05-19-2004, 11:27 PM
In my opinion which is that of a new person to even owning a boat, but I have been using sonar and stuff on buddies and familys boats for years, that said, I think everyone makes quality goods anymore..electronics are great, displays get better all the time..pick one that YOU think looks good and reads clear..after that whats the difference in 4000 pixels and 3000?? probaly nothing you would notice uless you are an sonar engineer. the one line on the bottom doesnt get as thick into the mud as the other one.
I thought of 3 things while I was looking at my "options" for getting a used one from some great members of BFT.
I looked at if it had speed and temp, or one of each, or none of either.
I looked that if is was just sonar, can it be upgraded easily to have speed/temp...I want those things..I have a small boat, I dont know how fast I go, and I would like to know how warm the water is so if the fishin is not good I can take a swim.
I looked up the components for the unit should I decide to get any of the "add ons" after the fact.....different mount base, portable setup, new transducer...all the thing I may have to replace, eventually.
It turns out for 60 bucks I can have speed and temp..along with fish reading capabilities to 600 feet, so says the manual...I dont plan on testing that one. I ended up with an Eagle Strata 128 plus. there are parts redily available, I can send it to Eagle to have it serviced if need be...and its compact and energy efficient...I will have to take it in and out of the boat...it has its own storage case and works like a champ.
So get a cheaper unit without all the bells and whistles, learn to use the hell out of it..then get some more additions..I even came across a few you could set up to a LIVE satalite link for instant updates in real time to your gps units linked to the damn sonar....I got so confounded just looking and reading decriptions that I reverted to basic, easy use, upgradeable.
We all want fish finders to show us 3 things normally...
1. whats under the water (i.e fish, bottom, structure, rise and fall of waterlogged land)
2. how fast we are going.
3. what the temp is.
Most of them will do that...so choose the features you want..do you really need one with a gps in it, maybe you already have a gps hand held. do you need one that makes coffee in the am and dipenses cold budweiser in the pm..there is a world of options out there. I kept it simple and easy to use...I am happy. I am done ranting...dont buy a unit with all that other stuff just cause it has it...get one that is practical to what you want it to do. find fish.
Laters,
[signature]
I thought of 3 things while I was looking at my "options" for getting a used one from some great members of BFT.
I looked at if it had speed and temp, or one of each, or none of either.
I looked that if is was just sonar, can it be upgraded easily to have speed/temp...I want those things..I have a small boat, I dont know how fast I go, and I would like to know how warm the water is so if the fishin is not good I can take a swim.
I looked up the components for the unit should I decide to get any of the "add ons" after the fact.....different mount base, portable setup, new transducer...all the thing I may have to replace, eventually.
It turns out for 60 bucks I can have speed and temp..along with fish reading capabilities to 600 feet, so says the manual...I dont plan on testing that one. I ended up with an Eagle Strata 128 plus. there are parts redily available, I can send it to Eagle to have it serviced if need be...and its compact and energy efficient...I will have to take it in and out of the boat...it has its own storage case and works like a champ.
So get a cheaper unit without all the bells and whistles, learn to use the hell out of it..then get some more additions..I even came across a few you could set up to a LIVE satalite link for instant updates in real time to your gps units linked to the damn sonar....I got so confounded just looking and reading decriptions that I reverted to basic, easy use, upgradeable.
We all want fish finders to show us 3 things normally...
1. whats under the water (i.e fish, bottom, structure, rise and fall of waterlogged land)
2. how fast we are going.
3. what the temp is.
Most of them will do that...so choose the features you want..do you really need one with a gps in it, maybe you already have a gps hand held. do you need one that makes coffee in the am and dipenses cold budweiser in the pm..there is a world of options out there. I kept it simple and easy to use...I am happy. I am done ranting...dont buy a unit with all that other stuff just cause it has it...get one that is practical to what you want it to do. find fish.
Laters,
[signature]