If you were buying electronics today...

[zurk]

I am pulling the trigger on the following:
Lowrance Elite 9 FS
Lowrance Halo 20 radar
Point 1
P66 Ducer
Total cost will be $3700 to my door

Currently running HD7 Gen 1 and a Raytheon stand alone radar so time for an upgrade

My question is for that money is that a good system and something I'll be happy with? Its a lot of money for me so I want to make sure I am spending it wisely? I fish Prince Rupert area and love fishing bottom fish so look for structure a lot. I priced out the Simrad Go9 XSE but only having a touch screen + Prince Rupert rain I wasn't sold on it.

Thank in advance for your advice!!

i would do a 12 incher since ive got a 12 incher and would never go back.
also swap point 1 for a digi compass like hs60 or whatever and a halo 20+ instead of the 20.
yes its a bit more money but it will stay with you longer. fyi you can pair a $100 tablet like a simbans tangotab 10" and have a second display on that if you like.

 

[Charts]

i would do a 12 incher since ive got a 12 incher and would never go back.
also swap point 1 for a digi compass like hs60 or whatever and a halo 20+ instead of the 20.
yes its a bit more money but it will stay with you longer. fyi you can pair a $100 tablet like a simbans tangotab 10" and have a second display on that if you like.

If I had the $$ to go 12 I agree and totally would but I don't. Also a tight fit on my dash of my Wellcraft. Are you able to explain the advantages to the HS60 rather than a point 1?

 

[Charts]

If I had the $$ to go 12 I agree and totally would but I don't. Also a tight fit on my dash of my Wellcraft. Are you able to explain the advantages to the HS60 rather than a point 1?

Also I just read some previous posts re point 1 vs HS 60 so I am sorry if I opened a can of worms haha. I think the point 1 is all i need for what I do and how I fish

 

[Aqua Trance]

What I have now is a 10" HDS at the front helm and a 5" HDS at the rear outdoor helm station. I find that the 5" is pretty much useless. When I need to see something I end up looking through the cabin door or the window at the 10". The Boat in a Box that Lowrance offers gave me all the cabling etc. to complete the N2K system and the choice was a 12 and 9 or 12 and 12. The 9 would work but I really want the big display at the outdoor fishing station, maybe rebound from trying to use a 5". I also like the idea of being able to swap either station back and forth if need be, gives me some backup if needed for the MFD.
So much of the decisions are based on your situation, size of boat, what type of boating you do, what type of fishing and where you boat. I like the old stand alone radar that I have now as it gives backup in case your chart plotter goes down but I don't have charts for it where we boat now and I also want the target separation in close quarters in crappy weather getting into anchorages. Some of the boating we do is in flooded lakes with standing trees and no charts so I hope from what I have read that the new radar may help find our way on those day's that you wonder why you are even out there. Otherwise I would probably keep the old radar.
The autopilot may be a bit of a luxury but again fishing in some of our area I have plotted the old original lake edge and the theory is that it will follow my routes along the edge. When there are 160 foot trees in the lake you can go through a few cannonballs. Especially when fishing by yourself or with rookies or windy conditions. This idea will work anywhere, like following a trail or route salmon fishing a contour line. There are better systems out there like Simrads but I don't think I need that for my size of boat and over double the price.
When we do fish saltwater I want the AIS system and after deciding on NMEA 2000 I will upgrade the VHF to that standard. Nothing wrong with my existing one but I want AIS and not in 0183.
At my stage in life this is quite possibly the last boat that I am going to refit and I will get 20 years out it. And I can afford it. Lots of boating in my life with a compass and a chart. Did a lot of the coast before anyone heard of GPS, Fish finder or even depth sounder but that was then and this is now.
If anyone is close to buying remember that the boat show is going to be virtual this year and my order if sitting waiting for the special pricing that will happen then.
The other thing is I find that I would rather deal with someone that is there for you when you need them, help on the phone doing your install or setup or trouble shooting etc. I won't spend this amount of money with people that won't even turn on there display so you can try the stuff out. Where are they going to be when you need them.
I had budgeted to replace these electronics when I picked up this boat and it will be under 14K with all the bits and pieces, taxes etc.
What I hadn't figured on was the 32K to replace the engine when the old one only had 700 hours on it. Oh well, that's boating
Cheers

 

[wolf]

I just find it very difficult to read where everything is in comparison to my chartplotter. I can ethernet my Gen 1 7 inch to the new FS and have two screens in the event of a failure I will still have a plotter to read. I am really interested in overlay when fishing in Fogust and navigating around. Right now if I was to be going through the broken islands of Bamfield in the fog its a tough go reading two different screens.

Totally know where your coming from on that and the best way I found to get past that was to run it everyday.. really get used to it even on the nice sunny days it then becomes second nature to you after a while ...as you know we really only use a radar a few times a year only under fog conditions
have to ask is that your well craft in picture?
if it is ever thought of putting it up higher? mine is on the under side of roof....just a thought? its on the upper top right... basically all i have to do is move my eyes up i can still see whats in front of me, unlike when its on the dash or some right in the dash you have to lower your complete head to see it (now i know your at the desk now looking up and looking down LOL)
isnt figuring out about a boat and electronics FFFFFFFUUUUNNNN!!!

Good luck wolf

 

[Aqua Trance]

Not my wellcraft. But I do agree that the way that my outside display is mounted now is down by the wheel and I will be repositioning it up just below the edge of the cabin roof. When you are standing up why do you want the display mounted down by your.

 

[ericl]

I am pulling the trigger on the following:
Lowrance Elite 9 FS
Lowrance Halo 20 radar
Point 1
P66 Ducer
Total cost will be $3700 to my door

Currently running HD7 Gen 1 and a Raytheon stand alone radar so time for an upgrade

My question is for that money is that a good system and something I'll be happy with? Its a lot of money for me so I want to make sure I am spending it wisely? I fish Prince Rupert area and love fishing bottom fish so look for structure a lot. I priced out the Simrad Go9 XSE but only having a touch screen + Prince Rupert rain I wasn't sold on it.

Thank in advance for your advice!!

I just updated electronics but for RADAR I am staying with my 15 y/o Furuno; dunno why you would switch RADAR.

Here is data from Airmar comparing the P66 transducer to some others:

https://www.airmar.com/uploads/brochures/transom_mount_products1.pdf

An important spec in transducers is the "Q" factor:

https://www.airmar.com/uploads/brochures/understanding_xducer_specifications.pdf

The "Q" for the P66 is horrible by today's standards; a similar CHIRP transducer will have a "Q" under 5 or so.

It is however a very popular transducer in the PNW saltwater.

I would not buy the RADAR & get a good medium frequency CHIRP transducer or a TM165HW if you don't need more than 3-4 hundred feet in depth

https://www.airmar.com/uploads/brochures/transom-mount-chirp.pdf

 

[pescador]

I just updated electronics but for RADAR I am staying with my 15 y/o Furuno; dunno why you would switch RADAR.

Here is data from Airmar comparing the P66 transducer to some others:

https://www.airmar.com/uploads/brochures/transom_mount_products1.pdf

An important spec in transducers is the "Q" factor:


The "Q" for the P66 is horrible by today's standards; a similar CHIRP transducer will have a "Q" under 5 or so.

It is however a very popular transducer in the PNW saltwater.

I would not buy the RADAR & get a good medium frequency CHIRP transducer or a TM165HW if you don't need more than 3-4 hundred feet in depth

https://www.airmar.com/uploads/brochures/transom-mount-chirp.pdf

Any idea how the GT54UHD-TM transducer is? It seems to be included with many Garmin units.

 

[wolf]

Not my wellcraft. But I do agree that the way that my outside display is mounted now is down by the wheel and I will be repositioning it up just below the edge of the cabin roof. When you are standing up why do you want the display mounted down by your.

I was asking "charts"

Also aqua i dont understand your last sentence???

 

[Aqua Trance]

I was asking "charts"

Also aqua i dont understand your last sentence???

Most rear station outdoor MFD's like mine seem to be mounted down low behind the steering. I will mount the new one about head height just below the cabin roof. Should be better viewing angle and better protection.

 

[wolf]

Should be better viewing angle and better protection.

it is I can see mine at the back of boat no problem i put mine up higher way back when on rockfishs boat and did on my newer one very easy to read and program

 

[ericl]

Any idea how the GT54UHD-TM transducer is? It seems to be included with many Garmin units.

Garmin GT50-TM | Transducer for Shallow Water

The Garmin GT50-TM is a transducer for the shallow water fisherman who want traditional, CHIRP ClearVü & CHIRP SideVü scanning sonar.

buy.garmin.com

It is a combo side-down scan & mid frequency traditional CHIRP transducer. The CHIRP frequencies used are good, but power is only 300 watts. They don't say how wide the standard CHIRP beam angle is.
Here is good info on transducer beam angle; FYI the author talks about Tuna, but our Salmon will be very similar:

Understanding your transducer beam angle | Salt Water Sportsman

You can’t talk about beam angles without mentioning transducer frequencies; they are related.

www.saltwatersportsman.com

At only 300 watts of power & a medium CHIRP frequency, penetration depth may be marginal over 300 ft

The side/down scan use 455/800 Khz; great for painting 3D pictures of tree branched in 50 ft deep Bass lakes but pretty useless in saltwater beyond 120 feet or so.
A similar CHIRP-only transducer like a TM150 is about half the cost.

For a bit less money than the GT54UHD-TM you can get the Airmar

AIRMAR

good to 500 ft. It has the wide beam angle (30degres) of a low frequency transducer & the resolution of a high frequency transducer.

It is VERY new so be sure to check the Airmar URL for mfgr compatibility

 

[Charts]

Totally know where your coming from on that and the best way I found to get past that was to run it everyday.. really get used to it even on the nice sunny days it then becomes second nature to you after a while ...as you know we really only use a radar a few times a year only under fog conditions
have to ask is that your well craft in picture?
if it is ever thought of putting it up higher? mine is on the under side of roof....just a thought? its on the upper top right... basically all i have to do is move my eyes up i can still see whats in front of me, unlike when its on the dash or some right in the dash you have to lower your complete head to see it (now i know your at the desk now looking up and looking down LOL)
isnt figuring out about a boat and electronics FFFFFFFUUUUNNNN!!!

Good luck wolf

View attachment 61699

Thank Wolf. I am debating putting my 7 inch up high so I can see it from the back. I would just be running it to see bait and depth but I really like having where I am going and what is around me right in front of me. Just like a dash on my truck. If I had to learn how to look up to see my speed in my truck I'd probably end up in a ditch. It's muscle memory for me. My stand alone radar is a SL 70 and it has a pretty big monitor so it's mounted high left which I don't like as well. So to have the 9 in front of my face with radar overlay as well I'm comfortable that way.

As for transducer it was just what was recommended to me. I love ling fishing so nice to see structure etc. Fancy side scan etc isn't needed and I'm only ocean fishing. Any recommendations besides the P66?

 

[wolf]

Any recommendations besides the P66?

I think im running the B 164 airmar thru hull but dont quote me on that as I installed it like 10 years ago i know its a 1 kw and yes I was scared as hell to drill a hole in the bottom of my boat , but glad I did as its the bomb no more broken bracket from stern, its flush mounted on a tilted version to account for the deadrise I can be going 30 kts and it reads the bottom , ive found alot of good "honeyhole" cruising that are not on a chart because of that... well worth it in my onion like i said 10 years and still great

 

[ericl]

I think im running the B 164 airmar thru hull

FYI that is an $800 US transducer. It has a wide angle 22 degree cone at 50 Khz & a very narrow 6 degree cone at 200 Khz.

Airmar's recent direction (their latest stuff) is CHIRP with up to 30 degrees cone at the 150 - 250 Khz high CHIRP frequency; what they are calling "high-wide-CHIRP" - great detail but limited depth penetration (500 ft or so with a 1Kw transducer). I can see the narrow cone of the B 164 being useful for accurately pinpointing small structure & Lingcod. With a 20 degree beam angle, the area of bottom depicted in 100 feet of water is a 40 foot wide circle, so what you see COULD be up to 20ft either side of your boat. You need to ask yourself what bottom fish would go 20 feet from it's home to strike - probably a big one though.

IMO choosing the right transducer for you is difficult. FYI, if money is no object, with a Furuno DFF3D side scan system you can see 120 degrees of bottom in 600 ft of water, & place a cursor on any object to get it's precise GPS lat/long location & mark it on the chart plotter. The transducer/black box are about $5K US & Furuno displays start at $2.5K US.....................
Just don't ask my wife how I know this.

 

[23Hourston]

FYI that is an $800 US transducer. It has a wide angle 22 degree cone at 50 Khz & a very narrow 6 degree cone at 200 Khz.

Airmar's recent direction (their latest stuff) is CHIRP with up to 30 degrees cone at the 150 - 250 Khz high CHIRP frequency; what they are calling "high-wide-CHIRP" - great detail but limited depth penetration (500 ft or so with a 1Kw transducer). I can see the narrow cone of the B 164 being useful for accurately pinpointing small structure & Lingcod. With a 20 degree beam angle, the area of bottom depicted in 100 feet of water is a 40 foot wide circle, so what you see COULD be up to 20ft either side of your boat. You need to ask yourself what bottom fish would go 20 feet from it's home to strike - probably a big one though.

IMO choosing the right transducer for you is difficult. FYI, if money is no object, with a Furuno DFF3D side scan system you can see 120 degrees of bottom in 600 ft of water, & place a cursor on any object to get it's precise GPS lat/long location & mark it on the chart plotter. The transducer/black box are about $5K US & Furuno displays start at $2.5K US.....................
Just don't ask my wife how I know this.

I’ve been looking for transducers as well the one of choice seems to be the B175 through hull high wide price $1700 tax included

 

[Charts]

I’ve been looking for transducers as well the one of choice seems to be the B175 through hull high wide price $1700 tax included

Ouch... that is out of my price range to be honest. I have caught tons of lings with very basic technology so I don't know how much more advantage a $1700 transducer will be for me personally. I am going to wait till the boat show to see what kind of deals are out there. I love love love dealing with guys in person and coming up with good prices so it will different trying to do it on line

 

[23Hourston]

Ouch... that is out of my price range to be honest. I have caught tons of lings with very basic technology so I don't know how much more advantage a $1700 transducer will be for me personally. I am going to wait till the boat show to see what kind of deals are out there. I love love love dealing with guys in person and coming up with good prices so it will different trying to do it on line

Yes hard to justify I almost pulled the trigger on it but with install I would’ve been well over two grand I just doesn’t make sense for me. Although I just did a bunch of overtime ploughing snow. Hmmm

 

[wolf]

ill be honest in saying that it was on clearance and thats why I got it plus it pissed me off after the 3rd one on the back stopped working one the temp guage gave out one split in half (although did get warranty) i have 3 of them if anyone wants to buy them 1 is brand new 1 is slightly used and one is used . reason I know as I just found them in my garage LOL LOL make me a offer i cant refuse looks like this.

 

[Charts]

ill be honest in saying that it was on clearance and thats why I got it plus it pissed me off after the 3rd one on the back stopped working one the temp guage gave out one split in half (although did get warranty) i have 3 of them if anyone wants to buy them 1 is brand new 1 is slightly used and one is used . reason I know as I just found them in my garage LOL LOL make me a offer i cant refuse looks like this.

View attachment 61861

What transducer is this again wolf? I might be interested