Vexilar VS Humminbird

[Brookieslayer]

Those in the the know what can you tell me about the vexilar Edge3 vs the 777c I have now? is the Vexilar a better unit or should I upgrade to a 957 Hummer? I have read some of the goodies on the Vexilar site and have a 997 SI on the helm of my boat. Thanks in advance for all the advice.

[Joby@Humminbird]

If you go with the 777 and you have a 997 you can also purchase a Interlink box so you can share waypoints from one unit to another.

[LWinches]

http://www.walleyecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=151251

I'm currently running both an Edge3 and Hbird 777c2. I don't see how I could do without either. I did remove the Genetron and even boxed it up to sell on ebay. Then I couldn't do it. Right now our fish are deep 70-100' but in the spring until June I'll probably have to find some kind of convoluted way to put the Genetron back on. There's nothing I've seen that will beat it in water 50' and shallower. I just have so much on my small boat that I don't have room for it.

[ShadTaxi]

http://www.walleyecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=151251

I'm currently running both an Edge3 and Hbird 777c2. I don't see how I could do without either. I did remove the Genetron and even boxed it up to sell on ebay. Then I couldn't do it. Right now our fish are deep 70-100' but in the spring until June I'll probably have to find some kind of convoluted way to put the Genetron back on. There's nothing I've seen that will beat it in water 50' and shallower. I just have so much on my small boat that I don't have room for it.

LOL! I have the same problem. I keep on trying to find something so that I can get rid of that clunky Genetron. That Genetron will mark fish in the 1 - 10' range that the Humminbird won't. For me it is a must have in March and Apil and first part of May.

[Brookieslayer]

Interesting info on the Genetron. I have the 777c and like it, however I was told the Vexilar would mark fish better than the bird? any thoughts on this? The unit will be going on the bow of the boat.

thanks.

[LWinches]

I wouldn't say that one unit marked fish BETTER than the other. I have complete confidence in both that if a fish is within the cone angle of the transducer that a fish mark will be produced. A 10 degree cone will show less fish than a 20 degree cone but they are closer. The 20 less than a 38. A 38 less than 60. Once you go wider than 20 degrees or get into water deeper than 50 feet the wide cones show you fish you are not close enough to catch.

There is the added complication that Vex spec's its transducers at -3db while Hbird spec's theirs at -10db. So what a 200Khz 20 degreed Hbird would be at -3db or the 83 Khz 60 degree would be at -3db I don't know. Even though the spec's are different my expeience is that the comparison I made is accurate. Some of that may be because I run the Hbird sensitity on the high side.

The Vex is 320 vertical pixels while the Hbird is 640. One mark on the Vex will often show as two on the Hbird. The marks on the Vex are bigger though and easier for an old man like me to see. If your vision is 20/20 that may not matter to you.

If I didn't have the Vexilar I'd buy one. If I didn't have the Hbird I'd buy one, probably one that has the TVG option.

[Brookieslayer]

What is the TVG option?

[LWinches]

You have it on the 997 if you are running the latest version of the software. Makes your jig show up better.

Try this link.
http://www.xumba.scholleco.com/

[Brookieslayer]

Thanks!

[Btfrk]

I still have my clunky Genetron to. I may not mount it on my new boat because of its size. I have to admit though, it is easy to use and marks fish as good as anything I have used.

[acar555]

If I didn't have the Vexilar I'd buy one. If I didn't have the Hbird I'd buy one, probably one that has the TVG option.

You can update your 777C2 to have TVG, soon to be called switchfire with the Jan 2010 update. You will need a pc connect kit and the Humminbird PC program (free from Humminbird.com) to load the update into the unit.

[blueroof]

LWinches makes some good points. Both units allow viewing two sonar beams at the same time. I'd guess the 400khz of the Vex would be a little better at locating bottom huggers? I'd likely buy an Edge4 if it was offered, just to play with. :) I have humminbirds currently and the software updates are continually making them better units!!

[LWinches]

I especially like having the Real Time Sonar (A-Scope) for each frequency on the Vex. When you do the split screen on the Hbird you lose it. Hbird has a wide RTS but no one has it as wide as I would like for it to be. I want it in color too, like the flashers but I don't like the circular view. Hbird also makes flashers with 240 Khz but that frequency is not available on a regular fish finder. Hbird and Vexilar both have a lot going for them but I'd bet on Hbird for future improvements. They have it all, but don't yet all together efficiently. The Edge3 is a class act, frequencies that don't interfere with other fish finders, wide cone, narrow cone and buttons on the front. It is a very user friendly unit. It needs a manual ping adjustment. Hbird needs to do that too. Vexilar needs a sister unit that runs on 200Khz and 455Khz; just something that wouldn't interfere with the existing Edge3. They need to look at what Hbird and Lowrance has done with software and adapt. Hbird could make the Edge3 obsolete simply with software changes and flexible frequencies and a couple of new transducers. They've already done 50,83,200,240,262,455,600,and 800 Khz but most are only available for specific purposes in specific units. With all their R&D they do not have a unit with a better configuration than the Edge3. Better in some ways, yes but not better in every way.