I am in the market for a new fishfinder/chartplotter. I know there are a lot of experts out there so help me out if you would. It is between the Hummingbird 898c HD SI Combo or the Lowrance HDS-7 Gen 2. The Hummingbird looks like you get more bang for your buck. The only problem is I have only ever ran with Lowrance so its a tough one. It's a big purchase so I want to get this one right. I am really interested in the NMEA 2000 capability because it is going on a new boat.
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I have the Humminbird and it's the best 1000 bucks I ever spent, don't know about lowrance.
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That Hummingbird 898C HD SI?
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Yep, it also has down imaging. I don't even know all I does and this will be my third season. Updates are free and you don't lose your weigh points.
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Humminbird. Read some forums like Walleye Central.
Consensus is Lowrance products have more problems and are understaffed at the repair end.
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My advice is get the biggest screen possible. My dad has the 898 on his boat and absolutely loves it. His only comments have been, should have spent the money and gotten a bigger screen. We had lowrance before humminbird and have actually had a few problems with the lowrance models. Had to have one sent back to the factory and the second one we have to reset it to factory settings before every use to get it to light up...pain in the buns! I've been keeping my eyes open for a new finder for my boat as well but I can't afford the the big models. I've been looking at the 598's and may go that route. Lowrance tends to run a little bit more money for comparible models. Another point that my dad and I have noticed is that even though the side imaging is really cool, we never use it for fishing. It doesn't work in deep water (pain for the gorge) and I think the next one we get probably wont have it. That will save us a little cash. Down imaging is pretty sweet though. Like was said before, updates are free and there's way more than what the average fisherman will ever need. I have talked to some bass tourney guys that love the side imaging however. Just a personal preference and what type of fishing you do I guess. My vote would be for the humminbird...unless you can afford the new touch screen by lowrance!
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I've had/used both brands. The Humminbird has been more user friendly as far as reliability and ease of understanding for me, but in my opinion it's a very slight difference. I think a lot of it is going to be personal preference. Honestly they're both great products, but spending 1k can prompt a lot of thoughts about which is a better option. When I was looking it helped to actually tinker with some of the available options. I believe I played with one at the boat show and the other at Sportsmans or Cabelas...
That advice probably doesn't help a whole lot, but I know sometimes we can all get caught up on little things when making a large purchase like that. Just keep an open mind and get what you are most comfortable with using in your own way. I'm sure there's good and bad on both sides, just like everything else in life.
Good luck!
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Lowrance. Better tech. Period. The new touch screens have side scan built in. A bird cannot seperate targets and give the deffinition in 2D sonar like the broadband systems can. Humminbirds are more user friendly. There is better tech in Lowrance that take 10 more minutes figure out to use. And ignore all the issues with lowrance before Navico took them over. The have realy turned around since then. Then new lowrances have a new feature too that you can create contour maps with the unit. Great for all the lakes around here that arent mapped on a card. I can also mark fish on my HDS system at 30mph using broadband. Fish finders dont just read depth and fish, they are your eyes to the underwater world. Get the best and learn what it is showing you and you WILL catch more fish! By the way, I have a fully networked lowrance HDS system(ethernet and nmea2000) with the LGC4000 gps, structure scan, 4 displays(HDS gen 1 and gen 2) and sonic hub. I can tell you from personal experience that you will not be disapointed. I could go on about tech details but you will just have to take my word on it.
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Ive used side imaging in 150ft of water. Take the time to learn the screen and what it shows you then you would be amazed at what you see. I have used side scan to locate walleye schooled up 30ft down over 90 ft of water. Marked a waypoint 200ft off the side of the boat over the school and went and whacked a bunch of them. My structure scan system has realy improved the way I look at fish habits. SructureMap on the Gen2 lowrances really makes your scan images simple to read and relate to your current position. You wouldnt believe the amount of structure I have marked at that so called flat Willard (not the christmas trees or island either[
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[quote mike4cobra] Ive used side imaging in 150ft of water.)[/quote]
I stand corrected. Can you see the bottom very well at that depth or is it mostly suspended items you can see? Sounds like I need to get with you and learn how to use a depth finder much better. I knew you were a lowrance man and I have nothing against a lowrance other than some of the earlier models giving us fits. We went with a bird on our latest finder and have really liked it but to be fair, we haven't tried a lowrance in an equal model. I need to talk with you about your setup. Oh, and I believe you about willard, just let everyone else keep thinking that its flat.[cool]
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I can't speak for the bird but I have an HDS-8 with sidescan and I had no idea what I was missing. Both have their qualities, I've always had Lowrance and have never had any problems but you know how opinions are...
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I'm a Lowrance fan myself and haven't had problems with mine. I agree with Mike I think the Lowrance are more technical finders giving you more capability if you take a few minutes to read and understand how to use them. Good luck in your decision. Later J
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Quick question about the broadband...do you have to pay a monthly fee for that? The way I understood it was that its the same broadband as cell phones meaning 3G and 4G which come with a fee.
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Broad band sonar processes the ping through a high speed computer. Only works on the 200k range. Its high def 2D sonar. No fees, built in. On a side note, something I forgot. Lowrance is coming out with a wireless router this year that will connect through ethernet on the Gen2 touch screens. This will give you the ability to get the full screen and function of your unit on a smart phone or tablet using an app. If the full functionality is there, then this opens up a whole world of possibilities. One senerio Im looking at is getting a good 10" tablet, buying a waterproof case(checked into it and they exist), then mounting a ram mount to the case. Second 10" screen for 500 bucks, count me in. You can get a good 7" one for 200 bucks. And when the fish arent biting I can crank up some Angry Birds[
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Wireless router for your sonar/gps/map. Now THAT sounds like something revolutionary! The poor fish just don't have a chance.
I really wonder how close we are to a "Bite" button on our sonars. See the fish, touch the button, stimulus occurs, and fish-on. I hope not, but it will come.
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So, has Lowrance really solved the customer service issue?? I have always used Lowrance, mainly because of the Customer Service they provided. But in the last few years it has sucked, bad !! Some of the forums that I have read recently, have highlighted the same prolbems, no support for older units, no repair, excessive cost for exchange/repair on Warrenty work, difficulty getting warrenty work done. My problem has been that there is no support for my older unit, so I am looking at replacing it. Would like to go Lowrance, but leaning Humminbird due to the above problems !!
They're going high tech. Can you get warranty work on a 6 year old computer? Can you even find the chips?
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true, however, who can afford to put out 2500 bucks every other year as the technology changes to keep up !! It would be nice and if I was fishing for a living, it would be an expense like a tow vehicle, boat, and tackle. Don't do that anymore, so I am looking for something that will last and be functional for many years. Just old fashion that way !!
May be they need to come up with a basic unit that you can buy upgrades at a resonable cost as the technology changes. I could deal with $200 - 300 for an upgrade every couple of years, but 2500 - 5000 is out of my range !!
I have had transducer problems with most of the Lowrance units that I have had over the years. I purchased a Hummin bird one year ago and I am sold on the Birds so far. Time will tell!
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