Garmin versus Lowrance

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wanna-be

New member
well I've been dreaming for several years to upgrade from lowrance 7xHDI and an unsavory a..hole broke into shop where boat is stored and stole electronics poles reels fishing boxes etc. no insurance so only good thing is dreaming mode gone and now that I'm awake...HELP... all the lingo describing features on electronics is way over my intelligence so if I describe what I want the machine to do could someone advise me? PLEASE! I fish for lingcod and need to see exact rock structure on bottom up to 120'...also while fishing halibut I need to see contour of bottom for shelve variations up to 500'....easy waypoint marking...been surfing on net at both Garmin and lowrance...hope to not go over $2000....so any suggestions? Thanks
PS. 9 or 10" screen
 
wanna-be":1m56pl5x said:
well I've been dreaming for several years to upgrade from lowrance 7xHDI and an unsavory a..hole broke into shop where boat is stored and stole electronics poles reels fishing boxes etc. no insurance so only good thing is dreaming mode gone and now that I'm awake...HELP... all the lingo describing features on electronics is way over my intelligence so if I describe what I want the machine to do could someone advise me? PLEASE! I fish for lingcod and need to see exact rock structure on bottom up to 120'...also while fishing halibut I need to see contour of bottom for shelve variations up to 500'....easy waypoint marking...been surfing on net at both Garmin and lowrance...hope to not go over $2000....so any suggestions? Thanks
PS. 9 or 10" screen
Click to expand...

I have used most of the less than $2,000.00 sonar , plotter & combos in the last 5yrs. I will never buy anything but Garmin again! Excellent after the sale service should you need it, Free easy up grades. (even a worn out, mostly blind mechanic can easily up date these new units) It has been my experience that Garmin is best for the buck. Good luck in your quest.
(thegpsstore.com) :mrgreen: :wink:
 
I echo that comment about Garmin. I'm committed to their stuff, which is the most user friendly I've experienced. And their customer service and support is excellent as well.
 
All of the 4 major Brands: Garmin, RayMarine, Lowrance/Simrad and Furuno have fantastic products currently.

I used to use only Furuno, because they had better service and were more of a "commercial line" Prion to 2002

I used Lawrence for a few years, between 2002 and 2010.

The last 5 years I have been exclusively using Garmin. Reason is that they are easiest for me to use. There are number of units available at different price points, depending on what your future needs may be.

The Garmin echo map 94 sv is an excellent unit--you can get them with the combo down and side view (plus traditional/limited Chrip) with the Blue Charts US for about half the budget. Look around. I scored a Echo map DV 94 for my son's C Dory 25 for about $700. I suspect it was a price mistake,..but it does well in salt water, gets good down views in; over 150 feet of water. Holds the bottom at over 500 feet. Good resolution. Bargains, but they are limited in "add ons" However, I do believe that the Panoptic will work with the 7" and 9" Echo Maps--check that out. There may be limitations.

I hae the 741sx and 1040sx. on my 22 with down view, traditional/chirp and charts of entire US coast and lakes. With these you can plug in radar, and other accessories, including Panoptic. I have zero experience with Panoptic. There is not much about it on The Hull truth, (although I haven't been specifically looking for it). Most of the forward scans have been limited in distance forward by the depth. I have seen boat show "demo's" and videos which look great. Remember the Panoptic is relatively new technology, and not a lot of experience out there. I suspect it is only good at low speeds. The transducer is at least $1000. Networking is limited even in the 10XX, but they do have a WiFi transmitter, and we do use the i pad with these. You can also add radar to the 7xx 10xx series.
There is a new Garmin Fantom radar in the 18" and 24" domes, which I think is going to be even better than the Lowrance/Simrad G series. (There are 4 and 6 foot scanner versions available currently.

When you get up to the 76XX series (Like Gulfcoast John is putting in), you are at higher end, and can network with NMEA 2000 between the various MFD. This is all first class material--and you will be paying more.

Also you want to consider if you want buttons or touch screen. (or both). I tend to like buttons, mainly are more positive when the boat is moving around.

If you can get to a boat show, and try the different units before you buy, it will pay.
 
wanna-be,
sorry for that loss. Wish it had not happened. So unfair how some creeps can ruin the week/month/year, and on top of that Mother Nature can deal you some random bad cards and you're dead in 6 weeks or less.

I agree with Bob in that what I THINK he's saying is that basically, you can not buy a poor marine electronics suite (kind of like you can't buy a 'bad' new outboard motor) even if you try your mightiest.
They are all great and competitive and have the basic engineering all figured out.
I like Garmin as I think it's the most 'intuitive', which may mean that for a dumbbell like me I might be able to plug it all together and it works right out of the box without even reading the instructions.
I always buy several generations older than the 'bleeding edge', which is how I just snagged a 12 inch Garmin touchscreen with 2 card reader and ext x19 GPS ant for $1320 which sold for over $5000 just 2 years ago. Just like computers, buy a 2+ year old model on clearance.
Ultimately, they are all computers. Treat them and buy them like that.
Cheers!
John
 
Whatever brand you buy I'd look for the following:

1. At least a 7" screen, go bigger but not smaller. 7" is adequate for a C-Dory, in my opinion
2. A solid state broadband radar. They use a lot less power, are much batter at the ranges a C-Dory uses: 50 ft to 10mi.
3. Radar overlay. It's great for navigation thru fog. You get to see the chart and the radar signals aligned, allowing you to see what is a boat or at least moving.
4. NMEA 2000 port. You may think you don't need it but plan for the future.
5. CHIRP sonar, it's a big advantage.
6. Sidescan sonar, it's a kick.

That said, the major brands have units that meet those requirements.

Journey On has Lowrance. I think it's good quality and easy to use and was cheap. I have their 3G radar with the HDS Gen 2 display and phase1 compass/gps for radar overlay. Depth is through a Elite 7 Ti unit with side scan. The built-in maps cover both the ocean and inland rivers and lakes.

Boris
 
I've owned both and recommend Garmin. Kind of like the C-Dory or a Honda accord, it tends to be simple and user friendly. I've had very good responsiveness from Garmin customer support when calling in with questions. Lowrance was not "bad", but Garmin is better IMO. Best, Mike.
 
I purchased a lowrance elite 7ti this past summer with the totalscan transducer and have been happy with it so far. It would have been nice to buy the hds 7 gen 2 or gen 3, they allow for an autopilot control and a few other things that the elite 7ti won't do but these units are a fair bit more expensive.
 
I got the cheapest ticket I could find to the HD CHIRP party with 750' DownVu, 500' SideVu, Garmin GCV-10 black box ($349) and GT30-TM combo transom mount ducer ($170), Grand Total $1875 including the awesome 12 inch touchscreen Garmin Glass Helm 8212.
Or under $550 for the black box CHIRP/DownVu/SideVu sonar + transom multi-ducer.

There you are, Wanna-Be, under $2000 all inclusive if you can do your own installs and don't need pro-level gear and holes in the boat for multiple through-hull ducers.
We don't fish yet, but I figure this will be a real purty depth finder.
See the list here for compatible Garmin units, even including the venerable 741, believe it or not. IF IT'S NOT ON THIS LIST, ASSUME IT'S NOT COMPATIBLE.

https://my.garmin.com/gcpInstall/checkP ... 3915673611

I'm not claiming that this is best obtainable price of admission for Garmin HD CHIRP/DownVu/SideVu with a single transom ducer, but if you find a better one, sing out!

And yes, there is plenty of room at the helm for the two 12 inch plotters. Thanks for the tip, Bob.
Pics after re-wiring the rat's nest under the helm. So far have not caused any major fires, and the minor ones were all easily extinguished.
Fair warning: read all instructions carefully and completely (although I never do). The external card reader that came with the 8212 won't work if plugged into the 4212 network port (JEEEZ, IT'S A CARD READER!), but on an 8212 port will share and play nicely with the 4212. Same for the GPS 19X puck antenna.
Happy Boating!
John
 
thataway":km90ge2a said:
....All of the 4 major Brands: Garmin, RayMarine, Lowrance/Simrad and Furuno have fantastic products currently.....
Click to expand...

Left out Humminbird. Personally I prefer the Humminbird plotters over the Garmin ones.

But I don't fish and rarely look at the fishfinder display pages. So maybe there is some difference there.
 
I just did this dance about a year and a half ago and came out with a Lowrance rig, and I like it a lot.

I do the same type of fishing you do, and I love the sidescan/downscan. The capability of the structurescan fades a bit as you get to the depths you are fishing, but it still works, especially if you are going slowly.

You can scan and map your fishing areas as well, which can give you very high res, accurate structure maps. I use this feature a bit and do like it as well.

At the time I felt like lowrance had the best sonar going, and the unit can be upgraded well. For example, autopilot for an outboard engine with hydraulic steering is under $1000.

But this was right before Garmin introduced it's newest sonar. Today I would get a garmin setup and not look back. Their sonar is phenomenal, after integrating Interphase's technology. And the panoptix looks very very cool!! I would definitely be heading in this direction if it were me buying today.

Either way, both are incredible. You will see a real jump from your old unit.

Sorry you got ripped off. That is too bad. I hope you get your stuff back.
 
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