sk8e8 wrote: ↑Tue Oct 30, 2018 11:03 am
Nice choice of FF. I've run 3 or 4 Lowrances, and since then 3 Garmins.
Having a lot of time on my hands, I've gone deep deep deep into the research, even watching the Russian youtubery with the sound down, to see some of the comparisons they've been doing.
sk8e8 wrote:
I always found mapping to be quite good, although for some time I used my phone. Does the Striker Plus come with QuickDraw? If so, that, along with Navionics on the phone would be fine.
Syncing with the phone is also very nice, seeing messages etc.
Yes QuickDraw, great idea that, also I've looked at a lot of the charts and apart from bigger rocks, they don't really show much detail. From the research, I reckon that with side scan (SideVü on Garmin), there'll be huge amounts of detail available, in conjunction with the QuickDraw, I'll be very happy. So way-pointing on the AquaMap and then transferring to the Garmin, via Active Captain, will allow me to pick out spots that are of interest using the lesser detail of the charts, then, side scan and quickdraw to see what's really there.
sk8e8 wrote:
I never had Side Scan on a kayak, but were I to get another one (it's on the cards), I would def put in a side scan unit. Since your speed is so much slower on a kayak compared to a Jetski or Boat, being able to more easily find STRUCTURE is massive. Finding fish, I find easier with the traditional sonar.
Good luck!
Yes and my impression, in the rabbit hole of research, is that the Lowrance are generally of lesser ability at the same price point but look more appealing at about $500 more for the same/similar features. The RayMarine and Hummingbird look tricky to understand and are again about $500 more for the same/similar features.
Lastly the transducer :: the Garmin GT52HW-TM looks to be the most desirable, having 1 x traditional, 2 x side scan and 1 x down scan elements, some 7sv units are being sold with the GT20-TM or other, which does not use a dedicated down scan element, but "mashes" the two side scan elements for the same effect. There is much debate on the inter web about whether or not this matters, I'm going with the GT52HW-TM on the basis that this is what Garmin recommends.
for those interested the transducer guide is at this pdf -
https://www8.garmin.com/marine/PDF/tran ... _guide.pdf
and for every feature you get by moving up a model designation, add $100....
Cheers