Sonar Unit???

[Fish-hawk]

Alright guys, my older fishfinder is almost dead so I will be upgrading soon. What to buy? Price range is up to $650.00. I do not need a GPS/sonar combo unit as I have two chartplotters on the boat already. My present unit is Raymarine but I've been told alot of guys run the Lowrance HDS-5. Any feedback would be great. Thanks

[Landshark]

Humminbird 700 series, check out the prices on whatever unit you decide on at www.starmarinedepot.com

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[Billy V]

Another vote for the Humminbird 700 series. It's quality stuff. I've been running Humminbird stuff for 4 years now and it's fantastic. Check out the 788c: http://www.anchorexpress.com/Humminbird ... 7420-1.htm

[jaychunter]

humminbird or garmin , i use garmin 430s with the built in maps , used it in the islands and it really helped to find the fish and to navagate around island safely

[muskybob]

Another vote for the Humminbird. Quality stuff.

[K Gonefishin]

HDS-5 would be a great choice, the broadband sonar is awesome. FYI- 700 series Birds have been having a ton of bad transducers, Bird is taking care of the problem and well but it's still a problem...if you go with the Bird might want to wait till all the bad ones are weeded out or you might have a small headache.

[Billy V]

Fish-hawk

There was exactly ONE bad batch of transducers that Humminbird got from one of their suppliers this past winter. The issue that is being referred to above was primarily a software update issue, but there were a few transducers that were actually bad too. No company is perfect and mistakes happen, but in my eyes the measure of a company's commitment to their products lies in how they deal with mistakes such as this. Humminbird has replaced every one of those transducers free of charge for those affected, and the free software update has rectified the remaining issues. Humminbird stands firmly behind their products and acted accordingly as soon as this issue was brought to their attention. I personally put a few people in touch with Humminbird with regards to this issue and each and every one of them walked away with a very satisfactory resolution to it - for most is was a simple software update and their issue was resolved, a few others received a new transducer free of charge. Try and find that kind of customer service track record elsewhere. Per a conversation that I had with Humminbird management a couple of weeks ago while I was at their International Sales Meeting, all of the bad transducers should be off of shelves and out of the system by now. You may find this thread of particular interest as it relates to the transducer issues: viewtopic.php?f=2&t=19042

I've said it before and I'll say it again: The folks at Humminbird are serious about making the best equipment in the industry and backing it up with the best level of service anywhere. They want to know if there's something not right with one of their products and they will go out of their way to make sure that the customer is happy with their purchase for years to come.

[Fish-hawk]

Well I had started to lean toward a hummingbird and then I read Billy's post and his words clinched it , it will be a Bird 778c for my new sonar. Thanks for all your input and tight lines to you all!

[Shellback]

I have the 778C myself, great unit!

[Landshark]

great choice

[Iceman]

Good customer servive is not optional today. There are many, many companies that do a very good job at it, but my favorite companies are the ones that don't screw up their stuff in the first place. Good quality starts with a robust design & extensive abuse testing to insure the design will meet the customers needs. If the manufacturer does outsource some of it's materials it must be with a reputable supplier. The best companies partner with very high quality suppliers that have exceptional quality control plans as well as final test inspection that guarantee's a lifetime of performance. We pay a lot of $$$$'s for our gear, & it must perform!

[Second Nature]

I also have the bird 788ci and love it. $700 isnt to bad for what you get between the product and the customer service. i was one of the guys that got a bad transducer, and it took me two trips out to figure out that was the problem. I was out one day and everybody around me was marking and talking about all the bait in the area but i saw nothing but a very poor description of the bottom on my screen. i thought i was just missing everything that they were seeing. the next trip made me realize i had an issue. i thought that i maybe had my settings wrong on my system, but i didnt. A guy told me that when i pulled my boat out of the water i should be able to hear and feel the pings comin from the transducer. should sound like a little clickin noise. and of course there was nothing to be heard or felt. ah the problem. bad transducer. took off the bad one and went to bass pro where i got it, they plugged it in and tested it and sure enough there were no pings comin from it at all. no pings means no fishfinding! bass pro traded it for new one no questions asked. They did say be extremely carefull not to bang or hit new transducer at all during instalation or use. there is a fragile crystal in there that can be damaged and if it is damaged be prepared for frustration. otherwise great unit with many upgrade options available. great choice as far as im concerned

[rdebadts]

Sadly customer service IS optional these days, and a certain popular sonar producer has an aweful rep... and it is NOT humminbird or garmin or raymarine (and I have no issues with my furuno)... nice to hear that hummindird does the right thing

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