HDS Gen 2 or Gen 3

I am working on putting together a new boat. I am planning on running a Lowrance Elite7 up front and a HDS11 on console. I come from old school where my eagle flasher was the greatest tool and an old paper graph.

Now I have been doing a lot of comparison between fish finders and I still believe in the Lowrance and have decided to go with the Lowrance. I find the reading up on the gen 2 compared with the new Gen 3 a tad overwhelming and hope that I can gain some insight on these.

Thank You for you help
James

Why an Elite on the bow? I wold rec. another HDS unit so they can be networked together, well worth the extra money. I would say Gen 3, it faster operating, and has some built in features such as wifi which will be used more and more. Now if want to save some money, the Gen 2 is great unit. Look for some bargain prices this end of the season.

Elite and HDS can be linked together. Almost did that on my new rig because the elite 7 came with the boat package, but I decided to upgrade to Gen 3s.

One of the main differences between the Gen 2 and Gen 3 (strictly speaking of Touch Units) is you have a keypad on the Gen 3.
The other bid difference is the Gen 3 will have CHIRP. This is amazing technology and really clarifies the screen much better than traditional sonar.
If you are talking about a non-touch unit, then if you want structure scan (side and down imaging) then you have to have the LSS-2 module as well and a place to mount it. The touch units have this built in, no other module or needing to mount a box somewhere.
I have the Gen2 Touch and I really like it. The touch screen works great so far, but I am sure I will upgrade one of my other units next year to a Gen3 so I can have CHIRP.

Thank You every one for the information.
I came across some good videos talking about the difference between the two and noticed the Gen 3 also has navigation controls on the side besides the touch screen where Gen 2 only has the touch screen ( touch screen model )

Not concerned with the wifi but the Genesis has got my attention big time.

I had thought about the Elite 7 on the bow for it would get used very little. When I am guiding ( which I am thinking about getting back into ) I wont be on the bow much but in a tournament or out fun fishing I would use it some.

Also decided to go motor guide and take advantage of the marriage between the two.
Thanks Again for everything
Have a great week
Jim

James, you are going to love the xi5!! I love mine. It was the best single upgrade I have made to my boat.
I also have the gateway connect so its hooked to my hds. With the touch screen you really have an amazingly powerful combination.

This is good to hear for sure. I admit I like how you can control it allo from the touch screen.
Thanks again
James

do you need the lowrance Point-1 GPS antenna with a hds GEN 3
I had thought you did not but read some place you did.
Thanks
James

You do not need the Point 1. Its just more accurate in that it has an electronic compass built in and the refresh rate is faster. It is not required though. The GPS in the Gen3 units is also faster than the Gen2 models, but they are not electronic, meaning they will not know which way your boat is pointing if you are not moving. The Point1 once its configured will.

Thank you once again !!
In many ways I could do with out but then again – it might not be a bad idea. lol

I always say He who dies with the most toys wins!!!
I would like to have a Point 1. That and a WiFi module are likely upgrades for next year.