If you were buying electronics today...
- Thread starter Dave....
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I just installed that same one but the boat is still "in-work" so can't give you a report other than install. The hole needs to be close to 4 inches.
It is fairly easy/cheap to find something to measure the hull dead rise angle. Each different amount of tilt option transducer covers a range, so being off 5 degrees or so is fine. I drilled my hole from the inside after establishing via straight-edges/etc the proper vertical position of the drill/hole saw. At 33' my hull is over 2 inches thick & my low-end half inch drill suffered a broken plastic frame. Got a Dewalt that is geared low made for concrete fixing.
Coat the hole/surrounding areas with 5200. Insert the transducer from the bottom, push it in til flush with the bottom of the hull & block the transducer in-place with a 2x4. Go inside, place 5200 as needed, washer/nut, tighten.
I did this myself because I have a total of 3 transducers to install; other wise you re over $100 for the hole saw/drill.
Corbin
Well-Known Member
Out with the old in with the new. SS175HW, centre keel, Commander 30. I have been very happy with it.
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wildthing
Well-Known Member
hope you dont have the job one day of getting them out..... 4200 is much kinder or sikaflex ... and yes i have 3 X SS-175's in the berty
Sharphooks
Well-Known Member
What Wildthing said.....5200 is more of an adhesive then a sealant. Shouldn’t be considered in transducer installation unless you’re on a desert island and don’t have access to anything else. All transducers fail...I have removed several over the years for one reason or another— you’ll be glad you used Sikaflex or 4200 when you’re faced with removing one.
YachtMech
Well-Known Member
Lowrance Elite FS or Lowrance HDS, get the 3 in one, or live. both great buys for the money. Very intuitive configuration, redundancy in ways to do common tasks, ie zooming in/out can be done with buttons or touch screen. (FYI I am just rebuilding my boat and have the Elite FS 3 in 1 on order, If Im using it there is a reason lol)
I would recommend garmin second, but they are at a higher price point for the same basic features because of their expandability.
I've installed, worked with, upgraded, replaced, expanded, and programed most of the major nav units: Garmin, Lowrance, Raymarine, Simrad, hummingbird and furuno are the major players in this department.
Garmin definitely has the market share on factory installs right now because of their expansive range of sensors and information collection capabilities, but in all honesty 98% of the owners barely understand how to use them. they are a bit clumsy to learn on, some of the commonly used functions are hidden in menu and you have to go through quite the process just to set an anchor alarm. Garmin is fine once you start understanding their logic tree, but every now and then I still find myself pulling up the manual just to do something simple. But that being said they can be configured to monitor anything you would ever want too, but really there is more capability than is useful for even the most seasoned fishermen.
Lowrance seems to be the more user friendly option in my experience, I generally don’t have to do much orientation with my clients and rarely get a call asking for help, not the same with furuno, raymarine or garmin. with all the features most boaters/fishermen need and those functions are easy to access. Simrad is basically lowrance for large yachts, not really geared towards fishermen. And there is enough expandability that they are worth it in the long run. Plus the navigation features are kept simple, and easy to use something most people forget about until they need them. The 3 in 1 setup wont break the bank and is really quite good, I don’t think the live view is needed unless you want to see the rockfish swimming up to your jig. The 3 in 1 produces very detailed images and the first one I installed about 10ish years ago blew me away. and the new units can display engine data on split screens and I believe the elite FS even has radar connectivity now.
Hummingbird is all about the fish finding, I don’t like using them as a "chart plotter", from my experience its not their strong suit. But all in all fairly easy interface. But in my view they are quite overpriced for what you get.
Raymarine.... I have too many stories about their old units. The newer stuff is good but they are really just focused on being a chart plotter. not much else to say about them other than I have never recommended them.
Furuno is much the same to me as raymarine, more focused on chart plotting, nothing that makes customers go OOOOOO that’s nice
I would recommend garmin second, but they are at a higher price point for the same basic features because of their expandability.
I've installed, worked with, upgraded, replaced, expanded, and programed most of the major nav units: Garmin, Lowrance, Raymarine, Simrad, hummingbird and furuno are the major players in this department.
Garmin definitely has the market share on factory installs right now because of their expansive range of sensors and information collection capabilities, but in all honesty 98% of the owners barely understand how to use them. they are a bit clumsy to learn on, some of the commonly used functions are hidden in menu and you have to go through quite the process just to set an anchor alarm. Garmin is fine once you start understanding their logic tree, but every now and then I still find myself pulling up the manual just to do something simple. But that being said they can be configured to monitor anything you would ever want too, but really there is more capability than is useful for even the most seasoned fishermen.
Lowrance seems to be the more user friendly option in my experience, I generally don’t have to do much orientation with my clients and rarely get a call asking for help, not the same with furuno, raymarine or garmin. with all the features most boaters/fishermen need and those functions are easy to access. Simrad is basically lowrance for large yachts, not really geared towards fishermen. And there is enough expandability that they are worth it in the long run. Plus the navigation features are kept simple, and easy to use something most people forget about until they need them. The 3 in 1 setup wont break the bank and is really quite good, I don’t think the live view is needed unless you want to see the rockfish swimming up to your jig. The 3 in 1 produces very detailed images and the first one I installed about 10ish years ago blew me away. and the new units can display engine data on split screens and I believe the elite FS even has radar connectivity now.
Hummingbird is all about the fish finding, I don’t like using them as a "chart plotter", from my experience its not their strong suit. But all in all fairly easy interface. But in my view they are quite overpriced for what you get.
Raymarine.... I have too many stories about their old units. The newer stuff is good but they are really just focused on being a chart plotter. not much else to say about them other than I have never recommended them.
Furuno is much the same to me as raymarine, more focused on chart plotting, nothing that makes customers go OOOOOO that’s nice
goingcoastal
Member
Thanks for the very detailed response. I think I've settled on the Lowrance elite FS as the head unit, my question is now whether to get the Airmar P66 transducer or the 3 in 1? I've heard mixed opinions now. I've heard the 3 in 1 is more geared for lake fishing or shallow water but I don't know if that's everyone's experience? One concern with the 3 in 1 is the size compared with the P66 - seems more likely to get damaged or broken hanging off the back so far but maybe that's just my perception. What are people's thoughts on the p66 vs the Lowrance 3 in1? I'll be doing some salmon fishing, lingcod, possibly some periodic halibut fishing and regular crabbing and prawning. I'll be buying tomorrow while my boat is in the shop so any immediate feedback much appreciated! Thanks again
Charts
Active Member
3 in 1 has decent detail for shallow water imho.. p66 is a good all around deep water transducer that will show your structure and depth even at speed. 3 in 1 is more of a fish finder rather the P66 is depth and ground finder. That's the way I see it at least
YachtMech
Well-Known Member
I think the new elite FS can be paired with the sonar hub so you could get the 3 in 1, and if you need more depth power then add on a sonar hub and a higher power transducer like a chirp or even something more powerful. Dont take my word on that one as gospil, check with lowrance, but I belive you can. I have not yet read all the newest "industry wank" as my favorite youtuber would say, so Im not 100% on that one
Key Features
- More refined detail and better range than any other imaging technology
- Active Imaging 3-in-1 transducer with Lowrance CHIRP, SideScan and DownScan
- Easier target identification with FishReveal™ Smart Target View
- Supports Medium and High CHIRP (83/200kHz) + 455/800kHz frequencies
- Compatible with Lowrance HDS LIVE, HDS Carbon, Elite Ti2 displays
It uses a medium frequency traditional CHIRP (picture will look like that of a P66). The sidescan+downscan 3D imaging at 455/800khz.
Feedback on the side/down scan says it will work up to 120ft realistic in Saltwater; the frequency is too high for depth penetration, but the pictures may entertain you when catching is slow.
The P66 is 600w, has a 40 degree beam angle at 50Khz - great for seeing a large area at once but what you will be seeing may be 100 feet or so from the boat depending on water depth. If you re Salmon trolling great as you will likely encounter the fish by driving around. It has a very narrow beam angle at 200Khz, good for finding a specific spot in deeper water but the 200Khz frequency will be limited in the depth of water it can penetrate. It would show bottom well as the bottom gives a strong echo, but fish close to the bottom will tend to blend-in with the bottom.
The new TM 165 HW is a much better choice; will show great detail down to 400 feet+.
Red Monster
Well-Known Member
Does anyone run more than one unit? My buddy is giving me his old Lowrance HDS 7 so I guess could run that and my old Garmin at the same time. I'll just need to pick up a transducer.
wildthing
Well-Known Member
just dont run them both at the same frq put one on 50htz the other at 200htz then your fine .....they will also work side by side its not ideal or whats recommended .....
have now gone over to a older newer boat for me 22' to the 25' bertram and now have dropped the p66 and LSS-2 just in fav of the in Hulls transferred to the berty along with a SS-175 high wide kept the high and low 1kw chripy's
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Rayvon
Well-Known Member
I've used the 3 in 1 transducer on a Garmin 94sv and it worked very well at the depths I fish at under 300 Ft..The chirp worked well but the side-bottom scan was useless.I've also used the P66 transducer on Lowrance and Simrad units.Best bang for the bucks I think,(about $200).The Airmar 1000W transducers are great but all over $1000 and overkill for the Lowrance unit your looking at.
So to clarify you found one 1 of the 3 functions of that transducer useful? Seems to me money is better spent on a "non-3 in1", which is what I believe
You can also run one at either 50/200Khz and run the other using CHIRP at a medium frequency between 50Khz & 200Khz as explained in this article:
What is CHIRP on a Fish Finder: The Ultimate Guide About CHIRP Sonar
What’s CHIRP on a Fish Finder? This post will give you a clear picture of what CHIRP sonar is, and how it can give you the most fishing experience.
fishfinderbrand.com
Ideal way to run more than one display is to mirror one display with a transducer to another display w/o a transducer; but both units must be compatible to do this; don't think there are any cross-mfgr compatible units.
Stizzla
Crew Member
If you’re happy with the performance of your garmin as a sounder I suggest not getting a transducer for your lowrance and just use it as a GPS plotter.
I used a 7” garmin for sounder and 7” lowrance for charts on my last boat and loved the results.
All in under $1k and I saved more than that in lost cannonballs alone.
Rayvon
Well-Known Member
ericl>"So to clarify you found one 1 of the 3 functions of that transducer useful? Seems to me money is better spent on a "non-3 in1", which is what I believe"
Just saying ,if the unit he's buying comes with the 3 in 1 transducer it still works fine for sonar ,no need to buy a different one if it works for him.But yes ,if he has the choice of which comes with the unit,probably go with the P66.
Just saying ,if the unit he's buying comes with the 3 in 1 transducer it still works fine for sonar ,no need to buy a different one if it works for him.But yes ,if he has the choice of which comes with the unit,probably go with the P66.
Red Monster
Well-Known Member
True, or I could update the transducer for the new Lowrance, toss the old transducer, and keep the Garmin for a backup plotter.
Baxter
Well-Known Member
I am a newb here, so my opinion may not be as valuable, but I run a Lowrance HDS Live 7. I am quite happy with it, but still learning the ins and outs. I do not have radar though.
I have it hooked the the VHF and Engine so get all of those features. For a newb I think this unit is fairly easy to use for the most part, but when it comes to really digging in it is a big confusing - I need to just sit in the driveway one day and play with it for a few hours. When on the water, I don't really want to be fidgeting with the screen.
My biggest complaint with it is trying to use the touch screen when the water is a bit rough. Easy to hit the wrong thing. The actual buttons on the right work, but I find they are less intuitive.
As far as the display and all that, I have zero complaints. The 9 or even 12 would be amazing, but really overkill for my boat.
23Hourston
Well-Known Member
Lowrance has a special on for the van boat show 800 off I don’t remember the details you’ll have to check it out
ANYTHING touch screen hates me.