New Accessories Question

[Not so Sure]

This is a valid dilema, so pelase help me out.

I ordered a new boat, yes its a Ranger. If I order the electronics from Ranger I get the 3 year Warranty. The real dilema is the dealer tried to talk me into purchasing 2 X15's and putting GPS on one of them. I am entertaining the idea, but instead I am leaning toward an X15 and a Global Map 3000. The price differrence from Ranger for an X15 and an X15 with GPS is $500. Cabelas price difference is more like $250. For $250 I might consider two X15's one with GPS. The dealer would give me the Cabelas prce, but not the 3 year warranty which is not a huge deal. I guess my question is, what do you guys think, would two X15's really be that beneficial? When was the last tiem your locator quit working and you had to go toyour backup unit. I am also assuming that when putting hte GPS on an X15, the X15 then efectively becomes a Gmap 3000 with the background map and such. What are your thoughts.

Thanks

[MnWalleyeKiller]

My 2 cents.
If you get the x-15 with the GPS you shouldent have to get the global map.
Now two x-15's is nice but not in my budgett I would go with one in the back and a little step down in the front.
I have been waiting to buy one of these because of the lakemaster maps not being cpmpatable.
As for the warrenty I dont think it matters my 350 has never acted up on me and it gets its abuse.
Thats also why I am in no hurry to get rid of mine.

[KP]

If it were me, I'd go with the two X-15's and the 3 year warranty. 3 years puts a lot of toll on electronics if you use the boat enough. That gives you a great sonar to still use if the other craps out. You've just invested heavily into a top line fishing machine. Don't start counting pennys now.

Disclaimer: Your WAY out of my league on what I could afford so I'm only thinking in terms of what I'd do if I had the cash to do it.

[RTD]

I am guessing you could not run the two X-15's at the same time due to interference. Is that your understanding or am I missing something?

[Dave in Mpls]

It's hard to say without knowing exactly what your getting with the X15s. Which transducers will both have, and will they have speed/temp? Any memory chips?

There is a lot to be said for redundancy! Also, alot to be said for a three year warranty on electronics! Finally, alot to be said for spending money someplace you're probably gonna be again, in a bind!

Regards

[MadMax]

My self..... I would go with the two X15. I would have one riged up with gps and fishfinder mounted on the dash. I would have the other one rigged up as a floater. Then you could use the floater how ever you wanted to. You could use it in the front of the boat, (have it mounted on a ram mount) and use it with your tolling motor. When you go to trolling from the back of the boat like for pulling cranks.....you could put it up on the dash right next to your other one.....or in back of the boat on another ram mount. One X15 would be full screen gps and the other on fish finder. It would take 20 sec to unplug and take it off from the ram mount and move it from the front to the back of the boat. I would have two transducers on the back of the boat for each X15 (one transducer with speed and temp for the floater X15) and one mounted on the trolling motor. Or a auto pilot with the built in tansducer puc. The only question I have is....if you have both of your X15 on the dash....(one in gps and the other on fish finder).... Can you shut the fish finder off on the gps unit so they do not interfere with each other or do you have to unplug the transducer from the back of the unit??? It would be something to check into. To me this would be the best way of doing it. You will be coverd all the way around on your boat and have a great back up unit if needed. I don't know if this set up will work for you or not....but I hope this helps.

[WAZ]

Madmax, have mine set up exactly in that manner. Haven't had it out yet but the Lowrance rep indicated I would need to unplug the transducer cable to run both units without interference.

[Todd_NE]

I've wrestled with the same dilemma pretty hard this past few weeks ordering for my new boat. I was trying to decide between Pinpoint and Lowrance (i've ran both over the years) and have decided to go with:

Lowrance X-15, X-91, and 2400 GPS. I really didn't want to spend more than I needed to and I prefer to have a separate GPS from my depthfinder. I didn't ask about any X-15 to X-15 interference issues, that would be another consideration.

I would suggest you talk to Thorne Bros. www.thornebros.com It's not often a Nebraskan says to not use cabela's, but I was impressed. They have unbelievable prices and treated me exceptionally well (like I always hear others say they do), taking the time to explain all the pro's and cons.

I'm not sure how to place a value on the warranty, that's a tough call.

Good Luck - Todd

[eyewitness]

The big question first off is how good the warranty really is. Does the warranty serve for automatic replacement of said unit when or if it goes down? That in itself can be worth a lot due to the fact that it can be weeks sometimes to get electronics fixed and in the mean time the fishing season is still going by and you don't have your tools to fish with. On the other hand, if all the warranty does is send it in for replacement and the dealer foots the shipping costs to the mfr. I wouldn't buy into that. IMHO top notch electronics now days are made extemely well, and if cared for will last a long time with out any problems, even with heavy use. Personally, I think the mfr. warranty is plenty good for me. I've yet to have any of my stuff go down yet and it gets a lot of use.