Best colour sounder/gps for under $2K

[roydsy]

Hi, I am looking at getting a new colour sounder for the full boar 5.5 and using my current fish elite 480 in the bass catcher canoe.

That way I will be fully set up for electric only locations and still have the luxury of gps and a fish finder.

Can anyone recommend a good brand / model or colour sounder/gps to go with for under $2000?

Also, anywhere on the Gold Coast that stock the recommended item?

Finally, we purchased maps for the eastern seaboad c-maps, can these be used in other sounders other than eagle, or are most c-maps sounder specific?

cheers Ausfishers,
Roydsy

[bluefin59]

At present i am running a furuno fcv620 and a seperate gps a navman 5500i you could probably put something like that together for around that money if you shop hard read some of the threads on the furuno i used to be a lowrance man not anymore but if you only want the one unit go for the lowrance over the eagle better quality unit as far as plugs go and software the new models will be out in the next couple of months but the furuno is a great unit do the homework dont rush in...........

[roydsy]

Cheers Bluefin I read your thread and was tempted. Furuno look like a very good sounder. One reason I was looking at an Eagle colour was so i could just keep all the wiring , transducer and mounting bracket of the fishelite 480 and plug the
seacharter 640c df straight in.

http://www.eaglesonar.com.au/welcome...nar_gps_combos $1749

Any idea on whether you can use transducers from different brands on each other or are they all design for particular units.

I will definately take my time in deciding which one to get.

cheers
Roydsy

[seatime]

G'day Roydsy

I've also got a FCV 620 + Navman 5500 Tracker, happy with it so far.
They can 'talk' to each other, tho ATM I have the 5500 interfaced with a VHF for the DSC function. Will look into connecting the Tracker to the sounder also, need it for marking new ground.
The C-map cards are common to a few brands like Navman, Furuno etc, pretty sure, but not positive? mine uses C-Map NT cards.

Transducers from Airmar can be used on different brand units, check with someone like Trymax Marine if your's suits another brand sounder.

regards

[roydsy]

Cheers Gelsac, the Furuno is looking like the likely candidate and a hand held gps.

Now to find one on the goldie. I will Trymax a look also.
ta

[davo]

If you have the Eagel chart plotter then you will have a Navionics chart not a C map so the Navman will be incompatible with them. Try Humminbird 787 which run navionics.

[roydsy]

Yes, you would be correct which means that I may just have to get another eagle like the seacharter 640c df that uses the same Navionics maps. Can anyone tell me if the greyscale maps are comaptible for color plotters? In other words, are the maps compatible for the both greyscale and colour plotters?

[mark221263]

I've got a Furuno 620 as well hooked up to my Garmin 60C hand held gps. The 620 is great.
Easy to hook up and you can keep it all neat and tidy as there's only a few small wires.

I'd much rather have a great unit than an average one with plug and play cable.

Cheers Mark

[roydsy]

Furuno 620

It looks like i am sold on Furuno. What transducer did you get (transom mount?) or did you go in hull mount. Basically, i want the least amount of hassle to remove the existing Fish elite 480 tranny and fit the new Furuno. Are transducer cross-brand supported in some instances?

Finally, does anyone know if you could use the tranny (transom mount) in a canoe in hull or do you have to mount it out the back?

cheers
Roydsy

[bluefin59]

the furuno comes with a transom mount tranny by airmar it also does the temp i dont know if it can be internally mounted maybe someone else can help you there i know there is a specific one for this perpose i dont know any furuno dealers on the coast but i know northside marine dont just sell them they actually know their stuff speak to glen or jason their i paid $1200 ifitted it myself too easy i have had 3 lowrance units this furuno makes them look ametur .I always thought pixels were everything but it is how it is all disciphered that counts furunos software and trannys seam far superior ask any pro fisherman ?????

[fish_on]

Im running the furuno fcv 620 and the furuno gp 32. great units. if you want the combind unit i have a mate who has the hummingbird 595 and is really happy so far. check em both out

[roydsy]

I went and had a look at the Furuno and I wasn't all that impressed with the display in comparison to 640 x 480 displays of similar models...... its only 240x320 pixels and no GPS.

Given the compatibility of the Eagle seacharter 640c df mounts/tranny and maps this seems like the best option for me at the moment. I am tempted to wait and see what the new models are when they come out late feb before buying my colour sounder.

roydsy

[robothefisho]

Have a Navman trackfish 6600, can't complain about it. Even when it shows fish, its actually fish and you can tell when your going to get bites offshore.

[BrandonH]

Lorance all the way mate.. my dad has a very nice unit that has GPS also.. When he bought it it cost about 2g with areial and cables but its a bit cheaper now. At the time there wasn't one Sounder on the market with the same pixels, now hummingbird have brought out a new sounder/GPS unit with the same pixels (aparnetlly they poached a Lorance bloke just before releasing this model ). will find out the exact details of models for you and post. only thing the hummingbird had on the lorance was the mount. the lorance mount is a pain if removing/installing all the time as you have to screws to wind in and out, the hummingbird is a snap on snap off type of bracket witch is soooo much easier

cheers
Brandon...

[seatime]

I'm sure you'll be happy with what,ever you get, sounds like you're doing plenty of research, and that's the best road to take.
The FCV620 does the job for me, I thought the USA sounders were more freshwater orientated, except for Raymarine. I was after power and processing for deeper reefy areas. I have a Ray and a Furuno, pixel display wasn't as important as processing the return signals and punching thru the briney.

It's a lot of coin, and not an easy desicion, then learning the new gear is fun.

regards
Steve