What model unit were you trading in?
I just got off the phone with Lowrance, After offering another unit for $250 dollars(Elite 7 HDI) I told them It was not worth the risk to pay them $250 just to gain DI. The unit would have been a refurb and may or may not have performed as advertised. I informed them that I would rather spend that money for a Humminbird or Garmin unit. I would have liked to have seen what DI was capable of, but I will not, at least with the unit I bought. I wonder what the cost versus reported troubles would check out if these units would have been checked before shipment. Maybe the plan was to get another $250 for a refurb unit. I guess this seems a little chincy, but would rather spend another $50 bucks and get a new unit with warranty. Maybe DI is not worth the extra cost....Just my thoughts........crappie1133
What model unit were you trading in?
That would not be a good deal. I have seen those units on Craigslist for $300.00 still in the box.
I have 859 and 899. I did use DI some but not as much as 2d and side image. The MAIN reason I used my DI is to narrow down where the structure is in relation to my boat. So I ran a split screen with my DI so If I saw something in my 2d cone but NOT in my DI cone, then this told me that the structure was NOT DIRECTLY beneath the boat. And IF I saw structure on both screens then I knew the structure was directly underneath the transducer. BUT I bought one of the new ulterras and it is impossible to use a trolling motor transducer because of the cables interacting with the stowing/deploying. So I am forced to use the Universal Sonar which is 2d ONLY. And to be honest I have not missed the HD DI. Now I would cut my wrist if I had to go without my side imaging! There is a thing called a daducer that I could purchase to get my HD DI back, but you have to manually raise and lower that thing. If I had to manually raise and lower something then I should have went with the Terrova, and just raised and lowered my trolling motor.
For my needs DI is of no benefit. I rarely fish deeper than 15 foot, but at most over 40 foot deep. For the northern deeper lakes and definitely offshore saltwater it is way to go. SI is a benefit when scouting and looking for beds. I will always have SI on my boat. I primarily use my 2D to get over structure and see the depths of fish. I also use the Switchfire Mode to see baits when vertical fishing.