Humminbird 597Ci

[Oldschool]

Folks,

I am hoping that some of you may be able to offer sage advice on a purchase of a sounder/GPS for my boat. Just as all of you, I do have a budget to deal with, so I really cannot go above $600. I have searched this site, plus looked at all of the available comments from purchasers that I can find. It seems that this model has what I am looking for and is also favorably represented. But the comments are really few. Maybe this is a new model? It has 640 x 480 pixels, and that seems tremendous. But it's only a 4.5 inch screen, so does make it hard to see the pixels well? It does have the option to use a chip to use the Navionics maps for Wisconsin, which has the local waters that I will probably be fishing (new to WI as well as this boat.) This unit is priced everywhere at $570. I know that the chip is extra, so I may have to pick that up later. Can the screen be directed to see only one or the other, sounder or GPS? If so, the screen size is less important, I am guessing.

Is this a good unit? I can't find anything comparable in the Lowrance except the LMS 522C, and it has only 480 x 480 pixels, I believe. The price is better though at $500.

I am a bit leary of the Lowrance customer service, even though I do not have great expectations from either, quite frankly; I hope I am wrong.

Can you help?

[walleyedmike]

Well, it sounds like you have answered your own question. If $600 is the absolute limit, and you found the one with the most features that is available in your price range, than it should pretty much be a done deal.

[SSH]

Bass Pro has it on-sale with a free cover for just under $500.

[Wade@JollyAnnMarine]

Originally Posted by Oldschool

Folks,

I am hoping that some of you may be able to offer sage advice on a purchase of a sounder/GPS for my boat. Just as all of you, I do have a budget to deal with, so I really cannot go above $600. I have searched this site, plus looked at all of the available comments from purchasers that I can find. It seems that this model has what I am looking for and is also favorably represented. But the comments are really few. Maybe this is a new model? It has 640 x 480 pixels, and that seems tremendous. But it's only a 4.5 inch screen, so does make it hard to see the pixels well? It does have the option to use a chip to use the Navionics maps for Wisconsin, which has the local waters that I will probably be fishing (new to WI as well as this boat.) This unit is priced everywhere at $570. I know that the chip is extra, so I may have to pick that up later. Can the screen be directed to see only one or the other, sounder or GPS? If so, the screen size is less important, I am guessing.

Is this a good unit? I can't find anything comparable in the Lowrance except the LMS 522C, and it has only 480 x 480 pixels, I believe. The price is better though at $500.

I am a bit leary of the Lowrance customer service, even though I do not have great expectations from either, quite frankly; I hope I am wrong.

Can you help?

If you're max is $600, you might want to take a look at the recently released Humminbird 788C. It is very comparable to the Lowrance LMS-520C or 522C and has the full five-inch screen and comes in at $600.

http://www.jollyannsales.com/FFwithG...nbird_788c.htm

[Oldschool]

What is the benefit of the external antenna? Is it really necessary, or is the internal antenna sufficient? It looks as if the option for an external does not add cost, so then it would be pretty much a choice of operational improvement to go external. I am assuming that mounting the antenna is fairly straightforward.

Thanks for the help, that is what I was looking for.

[LWinches]

I’ve long been a fan of more vertical pixels is better. I have used a wide range of Humminbird products (525, 565, Matrix 37, 47, 777c2, 997cSI)and I think you’ll be well satisfied. Overall you get more bang for your buck from Humminbird,. Their support is outstanding; both product and online. They are the only manufacturer I’ve seen whose employees frequent these columns, answer questions and offer advice. The Lowrance units are excellent products. I wouldn’t be concerned about the 480 by 480 pixels. While technically 640 should be superior, I’ve used some of these 480 Lowrance’s and I cannot say there is a performance difference between a Lowrance 480 and a Hbird 640. For me the larger echo returns of the Hbird are easier to see and the always available wider A-scope are advantages. With a Lowrance you are more likely to be able to get rid of interference from a nearby 200 Khz fish finder by being able to adjust the ping speed. You can’t do that on the Hbird. If you get into water 150 feet and deeper the Hbird creates its own interference. If you decide to go above $600 there are lots of other options and the decision gets much more complicated too.

L.Winchester

[Oldschool]

LWinches,

That's all very good information. I had no idea what some of the features really translated into, like ping speed. I was kind of fixated on the 640 vertical pixels, but it is not the advantage that I had imagined. I just saw in another post the Lowrance model X510C, which is only the finder portion of the package that I want, but the price would allow the purchase of a GPS to be purchased as well. It does get a bit complicated, but nevertheless a fun problem to have. Even in my professional life I often make buying decisions based on best service, so I may be going with the Hbird.

However, I can't easily leave the memory of seeing a Lowrance in action last summer as the guide was using his, which my memory supports as being something like the X510C with 480 x 480 pixels. It was a much more expensive model, bigger screen, than my budget allows, but the pictures on the web are extremely reminiscent of that, even in the less expensive models. We could even see his jig dancing in the water below the boat!

Thank you so much for the information, and I hope that you will have returned to you as much information as you have given.

Roy

Bass Pro Shop is has the 597ci on clearance right now for $399.77. Sounds like an excellent price. If it's on clearance, it must mean that they're going to discontinue this model. This is 11/2/2010.

[GP-NJ]

I agree with you on the clearance for the new model. Humminbird is rolliing out the new model in Jan. 2011. I plan to wait for the new one or the new 700 series. The update will include

597ci HD Combo
$569.99 MSRP



Features
• GPS speed and water temperature included
• Built-in UniMap™ includes U.S. coasts, lakes and rivers
• Compatible with optional LakeMaster® and Navionics® cartography
• Single SD card slot for optional charts, screen shots and waypoints
• Backlight for night fishing
• Automatic and manual range settings
• Selectable trolling grid and waypoint targets

Specifications
Display Size: 5" diagonal
Display Pixel Matrix: 640V x 640H
Display Type: 256 Color TFT
Operating Frequency: 200 kHz, 83 kHz
Depth Capability: 1,200 feet
Power Output: 800 watts RMS; 4,000 watts peak-to-peak
Sonar Coverage: 83 kHz: 60˚ @ -10 db
200 kHz: 20˚ @ -10 db
Target Separation: 2 ½"
GPS Receiver: Internal 50-channel GPS with WAAS
Waypoints/Routes/Tracks: 3,000/50/50
Cartography (Built-in): Humminbird UniMap™
Cartography (Optional): LakeMaster®, Navionics® Gold, HotMaps™,
HotMaps™ Premium on MMC or SD cards
Temperature: Included in transducer
GPS Speed: Included
Unit Size (Standard Mount): 6.9" W x 7.5" H x 4.5" D
Unit Size (In-dash Mount): 6.9" W x 5.4" H x 1.25" D

[REW]

Old school:

WARNING< WARNING< WARNING

The hummingbird 500 series units do NOT support the Lakemaster GPS maps.

I purchased a 597I earlier this spring and took it home, hooked it up on the bench and went through all of the menues.

I had also purchased the latest Lakemaster map:

Imagine my suprise, when, after inserting the Lakemaster chip, that I received no Lakemaster information on my screen.

I called Lakemaster and talked to them about the problem. They pointed out that the fact that their product is NOT supported on the Hummingbird 500 series is clearly stated:

http://store.humminbird.com/products...ster_Wisconsin

Notice, that Lakemaster IS supported on the 700,800 and 900 series.

It does appear that several versions of the Navionics chips ARE supported by the Hummingbird 597 units:

http://navionics.com/LakeCompatibleP...sp?GuideType=1

I just wanted to bring this to your attention, because I think that the Lakemaster chips for - at least the Minnesota lakes - are better than the Navionics chips.
But, I suspect that the Navionics chips will be fine if you choose to go this route.

REW


p.p.s.
Also, the Hummingbird Lakemster chip for 2010- was built in Oct of 2009 to meet the Hummingbird deadline of Jan 1 2010 - ship dates of their chips to Hummingbird and distributors. When I asked Lakemaster when they would be building a new chip with the 2010 data, they indicated that it would likely be about Nov. or about right now.

So, if you do decide to go with a Lakemaster hummingbird compatible unit - like any of the 700 and up series, I would suggest that you wait to get a 2011 chip which will be built with much more current data than the 2010 chip.

Take care
REW