Reply With QuoteYour best and quickest deal is to call Brian at BBGMarine. Several units at deep discounted prices right now. Explain to him you situation and I bet you come out with a better unit than you expect.
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Slabmaster
sub $500 down imaging fish finder/gps help
The lowrance console fishfinder on my 17 foot 1985 charger bass boat seems to have bit the dust. I want to replace it with a down imaging fish finder/gps combo. While I wish I could spring for a nicer unit, my finances are limited to sub $500 so I know I am looking at 4-5 inch unit. I want one that swivels so I could view it from the front or the back of the boat, which seems to eliminate the humminbird helix (yes I know I could get a ram mount- but why didn't humminbird make a swivel mount like other manufacturers? too logical I guess). Most of the lakes I fish are not on a chip, so I am very interested in mapping them myself which seems to leave me down to Garmin and Lowrance. Am I over analyzing this? Which sub $500 unit would you choose? Thanks in advance!
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Your best and quickest deal is to call Brian at BBGMarine. Several units at deep discounted prices right now. Explain to him you situation and I bet you come out with a better unit than you expect.
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Charlie Weaver USN/ENC 1965-1979
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Have you checked out Cabela's Lowrance sale. This maybe what you are looking for.
http://www.cabelas.com/product/boati...Tz_stype%3DGNU
Be safe and good luck fishing
Keeper
I just put a garmin on my boat and love it. 7" garmin with gps and di with 2d color chirp sonar for 399 cant beat it
Jim
Slabmaster
I just got a Garmin 73sv (non chirp) for $499 at BPS. I have not used it yet but plan to tomorrow. I will let you know what I think of it tomorrow evening.
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Have you thought about a used unit off the classifieds here or on BBC you should be able to find a slightly used 8'' or 9'' unit for that like a Hummnid 859DI or something similer.
As already mentioned the echo map 73sv is on sale at cabelas for $499 normally $999. This unit gives you mapping,2d sonar, down imaging and side imaging. That is a lot more than most sub $500 unit. A nice feature it has is quick draw mapping. This allows you to map your own lakes with contour mapping in one foot depths. You would have to buy a ram mount to get it to swivel.
Crappie Wall Hanger II
Like others have mentioned I think you will be able to find quite a nice unit for under $500. I just bought a one month old Hook 7 with GPS and DI for $300 and it came with the Lake Pro 16 card (surprisingly it had more lakes than I thought). The same place had brand new ones for $399. As someone else mentioned there are some Garmin 7" units with GPS for under $500 as well.
Slabmaster
I got to use my 73sv today and am really pleased with the results. Below are some pics I took with my cellphone so please ignore the quality.
Slabmaster
Thank you for your responses. Bluesraider, how do you like your hook 7? Have you used the insight genesis? I am thinking about putting it on a RAM Mount or Johnny Ray swivel so that I could view it from the bow. If I did that do you have any idea which mounts to use? It is one of the models I am considering, especially now that BPS has it on sale for $399. I know BPS is not a sponsor, but I have several gift certificates that I could use there. Thanks in advance.
