Home › Forums › Bass Cat Boats › Raymarine/Garmin electronics opinions
Jstew.
In the market for new electronics and was wondering if anyone here has personal experience with Raymarine or Garmin, specifically with the new SI and DI capabilities. I currently run an HB 997 and 798 and am pretty happy, but not so happy as to not consider others. Ive had some general issues with the 997 but my main issue is quality of 2D sonar in these units. When compared even to Lowrance, it seems to be much harder to track baits when vertical fishing and separation of fish from bottom is not as good in my opinion. I know, I know someone is going to chime in with “its your setup”, but I have been in lots of different boats with varying setups and thats the opinion Ive formed regarding my applications. Do you guys think the CHIRP tech in these brands is any better than current offerings by HB and Low? Also, what specific setups in these more alternative brands (in bass fishing anyhow) would you guys recommend? Hard to even figure out what you need to buy to get started just looking at websites….so list of parts would be nice too. Just trying to figure total costs to make honest comparisons.
sightfsh wrote: In the market for new electronics and was wondering if anyone here has personal experience with Raymarine or Garmin, specifically with the new SI and DI capabilities. I currently run an HB 997 and 798 and am pretty happy, but not so happy as to not consider others. Ive had some general issues with the 997 but my main issue is quality of 2D sonar in these units. When compared even to Lowrance, it seems to be much harder to track baits when vertical fishing and separation of fish from bottom is not as good in my opinion. I know, I know someone is going to chime in with “its your setup”, but I have been in lots of different boats with varying setups and thats the opinion Ive formed regarding my applications. Do you guys think the CHIRP tech in these brands is any better than current offerings by HB and Low? Also, what specific setups in these more alternative brands (in bass fishing anyhow) would you guys recommend? Hard to even figure out what you need to buy to get started just looking at websites….so list of parts would be nice too. Just trying to figure total costs to make honest comparisons. Ive been out of the loop a bit recently but I think the new Garmin GVC-10 Chirp down and sideVU Black Box has some the best detail and farthest reaching side imaging on the market right now. Its spectacular. I think 420 each side for total 840 of coverage. Raymines chirp is quite impressive too and I think might be a bit more affordable with DragonFly offerings. I prefer the Garmin only because their propriety maxDef mapping software for Alabama reservoirs is best Ive seen if you fish Guntersville, Pickwick, Eufaula, Smith Lake and Coosa River lakes ( Lay to Jordan). Theres are more lakes in Alabama I have left out. Also, kentucky lake is supported. You can find more MaxDef lakes on Garmins website.
Dont know about the Raymarine / Garmin – but Im impressed with the advances theyve made. My best 2D performance to date was with a dual beam Garmin unit on my last boat. HB has tried to get too much out of their units and truly, the 2D dual beam capabilities of the SI/DI units are limited since I believe V6.49 when they integrated 360 & autopilot. DI/SI images with the latest updates are notably better. The single beam 2D is very good and in truth much more accurate for vertical fishing. Running 2d at 200hz. and switchfire max, I have no issues seeing thermoclines and watching a bait drop. The main thing to consider is that there is no static setup. If youre going to fish for particular targets – youll have to adjust settings to conditions every time you go to the water. Regardless of unit – there is no set it and forget it setupThe CHIRP technology is actually older tech, but new to consumer products. All of the manufacturers now have units with this technology. It seems to be a feature of the higher priced units, and you can get many more features for the dollar with the existing mid-line products.
I can speak for the Raymarine units. I have an A98&A78 in the dash, & an A78 on the bow. Once I got used to the operating system, Ive been very happy with them. They are all touchscreen models & work well in all conditions. The amount of things they can do amazes me. Ive had a few tour level anglers very impressed with the DI capabilities. I think it speaks volumes that James Niggemyer qualified for the classic this year without SI. My SI modem is on order. Hopefully I will be able I give a better review once that is in.
RayburnRed wrote: I think it speaks volumes that James Niggemyer qualified for the classic this year without SI. My SI modem is on order. Hopefully I will be able I give a better review once that is in. That is a provocative comment. I bet boat builders like hearing that as they try to keep costs down on boat prices…Which offers a faster or more efficient fish finding to catching solutions? Great electronic mapping detail or SI if you had to pick one? I lean toward electronic map study and plotting way points by seasonal patterns starting at home on my computer. Then go to that area to target offshore fishing. Who cares about electronics if you are a shallow water fisherman. Its target oriented, seasonal patterns and history IMO. Now I realize some will argue that so I can appreciate the counter point. If there is grass, flip it, swim it or frog it. I seldom use my electronics for that. As for offshore thats another story. I would think that contour breaks and bottom hardness are key factors that most 5 to 7″ graphs do a great job with. The sizzle or bonus is finding a brush pile. To me we get sucked into that needle in the haystack with SI electronics. I realize my point may be in the minority but my fishing success has not been related to 10″ screens on my boat. Ive gone down that road before with no better results then 5 & 7″ screens. Obviously, to each their own and more power to you. To how much boat do you want and how much boat do you want to give to spend additional 5-10k on a boat? One thing for certain. We do have choices and Raymarine and Garmin are new players to stay in the freshwater market. Last edited by Flyswatter on October 24th, 2014, 9:07 pm, edited 2 times in total.
I dont know, SI has helped me catch lots of fish I would not have caught otherwise. If you fish places where shallow water patterns dominate you dont need. And I agree most tournament situations it is not necessary at all. But when you need it, it really helps you to be competitive. Highland reservoir in fall/winter can be huge advantage for finding fish. It is especially deadly on crappie and stripe for those of us that dont just fish tournaments. I do think you occasionally miss stuff with smaller screens. 10″ screens give advantage of running multiple views at same time to keep from toggling back and forth. And sure is much easier on the eyes when graphing for multiple days in a row!
sightfsh wrote:I dont know, SI has helped me catch lots of fish I would not have caught otherwise. If you fish places where shallow water patterns dominate you dont need. And I agree most tournament situations it is not necessary at all. But when you need it, it really helps you to be competitive. Highland reservoir in fall/winter can be huge advantage for finding fish. It is especially deadly on crappie and stripe for those of us that dont just fish tournaments. I do think you occasionally miss stuff with smaller screens. 10″ screens give advantage of running multiple views at same time to keep from toggling back and forth. And sure is much easier on the eyes when graphing for multiple days in a row!X2Dan
sightfsh wrote:I dont know, SI has helped me catch lots of fish I would not have caught otherwise. If you fish places where shallow water patterns dominate you dont need. And I agree most tournament situations it is not necessary at all. But when you need it, it really helps you to be competitive. Highland reservoir in fall/winter can be huge advantage for finding fish. It is especially deadly on crappie and stripe for those of us that dont just fish tournaments. I do think you occasionally miss stuff with smaller screens. 10″ screens give advantage of running multiple views at same time to keep from toggling back and forth. And sure is much easier on the eyes when graphing for multiple days in a row!This becomes subjective and each can justify merits to boats, motors, and electronics, their uses vs the amount of money we want to spend. Ive had years of experience with both and have my ideas to what is a good happy medium for me when I get my next boat.
Agreed. Just an alternative view from someone who has different opinion. Thanks for the input on the units and keep it coming as folks start using more from these brands. And BTW, not trashing HB. For the most part my units have been great. I just want to explore all options to see if something is more cost effective or will perform better in my applications.
I do have an recent issue with HB, from a consumer perspective, and Ive happily owned their units for several years. Im currently running a 998c HD SI and a 788c on my boat.They opted to write code into their updates to accommodate 360 and I-pilot into “legacy” units that lack processor capacity to accommodate. In doing so, creating a problem with dual beam 2D performance and causing screen pixilation and poor images. At the same time, continuing to market dual beam capabilities on their units. Rolling back firmware versions to pre-conflict (V6.49) may possibly “brick” the unit rendering it unusable. At the same time, their CS doesnt acknowledge that theres an issue with the 83hz in dual beam mode.I would very much like to upgrade my bow unit from the 788 to a 9xx series, but am unwilling to give up my 2D performance for the reasons mentioned. I use my console 998 almost exclusively for SI/DI as well as mapping. The SI/DI I use a lot to eliminate water and has been a huge productivity tool. It also has helped me see structure in places I havent realized were there. I find it on 3D and fish it on 2D.
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