depth finders

Iam looking to buy a depth/fish finder I am leaning towards the new Eagle Fishmark 320 I have alsolooked at the garmin 240 any suggestions?

What price range are those locators?

I have a Garmin 240 and have zero issues with it. I really like the unit. If I recall this was around $280. I cant remember yesterday so I could be off. And that was last year, so like most electronics they probably came down in price by now.

galyans has the garmin 240 at254.00 after the mail in rebate and the eagle 320 at 189.00 Prices i’ve seen have been right in this area all over right now I am leaning towards the eagle just because of the price and the 320 pixels

I also have a Garmin 240 and have had no problems with it. They are user friendly and you cant beat the price. I paid $259 for it and that was with temp and speed. Good luck with whatever you decide.

I was going to get the Garmin 240 and was in Cabella’s checking them out, Ended up with Eagle Fishmark 320 with Speed Sensor for $200.00. The Eagle is a 320X320 pixel compared to the Garmin at 240×240. For the money I thought it was a great buy for a very good unit.

Shouldn’t a person be looking at pixils per sq. in. ? and not total pixils ? Total pixils(say 57600 based on a graf with 240×240) on a screen that is 5″x7″ , may not be as defined as the same amount of pixils in a unit that is 3″x5″. correct ?

Not really. Size of the screen will have more to do with readability than resolution.

An example: Ever seen a 21″ computer monitor? If I were to hook one up right now, it would contain exactly the same information that the 17″ starting back at me currently has on it. It would be a little bit bigger and easier to read, but there would be essentially no difference in the information presented.

Because both units will automatically scale the amount of information displayed by the current depth, the 320×320 will contain more info. I should qualify that by saying both units are limited to the resolution of the transducer, which is about 1.5 inches for a 200kHz unit.

Now, here’s where it gets creepy: We all know that you shouldn’t fish deeper than 30′ for walleyes – or else Rivereyes will come after you.

Check this out:

1 pixel / 1.5 inches (max 200kHz resolution) = 8 pixels / foot

8 pixels / foot * 30 feet = 240 pixels!!!

How’s that for coincidence? Turns out that with a little number crunching, the transucer, and not the display, is the limiting factor when fishing in less than 30′ (a practice that I highly endorse).

things that make you go , hmmmm

Price wise isn’t to different, should a guy go with two stand alone units ? 1 gps and 1 sounder

I also have a Garmin 240, and love it. I particularly enjoy how very easy it is to use. I don’t know it the Eagle is as user friendly, can’t speak to that. You won’t be displeased with the Garmin though. Very good clarity in <30' of water.
Rooster

Just ordered my new garmin 240. Decided to stick with the old tryed and true. The price of $198 at bass pro helped also.

Well, none of my BASS PRO catalogs ever said 198, otherwise thats what i would of bought, I did pick up the eagle on saturday. My bro dinosaur and myself should have it all mounted by tues nite for an extended test drive on wed. Hopefully they dont close the 494 ramp early

I found that price on line. It is a little tricky to find.
Garmins smaller unit will pop up first. A little digging will pop up the 240 at almost the same price. Speed and temp included. I just recieved my shipping notice on this so I think every thing is cool on it. I will post if it is not.

Also check out this website for good prices. http://www.gpsdiscounts.com. Thats where I got both of my Garmin 240’s

How does it work in shallow water (5 feet and under)? I was reading on another site that the higher power output of a Garmin actually makes it worse in shallow water than a unit with less power output. They were saying the Garmin will always lose bottom lock and blink, or read 2 or 3 times the depth in shallow water.

I am leaning towards the Garmin over the Eagle right now because I can actually get a Garmin with a trolling motor transducer for less than the cost of the Eagle with a trolling motor ducer.

Mine never blacked out or displayed an incorrect depth reading, however, the display get’s real “Blocky” at 5 feet and under. Not an issue for me as I never intend to mark fish under my boat in 5 feet!

Jon J.

Yeah, pretty tough get a fish to stay right under the trolling motor in under 5 feet of water!!!

But, it is important to know what the depth is. Alot can change in the transition zones from 5 to 2 feet or less, and it is nice to keep track of where the dips and valleys are in the bottom. So the idea of losing readings and blinking depths in the shallows was a bit concerning to me.

Based on my experience, you better look for a different unit if you intend to go shallow like that….

J.

Looks like bass pro changed there price on the garmin 240. It was back to 289 last I checked. I new I should of bought 2. I did get mine for the $189.00 price.