View Full Version : Sold the 332C, now what ?
Somethins_Fishy
12-12-2006, 12:03 AM
Looking for a little advise on my new finder/GPS combo purchase . My two top contenders are the Raymarine E and C 80's and the Furuno GP1850 WF/NT/GPS .
The Rays are nice because if I decide to add radar in the future, I could . The Furuno doesn't allow for that, but is considerably cheaper as it already is a GPS/FF combo, where the Rays are displays that need expensive modules added to do the same things the Furuno does .
Is there any real advantage other than the newer style display with the E80 over the C ? I see that the E has more possible add-ons, video feeds and such, but the blood and guts FF/GPS seem to be similar . Is it worth it going to the 1000 watt transducer ? Boat will never be on the ocean and will never see more than 500' fow .
Has anyone ever used or seen both of these brands/models in action to compare them ? I really want to get a high end, high definition deep water capable FF with a great GPS . Returning to salmon fishing this year on Huron and Lake Michigan and will continue to fish Saginaw Bay and Erie for walleye . Looking for one unit to do it all .
I've not had any real experience with either of these units, but both come highly recommended by good fisherman that I trust .
Any help would be *greatly* appreciated .
Somethins_Fishy
12-13-2006, 11:04 PM
cricket...........cricket..............cricket.... .............
:help:
Dont want to get you off topic, just curious why you sold it? I've got 2 of em coming on my new Lund this spring....just curious, hoping it wasnt a performance issue!
Somethins_Fishy
12-14-2006, 08:17 PM
>Dont want to get you off topic, just curious why you sold it?
> I've got 2 of em coming on my new Lund this spring....just
>curious, hoping it wasnt a performance issue!
The 332c worked flawlessly . It never gave me any trouble and seemed to work as it was supposed to in the 60' or less of water I used it in .
If I was going to continue to only fish Erie and Saginaw Bay, I would have stuck with it . I'm going to start salmon fishing again, so I wanted a higher end, more powerful unit for use in deep water on Lakes Huron and Michigan .
Wade@JollyAnnMarine
12-14-2006, 09:08 PM
>>Dont want to get you off topic, just curious why you sold
>it?
>> I've got 2 of em coming on my new Lund this spring....just
>>curious, hoping it wasnt a performance issue!
>
>The 332c worked flawlessly . It never gave me any trouble and
>seemed to work as it was supposed to in the 60' or less of
>water I used it in .
>
>If I was going to continue to only fish Erie and Saginaw Bay,
>I would have stuck with it . I'm going to start salmon fishing
>again, so I wanted a higher end, more powerful unit for use in
>deep water on Lakes Huron and Michigan .
Nothing against Raymarine. I hear they are great units, but I know Lowrance better than anything else so I'll give you my two cents. If you liked the 332C and you're comfortable with the Lowrance functions and performance, why not just move up to the larger, more powerful Lowrance units for 2007? Their 2007 lineup will allow radar to be displayed, and they have plenty of power. You would just want to get a dual frequency transducer for the deeper waters. Problem solved. ;)
Wade Kuehl - Jolly Ann Marine
Jolly Ann Marine can be found in the Walleye Central Business Directory under Electronics/GPS
www.walleyecentral.com/phpyellow/
bladerunner
12-14-2006, 10:33 PM
I agree. The Lowrance 339C DF is what I'm looking at.
Somethins_Fishy
12-15-2006, 08:39 PM
Hiya Wade,
Partly because I've heard that Lowrance split transducers/units had reliablity issues . I heard this from friends who tried them and read a few posts on this site I believe as well that addressed this .
My intention was to buy the split transducer from the get go, but what I discovered concerned me, so I bought the 332c .
Do you have an opinion on this ? The 332c had a good rep as being dependable which is why I bought it instead . Buying and reselling these units is way too expensive, so I want to make sure I buy the right unit for my application this time .
Thanks for the response,
Somethins_Fishy
12-17-2006, 09:12 AM
>Thanks!
You're welcome :) .
Wade@JollyAnnMarine
12-17-2006, 04:23 PM
>Hiya Wade,
>
>Partly because I've heard that Lowrance split
>transducers/units had reliablity issues . I heard this from
>friends who tried them and read a few posts on this site I
>believe as well that addressed this .
>
>My intention was to buy the split transducer from the get go,
>but what I discovered concerned me, so I bought the 332c .
>
>Do you have an opinion on this ? The 332c had a good rep as
>being dependable which is why I bought it instead . Buying and
>reselling these units is way too expensive, so I want to make
>sure I buy the right unit for my application this time .
>
>Thanks for the response,
Marc, I think the issues that we heard about were from a few years back when there were some particular problems with dual frequency LCX-15 units. If my memory serves me, there were a lot of initial problems but Lowrance went back to the drawing board and the problem was solved. I haven't heard of similar problems on the current LCX or LMS series (basically from 2005/2006 models). I watch the message boards pretty regularly and I listen to customers' comments. If there was a problem with the current dual frequency units, it got under my radar.
There is one issue that presents with dual frequency transducers for some people, and that is the 12 degree beam at 200 khz (only on the dual frequency transducers). It's a little narrow for some anglers. Although, one still has the 35 degree cone at 50 khz. Also, that issue is common for most dual frequency transducers. The Raymarine P65 ducer, for example, is and 11 degree/45 degree cone. Off the top of my head, the one manufacturer that offers dual frequency with a 20 degree cone at 200khz is Humminbird. They're really making some noise in the industry. I honestly don't know how well they perform in deeper water, but I have heard a lot of praise from both bass and walleye anglers this past year. They have a new lineup set for release in 2007 and are worth a look as well.
Wade Kuehl - Jolly Ann Marine
Jolly Ann Marine can be found in the Walleye Central Business Directory under Electronics/GPS
www.walleyecentral.com/phpyellow/