looking to upgrade my sonar to a combo

[Gotta Bite]

I am looking at upgrading to a gps/sonar combo. I have had 2 eagles before in the past and they eventually broke after a few seasons. My wife bought me a Hummingbird 565 about 4 years ago which I like and has always worked well but it doesn't have the GPS capability. I have used my hand held the past 2 seasons but would like to get a combo unit for ease of use. I had a few Lake O vets I talked to last season recommend Lowrance, but no specific model. I have read a fair amount of negative review last year on the LOU about their customer service and am hesitant to purchase one. I really like the Humminbird color sonar line and was looking at the 385i, and 597ciHD. Does anyone have any experience with these or can make another recomendation. I am looking to keep it around $500.00 and under. I appreciate the feedback.

[ERABBIT]

Cableas had the 788ci on sale for $499.00 not sure if they still are I picke one up and with my map chip it is GREAT................in the living room ..........have not installed it on the boat yet........check this link if your interested may still be on sale................

http://www.cabelas.com/sonar-gps-combos ... bo-1.shtml

[Miss em]

I bought a Garmin 541S last year and really like it. I have always had Garmin fish finders and had great luck with them. Never have had a single issue with one. The one I bought came preloaded with Lake O maps and you can buy the Blue Chart Vision card for lots more detail. My $.02, I wouldn't rule out a Garmin.

[jason]

my vote for garmin also....

[Jack]

Hi !

I picked up a Garmin 541 (no FF) I love it . Garmin is number 1 as far as GPS goes . I also like the idea of having separate units . Having a FF and GPS on a 5" screen is alot of info in a small area. I would be tempted to just buy a GPS and keep your FF for now.

Good Luck JT

[Gotta Bite]

I am going to make the purchase at Cabelas when the have Captains weekend in March. I'll be able to actually get my hands on the units and interact with them. I'll have to research the Garmin. I am a fan of their etrex and Vista handhelds that I use during hunting season. I tried the etrex out on my boat the last two seasons. It was OK but after fishing on a friends boat who the combo, I just felt it was easy to look at one screen. Do the units have maps built into them already or do you need to purchase the cards. I was looking at some Fishing Hot Spot cards but thought they were a gimmick. It sounds like these cards are worth it. Thanks for the feedback.

[Jack]

With Garmin depending on which model you buy will determine what map you get. The X41 has the US Coastal which includes the Great Lakes and the X31 has US Inland lakes .(X=screen size) I have the 541 whith the coastal maps and am very happy with LO charts. More then enought detail for the fishing I do. You can always add maps later if you like.

[ERABBIT]

Here is the 788ci Manual in a pdf file you can down load to see what it can or can't do.

http://store.humminbird.com/media/docum ... Manual.pdf

The maps that come with it a not that great I already had a Navionics HotMaps Premium 2008 East and a 2004 Gold the detail there was what I called great in my first post. I was able to down load my way pionts from my Eagle on a SD card down load a program from Humminbird web site and load these back into my 788ci at no charge orther than the price of a SD card.

[hawkeye625]

I upgraded to a lowrance 520 from a hummingbird 565 a couple of years ago. If I were to do it again would have kept the hummingbird and bought a stand alone gps. The screen is too small for both sonar and gps running together. Also if your combo has problems you may lose both your sonar and gps.

And IMO stay away from lowrance. My transducer went bad after 1.5 years and they wouldn't cover it under warranty, had to buy a new one for just under $100.00, and from what I understand this is an ongoing problem with lowrance units.

If you are happy with your current FF you may want to keep it and just add a gps. As far as maps, my unit came with the fishing hotspots eastern edition. It is very good for other lakes, but does not have lake Ontario details.

Good luck,

Jeff