Garmin 240 or Eagle 320

[Big Al1]

Whats the best deal: the Garmin for $275 or the Eagle for $240?

 

[chris in va]

Re: Garmin 240 or Eagle 320

Just by browsing the various boards, it seems the Eagles have quality issues, at least in the recent past. Garmins tend to have the least issues. I really enjoyed my 160 until I sold the boat it was on...

 

[Big Al1]

Re: Garmin 240 or Eagle 320

Basically mostly what I am concerned about is high speed performance. I have a 14ft jon with a 15hp that will do 30mph. Lot of turbulence. I usually ride around at 20mph looking for the best places to fish. My Humminbird Legend 1000 worked pretty good until it got a leak and always fogged up. I then used it last weekend in saltwater and now it won’t work at all. I plan on getting it fixed under warranty and then selling or giving it away. I mainly want a well built unit that will work at high speeds. Also I want speed and temp. <br /><br />Does anyone know if the Garmin has the speed sensor mounted on the transducer? If it does it will probably be terrible reading depth at high speeds. <br /><br />And I do like the fact that the Eagle has a metal base for the transducer. I broke the humminbirds’s plastic base. <br /><br />Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

 

[ahein]

Re: Garmin 240 or Eagle 320

Hey Big Al,<br />I just purchased an Eagle 320DF and I love it. I've been able to see bottom structure, fish, etc up to about 22mph. I can probably get a little better by adjusting the angle of the transducer and/or increasing the ping rate. By the way, Eagles are made by Lowrance, a top name in marine electronics.<br />As for the Garmin, this is another top quality unit. However,a friend of mine has a 240 Blue and he loses the picture as soon as he goes over 12 mph. I don't know if the ping rate is adjustable on these units.

 

[Dman]

Re: Garmin 240 or Eagle 320

I can get a reading up to a speed of 27 mph...which is the top for my boat with the 320. I hope the 320 you are looking at comes with speed for $240. You can get them most places for $199.00. Bass Pro, and the like.<br />Overall, I think it's gonna be tough to beat the quality and price. <br />I don't worry too much about speed on the Locator. Just use the GPS if you have one. More accurate too. As speeds increase, the margin of error is greater on the locator in regards to the speed. My old locator would show 30 mph when GPS was 26-27 mph.<br /><br />Dman

 

[Throbbin Rods]

Re: Garmin 240 or Eagle 320

My Garmin has separate mounts for the speed and temp and I have had no trouble. I get speed readings up to 44, which maxes out my Starcarft Islander

 

[iwhitevt]

Re: Garmin 240 or Eagle 320

Something to consider is service.. I had to return my Garmin handheld gps because of a foggy screen, and I was amazed at how responsive their warrenty department was (even after my warrenty had expired)- they only kept it for 2 days, transfered all the memory, and even sent it back overnight express mail!

 

[Big Al1]

Re: Garmin 240 or Eagle 320

Well, I already purchased the Eagle 320 with speed and temp for $240 for cabelas. I figured I’d save a few $ as compared to the Garmin. I also like the fact that the Eagle had a metal base to the transducer and looked like you could easily adjust its angle. My Humminbird had set angles for the transducer that required two allen wrenches to adjust. When I launch my boat at the beach with no ramp I must tilt it up to keep the boat’s transom from digging in the sand and breaking the transducer. But the metal base may be strong enough to dig into the sand and not break. I also liked the speed / trip log feature but I am not sure what it is. Anyone ever used this feature? But the Garmin is more waterproof. If the Eagle even looks like the screen could fog up from condensation inside the unit, it will be returned immediately. That Humminbird is not even water resistant.