What should I buy

[Northtwin]

I just bought a nice used Lund tiller boat however it does not have any electronics on it. I would like to buy a color locator/gps unit and would prefer a lowrance since I have some chips for it. Should I look for used models that guys are selling or should I look on the internet for new closeouts. I also would prefer the internal ant. on the gps unit. Any thoughts or model suggestions.......

[Wade@JollyAnnMarine]

I just bought a nice used Lund tiller boat however it does not have any electronics on it. I would like to buy a color locator/gps unit and would prefer a lowrance since I have some chips for it. Should I look for used models that guys are selling or should I look on the internet for new closeouts. I also would prefer the internal ant. on the gps unit. Any thoughts or model suggestions.......

I suggest the new Lowrance HDS units because they have the built-in broadband sounder, they have 83/200khz or 50/200khz transducers, and they have the ability to grow with the upcoming product add-ons like the Lowrance side-imaging sonar feature that will be out later this year. Go with the largest screen you can afford.

Now, if funds are an issue and you're trying to keep at a certain budget, there are a number of closeouts that will do more than get the job done. If you can find any of the Lowrance LCX units at an affordable price, those would be a great option.

I'd also take a look at the Humminbird 788C. That's a great unit for the money ($599) and was just recently released. It'll take Navionics maps, as will the Lowrance units noted above.

[Johnnielund]

Northtwin,
Just as a heads up. I have a Lowrance LMS 522 (internal GPS). It not only keeps losing the bottom signal (Lowrance keeps telling me there is nothing wrong with the unit and just sends me a new transducer) but also keeps losing position. I'd opt for the external GPS antena.

[whofan]

Between Lowrance and Humminbird I`d call their customer service and go with who ever picks the phone up first. Service is important.

Vexilar,Garmin and Furuno are also good choices as well.

I`d give Humminbird a good hard look.

I`d buy new or factory refurbished.

Used units go for a pretty steep price on Ebay.

[ffishman]

what wade said

[goldman]

Get the best one you can afford right up front. It might save spending money later.

goldman

[HBMAN]

I would look at the new Lowrance HDS units ....

I just got an HDS-7 from Wade about 3 weeks ago. It is working great. So far, it has had no problems reading in very shallow water (like less than 3 feet!) or separating shallow weeds from the bottom. I was marking and catching crappies in 30 fow without any issues and the GPS is fast and responsive. I run a Vexilar Edge 3 on the bow and see consistent, quality data between the 2 units. The HDS replaced an Eagle 480 and for me the HDS/color is a night and day improvement over the Eagle (not that the Eagle was a terrible unit).

So far the HDS debut seems to be going better than the 500 series issues from last season. Since you already have the Lowrance maps, this would probably be your best option.

[whofan]

I would look at the new Lowrance HDS units ....

I just got an HDS-7 from Wade about 3 weeks ago. It is working great. So far, it has had no problems reading in very shallow water (like less than 3 feet!) or separating shallow weeds from the bottom. I was marking and catching crappies in 30 fow without any issues and the GPS is fast and responsive. I run a Vexilar Edge 3 on the bow and see consistent, quality data between the 2 units. The HDS replaced an Eagle 480 and for me the HDS/color is a night and day improvement over the Eagle (not that the Eagle was a terrible unit).

So far the HDS debut seems to be going better than the 500 series issues from last season. Since you already have the Lowrance maps, this would probably be your best option.

Good to hear that the HDS units are working good.
I would definently put Lowrance back on my list if their past issues are behind them.
Thank you for the heads up on shallow water operation, HBMAN!

[lajo1976]

Hbman: If you compare HDS7 with Edge 3, whats the difference in marking fish and seperating fish from bottom?

/Joakim

[HBMAN]

Hbman: If you compare HDS7 with Edge 3, whats the difference in marking fish and seperating fish from bottom?

/Joakim

Looking at both units side by side, I was getting significantly clearer and more detailed arches on the Lowrance screen when hovering over a school compared to the Vex.

As far as fish appearing on the bottom, the color separation of the Lowrance screen made fish arches show up clearly different than weeds. I am sure some of this clarity has to do with the fact that the weeds are still down. However, I started out by running the HDS unit in shallow water areas right on top of known and visible weed areas (from 3 feet to abput 15 feet). The way the unit was marking the weeds (color and shape of sonar returns) was totally different than the arched returns I was getting while over top of a school of fish.

I forget what color scheme I was using, but blue was showing up as arches to the side, orange was strong arches directly below the boat, and shades of red were the weeds --- with browns for the bottom. The black line drawn on the bottom helps too. I mostly fish for bass, so I spend more time hovering over the same spots; the returns tend to be repetitve and it makes them easier to interpret compared to a guy who is trolling all over the lake.

If interested, next time out I will try and take some screen shots of both units and post them for comparison.

[lajo1976]

It would be great to see some pics to compare the 2 units.

/Joakim

[big_crappie]

I just bought a nice used Lund tiller boat however it does not have any electronics on it. I would like to buy a color locator/gps unit and would prefer a lowrance since I have some chips for it. Should I look for used models that guys are selling or should I look on the internet for new closeouts. I also would prefer the internal ant. on the gps unit. Any thoughts or model suggestions.......
There are still some left over Lowrance LMS-520 laying around. I picked one up from Reeds in Walker MN
www.reedssports.com 2 weeks ago for $489.00 complete. Check around, these were great units and now are cheap in my opinion. Stay away from the old internal gps antenna's. They were no good ie.LMS-522. The new HD's are fine as far as I heard. I will find out in July when the ice melts. LOL