Fishfinder shopping

I'll be on the hunt, over the next few days, for a new combo unit fish finder/gps map. My old garmin unit just expired! Manufacturer not really important as most have quite good units, just ask the salesmen.. Ha ha Anyway, has anyone come across any ' Hot Deals' in their recent travels??

Thanks
 
I spent a good part of this past winter looking for a new MFD for my boat, I checked all the online place's,
BOE Marine, Defender, Ebay, etc. I spent weeks researching it. In the end for my particular model (Simrad NSS12 Evo) the best deal on the continent was right under my nose (sort of) at Harbour Chandler.

Same with the transducer, for what I was after no one could touch them.

They've got my business in the future!
 
i totally agree with Barman....best service ever.....and its local.....try to support local before shopping online...might pay a bit more however when you do need help..the Chandler is always there ! very competitive prices too...+
 
The lowrance like water wolf said..... Easy to use and the mapping feature is pretty simple and getting more popular as people start using it. Look for sales on the gen2 units as gen3 is replacing them
 
Simrad NSS bought at Harbour Chandlers ,Nanaimo.Very happy with 2- 7" models.I was able to buy the 2-7" models for almost the same price as 1-9" MFD. after rebates.The Simrad is as good or better,depending on who you talk to,as the Lowrance HDS touch Gen.3 models.Both are built by Navico.. I bought Sidescan LSS transducer because they had one on for cheap,but I wouldn't recommend to anyone.P66 works fine on it's own.
 
Has anyone had success using SideScan to locate schools of bait? I haven't put much time into trying. Need something to help stay on the bait...Hey Ray, do you know if Simrad uses Insight Genesis to make maps? Disregard, it does, just checked...
 
I would recommend you educate yourself on sounders and transducers then find the one within your budget which does what you want features wise and then pick the transducer to achieve the desired result within the specifications and matched to the specifications of the unit.

This topic has been discussed on here a few times. A lot of sounders have features which are not relevant to our type of fishing and some of the transducers don't produce what they should.

Be careful about walking into ANY store and asking them to tell you what you want. They want to sell you what they have in stock, not what you need or want.

I have purchased and used lots of expensive electronics over the last few years. Many have been disappointing given what they cost.
 
X3 on Harbour Chandlers ,Nanaimo. When I bought all my gear HDS10 and radar and cords and parts and Standard Horizon VHF and antenna. They had the best price and the best service and I checked all the online stores too. By the time you pay shipping and exchange no one could touch them.
 
Listen to what the majority of guys hear are saying. Buy your electronics locally. Even if you can get a better deal online it's not worth it. Maybe I've been unlucky over the years, but I've had my share of issues with my fishfinder/GPS units. At least when I had problems I had my local retailer to take the unit back to diagnose and fix or replace the unit. I couldn't imagine getting any service/support/replacement through any online retailer. I'm pretty sure if you had any issues other than a DOA they would just tell you to contact the manufacturers warranty dept. You'd have to pay to ship it back to the factory, and it can be a long turn around at some of the factory warranty service centers.

Believe me I was pretty glad I'd bought local whenever I had issues because going through the factory warranty route sucks. Don't cheap out on your electronics by saving a few bucks on some Internet special. It not worth the money you save if you run into problems.
 
I found that the vast majority of the places that sell electronics don't really know anything about them. I'm talking tackle stores, and boat sale places that's why they send them out for the factory to warranty them. These places are more knowledgeable about tackle or selling boats and motors, then electronics. I had 2 different problems with mine and a setup problem with a fuel flow monitor. Twice Harbour Chandler fixed the problem over the phone while I was in the boat fishing and the other was fixed in the store plus they updated my unit all free of charge. Not trying to push there stuff as there is a lot of good electronics out there, but no one is going to beat their service. I have talked to BOE marine and I will say they are very knowledgeable also.
 
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Lowrance calls chandler with problems.... that's how good chandler is!!!!
I found that the vast majority of the places that sell electronics don't know really anything about them. I'm talking tackle stores, and boat sale places that's why the send them out for the factory to warranty them. These places are more knowledgeable about tackle or selling boats and motors, then electronics. I had 2 different problems with mine and a setup problem with a fuel flow monitor. Twice Harbour Chandler fixed the problem over the phone while I was in the boat fishing and the other was fixed in the store plus they updated my unit all free of charge. Not trying to push there stuff as there is a lot of good electronics out there, but no one is going to beat their service. I have talked to BOE marine and I will say they are very knowledgeable also.
 
find yourself a used couple of elite 7's hdi's and good to go with a p66
one for charting one for sonar
 
Sorry to hijack the thread but I'm not happy with my Dragonfly Pro and wanted to switch to something else but just with a finder/sonar, no GPS.
I use navionics with a 10" tablet and it's spot on always so I never look at the GPS on the finder.

What would you guys recommend for a decent size screen and good features / ability for fishing out west here?
I gather from lots of threads the P66 transducer is a good choice for a good price but are there any other recommendations?
 
If you're looking to offload the Dragonfly I might be interested. I mainly fish lakes and a little sheltered/inshore chuck, so I'm sure it will be good enough for my use.
 
If you're looking to offload the Dragonfly I might be interested. I mainly fish lakes and a little sheltered/inshore chuck, so I'm sure it will be good enough for my use.

I'll message you. It works great in cowichan and the downscan imaging is pretty great for structure I just didn't like it in the salt.
 
Thanks for all the info guys. Was at HC today and they set me up with a hook7 unit and the P66 xducer. Come in under my $1000 budget. Now to install and learn new system. Should only take an old retired guy like me, with all my life skills... about a year!! Ha ha

Thanks again
 
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