Fish finders, the good the bad and the ugly

Thanks for the selfie. You're surprisingly close to the mental picture I had built of you...

 

Not sure if thats good or bad !!

Garmin has a much better presence in Egypt, even radio-shack sells the 300C model.

But so far no one has recommended Garmin's for some reason ...

 

Vulkin, Garmin is a good company. They make and sell aircraft systems and gauges so their quality control is high. They used to be made in Oregon but were bought out by another US firm about 5 years ago and now manufacture in the midwest also. I do not think you can go wrong with them and if they have an office in your country so much the better. I had their auto pilot system in my airplane and plan on using them for my boat stuff. Also their products seem to be priced right.

 

Yah they are, i just wanted to get feedback from people who used it.
Its going to be my first ever fish finder so your first time is always special

 

Mine is fantastic had it for 3 years now and cant live without it
its never been in the sun so that I don't know?

 

Vulkyn,

Here are reviews on the 550c, looks like people like them, mostly 4 and 5 stars on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Garmin-010-00955-00-echo-550c-Fishfinder/product-reviews/B004D7PKQA

Wayne

 

Thanks for your feedback folks ! highly appreciated !

I settled for a Humminbird 200DX Fishfinder, which a friend of mine is selling.
Works good in Egyptian's heat black white display and it easy to fit / remove.

I can always upgrade at a letter stage !

 

I have Lowrance elit 7x . I heard great things about Garmin .I think Lowrance completely awesome. Big color picture. Great detail and contrast. Very informative sonar gives lots of information. GPS shows position on water, with good maps of lakes. Base unit does not show lake topography. Many ways of showing screens; all sonar, all GPS, side by side, navigational, and more combinations. Fairly easy to learn and operate. I mean it is a perfect equipment. I bought it on http://www.fishfinderguy.com/ . It has great and informational reviews.

 

I cover my fishfinder with a cloth bag, or you could cover with piece of cloth and tie a string around the base. It keeps sunlight away from the screen.

I use a Fish Easy 350c and a 320c, I got the 350c with no transducer for under $20 off of ebay and it suits me fine cause mostly I am cheap Screen is color and does show fish.

I had bronze transducers already in the hull. I coupled one to a garmin 6 pin transducer, wired it myself since no wire converter exists, the other to an airmar 7 pin transducer. You can get a socket to match the transducer plug. Had to add var resistor for temperature compensation. So speed, temp, depth all working for them both.

modded Eagle using plugs from an old Apelco 7 pin transducer and the power plug also. This one is up on the fly bridge in the weather, but covered.


The 350c, I just ran a power wire thru a drilled hole, that one I hooked up to a 6 pin garmin transducer and it stay dry in the cabin.

Some pics I took of the wiring.
https://picasaweb.google.com/105248911187594415233/EagleAirmarJune122015?authuser=0&feat=directlink

Reusing the existing transducers with these cheap head units, I saved some money and learned they can coexist different brands with some mods.

 

I have been using Humminbird Helix 7 DI for the last couple of months. Previously i used gamin 101. To be honest, humminbird Helix 7 DI is amazing. Here is a review site you may find interesting: http://fishfinderplanet.com I have been getting amazing results with this fish finder. What's more, it is really easy to install and operate. I am not a pro at understanding the sonar readings, yet I can figure out with it's amazing view.