Ruff Rider Sodus Live Report 2016 Aug 5-7

[TOP SECRET]

Ok just stopped at Cabelas on my way home...

I didn't care for the Raymarine units. I liked the Humminbirds and Garmins. The Lowrances were just ok.

Each had their pros/cons, but two things I think I really want are Touchscreen and WiFi.

I need to find somewhere to check out the Simrad NSS7 Evo2.

What I'm starting to think, is maybe just replace my current finder with a smaller unit that has wifi and use a big tablet. It looks like the Simrad app gives you full replication of the unit for control from the tablet.

Anyone near Sodus have one?

[CopperJon]

Furuno has always made really good fish finders as well.

Whichever you opt for, I would get a thru hull transducer. Better power and clarity than a transom mount ducer.

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[drlfc]

I opted for a Furuno 10 years ago. Still a solid unit with much better customer service after the sale than Lowrance or Raymarine. Just my 2 cents.

[TOP SECRET]

Figuring out the right fish finder is a real headache!

 

So far, this is where I'm at after further research.  Wifi would be nice, but I'm not sure I'd really ever use it.  Touchscreen would be nice, but I can probably live without it.  CHIRP would be nice, but can I live without it?

 

I really like the GO7, for $650, if I could fit two side by side it would be a no brainer, but unfortunately, I don't have the room.

The Helix9 is a nice display and cheap at $600, but no touchscreen, wifi, or CHIRP.

The HDS-9 GEN2 is nice, but no CHIRP, can do wifi with a $200 add on, $1200 total.

The GPSMAP 840XS has a lot going for it, slightly smaller screen and not a touchscreen, but does have CHIRP.

The NSS9 (refurbished) has everything but is $1600 once you add on a transducer and wifi.

The A98 looks like a solid unit for $1300 with touchscreen, wifi, and CHIRP.

 

Another option is to do something slightly different... get a GO5 and a tablet.  I'd mount the tablet where the fish finder would normally go and the GO5 would get mounted down by my autopilot control.

 

Have I mentioned that I'm really terrible at making decisions?

[Chowdaire]

I'm pretty sure you can add CHIRP to the HDS 9 with the SonarHub and it's a bargain at a mere $599 at Cabelas!

 

Man. It sure is easy to blow thru a budget on this stuff. Good luck with your decision!

[ifishy]

i like the GO5 and tablet option.  with the wifi you can also stream to your phone or another tablet at the same time so you you can have your fishfinder anywhere in the boat.  or each person can have one if they are bored. I dont know what its range is but the demo models work all the way accross the west marine store so theoretically a friend on another boat could see your screen if you gave them the password.  may or may not be useful but would be fun on a slow day.

[Frogger]

I'll second the viewer option. Pretty cool to view on your phone when setting lines. The WI fi came in real handy for updating software. Didn't need any sd cards.

[Adk1]

Yup I foresee allot of phones going in the drink...

[john1947]

I gave up on getting a new screen gadget.My old Garmin 178c is probably better than many new.I purchased a newer 431s and while simplier to use unreliable probably cause garmin went to mainline China.The 178c was made in free china taiwan I visited there many years ago on R&R while in Vietnam.My sons have HD works great on shallow for structure like pipelines.

[Jetsled]

I'm in the same boat, but probably will upgrade to Fishhawk first then new sonar/gps.  Down speed/temp has higher priority then an older sonar that still works ok.

 

yes/no?

 

jetsled

[ITS A FISHAL]

Figuring out the right fish finder is a real headache!

So far, this is where I'm at after further research. Wifi would be nice, but I'm not sure I'd really ever use it. Touchscreen would be nice, but I can probably live without it. CHIRP would be nice, but can I live without it?

I really like the GO7, for $650, if I could fit two side by side it would be a no brainer, but unfortunately, I don't have the room.

The Helix9 is a nice display and cheap at $600, but no touchscreen, wifi, or CHIRP.

The HDS-9 GEN2 is nice, but no CHIRP, can do wifi with a $200 add on, $1200 total.

The GPSMAP 840XS has a lot going for it, slightly smaller screen and not a touchscreen, but does have CHIRP.

The NSS9 (refurbished) has everything but is $1600 once you add on a transducer and wifi.

The A98 looks like a solid unit for $1300 with touchscreen, wifi, and CHIRP.

Another option is to do something slightly different... get a GO5 and a tablet. I'd mount the tablet where the fish finder would normally go and the GO5 would get mounted down by my autopilot control.

Have I mentioned that I'm really terrible at making decisions?

Hi, Nick. You can have chirping all that on the HDs 9. Like I said I'm in the same boat as you. No pun intended. I have the HDs 9. I'm mounting the hook 7 in the rear. I decided to settle on the air Mar transducer 600 watt B150. You can almost do everything with the HDS. You can Network. You can watch videos on it. You can even Wi-Fi and send videos. I have never used all of that. But if I was in your position I would try to get a 9 inch or a 12 inch into that space. If you're able to get a 12 inch the split screen is great. The transducer is going to be your biggest decision maker.

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[TOP SECRET]

From what I was reading, the hds gen 3 can do CHIRP, but the gen2 cannot without adding a $500 module to it.

I am kinda digging the idea of turning my console into a touchscreen computer. I'd like to put the new finder on the rear of the boat, but I am worried someone would knock into it while fighting a fish, breaking the mount, and sending it overboard.

[TOP SECRET]

From what I was reading, the hds gen 3 can do CHIRP, but the gen2 cannot without adding a $500 module to it.

I am kinda digging the idea of turning my console into a touchscreen computer. I'd like to put the new finder on the rear of the boat, but I am worried someone would knock into it while fighting a fish, breaking the mount, and sending it overboard.

Ps. The HDS9 gen2 for $1K was in the front of the pack until I read about the CHIRP needing a module.

I may end up wanting a thruhull transducer again for whatever I go with, but that will be a winter project.

[TOP SECRET]

I'm in the same boat, but probably will upgrade to Fishhawk first then new sonar/gps. Down speed/temp has higher priority then an older sonar that still works ok.

yes/no?

jetsled

If you have no downspeed yet, I would definitely agree!

I have a lot of issues with my depthraider, but it works well enough to make it hard to justify the $800 for a new system.

[Adk1]

I'm in the same boat, but probably will upgrade to Fishhawk first then new sonar/gps.  Down speed/temp has higher priority then an older sonar that still works ok.

 

yes/no?

 

jetsled

Thats is spot on right there!

[ITS A FISHAL]

Yes Nick , you will need the Sounder for the HDs unit. But I guess the clarity is ahead of the market for the HDs units. Matter of opinion I suppose. From everything I have gathered over the past week a thru Hull transducer is the best route to go. Have you checked out the elite gold 7 yet?

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[Jetsled]

I have depth raider but cable issue's every year. I can live with older fish finder and gps. Can't live without proper down speed/temp.

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[Sk8man]

A couple guys have mentioned having problems with interference between their Fishawks and the CHIRP units (CHIRP covering that 70 khz frequency in the lower range?) so if you are planning to move to using a Fishawk at some point that may be a consideration as well.....just thinking out loud.

Edited August 10, 2016 by Sk8man

[Adk1]

Nick, are you looking for GPS capabilities?

[ITS A FISHAL]

A couple guys have mentioned having problems with interference between their Fishawks and the CHIRP units (CHIRP covering that 70 khz frequency in the lower range?) so if you are planning to move to using a Fishawk at some point that may be a consideration as well.....just thinking out loud.

So far so good for me. I know exactly what your talking about. Most trancducers are 83/200 or 50/200. So when you run at 83htz it's so close to 70htz. So interference happens. I have my fishhawk on 1 side and Lowrance on the other. So far so good. Other than my Lowrance trancducer is shot.

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[ITS A FISHAL]

OK Nick, I just spoke with tech support at Lowrance/navico, opened my eyes some.

He was extremely helpful and informative. (First for Lowrance).

Anyway he says that it would be Overkill for me too go through all the thru hull transducers. Unless I really want to spend the money. The HDs 9 Gen 2 does not chirp and never will. He said if I went with the thru hull 600 watt airmar the beam is way narrow. So u lose a lot of width of view.

His suggestion for what we do. Is, get the elite chirp 7 gold Lowrance, (579.00). The one that comes with transducer 83/200 455/800. He said it is plenty strong enough for freshwater great Lakes. Up to 600fow. But rated deeper. The picture is phenomenal I guess and from what I see.

From there use your tablet up front, I'm using my hds9. That's what it's looking like I'm going to do. But for the money this guy is swearing that's the best unit to buy. They said they use them in the Deep Lakes up in the mountains and can see the bottom just fine. Anyway food for thought I've made up my mind now my brain is fried.

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[TOP SECRET]

Haha I'm glad I'm not the only one having panic attacks late at night while digging through specs!

The two are very close in specis, but I'm going with the GO7 over the Elite for a couple of reasons... the GO7 has multitouch which allows "pinching" to zoom in and out, which the Elite does not. The GO7 also has the ability to hook into Insight Genesis mapping services so I can make my own maps (the Elite might have this?). Lastly, the GO7 is more compact and will fit into the places I'm thinking to put it.

Both use the same totalscan transducer. Make sure to get that ducer instead of the normal if you want to use structurescan aka side scan.

I don't agree with the rep about the thruhull though... when I had my thruhull ducer, it held bottom at all times and had almost no interference. It will exclude downscan and sidescan I think though.

[TOP SECRET]

ok it's official... components have been ordered...

I plan to use an RCA Maven Pro 12" tablet for my main screen:

The GO7 XSE with totalscan transducer will be the workhorse behind the scenes and I just need to figure out where I want to mount it.

This combo will give me a fully functional fish finder, gps, tv, computer, etc at the helm, making my options pretty limitless. It will also give me a second screen for sonar/gps somewhere else on the boat. For another $100, I can add a third screen anywhere on the boat...

Sounds like fun for only $850. Is it the best sonar, no. Is it the best plotter, maybe. Is it the most versatile option for under $1K, I think so.

Edited August 10, 2016 by Ruff Rider

[skipper19]

ok it's official... components have been ordered...

I plan to use an RCA Maven Pro 12" tablet for my main screen:

The GO7 XSE with totalscan transducer will be the workhorse behind the scenes and I just need to figure out where I want to mount it.

This combo will give me a fully functional fish finder, gps, tv, computer, etc at the helm, making my options pretty limitless. It will also give me a second screen for sonar/gps somewhere else on the boat. For another $100, I can add a third screen anywhere on the boat...

Sounds like fun for only $850. Is it the best sonar, no. Is it the best plotter, maybe. Is it the most versatile option for under $1K, I think so.

http://bakusa.com/industries/nautical/

Nice tablet made for navigation built here in Buffalo.

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[Chowdaire]

That looks awesome, Ruff Rider! Give us a report on how it works out.