View Full Version : Looking for simple good graph
Dillon
12-05-2009, 12:04 PM
Any suggestions for good graph(non gps) to use exclusively on a small boat on a single small body of water? Alot of choices. I want something with good resolution. It is to replace an old Hummingbird super sixty that died.
Dave in Walker
12-05-2009, 12:56 PM
my opinion a Vexilar Edge 3, very good unit
Dillon
12-05-2009, 02:55 PM
Dave: Thanks for your response! That unit looks awesome but is out of my price point. I'm actually helping the wife of my fishing partner find a replacement sonar for their cabin fishing boat. That boat gets fished about 6X/yr and as I said the unit will be replacing a 30 year old flasher. I was considering the Eagle 480 monochrome at Cabella's for $169. Any thoughts on that? Sorry I wasn't more specific. I run 2 LMS 332C on my 620 and love them except the puck transducers fail annually.
Guest
12-05-2009, 03:02 PM
Either the Eagle 480 or A Lowrance X125 on sale at 199.95 would be a huge step up. Don't think you could go wrong with either one.
Dillon
12-05-2009, 03:13 PM
Guest: Have you used these units?
tbomn
12-05-2009, 04:01 PM
Guest: Have you used these units?
I have the Lowrance X96 on the front of the boat, same unit as the the Eagle 480... Works well for finding the bottom, but not the best for definition. For the money it is pretty good. If you are looking for something a little better, Gander Mtn. has the Humminbird 587CI on sale for $329.98....a much better unit.
guest
12-05-2009, 06:09 PM
Never ran the 480 but have used the 125 extensively. Never had a problem with my 125's. They were bulletproof units and are still working today to the person I sold them too. I don't know about any other units in that class, but you would be hard pressed to convince me there is a better monochrome unit out there with the power, processing speed, pixel count, and clarity for this price point. Sounds like he wants a solid unit without breaking the bank.
Dave in Walker
12-05-2009, 10:28 PM
Dillon I stand by my word, after dealing with many units over my life, and issues with certain manufacturers, everyone here knows who I mean, you will be ahead of the game in the long run if you choose a Vex. I found mine used, 1 year old, keep your eyes open.
yarcraft91
12-06-2009, 06:58 AM
I don't own an Eagle Fishmark 480, but I do have an Eagle 320, which looks like the same unit except for screen resolution.
Screen resolution is limited, but certainly an improvement over the Eagle flasher I had in the same spot previously. FWIW, when it comes to screen resolution, I'm now spoiled by my LCX27.
The transducers are the same as those for your LMS 332c, so whatever your experience with the Skimmer 200KHz has been on the LMS332, you're likely to repeat it with the 480.
It's a functional sonar unit, but mine occasionally (as in 2-3 times/day) loses track of the bottom and says we're in 1000'+ of water. Cycling the power is the only way I've found to correct that. It's either a software or transducer issue- this is getting worse as the unit ages, but I refuse to spend more money on it. Software is not updatable without sending back to the factory- if there are any updates available. The 320 is somewhat more reliable marking bottom and digital depth in shallow weeds than the LMS334 that I used to have in the same boat, but that's not saying much.
freespoolin
12-06-2009, 05:48 PM
I had an Eagle Fishmark 480 for 3 years and wish I still had it. Great resolution and visible in any light.
Catcrazy3
12-06-2009, 07:16 PM
I have the eagle 480 and it is love/hate with me. It is usually reads clear and iseasy to read but I have difficulty changing settings from default settings. For example, if I turn the fish ID off then the unit shows so much interference that it becomes a pain. If I adjust noise reject and/or sensitivity it helps until I turn the unit off, next time I go out I spend the first 15 - 20 minutes adjusting again or resetting to factory defaults again.
If I had to do it over, I'd probably buy something else.
Just my 2 cents.
The Eagle 480 is starting to show its age. Check out the Humminbird 565. For about the same price you get you get 640 verticle pixels, 2,000W peak-peak, and a processor fast enough you can get flasher-type update speeds. Humminbird also has far better customer service right now.
mrwalleye5
12-07-2009, 04:41 PM
I ran the Fishmark 320 for a few years. Very nice graph. Went to a step up in a humminbird later and was not nearly as good as the 320. Great for picking fish off the bottom even with 320x320 pix.
W5
rbsangler
12-08-2009, 05:35 AM
X97 I don't know if they still make the 97, but mine is great and have had it for years trouble free. Or x96, 98....any of those.
Crusher23
12-08-2009, 01:04 PM
If you are willing to buy a used unit, there are usually some older lowrance X-85's to be had. Those were really good units. They had good resolution and plenty of power. They are small and don't have to many "extra" buttons. I have had them on several boats and I still use one for ice fishing. Check Ebay and Craigslist. Although, buying used electronics is risky.
my .02
The Crusher
whofan
12-14-2009, 05:27 PM
If you are willing to buy a used unit, there are usually some older lowrance X-85's to be had. Those were really good units. They had good resolution and plenty of power. They are small and don't have to many "extra" buttons. I have had them on several boats and I still use one for ice fishing. Check Ebay and Craigslist. Although, buying used electronics is risky.
my .02
The Crusher
I second that!
The X65, X75, & x85 series, were the very best graphs Lowrance made in my opinion.
I wish Lowrance today was this good.