Which Sounder????

[T1]

Hi All

Looking to upgrade sounders in the next few weeks and am in a bit of a pickle as to which one to go with! As you all know, there is good and bad about all things so i'm hoping your experiences/knowledge can assist in my decision making...

It is for use inside Moreton Bay only. My primary requirements are the ability to read bottom correctly and of course, find baitschools etc... I've narrowed down a few and here they are:

Lowrance X67c ($550)/X125/X135 ($499)

Garmin FF250/FF250C/FF400C ($480)

Looking to spend $500-600 max (the prices listed are the best i've been able to obtain to date). Also not sure whether to go with colour and or D/Freq.

Any hints, tips, advice and experiences would be greatly appreciated !

Thanks in advance. T

[Tinn]

Best tip I can give you is make sure your sounder is set correctly eg. not reading 4m when you are actually in 5m

Go a colour sounder and spend more money and buy a furno

I would go for a lowrance with your budget but all the sounders you mentioned will be good for the bay

Best of luck

[Gill]

ff250c looks the goods

[bayfisher]

Consider a refurbished raymarine ds500x from the USA i got mine for about $600 and they are a great unit, They far better then anything in your list, I even prefer them to the furuno 620. I actually find it more user friendly and a no brainier to make the unit do exactly what i want it to do. You wont be disappointed with it. Colour sounders are just that much better then black and white.

Cheers Chris

[Horse]

The colour units certainly give a different perspective but I think you need to go upmarket with them. With my eyes getting a bit older so in poor light conditions I find the screens on the B&W sounders getting harder to read because they use 30 different flavours of grey so I will go colour next time. The entry colour units don't show the detail though
Cheers

Neil

[Blackened]

G'day

Hey T1, get in touch with grand marlin. He will pass you excellent advice and may help with getting you the best price.

Dave

[polky]

Tinn I would go the Garmin 400c, I have only ever had Garmin so my view is a bit bias, In saying that I have never been dissapointed with there products. My mate Richo has the 400c and it is agood unit easy to use.

[haggis]

Hey T1 I am in the same sort of pickle , I spoke to most of the salesman & dealers at the boat show & are still not sure . To get a good quality colour sounder will cost about double your budget so the dual frequency grey scale looks to be the better option .
good luck with your choice .
cheers fae haggis .......................................

[sjp2]

furuno 4100

[bayfisher]

Horse and haggis is right some with the cheaper units you get more bang for buck with the Grey scale and dual frequency the colour is more there as sales gimmick. If you consider the refurb raymarine from the states you get a high end colour sounder (around $1200 here new) you still get a one warranty and you get the dual frequency. And its almost impossible to tell the difference between and new and refurb. If you can stretch that budget out to $600 is worth looking into you simply wont find a better unit for that kind of money.

Cheers Chris

[T1]

Thanks everyone! Chris, PM sent...

Dave, will contact G/MARLIN...

TINN, at least my sounder gets wet...

Take Care T