gps and sounders

[philzero44]

I'm starting to look for a gps ,Would I be better off getting a 2 in 1 that's a gps and sounder or get them separate.

[honda900]

Budget is generally the deciding factor. its is always good to have a backup unit though, however a smartphone may be able to provide that for you at relatively little xtra cost.

Regards
HOnda.

[Richo1]

Get seperate units if you have the space and can afford it. So much easier to read with 2 screens.

[Swampdoggy]

If interested in a combo, I have a spare Garmin GPS 550 Plotter combined with a GSD 22 for sale. This gives adds separate sounder to to the PLotter.

[tunaticer]

If you can afford it two separate units is the go. Saw one guy recently with two HDS7 combo's side by side, sets one as the GPS the other for sounder. Reason being is he does long trips away and wants a backup for either if one dies.

[johncar]

Well I still like the idea of 2 units, and do have 2 units installed but I have to admit that I tend to just use the combo unit. Let me clarify, I have a dedicated Furuno FCV585 sounder with P66 Trannie and a Garmin 5012 GPS Map with a GSD22 module and standard transducer hooked up.
I have found it all too convenient just to run split screen on the Garmin and only have the one unit running, it's directly in front of me so it just works very well. I turn on the Furuno occasionally just for comparison but it doesn't show any more than the Garmin so I tend not to worry too much about it.
In saying that, the Garmin unit I have is a relatively large screen so split screen works well on it. I would not be so fussed running split screen on some of the small units with my poor eyesight these days.
So for me yes a large screen can work well as a single combo unit and in fact I also split it for Radar as well at times, so it depends on your budget a bit and your personal preference, but I am thinking pool the money and buy a better head unit and network a sounder module and then whatever else you want down the track.

[lucee81]

I run 2 hds combo's on 1 transducer.
More of a wank factor than anything, however once you have one with a transducer the other combo gets cheaper without transducer. I believe I paid an extra $50 for the combo with no tranny compared to the stand alone unit.