Lowrance Elite-5 DSI Fishfinder/Chartplotter Feedback?

[Screamin Semen]

Lowrance Elite-5 DSI Fishfinder/Chartplotter

Anybody own 1 of these or have any feedback on them?

What is the quality of the Downscan Imaging?

Your thoughts on Elite-5 DSI vs HDS5?

What price are people paying? So far best I found on Elite-5 DSI combo with maps is $999

http://www.lowrance.com.au/Products/Marine/Mark-Elite-Series/Elite-5-DSI/

Thanks in advance.

[youngy]

I rang Lowrance from work Tuesday for a customer about them was told not available for a couple of weeks and $1199, cheers wayne

[La Vida]

at best you will not see them until april, note the elite DSI will be down scan only no side scan. you will need an hds and structure scan if you want both.

[Screamin Semen]

I was playing with a non DSI unit in BCF last weekend so the DSI units cant be too far away if they aint out already.

[youngy]

We have had the Elite range at BCF for months now but like i said lowrance told me they wont have the DSI units until the end of this month and they will be distributed after that

[Screamin Semen]

We have had the Elite range at BCF for months now but like i said lowrance told me they wont have the DSI units until the end of this month and they will be distributed after that

CH Smith has had the DSI units for a while and they come with the Gold XL9 Australia wide maps and free delivery for $999. BCF want $1199 with no maps nty :-?

[youngy]

Semen, like i said i was told by Lowrance they weren't available yet, i don't know about price but would find it hard to believe they could come without a Navionics Gold Card because the GPS wont work without it, wayne

[bundy_dan]

I was told by quite a reliable source who said the transducer is not so good as it will only be good to about 60m and recommended speed of about 8knts? so it has put me off at the moment.

[Screamin Semen]

would find it hard to believe they could come without a Navionics Gold Card because the GPS wont work without it, wayne

GPS will not work? You for real? lol :-?

[Screamin Semen]

I was told by quite a reliable source who said the transducer is not so good as it will only be good to about 30m and recommended speed of about 8knts? so it has put me off at the moment.

Cheers for the feedback, I read the limit was Max 250ft\76m (Lowrance website specs). You can also run dual ducers due to the different frequencies if you have trouble in deeper water.

[youngy]

Semen, i am for real, both units "5m and 5" i have seen operational the GPS does not work zoomed in without the mini card inserted.

They do come loaded with a world base map but once you zoom in to get more detail the screen will go blank until the card is inserted.

This is why i would find it hard to believe that they would sell the unit without the free card, wayne

[leelee]

Tes Semen, i am for real, both units "5m and 5" i have seen operational the GPS does not work zoomed in without the mini card inserted.

They do come loaded with a world base map but once you zoom in to get more detail the screen will go blank until the card is inserted.

This is why i would find it hard to believe that they would sell the unit without the free card, wayne

That does not mean the GPS does not work. All that means is the standard map have limited zoom capability, pretty much the same as the standard maps on HDS.

The GPS will work as it gives you a position. Some people don't need maps and only use a GPS to locate certain marks.

Cheers

Lee

[youngy]

Hi Lee, the HDS units i have seen still allow you to zoom right in to a very basic base map without a card inserted.

The Elite units i have seen, the unit shows nothing once you zoom in to a certain level, unfortunately i have never had the opportunity to see the Elite unit operational in a boat to see if it would still leave trails and waypoints but i presume it would.

These combos are proving very popular and i haven't seen any problems so far, price wise they seem good value. cheers wayne

[fishmaddy]

Just thought I'd let you know I have had my Elite 5 DSI combo for about a week now, and have had it out in the river a couple of times now. Excellent bit of gear IMHO. DSI works at full speed at about 30MPH, but recomended at about 8 or so. Very streamline transducer, and the Navionics card overlayed with the GPS is great. Good detail of the Clarence River here! Pretty easy to use, but it is onli DSI and not your standard sonar so takes a bit of getting used too. Thought you might be able to flick between conventional and DSI. The other thing missing is a fish alarm, and fish symbols, so I guess you need to get used to fine tuning the DSI to interpret fish. It will take a bit of getting used too, but once I have a handle on the functions and settings, I think it will be great. Haven't had a chance to take it outside yet to see how it will read at depth, but I rarely fish beyond 60 meters. Got it from Smith marine in Vic. for $999 and free delivery.

[bundy_dan]

I also have been looking at getting a new combo and was thinking of waiting for the elite5 dsi, I was under the impression it had standard sonar as well, if thats not the case maybe I should get the hds5 with card for $1280, what do you guys think? is there an option to add the second transducer for the standard sonar on the elite dsi ?

[fishmaddy]

Took the boat and elite dsi combo off shore yesterday, and was suitably impressed. mind you my previous fish finder was a a small black and white hummingbird and probably nearly 10 years old! No problems spotting fish on the bottom and through the water column. And I realy like the GPS combo with navionics map overlay. very easy to flick between screens, and with practice, all the menu functions will be easy to use. I had intended to play with it a lot yesterday, but it got a bit busy, with my off sider spewing the whole time, and me hooking up to lots of pesky sharks. Got a nice spotty, and a jew and a couple of squire, before I took pity on my shipmate and took him home. Mainly in 30 to 40 meters of water no problems, according to the box it will read up to 76 meters. I don't go out any further than that anyhow, and don't plan to upsize in the boat department, probably downsize eventually. cheers