Bottom Line fish finders.

[Jim Z]

If any of you have any experience with the Bottom Line Tournement Master HR fish finder could you please give me some pros and cons. I am considering one but havent heard alot about them.
Thanks for your input
Jim Z

[the guy]

Headed for Lake Fork? Lake Lanier? Chequamegon Bay? The With 650 watts RMS and 5,200 watts peak-to-peak, Tournament Master(TM) HR lets you see up to 240 feet to either side of your boat and as far down as 1200 feet simultaneously. These are the most powerful units in their class. And what you will see is depicted in the highest resolution and clearest image available on the market. You get speed, temperature, GPS compatibility, Sidefinder technology and 240 vertical pixels, 400 horizontal pixels---all in one unit with a big 3.5" x 6.5" high resolution display screen. And you get all three views with only one transducer.


Use the Sidefinder® mode to look for fish out to the sides of your boat. An audible fish alarm tells you when the unit has spotted a fish, and gives you a digital readout of the distance to the fish.

Use the depth finder to follow bottom contours. Revelation(TM) separates the bottom fish that normally wouldn't show up without using zoom. Built-in digital temperature and boat speed readouts keep you up to date during active fishing times, and a convenient distance-traveled log tells you how far you went to find the most productive areas. Bottomline's GPS system turns the Tournament Master HR into a full-featured plotter.


No competitive fish finder can do more. In fact, no competitive fish finder can do as much!


Multi-view panel feature shows four views at once. Left panel plotter shows productive spot; center panel provides GPS status with Sidefinder panel above; right panel displays bottom tracking with Fish D'Tect on.
Simultaneous viewing of bottom and sides with bottom track zoom providing a closer look at something on the bottom that catches your eye.

[Box]

I won't argue with any of your specifics (were they right from the box?), but I will give my experience with our HR:

It is darn hard to read the display in sunlight/glare or at night. Yes, you can adjust the contrast, but that still is not a good answer, especially when you have to actually SEE the display in order to adjust it - so that you CAN see it (catch 22). Why dont they just give you a little knob ONLY for contrast??

The actual bottom picture it gives is quite good, very good in fact. But we were plagued with interference (or something... lines that extend from top of display to bottom or midway, at various spots across the screen) that we could not get rid of even when direct wiring to battery (yes, with appropriate fuse)and moving the wiring to different positions. (Our LMS160 or X75 did/does NOT have this interference.)

To cap it off, the darn thing just died on us this spring after 4 years of use. We decided not to get it fixed because of mainly the display being so hard to read. We got an x75 instead, and even though the screen is smaller and the power is less, we are able to actually see the display from all angles and it seems to us to be giving a much better picture of the bottom and fish. The backlighting is about 300% better and brighter than the best the HR ever looked at night.

If anybody wants an HR cheap, we'd sell cheap :) All you'd have to do is send it back with the repair cost (I think about $130) and you'd be set.

We also have a BL 211 (about 12 or so years old now) that we quit using some time ago and replaced with a different Lowrance. Maybe we'll put this one back on our duck boat some time...

The HR is a good unit, but please don't let anyone tell you the display is not hard to read. ...or maybe we just got two bad displays on two BL units...

Good luck,
Box in MN

[Hutch's Tackle & Guide Services]

I've had one for a few years and here's my 2 cents worth. I haven't had the interference probelems as stated above. The contrast does leave a bit to be desired on sunny days. The target seperation is real good.The side finders are VERY NICE if your in big waters and fishing suspended fish. Once you do a little home work this is a great feature. My only complaint is the G.P.S.. I am constantly loosing my lock on the satillites. Ive had 3 different modules and had the whole unit in the factory 3 different times. I can be in the middle of eire and loose my lock 20 times a day while my 350-a or lms160 will hold the satillites all day??? My module is clear of all obstructions too. The unit is really very user friendly and I love the big screen. Just my 2 cents worth. HUTCH

[Team Alto]

Same here on the display, bought one from Cabela's - tried it a few times and had to adjust the contrast every 15 minutes. The backlighting is marginal even in the dark. I sent it back and got the NCC5300 instead - much better.

Bob

[mossboss]

If you fish shallow or beat the shorlines this is the unit for you. I love it.

[steve(IL)]

I had a Tournament Master which to date has gone back to Bottomline three (3!) times at $149 a trip. I am no longer the current owner since it went w/ my last boat. First time it went back, they replaced all the X-ducers and did some internal "repairs". A short while later I started having problems w/ the single knob controller again. It would work one moment and then not work the next or it was hard to get it to stop on the feature I wanted to select. I sent it back again and same thing - it worked for a while and then same thing came back - I was PO'd. Opened the case myself(voids warranty on newer units) and found a cellophane tape type strip w/ wires imbedded connecting to single button controller. The adhesive had lost some of it's tackiness which accounted for on again/ off again problems. There were no mechanical connections - just what the tape adhesive provided. I called Bottomline and asked to speak to a "tech". The customer service girl said no and that she could help me. I described the situation and explained that I was disappointed to have paid $150
of my own money for an inadequate repair of their dubious mfg'ing
technique. She suggested sending it back w/ another $149 and they will look at it. I insisted on speaking to someone else and she refused.

To make a long story short, when I sold my boat this spring, the guy who bought it did so w/ the understanding that he would have to lay out another $149 to get the unit repaired. He did and to the best of my knowledge, the unit is operating o.k.

Throughout this whole time, I also had an X-85 by Lowrance in the boat which operated and continues to operate flawlessly. I'm not sure I'd ever consider buying another Bottomline. I've heard others who are very satisfied with theirs - especially the NC models which don't have the single knob. A number of top pro's use Bottomline and wouldn't do so if they weren't getting good service. I wish Lowrance would come out the side finder feature.

[Jim Z]

Thanks for the replys Still havent made up my mind.
Jim Z

[Leechboy]

Jim:
Had my Tournament Master HR for just over a year now, and feel mixed on it. Sometimes get the "Black lines" in the display. I sometimes worry that it's not marking fish when it should. On the other hand, the display contrast during the day hasn't been a problem, and I love the display at night.
My dilema comes from the fact that it's pricey , and the LPG 2000, Lowrance x-15, and Pinpoints among others, are sweet looking units that have recieved alot of praise on this site. Do your home work with comparing specs, understanding what those specs mean, and searching message boards for clues. Best of luck in your choice.

[Jeff]

How has reliability been with the new Bottomlines.A few years back my partner was on there pro-staff.He had two mounted on the boat,a spare in the storage locker of the boat,a spare in the truck and always one in the repair shop.They seemed to work great when they worked.They just did'nt like taking the pounding.Just wondering how the reliability is on current models.

[leeechboy]

No real reliability problems for me. Pretty consistant

[Czar]

No problems with my HR. Love the GPS too. Although the backlight display isn`t real bright, I find it to be just right in total darkness. Don`t want too bright a display anyway.The split screen capability is great too. I bought mine from Cabelas for $849.00 with the GPS. I also have a tournament 1200 on the trolling motor but that unit doesn`t compare with the HR. Good luck with your purchase. I recomend Bottomline.