Fish finders, the good the bad and the ugly

Discussion in 'OnBoard Electronics & Controls' started by Vulkyn, Oct 26, 2013.

  1. Vulkyn
    Joined: Jun 2010
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    Vulkyn Senior Member

    I am about to finally finish my boat (yah only took 3 years!) so i am looking for a good fish finder that would be suitable for my use.

    My boat is around 7 meters simple displacement hull. I will be fishing inshore mostly in the red sea.
    I am looking at an entry level or possibly a mid range portable model (at least the display needs to be detachable.)

    There are so many brands and models i am not sure where to start.

    Any recommendations out there?
     
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  2. michael pierzga
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    michael pierzga Senior Member

    Geez...hmmm.

    Ive used a few cheap consumer Fishfinders. They all seemed to work Ok. You need to specify the depth of water that you wish to scan. Power output on consumer fishfinder is small. Perhaps 200w. On a pro unit it would be 1000w and cabable of deep water work.

    A friend has this unit and he is happy with it. Depth he uses it in is 25 meters or less. Its not an expensive piece of equipment

    http://store.humminbird.com/products/604334?product_id=ba3eb9cfb3f8c7efcd4f75fbaa5ce037


    Transducer instalation and location is important
     
  3. Vulkyn
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    Vulkyn Senior Member

    Yah i don't think i will fish in anything deeper than 20-30 meters from my motor boat so that sounds fine ...
     
  4. El_Guero

    El_Guero Previous Member

    Congratulations!
     
  5. CDK
    Joined: Aug 2007
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    CDK retired engineer

    Vulkyn, because you live in a very sonny climate make sure you buy one that has a temperature resistant screen.
    I've wrecked two Hummingbird fish finders, just because the screen was exposed to direct sunlight while nobody was on board. Now I have a Navman that also turns brown and black when the screen is hot, but at least it returns to normal once it cools down.
     
  6. michael pierzga
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    michael pierzga Senior Member

    Yes indeed. Exterior sunlight readable screens are very expensive. The consumer fish finders cant use them. Mount your finder inside or build a viewing cover like they used on old green screen radars if you must locate outside
     
  7. Vulkyn
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    Vulkyn Senior Member

    Hmm thats great advice .... i was thinking of a makeshift console anyways to put all the bits and pieces (is it normal to get over excited and try to fit too much in a boat???)
    But that makes a lot of sense.

    Summer time i would be hitting 40-45 degrees Celsius.

    Any recommendations to Garmin's fish finder? They have an office in Cairo as well ...
     
  8. michael pierzga
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    michael pierzga Senior Member

    Dont really know. You need to talk to the garmin man. Tranducer location is important. The hung off the transom style are less desirable than the thru hull units. The transom hung transducer is next to your noisy outboard motor in bubbly water and is prone to physical damage from rope or swimmer or big fish. Thru hull transducers located forward of the noisy engine in clean water work better
     
  9. Vulkyn
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    Vulkyn Senior Member

    My boat is as cheap as it gets ! So I'm bona avoid making any holes in the hull if water gets in the wood it will rot real quickly (i know its all i could afford !!)

    This model is available in Egypt, humming bird has no presence in Egypt at the moment.
    They do seem very good though ....

    http://fishfinderreviews1.com/garmin-echo-100-fish-finder/
     
  10. michael pierzga
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    michael pierzga Senior Member

    Hummingbird is also popular locally.
     
  11. michael pierzga
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    michael pierzga Senior Member

    If transm hung use some kind of physical protection to prevent it from being damage
     
  12. Vulkyn
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    Vulkyn Senior Member

    Locally as in Spain ?

    What kind of physical protection that could be fitted with out effecting transmission strength?
     
  13. michael pierzga
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    michael pierzga Senior Member

    Either make the transducer portable and you take it home at night or a protective shroud of perhaps ply to keep feet and ropes from grabbing the transducer.

    Personally i dont use a fishfinder..to expensive. Back in 68' i purchased one of these xray google units. Only 9.95

    Works perfect. I can see everything. Check in the back of old MAD magazine they might still have old stock.


    http://http://[​IMG] subefotos
     
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  14. troy2000
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    troy2000 Senior Member

    I'm pleased to hear you're putting a boat in the water, Vulkyn. I was under the impression the turmoil of the last two or three years had scuttled your project....
     

  15. Vulkyn
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    Vulkyn Senior Member

    ROFL michael !!! for some reason i was thinking of the transmitter not the display ... yah it has to be portable else it could be stolen tbh ...

    ------

    Yah troy it has but amidst all this turmoil i reached a new epiphany in life ....

    "When things turn out bad .... go fishing"
    So im scraping up all my savings for the engine and I'm just going to try and enjoy things a bit ... 3 years of stress is starting to pile up on me .....

    Well not sure if i ever posted any pics of myself but here we go me happy as a clam ... best meal i ever tasted was that calimari we fished !
     

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