Upgrading my Electronics

[fishfordollars]

I have decided to upgrade my electronics. I am torn between the Humminbird 1197 and the Lowrance HDS-10 units for the console.

Up front I am not sure. Should I install another smaller side imaging unit or something like the HDS7 .

Currently I have a Lowrance LCX-15MT and an X-96 on the console. I also have the Lowrance LCX-15MT up front.

Anyone running the newer units please give me your input and likes and dislikes.

Thanks,

Jack

FYI, these units will be for sale as soon as I make the switch.

[Wayne P.]

If I was going to make that choice, I would wait until the accessory side scan units for the Lowrance HDS are for sale after this summer to see if they are equal to or better than the Humminbird SI technology.

[Dwight Hottle]

I got a humminbird 917C this year & have been real satisfied with the unit. It has a dual cone transducer both200/83 kHz. which you can watch in split screen for a very detailed view.  I called customer service before I bought my unit & talked to a nice lady who was very knowledge about their product line. Humminbirds customer service is excellent. I saved some money by purchasing the unit at a discount from Humminbird factoryoutletstore.com. Good luck with your decision.

[burleytog]

I wouldn't take the new Lowrance units right now even if they gave them to me.

[Olebiker]

I am afraid the new HDS units are a bit of a pig in a poke that may just morph into a marketing disaster like New Coke.

I am hearing a lot of complaints from folks who have them.  I also wonder why Lowrance released them without them being able to accept Navionics cards.  They have pushed back the date for the update a couple of times now.

I just bought a new Humminbird 788ci and could not be happier with it.

[Wayne P.]

In recent years it seems like Lowrance uses the buying public to do their product testing for reliability. They advertize a "new" unit and then hurry it to market and then find out how good it is by the number of failures. The 332 unit with the numerous keypad failures is one example. Some more: a unit that would turn itself on, GPS antenna interference with the head unit, and an internal GPS antenna unit that would not work if the head was tilted.

[tillerybass]

I have a HDS-8 and love it. I have seen the new

Humminbird's sonar and believe it is not even comparable with Lowrance's. The only advantage Humminbird has right now is the SI factor, but i believe that is soon going to change. Also, the HDS enternal antenna has not lost me once and is extreamely accurate. The navionics card is a bummer, but that upgrade is suppose to come out tomorrow. Can't wait to see what it looks like!

[bassdocktor]

We just added the 997 to our boat and will be trying it out on Tuesday.

After talking with both Lowrance and Hummin Bird reps the only thing they agreed on is that the HB's SI has been proven and has been around for a few years now.

The Lowrance rep obviously told me how superior their product is and how he's had his SI hooked up for 3 months now. He claimed it was much better than the HB. He did admit the release date and price as of a month ago were not set.

Also as Wayne P mentioned he fully admitted how Lowrance used the general public in the past to test units. Our 332c had all those problems. This came up as we were talkign about repairing/replacing the 332c.

The HB rep was stressing the fact that their units are proven and alot of internet support can be found if you have questions. The one thing he mentioned is to probably not buy one with a Navionics bundle unless you fish all over the country. I dont rememberhow old but he said the maps were about 8 years old and to buy the region specific card.

That's what I discovered in the last few months. Really if the Lowrance unit would have been out I would have been perfectly happy to look at those aswell. When you have several thousand dollars in electronics you have to be happy right?

[Olebiker]

The one thing he mentioned is to probably not buy one with a Navionics bundle unless you fish all over the country. I dont rememberhow old but he said the maps were about 8 years old and to buy the region specific card.

Unless I am mistaken, the maps in the NVB version are from the 2006 cards.  He's right.  It is not a very good deal.

[Long Mike]

Jack, I would recommend the Fishy-Wishy 25, made by Matell.  It's much more suitable for someone of your skill level.    

[bassdocktor]

Olebiker  you're probably right, but for some reason I thought that he said they were older.

[burleytog]

In recent years it seems like Lowrance uses the buying public to do their product testing for reliability. They advertize a "new" unit and then hurry it to market and then find out how good it is by the number of failures. The 332 unit with the numerous keypad failures is one example. Some more: a unit that would turn itself on, GPS antenna interference with the head unit, and an internal GPS antenna unit that would not work if the head was tilted.

That is the reason I didn't buy Lowrance when I purchased a new graph and pretty much why I will not buy a Lowrance in the future.  IMO they aren't worth the premium commanded by the Lowrance name.

[Ellesar]

I think it depends somewhat on how you are going to use it. I had HB on my boat I had last year and the 2D sonar wasn't very good. I had Lowrance put on my new boat and the 2D sonar is far better and I see alot more detail and get more accurate readings than I did with the HB units I used last year. But, on Lake Guntersville, 2D is only marginally useful. As long as I know how deep the water is and can see that there is some grass down there, I don't need a whole lot more. Some of the other places I fish I do use it alot more.

I'm holding off on buy the new HDS unit for my bow until the Lowrance SI comes out and I can see what its really like. If I like it I will replace my X-135 with an HDS unit. If not, I will get a HB SI unit.

[fishfordollars]

Jack, I would recommend the Fishy-Wishy 25, made by Matell. It's much more suitable for someone of your skill level.

Well Mike, you are probably right. At least it would give me something to play with while on the water while going fishless.

Jack

[fishfordollars]

Well when I started this thread I was convinced that Lowrance was the way I wanted to go. Now I am not sure. Lots of different views on this.

If I decided to go with the Humminbird units I would need two. I would want an 1197 on the console. Should I go with the 997 for the bow or what. I like the larger screen, but due to the cost I am not willing to put one up front. What would be the best unit for the front and do I even need the SI on the bow? I think I would prefer it, but let me know what you think.

I would be buying used as I am not willing to spend that kind of money for my boat if bought new. Anyone have either for sale? I will definately need two units.

thanks,

Jack

281 224-8853

[Al Wolbach]

Well when I started this thread I was convinced that Lowrance was the way I wanted to go. Now I am not sure. Lots of different views on this.

If I decided to go with the Humminbird units I would need two. I would want an 1197 on the console. Should I go with the 997 for the bow or what. I like the larger screen, but due to the cost I am not willing to put one up front. What would be the best unit for the front and do I even need the SI on the bow? I think I would prefer it, but let me know what you think.

I would be buying used as I am not willing to spend that kind of money for my boat if bought new. Anyone have either for sale? I will definately need two units.

thanks,

Jack

281 224-8853

How would a si unit respond to the constant turning of the trolling motor? How large is the transducer? Just food for thought.........Al

[bassdocktor]

Jack, everyone I've talked to seems to say you really don't need the SI up on the front. The SI works best when traveling 3-6mph I believe. Most people even the HB rep I talked to suggested putting a non SI unit on the bow.

Send me a PM if you want me to give you a call later on. I was pretty much in the same "boat" as you are now.

[TommyBass]

I have a Lowrance HDS 7 with internal GPS and it works great. Never had a problem with it. Reception is emmaculate and the 2D detail and accuracy is 5X better than a humminbird would ever dream about. Humminbird basically had fell off of the map because their basic 2D units were inferior to almost every brand. The only thing that saved them is their SI, as well it should have. The SI looks great and seems to work well on their units; however, their 2D still leaves alot to be desired. I have heard of some problems with the new HDS units, but I just wanted to give you a first hand experience of someone who has one that has had no problems. I have no idea what the Lowrance SI will be like, but Id expect it to work well as do most Lowrance products.

[tillerybass]

The new upgrade is out! I cant wait to see what it looks like. Already downloaded it to the card, just not to the unit yet.

[fishfordollars]

Are you talking about the SI upgrade or just a system upgrade?

[tillerybass]

The navionics upgrade for the HDS systems. I thought I had it downloaded but now I cant find it on my chip. To make matters worse, my computer is "timing out" every time I try to download the files again!! Anybody have any solutions?

[acar555]

I am running Humminbirds (997 and 787) and an HDS 8 on my boat. The downlooking sonar of the 997 and the HDS 8 show the same fish arches and bottom detail. There is no noticable difference between the 2. I would put the Humminbird downlooking sonar up against the best of them. The HDS 8 while nice, really doesn't do that much more than the units it replaced, and who knows when their version of SI is coming. A lot of rumors but nothing for sure, and comparing the few screen snapshots of the Side Scan I have seen I will stick with the Humminbird. WAY better detail.  I would get an 1197 and interlink it with a 917 or 957 on the front.

[fishfordollars]

I am running Humminbirds (997 and 787) and an HDS 8 on my boat. The downlooking sonar of the 997 and the HDS 8 show the same fish arches and bottom detail. There is no noticable difference between the 2. I would put the Humminbird downlooking sonar up against the best of them. The HDS 8 while nice, really doesn't do that much more than the units it replaced, and who knows when their version of SI is coming. A lot of rumors but nothing for sure, and comparing the few screen snapshots of the Side Scan I have seen I will stick with the Humminbird. WAY better detail. I would get an 1197 and interlink it with a 917 or 957 on the front.

Thanks, now which one  of the two and why?

[acar555]

The 917 and 957 are the same as far as features goes execpt the 917 has a 7" display and the 957 has an 8" display.  It really depend on which screen size you like best.  The 917 is around $1000 new and the 957 is around $1150.