can any of the forum members recommend a good fishfinder/depth gauge which is simple to use and gives a clear picture and can be removed from the boat after a days fishing.i am going back to uk on 9 oct and hope to get one there as i am told they are cheaper there thank you.
Eagle Cuda Series ;)
Chris 8)
garmin are good
Garmin the best. ;).Bigboy has one for sale not garmin,but very good price and easy to use.
garmin are good as regards gps.eagle and lowrance give you a much clearer view as a fishfinder.now i bought eagle gps fishfinder 5 inch dialoge full colour with navigation map.i saw garmin colour fishfinders they are not clear as eagle and lowrance.that is my opinion.check e bay prices first cos i got it LM185 from e bay when in malta it was LM285.
When i was looking for a GPS/Chartplotter and a Fishfinder I wasn't sure whether I wanted two separate or an all in one. The GPS/Plotter was nearly the same price as the combo unit so I ended up buying from WestMarine the Lowarance 527c iGPS which is a GPS, Chartplotter and Fishfinder with transducer kit for $650 which was much much lower by nearly Lm150 to what they were quoting here.
There's also a 527c with external GPS antenna depending on your mounting location. What I like about the 527c is that it's also a smart display for various NMEA 2000 probes and sensors which can interface with your engine, show fuel flow rates etc.
I would say the only downside to it is that it doesn't have dual card slots and as Navionics are still stuck in the dark ages and their Gold maps come on a very small memory card (128MB or something) there isn't space to save plots, sounding recordings etc and you can't insert another card without losing the map. I blame both Lowrance and Navionics but mostly Navionics. Let's face it a 1GB memory card costs next to nothing nowadays.
if ium not getting wrong, a friend of min have a Foruno colour display fishfinder. Its impressive what performance it gives. We where ancored on a reef at 20 mtr. He had a rapala of 13 cm and at nearly 18mtr we checked the size and it gave us exectly 13cm. I don t remember the moddle but if needed I can get it.
As for a gps, Im using the garmin 72 and Im working fine. Its too handy cos I can take it where ever I go and with what ever I go with.
QuoteGold maps come on a very small memory card (128MB or something) there isn't space to save plots, sounding recordings etc and you can't insert another card without losing the map
Can't you copy the Navionics map to a bigger card or is it protected?
Redbus if you are looking for an "entry level" fishfinder/sounder the Eagle Cuda 68 (or is it 168)? that I have on my boat is adequate, it gives all the usual nonsense such a x2 & X4 magnification of bottom features so that you can pick out quite small lumps & holes in the bottom, it gives adjustable depth alarm, selectable ft or mts reading, variable screen speed etc, & it was as "cheap as chips" I got mine from Marinescene, I think they are in Cardiff, I bought mine mail order, they are certainly worth a look up www.marinescene.co.uk should take you to their site.
blueskip
Redbus just checked they are in Penarth, they currently have the Garmin 90 "entry level" sounder /finder for sale at ?65, as cheap as a lead weight, & a ball of string, ;D
blueskip
If you try and copy a Navionics map, especially the recent ones or even try and access them in a memory card reader apparently they wipe themselves! As they're not cheap I wouldn't like to experiment
thanks for your advice guys shall certainly look at the one in penarth as my daughtr lives there and i,ve got to go to see my new grandson
checked out the site [marinescene in penarth] garmin 160c portable fish finder ,colour ?164.99. how does this compare to malta prices?
Probably about 50% of the "Malta price", if you can find that particular model, I found Malta prices on most things to be high, probably because there isn't the competition there is here, in the UK, & the US is even cheaper, but the Customs people are getting quite cute at opening "gifts" nowadays! ???
blueskip
do you know if when you buy a gps like the garmin 90 or 140 is the transducer included ?
For those that are interested. I installed the following combination on my boat. The GPS is linked to a black box fishfinder. Using the B258 transducer by Airmar. So far I have seen kristal images of depts up to 650m. The actual max depth the transducer is capable is 750m. Still trying to trim equipment to improve.
I bought mine from White sails in taxbiex.
Cobra MC-600CiEU Chart Plotter
Cobra Chart Plotter with Internal GPS Antenna
Primary Features:
6? Colour TFT Screen with Anti-Reflective Coating.
Internal GPS Antenna.
CobraMarineTM MF 2500 Fish Finder
2.1. TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Display Colors : 16 colors
Display Vertical Resolution : up to 400 pixels (depending on
chartplotter screen resolution)
Power Requirements : 10 - 35 Volt dc
Over Voltage protection
Reverse Polarity protection
Power Consumption - operating: 17W max
Power Consumption - stand by : 1.7W max
Operating Frequency : Dual 50 and 200kHz
Output Power : 500 or 1000W (4000 or 8000Wpp)
Depth Range
1KW/200kHz : 2.5 Ft (0.8m) to 1200Ft (365m)
1KW/50kHz : 5 Ft (1.6m) to 4000Ft (1219m)
B258 Thru-hull transducer
Features:
? Depth/Temp
? 50/200 kHz
? 1 kW RMS
? High-performance
? Bronze
The B258 is our moderately priced 1 kW transducer that offers excellent performance to the sport fisherman. Its economical, four ceramic element construction provides narrow beams for good deep-water capability with very good target and bottom definition. Airmar?s High-performance Fairing is recommended for all installations to obtain the best possible results.
yes mate everything is included with the 90/140. but those are aimed for freshwater use. for a bit more go for the coloured 160c. it quite gd, i have one of those
has anyone got a garmin ff300 fishfinder or knows someone who has one and are they any good,and easy to use?
Electronic equipmpent have improved leaps and bounds over the last few years. It basically comes down to how much you want to spend for the type of fishing youe will be doing.
Here in Australia, Hummingbird and Lawrance make some really good dual models for GPS and depth sounders.
Personally l prefer two seperate units, with large screens for clear colour pictures. My choice in Depth sounders is Furuno,(FCV 1140) with a 1kw transducer. With my unit l can pick up thermal currents as well as fish.
When it comes to Gps units you really can't go past Garmin or Navman
Not sure if these brands are available up your way though.
Good luck with your new units, they really are very usefull bits of equipment on you boat
Hi twoutes,
made a quick search for the model you quoted, but nothing turned up. Can you please forward a link with furhter details?
THanks
Rob
Sorry..the model l quoted is not current. Try furuno FCV 1150. this would be the equivelant model.
Serious stuff!!!
ROb
Does anyone know if you can get a throu the hull transducer for a garmin FF300C to replace the transome mounted one? I,v tried to contact Garmin but I can,t get their tecnical support to send them an e-mail. Thanks guys