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Thread: Chart plotter / fish Combo - Guidance Needed

  1. #21
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    largest screen you can get and the touch screen sh*t is the fizzizzle

  2. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rubberhead* View Post
    My suggestion is to buy two nearly identical medium sized units instead of one larger unit. Garmin sells units that are identical except one has freshwater maps and one has saltwater maps. Run both or only install one and carry one in a dry box as a back-up. Electronics in a marine environment will quit with little notice. I've heard of guys who lost electronics because of near lightening strikes. Buying separate mapping card can almost be as expensive as buying an additional unit with those maps built-in.

    I have a big side-view sonar/chartplotter in my fishing boat and wired up a smaller unit that I have both fresh and saltwater versions. I took the second mounting station for the redundant smaller unit and put it on my duck boat. When I'm using the little boat I pick the one with the right maps depending on whether I'm in coastal waters or freshwater and carry the other as a back-up. When I'm in the big boat I run the side-sonar unit and whichever smaller unit matches the water I'm in.
    I did that on my Blackfin- 2 identical units- I ran one on sonar and the other on the map so I had full screen usage- I cross loaded all saved data so I had a complete identical spare if one crapped out- it worked great like that.

  3. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by JABIII View Post
    Someone break it down for us. The software is the software and be it on an Apple watch or plugged into the video board at Lambeau Field, the information that you see doesn't change right? Other than size, what are you getting for your money? The flat screen television market has more than proven that an increase in size doesn't have to come with a meteoric rise in price. Screen manufacturing comes cheap these days...
    It makes a big difference when using side scan sonar.

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  4. #24
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    Alright after reading what you guys have suggested and getting a little more familiar with this stuff I'm starting to narrow it down. I like the idea of dual units but if I'm being honest with how this boat will get used I don't really need that. Probably going to go with a single. Again it's going to live on a lift at the lake 80% of the time. The salt it will see will be inland mostly and some Spanish or bottom fishing to teach the kiddo's the basics. I'm leaning toward the Garmin Echomap UHD 73 or 74. with the GT54 transducer. If I'm understanding correctly i'll either need to buy Navionics coastal maps or inland lake maps depending on if I get the 74 or 73. Thoughts on this combination?

  5. #25
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    I hear good things about Garmin.


    That's all I got.

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  6. #26
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    I have the Garmin 73SV UHD and I can't get my side view to come close to Hummingbird.

  7. #27
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    MC is offline Daydreamer Extraordinaire
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    I have two Simrad Go9 units on my boat setup as described above. I use one unit for my charts/maps and the other for my sonar, and the maps are cross-loaded for backup. The devil is in the details with these units. For example:
    1. Both units cannot read a single transducer, so if I lost my sonar unit I would have to switch the cable connection to the other unit.
    2. The Sirius XM Weather module XM-3 receiver which did not work great has been replaced with the XM-4, but the Simrad Go units don't support the XM-4 module.
    3. The software update for the Go-series units last year erased all of my waypoints. I didn't realize the units had installed the new update until the night before a fishing trip. Had the units set to not auto-install updates. Turned out the previous update had a bug that would change settings to allow auto-updates. Had to cancel the trip while I figured out what had happened and got my backup installed.
    4. Simrad's customer support SUCKS!
    5. It seems like every year there are new versions of hardware and software with compatibility issues to previous hardware and software. I would plan out a full electronics install with everything you want, purchase and install it all at the same time. Trying to piece together a package over a couple years opens you up to these compatibility issues.

    When the Simrad Go units work, they are great. I think if I had it to do over again though I would probably look harder at the Garmin units.

  8. #28
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    Learning to use them can make you look like a magician- we used to say Garmin was for gps and Lowrance was for fishing. My mid level Lowrance I bought in 2005 for my sea pro- set properly- would show a catfish eat a bait 60' deep in Lake Moultrie- the units available today make that look like a flasher.

    My 2 units on my Blackfin were the Garmin echomap 70 something with chirp but no side scan- worked great offshore for mapping and bottom fishing- far better than anything I had ever owned- we could watch fish eat in 150' and see the holes in the live bottom- but not when set on auto.

    If you have time and extra cash- call around and find a guide that uses the new stuff and hire him for 1/2 day to show you what their combo units can do. A top tier crappie guide that uses side scan would be my pick.

  9. #29
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    I bought a touchscreen Garmin echomap uhd 74 sv with side scan, downscan, chirp bluecharts g3 on sale today at West Marine for $469.

  10. #30
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    Appreciate the insights. Ended up with a Garmin Echomap 74sv and was able to get it wired up and installed this evening. Taking some youngsters to find some Spanish and whatever else we can catch this weekend so I’ve got a lot of reading to do before Saturday to make good use of this thing.
    57C3595E-7081-446A-828E-D42A739C70D4.jpg
    B2A6CF4F-1244-44BA-AB2B-4DEB22508357.jpg

  11. #31
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    Looks like a good choice.

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  12. #32
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    You’ll love it. Picked up the 94sv from Bass Pro on a big time sale. Had no idea what I had been missing. Now have it hooked to the motor through an NMEA network.

  13. #33
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    I got some pretty good screen shots of a school of largemouths last week. We caught about 25 on a 8xd, a drop shot, and a shaky head.

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