Looking at the Lowrance HDS 9 Gen2. Used to have the Garmin 4212 combo. I find the Lowrance is less expensive. Tell me what you think is the better way to go…
Garmin for GPS…But the HDS is kick ass!!!
.
Oyster Baron
NMFS = No More Fishing Season
“Back home we got a taxidermy man. He gonna have a heart attack when he see what I brung him”
I just got an HDS 8 gen 2. It is an awesome bottom machine.
Pioneer 197
I have a Lowrance and it is nice, but nothing is as easy to use as a Garmin.
What about the Raymarine Dragonfly? Just got finished watching the Youtube video - that thing looks pretty simple. Im in the market for a new one as well
Owned a few different Garmin models. Can’t speak for the lowrance but Garmin has always been easy to use and figure out. Garmin is also pretty easily compatible with all its accessories.
256 Sea Fox cc
twin onehundredfiftys
What would be the best transducer to get for this system? I want Depth, Temp, and Speed
My boat came with a Garmin 541 - because of the technological reputation of the Navico-Lowrance family of electronics, I bought a Lowrance HDS-10, high-speed GPS antenna, Sirius antenna, Structure-Scan transducer, and a Aimar 1 KW thru-hull transducer - I later added a Gen-4 radar (all installed by a reputable marine electronics installer). I’ve pretty much had nothing but continuous problems with the Lowrance: smart buttons that died, not ever ‘inventorying the Sirius antenna’, and the chart plotter going crazy several times while offshore - my Garmin 541 has brought me home everytime and it only has a built-in antenna plus a standard transom antenna (bottom and fish info very reliable). I am pretty savvy with electronics and I think the Lowrance drop-down menus are not very intuitive and are difficult to use without some sort of cheat sheet (good luck, you have to create your own) - not very logical menu/command system at all. Every time you change range with the radar, you have to fiddle with the gain to clear the screen of ‘noise’. My electronics guy has busted his ass trying to get this system working properly and Lowrance finally said to send the HDS-10 back; it has been back at the factory for four months and I understand it should be back soon . . . so it’s wait and see if all my troubles are fixed. I am also not too impressed with the Lowrance suite capability wise - for the $8500+ (installed cost) I’ve sunk into it, I feel I’ve not gotten a good bang for my bucks.
Bottomline, if I had to do it again, I would go with a Garmin full suite - their system is easy to use and the menu of commands is logical and consistent from model to model. This is just my experience, but do yourself a favor and go out on several rides with owners who have both - try their electronics out yourself and ask them their history with their units’ reliability before you shell out all the money.
Feel free to pm me if you need further info. Good luck.
P-Man
Sea Hunt 240 Triton w/Yamaha F250
“Daddy’s Girl”
Hewes
quote:I have the CP100 interfaced to a Raymarine C127 MFD. Same as Dragonfly. I'm still attempting to get the transducer to read at high speed (40mph). It works as advertized. Raymarine just came out with an update that will enable me to switch between the CP100 and my other transducer (Airmar) I'm installing that tomorrow. Would probably be easier to access features with the Dragonfly front end. If you already have a Raymarine MFD the cost of the CHIRP add on is not that much. One thing to keep in mind with Garmin is that you can't interface anything that isn't a Garmin product. Like Navionics etc. They have all their own stuff.
Originally posted by DeerHntr00What about the Raymarine Dragonfly? Just got finished watching the Youtube video - that thing looks pretty simple. Im in the market for a new one as well
19ft. Carolina Skiff
w/115hp Yamaha 4stroke
27ft. Contender
w/twin 225hp Yamaha 4stroke
Good to hear. Looks like the Dragonfly 7 is coming out this spring.
Raymarine use to be great, but since they started making the “brains” in mexico instead of Europe. Ask Crazy C, Cobia 256, or DGYF34, as they have spent thousands on sonar units that keep crapping out or head units that die while offshore. I would rather have a hummingbird instead of the crap that Raymarine has been putting out. FYI
.
Oyster Baron
NMFS = No More Fishing Season
“Back home we got a taxidermy man. He gonna have a heart attack when he see what I brung him”
Ill probably end up flipping a coin - or going back to the weight, wax, and string method
I ended up going with a combo unit. Garmin 740S Chartplotter, and a Furuno 587 Depth Finder with a 1KW transducer, and GXM 52 Xm/Sirius Module. Picking up boat next week!!
Excellent choice Grasshopper!
.
Oyster Baron
NMFS = No More Fishing Season
“Back home we got a taxidermy man. He gonna have a heart attack when he see what I brung him”
Yeah, got the idea from some northerner I know!
Garmins just came out w/ an hd version to compete w/ hummingbird/ lowrance units