Anyone NOT happy with their Furuno FCV620 ?

[Scott79]

OK, aside from the fact that it may not be a 585, is there anyone that is not 100% happy with their 620?

Going through the process of upgrading a sounder, and narrowing it down to a few.

Thanks,
Scott.

[Pazz01]

We've got a 620, and don't fish any deeper than 80m, so the difference between the 585 and 620 is only the screen size.

So far so good. We had a koden previously and the units are similar.

Pazz

[STUIE63]

for 30m or less I would get a side imaging bird but for deeper I do like my 620 would love to have the spendola for both

[Tracker]

main problem with mine is it fogs up during winter.been back but no change.fit a 750s to use during its slack periods.

[whatscracken]

No mate, 620 is a great unit. Can't fault it.

[bluefin59]

Iv had mine since they came on the market and I am still happy with it, I guess it all depends on what you want in a sounder if you want all the tricky stuff get one of the others but if you want something that is reliable and tells the truth get a 620......Matt

[Lucky 1]

Had a 620 on ,my old boat, and thats exactly what I bought for the new one. Never had any trouble at all, and I fish at around 70-80 metres. Cannot compare it to a " toyrance." I have had 3 of them which have all failed at the display screen>:(>:(

[Scott79]

Thanks to all, sounds like a good unit.

In the shop in Demo mode, they don't appear to have the same screen resolution as some of the others - cheaper H'bird and Lowrance as an example, is that a fair comment?
If so, is it an issue picking up subtle bottom changes (rubble) in 50 or 60 metres?

Thanks
Scott.

[ozscott]

Your concern over resolution was my concern. All I can say is that on the water it shows what is down there with clarity and precision. My catch went up immediately. Forget extra pixels in lowrance mate really. Cheers

[oddbudman]

I'm not so keen on the screen coating on my unit - its copped a bit of salt spray over the years and when the unit is off its quite easy to see scratches in the surface caused by the dried salt crystals (i've got a tiller steer tinny). I run a Garmin GPS side by side which sees the same amount of spray but doesn't have this problem.

My unit also has fogged on the odd occasion.

oddbudman

[marto78]

Just make sure you get a screen protector on it straight away, it stops the deckies wipeing off the anti glare coating :P

[Skusto]

the anti glare coating is coming off mine as well just from wiping the salt off after use .what the screen protector look like and where do you get it .

thanks bevan.

[marto78]

You can try these guys:

http://www.invisibleshield.com.au/gps/furuno/fcv-620.php

Mine is a bit past protecting, I've only got a little bit of anti glare left around the edges of mine.
I wonder if you can get it redone?

[whiteman]

620 is fantastic. The tranny is the BIG problem on my Quinnie. I swore off Furuno for years cause of the low pixel count compared to others but it is super bright and the split screen view of the bottom is a fish catching wonder.

[STUIE63]

don't be worried by the pixel count it will tell you what is happening down in 50-60m alot better than most others with a higher pixel count
just buy it and in 2 weeks you too will be singing it's praises
Stuie

[stue2]

Go furuno mate. You just cant beat knowing that the red blob near the bottom is a snapper.

and they dont break

[Scott79]

Thanks agan to all, sounds like my resolution concerns aren't an issue.

Scott.

[ozscott]

Go furuno mate. You just cant beat knowing that the red blob near the bottom is a snapper.

and they dont break

Thats dead right. There is no better tool for a person getting into plastics to have it up front...I did and I saw a nice big red blob on the house boat near Peel Is as I cruised over it ...I told my mate to send down a placcie that he had rigged and literally it got hit immediately and up came the nice sized snapper. Its just awesome tech that.

[bluefin59]

At the end of the day you can have as many pixels you want but if the software is ordinary you aren't going to catch zip , furuno has proved itself tome and time again over the years . Have a look what most of the pros use and it isn't the mob that start with lo.....matt

[marto78]

Thats dead right. There is no better tool for a person getting into plastics to have it up front...I did and I saw a nice big red blob on the house boat near Peel Is as I cruised over it ...I told my mate to send down a placcie that he had rigged and literally it got hit immediately and up came the nice sized snapper. Its just awesome tech that.


Fishing in 90m I see snaps as a light blue spot but I run the screen speed at 1/1.

[Scott79]

Thanks to everyone, ended up picking up the 620 today.

Cheers,
Scott.

[stue2]

You will love it.

There is plenty of info on here to help you tune it as well. One of the most used buttons on my unit is the shift bottons in the function menu.

remember that what other people use as their tuning settings may not suit your unit. this can depend on transducer placement and interferance.

Do a search here for furuno and you will get all you want.

Cheers Stu

[stue2]

search for "report on furuno fcv 620"

Cheers Stu

[Scott79]

Thanks Stu, done a search and got hold of the thread with some recommended setting info, which should get me started.

Will look into the "shift bottoms" function when I get it on the water.

Cheers,
Scott.

[robtarr]

hi Scott

How's the 620 going? Hope you've had it out a few times and happy with your decision.

I'm in the same place you were not long back by the look of things. I've now completely lost confidence in my Lowrance LCX-19C combo unit - display playing up again despite the recent repair. Time to change it out and from all my research it's looking like a 620 or 585 if I can stretch the budget. Did you source yours locally or via the net?

Going for a dedicated sounder as the original Globalmap 3300C mounted in the console is working fine.

Lots of questions but do you know if it's possible to connect the Lowrance GPS to the Furuno sounder?

cheers Rob

[borryking]

Lots of questions but do you know if it's possible to connect the Lowrance GPS to the Furuno sounder?

cheers Rob

Looks like you can. Refer page 20 of the lowrance manual for wiring colours:http://www.lowrance.com/upload/Lowrance/Documents/Manuals/globalMap3300c_0156-021_020604.pdf It needs to be via NMEA 0183. I have mine connected to a Garmin plotter and it works a treat.

[ozscott]

See http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/showthread.php?t=175105

[robtarr]

thanks ozscott and borryking - will make sure I get the lead with the unit

decided to bite the bullet and get the 585 - just have to sell the Hobie Outback now to help fund it

cheers Rob

[Scott79]

Hey Rob,
Really happy with it thus far mate, the resolution concerns I had are long forgotten. Its as good as anything else I have seen, for comparable money.

I looked online for a while, but ended up getting it locally. $1000 including transducer, which was not much more than the cheapest price I could find it for in the US (including freight), which was low $800's.
From a little bit of looking though, the savings on importing the 585 are more significant.

Scott.

[robtarr]

hi Scott - thanks for the feedback - that's another endorsement for the Furuno then.
Sorry it's a bit off topic but I'm going the 585 more because I can't bring myself to go down in screen size to the 620's 5.6" from the current Lowrance unit at 7". I know the functionality of the 620 will be the same as the 585 as I won't be going the 1kW transducer but I'm going to have it a long time and I don't want to be regretting not having gone the bigger screen when I had the chance.
cheers Rob

[Scott79]

No worries Rob.
What's the saving on the 600W transducer vs 1kw?

Scott.

[whiteman]

hi Scott - thanks for the feedback - that's another endorsement for the Furuno then.
Sorry it's a bit off topic but I'm going the 585 more because I can't bring myself to go down in screen size to the 620's 5.6" from the current Lowrance unit at 7". I know the functionality of the 620 will be the same as the 585 as I won't be going the 1kW transducer but I'm going to have it a long time and I don't want to be regretting not having gone the bigger screen when I had the chance.
cheers Rob

I like big screens but I don't find the 620 small in any way on a sub 6m boat. It is a perfect fit and I can clearly see the bottom action from the bait board.

[robtarr]

whiteman - I'm sure you're right and the 620 would be fine but I have the option to go bigger and console space on the Outsider 625 to fit it so what the heck

Scott - It looks like around $400 to $500 odd extra for a transom mount 1kW but I've not spoken to or seen anyone with one transom mounted. It looks like a big unit to have hanging out the back and I've not explored what it would take to install a through hull but expect the installation would add extra dollars.

Majority of my fishing's done under 100m so - please correct me if I'm wrong - can't see the justification for the 1kW.

cheers Rob

[Scott79]

Rob,
I am not an expert on the subject by any means, but I would have thought the 600W would be fine for those depths also. And $4 or $500 is a significant saving in my books too.
Thought I saw on the net a while back a Furuno bracket that accomodates the 1KW transducer, but I may be wrong.

Scott.

[champion]

We upgraded from a Lowrance to a 585 no too long ago. You wont be disappointed !

We also went through the 600w or 1kw scenario... we did the 1 kw and now have a 600w thru hule trannie still in the box if any one is interested, we will part with it at the right odds;)

[whiteman]

As much as I love the 620 when my Quinnie is standing still or doing less than 5 knots, it has to be replaced. I spent time at Markwell Marine in Cairns this week (distributors of Airmar transducers) and the guy there says that the 600w transducer will not get a good reading when attached to the Quinnie above this speed without some serious adjustments and the BEST he's seen is 12 knots.

So I am in the process of installing a Garmin 750s. I am not expecting a better sounder, in fact, this will probably be a disappointment compared to the Furuno. But I am expecting to get bottom lock at 20+ knots. And the charts look awesome.

So sadly, this almost new 620 is destined for ebay for a cheap price.

[siegfried]

As much as I love the 620 when my Quinnie is standing still or doing less than 5 knots, it has to be replaced. I spent time at Markwell Marine in Cairns this week (distributors of Airmar transducers) and the guy there says that the 600w transducer will not get a good reading when attached to the Quinnie above this speed without some serious adjustments and the BEST he's seen is 12 knots.

So I am in the process of installing a Garmin 750s. I am not expecting a better sounder, in fact, this will probably be a disappointment compared to the Furuno. But I am expecting to get bottom lock at 20+ knots. And the charts look awesome.

So sadly, this almost new 620 is destined for ebay for a cheap price.
Either your transducer is in the wrong place or its dodgy. The bloke that told you that is full of shit

[whiteman]

Either your transducer is in the wrong place or its dodgy. The bloke that told you that is full of shit

This is my 2nd transducer (the first one smashed off when I had it DEEEEP). And I put it on a mate's glass boat and it worked perfectly (he has a 620). And I have had the transducer mounted in 10 different spots on the 2 available Quintrex transducer mounts and moved it up and down where the adjustment track made it possible. And the guy from Markwell Marine IS the importer of this stuff and he has a lot to do with installing them.

When I told him I was having real trouble with this gear he said "let me guess, you've got a Quintrex". This confirmed everything I already knew.

I have been to the Quintrex dealers in Cairns and Townsville and both had no clue with where to put the transducer - "we only do Lowrance".

Siegfried, if you have the silver bullet on where to put the Airmar transducer on a Quintrex so the bottom can be seen above 10 knots (20 knots preferable) then show me pictures and I'll go close to believeing as no other Quinnie owner on 3 boating forums has even made a peep to my pleas for help.

And my transducer will be in the right place when it is sold to someone who doesn't have a Quinnie.

[Scott79]

Whiteman, put up some pics of the current transducer location, I'm sure there will be plenty of ideas and suggestions as to what could be done for improvement ??

Also, have you been told if this issue apply to the Maxi 2 transom or Maxi 3s or all ? Guessing also that it relates only to millenium hull models?

With the popularity of both Furuno and Quintrex, I would be surprised if there wasn't someone who has been able to make it work.

Scott.

[battler1]

Classic i have a top ender with a 620 & it work at 30kns its awesome Markwells must really have no idea



This is my 2nd transducer (the first one smashed off when I had it DEEEEP). And I put it on a mate's glass boat and it worked perfectly (he has a 620). And I have had the transducer mounted in 10 different spots on the 2 available Quintrex transducer mounts and moved it up and down where the adjustment track made it possible. And the guy from Markwell Marine IS the importer of this stuff and he has a lot to do with installing them.

When I told him I was having real trouble with this gear he said "let me guess, you've got a Quintrex". This confirmed everything I already knew.

I have been to the Quintrex dealers in Cairns and Townsville and both had no clue with where to put the transducer - "we only do Lowrance".

Siegfried, if you have the silver bullet on where to put the Airmar transducer on a Quintrex so the bottom can be seen above 10 knots (20 knots preferable) then show me pictures and I'll go close to believeing as no other Quinnie owner on 3 boating forums has even made a peep to my pleas for help.

And my transducer will be in the right place when it is sold to someone who doesn't have a Quinnie.

[whiteman]

I have posted pictures before and no one could come up with any answers. See this thread http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/showthread.php?t=167279&highlight=furuno. Battler1, you are the 1st person with a Quinnie who has said that they get the 620 to work at speed. I have sold the unit and it is on its way to a better home.

[beardedone]

The majority of sounder brands use Airmar transducers. Airmar simple make them with different plugs to suit different brands. Any sounder not working at speed is all about air under the transducer. It has nothing to do with brand or size of the transducer. It does have a lot to do with the design of the vessel. Most offshore style vessels are designed to ride soft. This is achieved by getting air under the vessel. Air is the transducers enemy. Some brands of boats are nearly impossible to get a sounder working at speed.
The only thing that is worth noting re sounder is that high frequency 200Khz copes with air better than lower frequency. The best way to work out transducer placement for transom mount is get your mate to drive (at speed0 and go down the stern and take a good long look at where the best blue water is. If you are going to mount a flush thru hull type, get a garbage bag place your transducer in it along with a bucket of water and place it in the bilge in various areas to see which position gives best picture. Just make sure the transducer is vertical when you test it.