fish finder

[jewfisher]

hi guys,

looking to buy a fishfinder. looked at some on ebay but there is a variety. which brands are good or are recommended. wanting to spend upto $500.
on ebay i found garmin, humminbird, navman, northstar, lowrance. need something decent for the money i want to spend, simple and easy to use/understand.

also, on some fishfinders, there are features like dual beam, combo's of chartplotters and fishfinders. ive never used one so i dont know what to look for. i need some tips.

please let me know of your thoughts or if you have one and you recommend it.

thanks

[quintrex101]

mate the lowrance 50x is a great little sounder for money, there about $270

[Dog Catcher]

Geez jewfisher you've listed just about every bloody sounder exept the brand I'm a bit bias towards.

These are some of the things to look for when deciding

* watts this governs the depth range the sounder is good for

*wheather the souner screen is black/white, High definition mono LCD screen or whether it's a digital colour sounder depending on which one will determine the price as well

* not certain about *dual beam* different manufacturer's may use different terms & I'm interpreting this as beieg2 different spreads the transducer will work on depending which transducer you select & not to be confused with next item

* dual freqency 50/200kHz this is a sounder which can operate on both 50 & 200 kHz's some like mine can split the screen & show both which is really a waste of time I just either go low frequency 50 kHz when I'm out in deep water or 200kHz when sounding shallower water

* combo's are just what it says one unit which is a sounder & a GPS not a big fan of these & much preder 2 seperat units

I actually purchased a new unit today already had a good sounder & upgraded from a GPS to a chart plotter which can run radar & a whole variety of other things as well like liking in a video camera to use it's screen even got a VGA plug if you wanted to plug in a say laptop to use it;s sreen a little bit more expensive than your budget but to give you an example of a combothis is the one I got today it's showing Radar & GPS & the one you're refing to will show sounder & GPS

Like I said I'm a bit bias to the Furuno gear these days & they do make a sounder in your price range my brother got one not that long ago & heprefers it over the lowrance that he had prior

http://www.taylormarine.com.au/upl_images/M1823C.jpg

[storms72]

DC is right on the money with brand mate....Get the Furuno 4100- will cost you your $500, can upgrade it later for chartplotting if you decide to and the best bit about them is they have'nt changed their range of sounders for a few years so you know you are buying a quality product not just another FF that will be superceded 5mins after you buy it!

If you decide to double your outlay let me know-can get hold of Humminbird FF-Chartplotters for a grand-retail round 1700.

Jason

[Dog Catcher]

there's also a guy selling a hummingbird 400TX dont know much about them but I've seen his unit the other week & it's only been used once.

Wants around $600 for it & like I said I know zilch about them it just came up in conversation

[jewfisher]

DC is right on the money with brand mate....Get the Furuno 4100- will cost you your $500, can upgrade it later for chartplotting if you decide to and the best bit about them is they have'nt changed their range of sounders for a few years so you know you are buying a quality product not just another FF that will be superceded 5mins after you buy it!

If you decide to double your outlay let me know-can get hold of Humminbird FF-Chartplotters for a grand-retail round 1700.

Jason

is it the furuno LS-4100?

where can i find this one?

[jewfisher]

there's also a guy selling a hummingbird 400TX dont know much about them but I've seen his unit the other week & it's only been used once.

Wants around $600 for it & like I said I know zilch about them it just came up in conversation


does anyone know much about the 400tx?

DC, whats the reason for sale?

[Dog Catcher]

It's a mongraph sounder doubt very much he will get the $600 I only relayed what he said

Not to say they're bad sounders stuff just gets superceded that quick it ain't funny & when that happens it's not worth much @ all.
think I've got a couple of mono's somewhere in the garage just not woth the sffort getting rid of them may want to use them one day :rolling laughter:

jewfisher if you are interested in the LS-4100 you can have a read about it here

http://www.taylormarine.com.au/main.cfm?page=productdetail&pid=33&brandid=1&catid=9&section=

The LS-4100 is basically taking over well it took over the 600L which I know have in my little tinny I upgraded to the 585 in the big boat & thats the reason the 600L moved residence.

both the 600L & LS-4100 are rated @ 300 watts pretty good in mid water very good in shallow so so if you want to pick up say browns Mt can only do it on a day where the seas are relatively flat & there's no airation in the water.

The NSW rep for Furuno is a mate of mine & came over yesterday to give me a run down on that new unit I got but even when I got my sounder ran the deal through Hunts Marine @ Blakehurst.

Chop tells me they always carry stock & their prices are pretty good as well dont know where you live but your around Blakehurst drop in & have a look ask for Marcus he knows more about the sounders than the other young guys there.

If you live out Woop Woop somewhere let me know & I'll find out where you can get the better deal.

Personally I would & do go with Furuno & not because of my mate either.

[jewfisher]

thanks, good info.

do they run off 12v battery? or do they have batteries within the unit?

[Dog Catcher]

All sounder run off 12 volt

[jewfisher]

my 15hp is a pull start. how can i get that to charge the battery while im out on the water?

[borisboga]

my 15hp is a pull start. how can i get that to charge the battery while im out on the water?

get a deepcycle battery and a battery charger. you're done.

[lAMBO 3]

:fish: mate,the sounder the boys are talking about is great value,I bought one last week cost me $425.Its easy to use shows the bottom great,and has a great lifespan from what im told.Ive used lowrance,eagle ,hummingbird,raymarine the list goes on but have found furuno the best for $$$$ value.I just looked at sounders for a full week,drives you bonkers what they try and sell you ,your getting good advice,ive used the ls4100 over wrecks and reefs,barges in the lake and when set properly u can see the hollow sections in the wrecks,mate whatever sounder you get it will take u 10 trips to nut it out,just dont turn your gain up to far you will get false images.let us know how u go bro,and share any tricks u work out.tight lines

[Dog Catcher]

my 15hp is a pull start. how can i get that to charge the battery while im out on the water?

All motors have the capacity to recharge a 12 volt battery.

All you need is to get a rectifier fitted & bobs your uncle dont know what they're worth these days been a long time since I fitted one to one of my motors & cant even recall what it cost me way back then.

[storms72]

Hey Jewfisher....let us know the model of your outboard and we can point you in the direction of the bits you will need to get!
I used to fit the rectifier/regulator's to small yama outboards a while back, its a pretty simple thing to do just a few wires to connect......We can help you get it done mate just by showing some shots of your outboard once you get the parts needed.

Iambo....they're great sounders hey......Have two mates with them now and they're real happy with them. Hows Bam going???has he sent/e-mailed you any pics you can maybe share with us???

Jason

[jewfisher]

well, ive had good feedback from you guys about the ls 4100, so i might go hunting for a deal.

iambo 3, were did you buy your sounder from? $425 sounds like a very good deal. ill be getting one too. once i start using it, ill let you know any tricks i find :)

storms72, ive bought a mercury 'lightning' 15hp 2002 model. ill be picking it up sometime this week. ill appreciate if you can tell me exactly what i need to do, where go get them from.

[storms72]

Mate you need the model number from the outboard....call your nearest merc dealer and tell em the model No and that you want to get the bits needed to charge your battery from your outboard.....Are you sure it doesn't already have charging facility fitted????

Jason

[HSV]

All motors have the capacity to recharge a 12 volt battery.

All you need is to get a rectifier fitted & bobs your uncle dont know what they're worth these days been a long time since I fitted one to one of my motors & cant even recall what it cost me way back then.

Hey DC got to the rectifier changed on my motor cost me $80.00....

[Dog Catcher]

Yeah they're not that expensive just couldn't recall how much

I had a zip start 25 hp I think many years ago & wanted to a battery in the tinny I had @ the time.

Fitted in the rectifier & all was sweet back then zip starts didn't come with one & dont think they do these days either but dont quote me on that cause I haven't had a pull start or anything to do with them for ages.

[storms72]

Very few pull start engines have rectifiers fitted....some smaller key start models also have them as an option.

[quintrex101]

Hey DC got to the rectifier changed on my motor cost me $80.00....

were was that at mick, i may have it done to my motor, :beerchug: :ohhh yeah:

[HSV]

were was that at mick, i may have it done to my motor, :beerchug: :ohhh yeah:

A1 Marine his mobile 0414542159 :luck:

[quintrex101]

thanks mick, i give them a ring tomorrow :ohhh yeah:

[Dog Catcher]

Mick had his replaced Daniel !

You have to get one fitted cause you dont have one

[quintrex101]

Mick had his replaced Daniel !

You have to get one fitted cause you dont have one

silly me :idiot: , what it cost to get one put it

[Dog Catcher]

No Idea

Was that long ago cant even recall how to fit one would need to look @ a wiring diagram but do recall they're very simple to fit

[quintrex101]

i give a1 marine a ring tomorrow and found out :ohhh yeah:

[storms72]

Quinnie, call your local Yama dealer and get a price on it from them....just fit it yourself not too many wires to connect (instructions are supplied telling you what colour wire to connect where) and with your motor all you should have to do is plug them in-the wires in your engine will be sitting there unconnected with bullet connectors on em and the rectifier/regulator will be ready to go with bullets on it also!

Jason

[como]

sorry DC im a bit BLOND on this one but whats the difference between a sounder and fish finder or are they the same thing do you see the fish on them or just drop off reefs from COMO told you BLOND

[Dog Catcher]

Fish Finder / Depth Sounder are the same thing como depending on which name people refer to them as.

I refer to them as a Depth Sounder simply because I dont really use them to locate fish that comes afterwards unless I'm looking for baitfish.

I moreso use them to find reef or drop off's burly up & the fish will come to you

[davidmda]

guys just browsing though, but sorry what does a fish finder actually do....lol yeah the name is self explanitory i guess but just curious about how it works and such

[jacobvz]

a little device usually on the back of the boat sends a signal down to the bottom and catches the signals that bounce back from the bottom and fish. this in term is interpreted on the screen by a solid line for bottom and spots/clouds/arches if there is a fish.
I say spots/clouds/arches as it depends on your unit and setting and size of the fish if you see arches or other readings. it also gives you the bottom contours and depth so it is easier to pick the most likely spot to fish

[davidmda]

wow! i never knew about them! thats really interesting thanks!!!

[como]

Como here couple days ago went to turn the steering wheel to grease up the steering arm that moves the motor,it was stuck so left alone however brother forced the the steering wheel to turn motor did not achieve anything but a free steering wheel motion ,steering wheel just going round and round with motor not moving.he actually snapped the cable {the worm} in the helm.Got a quote for steering kit which is new helm new cable $440 is that resonable price:1yikes: