New Chartplotter/Sounder

outbeen

Well-Known Member
My chartplotter (Lowrance Elite 7 Chirp) sounder appears to have kicked the bucket this weekend so im in the market for a new combo unit. My initial reaction is to go away from Lowrance as I found the unit was nothing but problems from randomly losing bottom, reporting incorrect speed/depth/location to randomly turning off.

So far I am considering:
-Simrad GO7 XSR
-HDS 7 Live

Most of my fishing time is spent jigging for salmon and bottom fish though I do occasionally troll.

Any suggestions? I would like to stay under $1500 and already have a P66 mounted on the transom.
 
The units you are considering are made by parent company Navico, who also makes Lowrance. Most every brand supports the P66; they may use different connectors but adaptors can be had. If you already have a GPS chart card in your unit, that represents a $300 or so investment.
I have heard negative things about the Navico line & would put them above Raymarine but below all others.
You COULD put your charts on a Tablet using the Navionics App at $20 a year subscription & then get a REAL fish finder only unit (Furuno). I am evaluating the Navionics App right now as I am re-doing my electronics. The chart offers best-in-class bottom contours (great for bottom fishing), it has reduced functionality compared to a "real chart plotter"; mainly lacking a dedicated button/function for storing your Lat/Long location; useful for when you catch a Salmon or somebody falls overboard. It takes about 3 steps to do this via the Navionics App.
 
So far I've been happy with Garmin, since I upgraded my whole system a few years ago. 7612xsv and B175HW with GT51M, recently sprung for a panoptix transducer I'm playing around with. And their customer service has been excellent. Cartography was sub-Navionics, but then they bought Navionics, and hoping that continues to improve,

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Happy with my Garmin 942XS with the G3 mapping card. My understanding is that Garmin has the best mapping as they bought the best maps and combined them. You'd stay well under the $1500 as you already have a transducer. I beleive the P66 works with the Garmin, but call to check.
 
I have the Garmin 94SV and I'm happy with it and the transducer that comes with it.P66 isn't chirp so not right for this unit.You'll want the "Vision" card for it,so I'm not sure if it fits in your budget,but should be close.
 
I kinda wish I stayed with Garmin. Bought a Lowrance Elite Ti9 on sale a couple of years back. Screen size is great but resolution is just ok. Expected better given screen tech available and price point. I can’t say it overly does a better job at detecting fish than my Garmin Echo 150 that I upgraded from. GPS is great though. Just wish the 20$ per year for the navionics app was extended to the card as well. Not paying 100$ a year for the card subscription. I just use it as is.
 
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I have the Garmin 94SV and I'm happy with it and the transducer that comes with it.P66 isn't chirp so not right for this unit.You'll want the "Vision" card for it,so I'm not sure if it fits in your budget,but should be close.

P66 isn't CHIRP, but the 942xs only needs to use a CHIRP capable transducer if you want to utilise CHIRP frequencies. The 942xs will still read non CHIRP. On my unit, I tend to see more bait while running 80kHz vs CHIRP presumably because the cone is wider. No real difference in quality of returns from what I've seen.

You may be limiting yourself by sticking with the P66 as it's a good, but old transducer.
 
The Chartplotter has built in Wifi so you just create an SSID like "Matts boat" with password and connect your iPad, iPhone, Android etc.. You can then download free Garmin Active Captain and register your device which gives you the app and free charts on the iPad. So you can look at your charts at home and create way points and routes and sync it when back on the boat. You can also take control of your chartplotter and display on your iPad. So its just like using the chartplotter and can change settings and everything. It is amazing how fast it refreshes too. I thought I wanted dials and not touchscreen but the touch screen is brilliant and would not go back. So easy to scroll around zoom in and out and just hit a spot with your finger and make a waypoint.
these are screenshots from my iPad.
This shows my devices (I have 3) and that I have update waiting for me. I just connect to wifi on the boat and it does it all for me. Very simple.

IMG_9760 (Small).png

This is the charting on the iPad. I have the whole west coast with the G3
You can use this in places like BC ferries if you have GPS in your phone. Will show you exactly where you are and how fast you are travelling.

IMG_9761 (Small).png
 
Been very happy with my Garmin 1042xsv. I've run just about every generation of the Lowrance HDS (Gen1, Gen 2 touch, Carbon and now have a LIVE)

I only purchased the Garmin to run Panoptix Livescope, but the mapping quality is great now that they added the Navionics data. I also really like the depth shading feature.

depth-shading-copy.png
 
another garmin vote Customer Service has been excellent helping me add my autopilot they were great. software and maps updates are a download.
I went with Garmin 7608XSV G3 map and 7408xsv G2 map on the helm 7407xsv on the rear deck I have the 600W 12 pin and 8 pin chirp transducers.
the xsv designation provides sounder capability without that its a plotter only
there are deals around if you shop
 
P66 isn't CHIRP, but the 942xs only needs to use a CHIRP capable transducer if you want to utilise CHIRP frequencies. The 942xs will still read non CHIRP. On my unit, I tend to see more bait while running 80kHz vs CHIRP presumably because the cone is wider. No real difference in quality of returns from what I've seen.

You may be limiting yourself by sticking with the P66 as it's a good, but old transducer.
If you don’t want to invest in Panoptix, what would be the ideal CHIRP transducer to pair with Garmin 942XS for fishing in the chuck?
 
I first went with the 600W chirp Gt23 mid chirp 8 pin then added the GT51 12 pin last year which is a similar transducer but gives some different features
the best is the 1 Kw airmar B175HW fish badger mentioned
 
I first went with the 600W chirp Gt23 mid chirp 8 pin then added the GT51 12 pin last year which is a similar transducer but gives some different features
the best is the 1 Kw airmar B175HW fish badger mentioned

What he said pretty much. I run a GT21, which a wider cone and less depth capability. "Less depth capability" is relative; I've still had the sonar track bottom in 900' while running 24 kts. The wider cone lets you see more bait and fish; I find this useful.

I'd love to get a Airmar B175HW, but its pricey. Upgrading to the B175HW would do more for sonar clarity than buying a more expensive chartplotter fishfinder.
 
If you put the @ sign in front of the name it will let him know you’re acknowledging him. @fishbadger can you comment on the difference between 600 w and 1 Kw
 
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