How long has your current fish finder lasted you?

[Bassnyak]

I'm just wondering how long can a guy expect to get out of a unit? 5 or ten years?(taking care of it).

 

[Tennessee Boy]

My oldest is 7 years old.  They usually become obsolete before they stop working.  In 35 years of using them I've only had two fail.  Today's units are more complicated so I could see them being a little more fragile.  

[Bassnyak]

5 minutes ago, Tennessee Boy said:

My oldest is 7 years old.  They usually become obsolete before they stop working.  In 35 years of using them I've only had two fail.  Today's units are more complicated so I could see them being a little more fragile.  

If I may ask you, how often do you need to do a software update on these? does it vary?,Thank you.

[Tennessee Boy]

Just now, Bassnyak said:

If I may ask you, how often do you need to do a software update on these? does it vary?,Thank you.

Humminbird usually has a major update every year and sometimes minor updates in between.  I'm sure there are many people that never update theirs.

[DogBone_384]

My kayak’s Elite Ti’s are 2017 and Ti2’s on my boat are 2020. All are just fine.

 

I use my kayak 200+ times a year.

[VolFan]

7 yr old lower end one here that I’m replacing. Still works great, just putting in bigger and better.

[TnRiver46]

They will last forever if you don’t fish in the rain! 😂 

 

I’ve got a couple Lowrance that are over 10 years old, one probably closer to 15 yrs

 

had some in the past get water inside the screen , I’ve also destroyed the pins in the back where you plug it in once 

 

@Team9nine has a functioning flasher from….. I don’t know, 1980s ? 

[Team9nine]

56 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

They will last forever if you don’t fish in the rain! 😂 

 

I’ve got a couple Lowrance that are over 10 years old, one probably closer to 15 yrs

 

had some in the past get water inside the screen , I’ve also destroyed the pins in the back where you plug it in once 

 

@Team9nine has a functioning flasher from….. I don’t know, 1980s ? 

THIS ^^
 

Knock on wood, I’ve never had a depthfinder go bad. Most I’ve kept a good 10 years or longer and then sold eventually to someone else to keep using. And my LO-K-TOR works flawlessly and dates back to 1972.

 

[gim]

I have two Lowrance units on my boat.  One is about 6 years old (Elite) and the other is 3 years old (Carbon).

 

As @Tennessee Boy stated, they will usually last long enough but they will become outdated dinosaurs sooner.  Trying to keep up with marine electronics is not really a feasible or realistic option unless you're a pro these days.

 

I have a lot of waypoints in both my units, and I've transferred a lot from previous units in there too.  I've probably got nearly 20 years worth of waypoints saved and that is a lot of valuable information to me.

[Bassnyak]

5 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

They will last forever if you don’t fish in the rain! 😂 

 

I’ve got a couple Lowrance that are over 10 years old, one probably closer to 15 yrs

 

had some in the past get water inside the screen , I’ve also destroyed the pins in the back where you plug it in once 

 

@Team9nine has a functioning flasher from….. I don’t know, 1980s ? 

So throw that waterproof rated right out the window?,bummer i really like to fish in the rain!

[Kirtley Howe]

I don't have a fish finder. I have a depth finder that may occasionally show what may or may not be a fish. It still works fine and is at least 15 years old. For the way I fish, it is all I need. I WANT a much newer and fancier one, but I don't NEED one, nor can I justify the cost.

[Bassnyak]

1 hour ago, Kirtley Howe said:

I don't have a fish finder. I have a depth finder that may occasionally show what may or may not be a fish. It still works fine and is at least 15 years old. For the way I fish, it is all I need. I WANT a much newer and fancier one, but I don't NEED one, nor can I justify the cost.

I really just want to find structure and have a temperature reading and yes depth.I have no expectations of seeing huge schools of fish.....

[TnRiver46]

5 hours ago, Bassnyak said:

So throw that waterproof rated right out the window?,bummer i really like to fish in the rain!

Those were my old ones I bought off Craigslist way back, any after about 2010 seem pretty well waterproofed

[Reel]

I have some old  Humminbirds from 30 years back, that I took off the boat to put newer ones on.  When I use the old ones for the occasionnal  ice fishing trip, they still work flawlessly.

[gim]

10 hours ago, Bassnyak said:

So throw that waterproof rated right out the window?,bummer i really like to fish in the rain!

 

Modern versions can get wet.  I use mine regularly in the rain.

 

Submersed in water is probably not realistic though.

[Jigfishn10]

Mine sits out in the bay all summer 24/7

The Garmin I have in it is going on 5 years

[Junger]

I've had two Helix10 G3N's since 2021 without issues, and I've run them in downpours several times. The one thing I did for my front/bow unit that is flush mounted is put a rubber gasket between the bow plate and unit so water doesn't sneak underneath. I had two Garmin's before that for several years with no problem too.

 

Like others have said, I think most units will become obsolete before they break. 

[Standard]

Bought my 73SV a little less than 4 years ago when Cabela's had them for $400.  It gets used on my kayak when I'm lake fishing, and hooked up to a shuttle and livescope for the ice season.  As it's not really permanently mounted to anything I tend to chuck it around a bit, but it's held up great.  

[crypt]

my flasher is from the 1998 collection of Bluewater Lowrance series.......still works great.

[A-Jay]

My last few units experienced some type of lead poisoning.

Before that their life spans ranged from 3 to just over 6 years.

A-Jay

 

[LonnieP]

I’ve always upgraded my electronics before they went bad, except for a little 4 inch humminbird unit I had on a Jon boat years ago, that one died at just 13 months old.