Hi Anyone have any strong opinions about these? Im thinking about updating my old sounder and have been pretty much talked into this one. Most of my fishing is estuaries and close in, plus some in local lakes. Im pretty keen on the sideview features but to be honest don't have a big need for the chart plotting. I guess it wont hurt but I can pretty much find where I need to go most of the time. Might be useful for new areas though. Thoughts?
Chart plotters are useful. You'll use it more than you realise it. Garmin have a good wrap, for good reason. Also worth checking are the Lowrance Elite TI 7 or the Humminbird Helix 7. The Garmin will probably be cheapest. Shop around though, because prices vary greatly. CH Smith are good on the Lowrance and Humminbird (price-wise). Don't know much about who sells the Garmin cheapest, but Ebay seems to have good prices on them. Sam
Yeah that's for sure, they've been pretty impressive. If you have facebook then check out Fishing Sounder Screenshots and Marine Electronics with Moose. Both are great pages to get a heap of information relating specifically to Marine Electronics. Cheers, Sam
Thanks will do. Although I must admit Im happy just to use them in a basic way. Getting into the weeds about MHz and range or whatever is for a more sophisticated reader Im afraid..
Haha yeah that's fair, but you can learn a few handy tips and tricks to improve your sounder. Cheers, Sam
NO NO NO Sprinter go away ........ you have me looking at these now and i can't afford it , they leave my lowrance elite 5 chirp wanting in a lot of ways .
Well bit late but I had the sounder fitted early December. Was done by http://sapphiremarineautomotive.com.au/ Hope its OK to provide the link? Anyway they did an excellent fit. Very tidy cable etc. Which I always appreciate. Its the small touches. Didn't get much chance to use it unfortunately as the weather wasn't great. Even so looks good and the picture clarity is excellent. these things have come a long way since my old unit. The side view is going to change my time on the water I think.
Just want to vent slightly. I had a new sounder fitted to the bow as I often fish from up front and it meant i could keep an eye on the sounder at the same time. The new sounder was $750. When I got back home I realised it didnt have a cover plate. So I rang the guys that fitted it and theyve told me it doesnt come standard with the sounder and if I want one its an extra $32. I dont blame the guys that fitted it, theyve been super helpful and done an excellent job all round. But geez Garmin first of all its a bit of plastic, $32?! Secondly maybe $750 isnt top of the range but its not cheap either. To not include a cover plate is just petty. I doubt Ill get a win but I will be writing to them to express my frustration.
Well Garmin replied. In the interest of being fair I wont give my version of what their response was Ill just add it here. "As the Striker series is the entry level chart plotting and sonar combo series we have attempted to reduce the costs of the devices to open the market to a wider demographic. Also as these devices are used by a large range of users in a number of varied scenarios, the protective cover is in many instances not a required part of the system and incorporating this into the price would not be an effective solution. You are welcome to shop around and there is likely to be dealers who are able to sell the cover at a lower price for you, but as the primary distributor we are required to sell the item at its full recommended retail price. If you have any further inquiries please contact the Garmin Service Centre on 1800 235 822 (AUS) on 0800 427 652 (NZ) between the hours of 08:30am – 05:00pm Sydney Time so we can address your issue directly." Apparently $750 is "entry level" now? The solution seems to be I can try to shop around or I can just suck it. Again I think the coverplate doesnt cost anywhere near $32 to make and I doubt it would make any difference to the price.
