Thread: A little advice please????

Ok, I was all set to buy a Humminbird 798si, then all this talk about Lowrance and the possibility of them coming out with SI has me wondering what the best buy would be. I was looking at the smaller Lowrance HDS and it goes for around $785 on J an H, where the HB 798si goes for around $850. Both have color FF and GPS, but I keep hearing of the problems with the HB GPS. I'm not a technical genious and I'm not sure I understand how the issues affect fishing. Does this mean if I see something on the SI or FF and mark it as a waypoint, that it won't be accurate enough to get me back to it? I then hear Lowrance has better GPS, and the HD thing looks awesome. If the rumors of the Lowrance SI are true, then I would be able to upgrade to it with the purchase of the new transducer? Is this how you guys who are in the know understand it? Basically, if you were me, would you buy the 798si and move on with no regrets, or but the Lowrance HD and hope the rumors are true? Help please.

If it was me, especially if I had a finder that was serving its purpose, I would wait and see what turns out with the whole Lowrance deal. Then buy. Who knows, whichever one you decide on, the price has almost got to be in the same ballpark with each unit (competition). I would doubt that all you would have to do is change the transducer to make any unit side imaging. I may be wrong on that but it should not be hard to find out for sure. Billy

You will always regret not waiting for the latest and greatest. there will always be newer and better. I have the first generation HB si and am waiting for the next beat. But there will always be better down the road. Bite the bullet and make the purchase. You are waisting valuable fishing time. Just in case you havent noticed, everyone on CDcot com has an opinion. Do it before the prices go up!

There is no telling how much Lowrance will charge for the transducer to upgrade the unit. Plus it's just a rumor.

I have a 797 and almost bought a 798 a month ago, but decided I didn't need 2 of them so I bought a 788 and interlink.

Not being much of a lowrance guy myself, I wouldn't buy the lowrance unless I could upgrade to the 7 inch screen, but without the SI, I don't think it's worth it.

I've been amazed at what Lowrance commands for their units, even though they don't have SI most of them are priced equivelant to the SI. I often wonder why anyone buys them. Now the GPS functionality is second to none, but a guy could just by a standalone gps unit.

By the way, Lowrance is definitely coming out with the SI. It is a black box module that will use the new HD sonar/gps heads. Network 2000 application.

Mid summer product release. It will be a black box + transducer +HD Head +GPS puck.

Know this for a fact now.

Originally Posted by Cane Pole

By the way, Lowrance is definitely coming out with the SI. It is a black box module that will use the new HD sonar/gps heads. Network 2000 application.

Mid summer product release. It will be a black box + transducer +HD Head +GPS puck.

Know this for a fact now.

Any rumors on how much it will be? If they price it like they do everything else, a 798SI equivelant product would be 2500.00

I would bet that their prices will be comparable with HB. The bad thing about electronics is by time you get them home they are obsolete. If you wait for a newer and better model, you will be waiting forever.

I have no idea about pricing, but I bet the GPS will work.

IBNFSHN is right on about technology. My 8 month old lcx27 is now obsolete.

here is the new GPS receiver info for the HDS.. Notice the refresh is 5 times per second. 16 channel receiver.

LGC-4000 GPS Receiver | Lowrance

That all makes sense. Thing is, I don't really have a functional FF on the console right now. It comes and goes. It's an old HB. It seems most of you who have the HB SI are happy enough with it. Heck, some have considered buying a second one. Can anyone clear up for me exactly what the GPS issues are all about? Is it just people complaining about something that is really not a big deal?

Originally Posted by Cane Pole

I have no idea about pricing, but I bet the GPS will work.

IBNFSHN is right on about technology. My 8 month old lcx27 is now obsolete.

here is the new GPS receiver info for the HDS.. Notice the refresh is 5 times per second. 16 channel receiver.

LGC-4000 GPS Receiver | Lowrance

Does this mean that you are having issues with the GPS on your HB SI? I'm an idiot when it comes to a lot of this high tech stuff, so feel free to explain it to me as such.