Lowrance fish finder master opinion

[jmcaswell]

Ok, wow the world of Fishfinders is quite vast these days!

So, I got a regular old fishfinder a mark5 I think.

I am going to upgrade to a real one.

Concerning Lowrance- theres the "downscan" feature on the none "hd gen2" and then theres the Gen2's that have the ability to add the $500 add on "Structure Scan LSS2"

The new units run from $500 and up- and you can then add the Scructure scan which is $500 more. See link below-

LOWRANCE LSS-2 StructureScan? HD Processor Module without Transducer at West Marine

Whats the deal with just the "Down Scan " Feature vs upgraded to the Structure Scan LSS2 ? This is quite an investment either way- but I am rebuilding my Jon boat and want to do it right but also want to do my homework on these new fishfinders-

Whats Yalls 2 cents- Spend $1500 on the new school HDS Gen2 with Structure Scan or Spend say $700 on a new Lowrance? Elite-7 HDI Fishfinder/Chartplotter Combo ??

thanks ! Jim

 

[cetsa]

Re: Lowrance fish finder master opinion

I'm not a fishfinder master but I would not spend $800 extra for structure scan if I can get a perfectly fine fishfinder with a 7-inch display, downscan and broadband. Lowrance HDI-7 seems to be an easy choice and it's getting great reviews: Fish Finder Reviews ? Lowrance Elite-7 HDI Review

Ok, wow the world of Fishfinders is quite vast these days!

So, I got a regular old fishfinder a mark5 I think.

I am going to upgrade to a real one.

Concerning Lowrance- theres the "downscan" feature on the none "hd gen2" and then theres the Gen2's that have the ability to add the $500 add on "Structure Scan LSS2"

The new units run from $500 and up- and you can then add the Scructure scan which is $500 more. See link below-

LOWRANCE LSS-2 StructureScan? HD Processor Module without Transducer at West Marine

Whats the deal with just the "Down Scan " Feature vs upgraded to the Structure Scan LSS2 ? This is quite an investment either way- but I am rebuilding my Jon boat and want to do it right but also want to do my homework on these new fishfinders-

Whats Yalls 2 cents- Spend $1500 on the new school HDS Gen2 with Structure Scan or Spend say $700 on a new Lowrance? Elite-7 HDI Fishfinder/Chartplotter Combo ??

thanks ! Jim

 

[dingbat]

Re: Lowrance fish finder master opinion

Whats the deal with just the "Down Scan " Feature vs upgraded to the Structure Scan LSS2 ? This is quite an investment either way- but I am rebuilding my Jon boat and want to do it right but also want to do my homework on these new fishfinders-

Whats Yalls 2 cents- Spend $1500 on the new school HDS Gen2 with Structure Scan or Spend say $700 on a new Lowrance? Elite-7 HDI Fishfinder/Chartplotter Combo ??

Structure scan and down scan are two different things. Structure scan (side viewing) can be a good tool under the right conditions.

Down scan is for the most part, a higher resolution picture of the "2D" display less the colors that are very useful in target identification. Down Scan?s best attribute is showing you just how bad the resolution and target definition is of their 2D sonar.


Does the 2D image look like a bush to you?
http://i45.tinypic.com/2n1t3s6.jpg

A 200 kHz sound wave will detect an object as small as a quarter of an inch. Why can?t they differentiate the limbs of a 30? tall tree?

Having said that, I?d go with Gen 1 and save the money. A new technology has already been released by Simrad, Garmin and Raymarine that will obsolete both units in the near future