chinook266

Hodges marine has the LakeVü ultra cards for $161. Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

Garmin Panoptix PS30 and PS31 transducers, GPSMAP 741xs, airmar TM150 chirp transducer, BlueChart g2 vision VUS019R charts (Lake Ontario/ eastern basin Lake Erie) $2500 Sent from my iPad using Lake Ontario United mobile app

Sold Sent from my iPad using Lake Ontario United

I have garmin now

$650

Garmin. Has Panoptix. It's the real deal. Nothing else like it

I fish out of Olcott a lot. Some advice, change your divers from braid to wire. Short leads off the ball, 10 ft for spin doctors, 20-25 ft for spoons. I very rarely send anything down 100 ft and I still get my share of matures. If you ever go out in the PM out of Olcott the green NBK spin doctor with crinkle green atomik seems to out produce every thing else for me.

If cost isn't important then the gpsmap 76xx xsv would be the way to go. They are networkable and can use an all-in-one 2d/side/downview all chirp transducer (gt50/gt51). The gpsmap 7xx xs series would be next (xs = chirp sonar). These are also networkable but need the gcv10 box for chirp sideview. This line may be being phased out. Starting to see price drops on them. The echomap series is compatible with the panoptix (would have to see the compatibility list for specific models). The echo maps are not networkable. I know there are a ton of choices. I currently have a 741xs, 721, and echomap 70s (discontinued) all networked to a gcv10 and gms10.

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Yeah it's pretty easy to understand what you're looking at. It really helps to enhance 2D sonar. When both are on you can watch a fish swim in from the side and as it enters the cone of the 2D sonar you watch the 2D mark appear. The 2D helps because its a historical view. The panoptix is real time, so if your not watching the screen as it happens, you can miss it. This is all in the real vu mode. I haven't used the 3D mode much yet. That looks like it has a little more of a learning curve.

I wrote a quick review in 'this old boat' section. In short, I've only had it out twice but love it already. Is it worth the $? Well, that is quite subjective but I'm already picking up as much overtime as possible so I can get the forward view, too. There are a bunch of conversations and info on panoptix on the BBC boards. That's the best info I've found from fresh water fisherman who have experience with the units. They're not all bass fisherman, either. Let me know if there are any more specific questions and I'll answer them the best I can.

Called Garmin customer service. They took note of it and said they would bring it up to engineering to possibly develop a shield. They make a spray shield for some of their other transducers. They just used a design that someone made on another forum. Gonna try to move the transducer higher. I don't believe I need it to be below the transom since I don't need it to read at running speed. The only issue is it could block the forward view. I saw that youtube video. It was the final push for me to pull the trigger.

Airmar TM150M transom mount transducer for Garmin 8-pin. 300W 2D Chirp 95-155 kHz - $100 Link to garmin's site for compatability: https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/shop-by-accessories/transom%20mount%20transducers%20/plastic-transom-mount-transducer-with-depth-temperature-airmar-tm150m/prod120791.html Garmin Bluechart G2 Vision HD Great Lakes Chart - VUS042R (2015) - $100

First time on lake O with the garmin PS30 transom mounted down view transducer. Some quick impressions: Able to see much more than 2d. Constantly seeing fish swimming in and out of the screen from all directions often with 2d showing a blank screen. (2d transducer is garmin gt23 600w chirp) Am able to see not only the downrigger weights but also the baits behind them. Can easily seen the rotation of the flasher. Was able to watch fish come follow the baits on occasion. Wasn't able to see dipseys. Will have to play around with changing gain, depth, and angle ( you can adjust the beam angle of the transducer from the head unit, not the transducer physically.) Shoots a wicked rooster tail (Lund v-hull). Need to fabricate some type of spray shield. Overall, way better than 2d but need more time to fine tune. Has to be seen in person. Still pictures don't do it justice.

I have the blue chart g2 vision for the Great Lakes region and it is excellent. There is one for Lake Ontario which has the eastern end of Lake Erie, niagara river, st Lawrence, and Erie Canal for around $90 on eBay

Traxstech is pending payment. Will let you know if it falls through Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United mobile app

i Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United mobile app

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I have the following for sale: Lowrance x125 w/ TM 200 kHz transducer - Sold Hummingbird 728 w/ XNT quad beam 200/83/455 kHz TM transducer and Minn Kota universal sonar adapter - $125 Traxstech 8 ft trolling bar with 4 in reverse risers - Sold

I can't speak specifically for the Elite 7 with chirp but I have run a chirp sonar side by side with a traditional. I have a Furuno 585 with an Airmar p66 transducer and a Garmin GPSMAP 741xs with an Airmar TM150M chirp transducer. I used them both together on lake O for the first time this past week. I have to say I got a better picture with the Furuno. The Furuno was showing marks that were not on the Garmin. There were times in 100 fow where both screens were showing a large bait ball on the bottom but the Furuno was showing arches around it while the Garmin did not. Some of this may have been due to settings which I'll have to play around with next time I'm out. It also could be transducer location. The p66 with the Furuno is located on the starboard side of the transom while the TM150M is on the port side between the kicker and main motor. I was using the kicker which was giving some interference with the Garmin and I was unable to increase the gain too high without getting a lot of interference. After looking at the specs for both transducers again, the p66 has a larger beamwidth at 50 kHz of 45 vs 26-17 for the TM150M, and twice the power at 600W vs 300W. So long story short, I don't believe the 'affordable' chirp units out now are that much of an upgrade over traditional sonar. I may change my mind after using it a bit more but was a bit underwhelmed the first time out. If anyone is interested I can try to take some pics with my phone of the 2 units side by side next time I get out.