM

I'm going to find a couple year old commercial grade FF as the primary unit and a decent monochrome FF/Chartplotter as secondary FF and for my chartplotting needs as I will want to map out specific areas and build a DB for my use [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img] .

Finster · #6 12-13-2002, 11:09 AM

John R, if you put a CRT on a CC you'll never see a thing. And if you have dual units it doughtfull you'll be able to use them at the same time due to frequency conflict. Just a thought. [img]images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

Briguy · #7 12-13-2002, 12:30 PM

My old setup was a monocrome garmin 205 plotter. This unit was from 1997, so it's getting a little long in the tooth and has been a little moody recently. I also have a Sitex 106 color machine. Guys in Florida swear by its ability to diffirenciate hard bottom from sand, which isn't an easy task. The unit is great except you cant see it at all in the sun. My friend just got a Garmin chartplotter with a color screen for about 900 bucks and I was amazed at the new features and you can read it in direct sunlite. My new garmin 2006c cost me 1950.00 with the 50/200khz black box sounder. I bought it in unused condition on Ebay. I will need to buy a new bluechart and a transducer, so my cost will be another 200.00. The power output was twice that of my old sitex so I imagine the performance will be better. The lowrance probably has a better fishfinder but I am more familiar with the garmin keypad. I would have liked the 2010c garmin with the 10 inch screen but I couldn't stretch my budget any more. One final question, which transducer is better, a transom mount or one that shoots its signal through the hull? I don't want to drill a hole in my boat. Are the through hulls as good at picking out structure or fish? Does the signal degrade through the hull? Thanks.

Finster · #8 12-13-2002, 12:46 PM

They say you loose 15% to 20% signal when shooting through the hull.

John R · #9 12-13-2002, 12:52 PM

I'm thinking dual frequency setups - high freq for the detailed FF and low for the secondary unit for structure - I also work in depths well less than 100'... A few friends of mine (incl local guides)have similar setups or units. I have a couple other things going on in my tiny mind too [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img] [img]images/icons/rolleyes.gif[/img]

But it still all needs to wait until I have a boat...

Matt1121 · #10 01-09-2003, 12:56 PM

I just bought the new dual frequency GARMIN 188c GPS/Plotter/Sounder from Voyager Marine Electronics in Essex, MA for $1300 with transducer and the Garmin Blue Wave? plotting chip. I am mounting the transducer in the bilge. I realize this can decrease the sensitivity of the sounder but I am using this unit mainly for navigation purposes and the sounder only as secondary source. This unit will stay on 200mhz? frequency.

I also just bought a dual frequency Lowrance X-58 high definition fishfinder for $200 from Consumers Marine Electronics at the NY boat show. This unit will serve as my primary fishfinder and water temperature indicator. I will mount the transducer on the transom so that I can get the best sensitivity. This unit will be the primary fishfinder/sounder and will stay on 50mhz so it won't interfere with the Garmin GPS.

-Ed-