New sounder - JRC or Furuno

[trout3030]

Am looking at getting a new colour sounder for offshore work - most likely only upto 70-80m. Have seen the JRC FF50 in action and certainly like the ease of use of this unit and the picture it shows. I haven't seen any of the Furuno's in use so can't comment on them. I know the new Furuno's should be on the shelf soon but interested in any comments on these units.

[revs57]

Hey Stuie,

Got a Raymarine ds500x with a 1kw thru hull t'ducer in flamin' riptide...works very well at those depths and for a little over a motza for the set up would certainly be worth considering in the mix

cheers

rhys

[Grunter71]

I have got the Furuno 582 and can't fault it. I just wish I could interpret better what I am seeing on the screen.

The upgraded 585 model looks very sexy, especially with the 8" screen. I am not sure about the digital though, seem to get conflicting comments as to the benefits over the analogue.

[MulletMan]

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[SundownMarine]

Stuie,

We have the 585 and 620 on our display and working.These are the new generation Furuno sounders that everyone has been talking about.
They look awesome and they have the same power and that legendary Furuno ability to tuned that Furuno are famous for.
The screen clarity alone stands head and shoulders above everything else apart from Raymarine but are more powerful than the Raymarine units.

Give us a call for further information.

Sundown Marine.

[onerabbit]

Hey Sundown Marine.

I have a brand new 582, barely been used, I'm still trying to work it out Grunter.
I'm really disappointed that the mounting allows the unit to fall backwards when the boat gets a bit of a slap, no matter how much they are tightened.
Do you know if there is an up-grade to the swivel mount for the 582??
Cheers

Muzz

[SundownMarine]

Muzz,

Mate when you get a moment come in and we will show you the options and also give you a run through the 582 and answer any questions you may have.

Sundown Marine.

[rockape]

Muzz

I have the same problem with my 582. I was pretty dissapointed when i saw the plastic bracket considering the weight of the unit and the fact that even my light little vhf came with a metal bracket.

Maybe furuno forgot about the trailerboat guys and only planned for flush mounting. Can't fault the actual sounder though.

Is there a better bracket available?

Dave

[finding_time]

Hows the bottom discrimination function on the furuno?? As this feature on the FF50 is outstanding and makes interpreting the image very easy!!!! This would be the question i would be asking!

Ian

[cyclone]

Furuno has a bottom lock, tracks the bottom in great detail and lets you see what is bottom and whats actually fish off the bottom. Looked pretty good to me. Andrew.

[finding_time]

Bottom discrimination is where the screen separates structure from life ,structure hardness is showen below the line eg: The sounder flatens the ocean floor and harder bottoms peek below the line and any life is shown above the line. This is very handy when looking and thick shows on the bottom as the sounder clearly separates structure from life.

Ian

Ps Hope that made sense

[cyclone]

Yep that's what I was trying to say the new furuno has it.

[rockape]

I checked out the new furunos yesterday up in Mooloolaba and they look the goods! The 8 inch screen is massive and with it's ability to handle a 1kw transducer it'll be a hard unit to beat.

Rod Young up there at linemaster also told me the solution to the problem of the 582 falling backwards is to buy some Alvey cork drag washers (50c each) and put these in where the unit screws to the base. Genius!!

Dave

[GBC]

ff50 or nuthin - tried and proven.

[reef_king]

would definitly go the furuno, i have owned the ff50 and 582 and find the furuno in a class above the rest, its fish detection ability and definition between speices is a must have.