low cost gps/fishfinder combo or separate units?

I’m new to the board. Forgive me if this has been asked many times.

I am in the process of working through my first gps purchase. I have a few questions:

– I have a 16′ center console boat. My console is about 28″ wide. I have an old LCD fishfinder that I want to replace (a humminbird LCD100 I think). It works well, but the display is very outdated. I also want to get a gps unit. Naturally, I took a look at the combo units and they seem like a good idea. What do you recommend combo unit or separate units?

– After my first pass, I find the following combo units appealing. Any pros/cons that I should know about the brands? I understand the difference in map software compatibility.

Humminbird Matrix 67?
Eagle FishElite 480?
Garmin GPSMAP 178?

– Why would one choose a dual frequency transducer over a single frequency unit?

I live in New England and fish in freshwater and in-shore ocean locations. I would like to keep to a budget of under $600.

Thanks in advance for any responses,
Dan

Welcome Dan!!

How deep do you generally fish?

Welcome to IDA Dan!!!

You will get many responses here. It is “mostly” personal preferences. But your best bet is to ask a really smart guy on this and that would be Wade at Jolly Marine.

This guy knows his stuff and will take care of you. Plus, his prices are better than others!!!

Here is his site:
Jolly Ann Marine

Thank you and I look forward to reading the opinions.

How deep? Freshwater is typically no greater than 50 feet. Saltwater is usually in the shallows (less than 60′). On very good days, we may run out to do some Cod fishing. Those depths are often 100-250 feet.

Dan

The dual freqencies on the units you mentioned will not benefit you much. The standard 200 KHZ on these units will be fine for your application.

If you find out something, let us all know. I would be interested in which way you go (two separate units or a combo) and which ones you pick.

Good luck on the hunt.

thank you Derek.

Welcome Dan

I like the thought of having separate units in case it goes bad. You would still have one unit running. As for the units that you mentioned I have no clue but Wade(Jolly Ann Marine) will. He is a great guy and will set you right about all of you options. He checks in all the time and will post something. Free shipping and no tax, you cannot beat that.

Ron

Welcome to the site. Great to have you with us. Please feel free to share and post all you want. I run a Lowrance GlobalMap 4800M GPS and a Eagle Fishmark 320 on the console. I like the full screen of both units at the same time. In the back of the boat I run the Lowrance GlobalMap 3200 GPS and a Lowrance X65 for slowly trolling 3-ways and crankbaits. Lowrance makes a LMS480 GPS/Sonar Combo that my son is running this year and is a very nice unit from what I have read about it. It all depends on what YOU like and what works best for you and your style of fishing. Check out the different units on Wades site, Jolly Marine, and then feel free to talk to him about the units.
Thanks, Bill

Welcome to the site Dan.

First, I want to say thanks to all of the guys here for the continued support. It really means a lot to us and hopefully we continue to deserve such high praise. Thanks!

Here’s my thoughts… I think everyone would run separate GPS and sonar if they had enough space and they wanted to spend the extra money. If money is no object, separate units are the way to go. You can generally “make space” by using RAM mounts or something similar. With a budget of $600, I personally think a combo is a good way to go. One of my favorites is the Lowrance LMS-332C . It has the best resolution for a color screen in that size (480×480 pixels on a 5-inch color screen). I also like the fact that it is Navionics compatible. Of the units you listed, I would rank the Eagle FishElite at the top of that list. The price is very tough to beat for such quality features.

I also agree with Derek that you do not need dual frequency given the depths you run. If you have any questions, feel free to post them here or contact me if you prefer. Be glad to help. Take care, Wade

hi Dan,
Welcome to our site,
I have an LMS_480, combo, which I added last Spring. high power depth finder and full gps, full screen on each or split screen and have both on at the same time. It has the whole country on there coastal waters areas as a base map. and can get just about anywhere inland waters with chips. maybe Wade will come back on here and make a mention of why color is good to have, maybe it is but color IS expensive. I feel I don’t need it, can get an excellent unit for $550 at most good stores. let us know what you decide. if there is a chance to get out with a few friends and use and see their units in action can also give you some hands on use of diff models. good luck. Jack..

Wade and others, thank you for your comments and suggestions.

I honestly hadn’t considered the Lowrance units assuming that the Eagle units are basically the same (ex: Eagle Fishelite 480 and a Lowrance LMS480).

I am a former Chicago native that now lives in the Boston area. One thing I find interesting is the different preferrences that are very regional. When I asked a similar question about these units in New England, I get the opposite response. Everyone here loves Garmin and thinks Eagle/Lowrance and Humminbird are garbage and are basically “toys”. Much of this is based on their brand preferences for the high-end units. Unfortunately, few of my friends have a “small” boat similar to mine. They are usually running the fully integrated GPS/Sonar/radar/autopilot product sets. That is basically what brought me here. I wanted opinions from like minded folks from the mid-west.

Given this, here are some additional questions now given the comments made by others…

– What is the difference between Eagle and Lowrance? Many of the unit in my desired range seem to be identical to my untrained eye.

– Color vs Mono: I have been assuming that I would be better off with Mono given that I have no t-top or other shaded area on my boat. I may have made a bad assumption based on the comments I am seeing. The Lowrance unit recommended by Wade looks very nice. Can you see the color displays in the sun?

– I generally agree with the idea of separating the units. Unfortunately, I also need to replace my current f-finder. The one I have is an old Humminbird LCD100 (I think). It is basically useless for anything other than depth. I probably will retain that unit and move it up to the bow, but I do want to replace it with a better unit. That is my reasoning behind getting a combo unit. I assumed that I would get more for my money with a combo unit. Is this an invalid assumption?

For reference, I have added a picture of my boat. It is a home built, 16′ center console. The console is 28″ wide (and yes, it is now painted). Once I get a new compass on it, a place to hold my radio and a combo unit, I won’t have much space left on the top.

Dan’s boat

Thanks again,

Dan

Within your price range you would be able to go with the Garmin 178 gps and the Garmin 250 locator. As Bill and others have stated having a full screen view on two seperate units is the way to go.
My opinion is to go with either Lowrance or Garmin. Customers of mine that opted to have eagle’s installed had problems with the units.

Thanks to everyone for their comments. I think I am leaning to the Garmin 178 at the moment. Maybe it is just a bad sampling, but the people I have spoken to in my area have seen mixed results with the lowrance/eagle units in the saltwater. I have no way to validate that. To me, they seem to be fairly equivalent units, but I think I will give the Garmin unit a shot.

It looks like Jolly Marine has the best price.

Thanks again,
Dan

Quote:

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– What is the difference between Eagle and Lowrance? Many of the unit in my desired range seem to be identical to my untrained eye.
– Color vs Mono: I have been assuming that I would be better off with Mono given that I have no t-top or other shaded area on my boat. I may have made a bad assumption based on the comments I am seeing. The Lowrance unit recommended by Wade looks very nice. Can you see the color displays in the sun?
– I generally agree with the idea of separating the units. Unfortunately, I also need to replace my current f-finder. The one I have is an old Humminbird LCD100 (I think). It is basically useless for anything other than depth. I probably will retain that unit and move it up to the bow, but I do want to replace it with a better unit. That is my reasoning behind getting a combo unit. I assumed that I would get more for my money with a combo unit. Is this an invalid assumption?

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Dan, Eagle versus Lowrance… Not a lot of difference in most units. The Lowrance backlighting is generally better. Sometimes the “guts” of the unit might be higher end parts but I have not found a lot of difference overall.

Color… I have had no problems with color is the sun. The newest color screens are TFT screens and you should not let the problems of the past effect your decision today. That said, you don’t have to have color. I presonally prefer color, as many do, but a good greyscale unit will certainly fish fish and save you a few bucks. It’s your hard-earned money and you should spend it however you like.

From your post, I would say you might be best to go with the Garmin 178 or 178C. Why? Confidence. You have confidence in Garmin because you have heard good things from others. Garmin versus Lowrance can become a Ford-Chevy debate in a hurry. At one time, Garmin made better GPS and Lowrance made better sonar. Today, I think they have caught up to each other. I hear good feedback about both manufacturers on this site, on other sites, and from customers. The fact is, there are many outstanding fishermen who swear by Lowrance, and many outstanding fishermen who swear by Garmin. Go with the unit YOU feel most comfortable with. You’ll be a happier man for it.

To combo or not to combo… You’ve heard the pros and cons. You know your situation and you should make your decision based on your needs. If you need a new sonar and GPS and you have a limit you want to spend, a combo makes perfect sense. We’d all like to have the BEST of everything but sometimes money has to be spent on other things. Let your personal situation dictate your decision. Good luck and let us know if you need anything else. – Wade

Thanks Wade. You and the others have been very helpful. I believe that you are right regarding the quality of these units. Last night, I actually found a person that has a Lowrance unit on his boat. He likes it very much and he has had it for awhile. If the bay stays clear of ice, I hope to get out with him later this week and play with the unit. I’m still going back and forth. The conflict I am having is that my gut is telling me that I will be happiest with a unit compatible with the Navionics maps. I am unusual in my peer group, I enjoy fishing freshwater and saltwater. The available freshwater lakes available with Navionics blows away the Garmin maps. I’ll make a decision soon.

Thanks,
Dan

Quote:

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The conflict I am having is that my gut is telling me that I will be happiest with a unit compatible with the Navionics maps. I am unusual in my peer group, I enjoy fishing freshwater and saltwater. The available freshwater lakes available with Navionics blows away the Garmin maps. I’ll make a decision soon.

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Navionics maps are one of the main reasons I run Lowrance myself. I just gotta have it.

One more quick question….Does Navionics have a map that covers the MA and RI coast? I am sure they do, but I don’t understand how to find that out on their website. Garmin has a bluechart chip that covers that area.

Thanks

Dan,
I am pretty confident the on my LMS-480 Lowrance unit, they have all the coastal waters and great lakes maps already in the units as a base map. I’m at work now so can’t look it up in my manual. So if that is true, it would already have your areas in the unit, with no add-on chips. Jack..

Navionics NorthEast Coast

Dan, This should cover the area.

Jack, the Lowrance units do have the basemap of the area but I think Dan is looking for the more detailed maps with depth contours, etc.

Dan, if you don’t need the extra map detail, both Lowrance and Garmin have a basemap of your area. If you do want the additional maps, it’d be Navionincs for Lowrance and BlueCharts for Garmin.

That looks like the map. Thanks Wade.

Jack, I should have been clearer. Wade is correct, I was looking for the fully detailed map.

I think the Lowrance may have a better base map than the Garmin. A Garmin demo I saw today has shoreline detail, but no Nav aids. The Lowrance specs state that nav aids are included on the base map and the software emulator (a great idea by the lowrance folks by the way!) does include these. I went to a couple of areas that I am familiar with and all of the channel bouys and lighthouse were noted.

The Lowrance is looking better if this is true. The Garmin specs only mention “coastal detail”.

Thanks again