Which sounder to buy?

[Haveago]

Hi everyone,

I need to replace the sounder that came with our 6m fibreglass boat. It is a Humminbird Piranha 3x. Our teenager broke the one of the cable pins off in the sounder by not pulling the cable out straight...

I can't seem to find a cable for it or a secondhand Piranha. When were they made?

I am not looking to spend too much, hopefully under the $400 mark. I already have a Garmin 450 GPS so a combo is out of the question. We mainly fish on Tinaroo Dam or just off Cairns.

Any ideas? I'm not too up on the brands/qualities of each model and brand. Was thinking of possibly a Garmin 400c? Other brands?

Thanks guys!

[lethal098]

I have a furuno ls4100 and love it, not expensive to buy and does the job extremely well. cheers Lethal

[Jeremy]

Hummingbird have very good parts backup and service. I think it is through Bob Littler Agencies in Brisbane. Pretty sure that there is a cap of $150 of any replacement parts, and if they can't fix it or can't get parts, you get a new sounder.

Jeremy

[finding_time]

I have a furuno ls4100 and love it, not expensive to buy and does the job extremely well. cheers Lethal

What he said!! If you only intent to spend those dollars there is no other choice imho!


Ian

[boomer 8]

just bought a garmin 400c great little unit does the same as expensive models 500 watts ect might even match up with your gps got it brand new for 400 bucks

[Haveago]

Hummingbird have very good parts backup and service. I think it is through Bob Littler Agencies in Brisbane. Pretty sure that there is a cap of $150 of any replacement parts, and if they can't fix it or can't get parts, you get a new sounder.

Jeremy

The sad part is the pin is broken off inside the main unit - buggered if I know how he managed it! I would be up for a new transducer/cable, and then for the repairs to extract the pin.

I don't know much about the Piranha 3x, but even at $100 for repairs, that's too expensive? How old are these units? I can't find references to them anywhere on the web (except in Russian and French).

What are the differences between the Garmin 400c and the Furuno LS4100, besides the colour? I'm not too savvy on finders...

[Mindi]

The sad part is the pin is broken off inside the main unit - buggered if I know how he managed it! I would be up for a new transducer/cable, and then for the repairs to extract the pin.

I don't know much about the Piranha 3x, but even at $100 for repairs, that's too expensive? How old are these units? I can't find references to them anywhere on the web (except in Russian and French).

What are the differences between the Garmin 400c and the Furuno LS4100, besides the colour? I'm not too savvy on finders...

well the main difference would be that the Furuno is made by a company whose core business is quality Fish Finders up to the top commercial level and the the Garmin is made by a GPS company whose core business is making GPS Navigation equipment again up to avionics level... not fishfinders. ...So while many would think that is irrelevant I just wouldnt buy a fishfinder from Garmin or a GPS from Furuno.

[redlowrey]

You people amaze me, you can aford a six metre boat but cant aford a decent sounder? you might as well have a twelve foot tinnie and sounder to match. I have a laugh to my self sometimes I see six and seven metre boats 100k worth and see kmart combo,s and a little hummingbird sounder mounted on it. Buy a decent coloured sounder you wont regret it.

[Haveago]

You people amaze me, you can aford a six metre boat but cant aford a decent sounder?

Thanks to everyone for their input, except redlowry - sarcasm is never appreciated, and never welcome.

I set my budget as I am not a professional fisherman, just an occasional family weekender and as such don't see the need to spend a fortune on a sounder.

I started this thread to seek some advice on a topic, not to be flamed. If you can't make constructive comments, please don't make any at all.

BTW, thanks to Mr Boats for his help.

[redlowrey]

I gave you some good advice, buy a coloured sounder

[Mindi]

You people amaze me, you can aford a six metre boat but cant aford a decent sounder? you might as well have a twelve foot tinnie and sounder to match. I have a laugh to my self sometimes I see six and seven metre boats 100k worth and see kmart combo,s and a little hummingbird sounder mounted on it. Buy a decent coloured sounder you wont regret it.

well said..i often think that reading here also ..like a Furuno FCV 620 for about $1400..I didnt think the post was sarcastic..? or flaming..? he is right. It's like spending $2000 on an amp and getting big W speakers (if fishing is the objective) if you just want to know how deep it is then sure an expensive sounder is a waste

[Haveago]

You people amaze me, you can aford a six metre boat but cant aford a decent sounder? you might as well have a twelve foot tinnie and sounder to match. I have a laugh to my self sometimes I see six and seven metre boats 100k worth and see kmart combo,s and a little hummingbird sounder mounted on it. Buy a decent coloured sounder you wont regret it.

Mindi, while I also wonder at the quality of member's boat's and their gear, I always think before I make statements such as you both have.

Maybe redlowry can afford a $100k boat but I can't - or does he just want to have a go at somebody (jealous maybe?).

As a lot of people do, you have both made assumptions that the boat is expensive eg 100k etc. It is a used Stacer (1989) that we use for our family for fishing and skiing etc. We couldn't afford a new boat so we bought a used one for $10000 to have family fun in. In these budget conscious times, we need to watch what we spend, not toss out $1400 on a finder that is used once a month or so. Everyone is different, with different priorities.

My mistake - I thought I could ask questions here about fishing gear etc w/out being given a hard time because I don't want to spend a huge amount on a sounder or without receiving demeaning comments eg from redlowry, then maybe I joined the wrong forum.

You could both have simply said "It would be better if you could buy a xxxx finder for $xxxx, but for the money you want to spend you could only get a xxxx sounder".

That is the sort of advice I was after. Thanks anyway.

[Mindi]

Mindi, while I also wonder at the quality of member's boat's and their gear, I always think before I make statements such as you both have.

Maybe redlowry can afford a $100k boat but I can't - or does he just want to have a go at somebody (jealous maybe?).

As a lot of people do, you have both made assumptions that the boat is expensive eg 100k etc. It is a used Stacer (1989) that we use for our family for fishing and skiing etc. We couldn't afford a new boat so we bought a used one for $10000 to have family fun in. In these budget conscious times, we need to watch what we spend, not toss out $1400 on a finder that is used once a month or so. Everyone is different, with different priorities.

My mistake - I thought I could ask questions here about fishing gear etc w/out being given a hard time because I don't want to spend a huge amount on a sounder or without receiving demeaning comments eg from redlowry, then maybe I joined the wrong forum.

You could both have simply said "It would be better if you could buy a xxxx finder for $xxxx, but for the money you want to spend you could only get a xxxx sounder".

That is the sort of advice I was after. Thanks anyway.

No offence intended at all on my part.

[poundalead]

Like Lethal said buy the Furuno ls4100 its heaps better than the Garmin's. I have to agree with what Mindi and Redlowery say though (although in your case Haveago its not relevant) My mates dad spent 60k on a 21ft plate boat and put a Garmin 400 sounder in it. I have a boat worth 15k with a Furuno sounder, who catches more fish and hands over marks that get found along the way???

P.S. Haveago I am not trying to steal your thread and if you have any more questions feel free to P.M. me, good luck with your purchase

Cheers Benny

[John Buoy]

Hi everyone,

I need to replace the sounder that came with our 6m fibreglass boat. It is a Humminbird Piranha 3x. Our teenager broke the one of the cable pins off in the sounder by not pulling the cable out straight...

I can't seem to find a cable for it or a secondhand Piranha. When were they made?

I am not looking to spend too much, hopefully under the $400 mark. I already have a Garmin 450 GPS so a combo is out of the question. We mainly fish on Tinaroo Dam or just off Cairns.

Any ideas? I'm not too up on the brands/qualities of each model and brand. Was thinking of possibly a Garmin 400c? Other brands?

Thanks guys!

Gday mate I have a used Navman 4200 which is a basic unit that will do the job for bumming around.

Pm me if your intersted as i'm not sure if i gonna remove it from my boat or not
(might use it for fuel display)
depending on the room and the fitment of the new electronics?


Regards frank