Electronics help please!

[Spurhunter]

Ok guys, my new to me boat came with a Lowrance x51 flush mounted at the console that obviously has to go. But, I have a Garmin 500C that I really like that will go right in perfectly for 2D sonar at high speeds. No problem there. It also came with a Hook7 Chirp at the bow with down imaging and a map card slot. Everything I read says the processor speed is too slow and lake maps won't keep up above 20 MPH. I'll have the Garmin 500C at the console for 2D sonar, and I want to add a good GPS/side imagining unit there that accepts map cards. I would like to have down imaging at the bow with GPS. I think I want the units linked up so I can mark a fish or spot on side imaging at the console and go back to it with the bow unit. I don't think the Hook7 will link up to another unit. If it would that would solve some of the problem and I could leave it on the bow. I am really new to all this technology. What would you do?

 

[TNReb]

Entirely depends on how much money you're looking to spend...

A newer Humminbird Helix or Solix with Lakemaster maps would be my first choice. If that's more than you're itching to spend, I could be satisfied with a used unit running Navionics maps.

 

[WTM]

yeah depends on the cash you want to let loose.

the hook 7 cant share waypoints with other units, by a connection such as ethernet or nmea2000. BUT, you can transfer waypoints to an sd card and plug that sd card in another unit and transfer the waypoints to the other unit. takes 3 menu clicks and about 1 minute tops.

as far as NMEA 2000 waypoint sharing for units like the Lowrance elite ti totalscan, yes they will share waypoints AS LONG AS BOTH UNITS ARE POWERED ON when the waypoint was created.

ethernet capable mfd's are the only units that will share and SYNC regardless as well as sonar data sharing and other features, with the exception of the Garmin echomap chirp series which utilizes a seperate 2 wire high speed protocol to share waypoints between their units. the new Plus chirp series uses ethernet and wifi.

waypoint sharing is handy on the bow but if you are in open water and casting to a waypoint, then it is pretty much useless unless you have a heading sensor installed or get lucky by orienting the bow with a landmark to the waypoint.

if it were me i would look at a good unit for the console along the lines of an HDS gen3, helix si, or raymarine axiom if you want to use navionics or other mapping. garmin echomap plus are great units for a little less money but they use their own mapping which is comparable to Lakemaster. they also bought navionics and are merging their cartography data and have added ActiveCaptn to their lineup.

you can still use the 500c for 2d high speed on plane and mount the side imaging xducer up on the transom or on the jackplate for low speed scanning. those big all in one xducers are tedious to get adjusted to read at high speed. what a lot of folks dont understand is that when you adjust an imaging xducer for on plane boat angle, then your image will suffer when scanning at low speeds because the xducer is not parallel with the bottom. hummingbird and lowrance units allows the use of a y cable to add a 2d skimmer to the side image xducer to the same mfd unit. this solves those types of problems.

 

[Spurhunter]

yeah depends on the cash you want to let loose.

First of all thanks for responding. I have been hoping you would help clear this stuff up. I don't have a defined budget. I guess I'll spend what I have to.

the hook 7 cant share waypoints with other units, by a connection such as ethernet or nmea2000. BUT, you can transfer waypoints to an sd card and plug that sd card in another unit and transfer the waypoints to the other unit. takes 3 menu clicks and about 1 minute tops.

You mention transferring waypoints TO another unit by card, but can I transfer FROM another unit by card? Also, does it matter if I stick with Lowrance at the console or can I transfer points from any brand unit by card?

if it were me i would look at a good unit for the console along the lines of an HDS gen3, helix si, or raymarine axiom if you want to use navionics or other mapping. garmin echomap plus are great units for a little less money but they use their own mapping which is comparable to Lakemaster. they also bought navionics and are merging their cartography data and have added ActiveCaptn to their lineup.

Which is preferred, Navionics or Lakemaster?

you can still use the 500c for 2d high speed on plane and mount the side imaging xducer up on the transom or on the jackplate for low speed scanning. those big all in one xducers are tedious to get adjusted to read at high speed. what a lot of folks dont understand is that when you adjust an imaging xducer for on plane boat angle, then your image will suffer when scanning at low speeds because the xducer is not parallel with the bottom. hummingbird and lowrance units allows the use of a y cable to add a 2d skimmer to the side image xducer to the same mfd unit. this solves those types of problems.

I'll be using the Garmin 2D at high speeds and mount the side imaging to the jackplate as you suggested. My sidescanning will be done at low speeds. Since my Garmin flush mounts and there's already a hole there I won't need my new unit to do 2D.

 

[WTM]

as far as pulling waypoints off of one unit on a card to another unit on the fly, both units must support .GPX format exporting. its kind of a universal format that all units can read.

but here is the deal, humminbird has a proprietary format that has to be converted on a PC to a card and then loaded on another brand unit. lowrance has an option for .GPX for up to Gen2 units but uses USR or USR4 on Gen 3 units. garmin still has a .GPX option on all their units.

so in other words to do it on the water they either need to support and export the .GPX format or be of the same manufacturer. i believe the hook 7 will do both USR and .GPX so you would probably need to use another lowrance unit to make sure.

as far as mapping, depends on the lake. i would take Lakemaster over navionics right now on KY lake. navionics is just now updating their maps with Garmins data so when they are done Navionics will probably be a top choice. i saw the Garmin boat last year at jville doing some scanning. on smaller lakes that arent mapped you can use the built in mapping software on the mfd (depends on model) to make your own map and save to sd. as with all mapping, some contours or structure thats on one mapping software may be missing or different on another.

 

[Spurhunter]

but here is the deal, humminbird has a proprietary format that has to be converted on a PC to a card and then loaded on another brand unit. lowrance has an option for .GPX for up to Gen2 units but uses USR or USR4 on Gen 3 units. garmin still has a .GPX option on all their units.

so in other words to do it on the water they either need to support and export the .GPX format or be of the same manufacturer. i believe the hook 7 will do both USR and .GPX so you would probably need to use another lowrance unit to make sure.

That figures because I've been looking at the different units and the Helix 9 SI GPS struck my fancy. After some thought I don't think transferring points on the fly by card is a good option. You really want the units linked up. Maybe I need to dump the Hook7 and start over. And now I see there is a Helix 9 Mega. This stuff is really confusing.

 

[WTM]

that is what i would recommend. get the best unit you can right now for the console and then replace the Hook7 later or if you can afford it now replace it with whatever brand you put on the console. just make sure they are ethernet linked units.

and here is another confusing part, humminbird and lowrance has several different models and some dont include side imaging . a buddy of mine ordered a humminbird 7" unit for $599 and found out it was down imaging and 2d only.

a descent setup to find any fish in the water would be something like a helix 9 si gps G2N at the console networked to a helix 9 or 7 di gps G2N at the bow, unless you want side imaging at the bow too. (can be hard to get good images with si on the trolling motor unless you mount it on a stick).

or if you want lowrance go with an HDS gen3 setup or a garmin echomap plus setup.

 

[Spurhunter]

that is what i would recommend.

Thank you for taking time to explain this stuff. I understand 10 times more now than I did before. I really appreciate it. For now I am leaning Humminbird or Garmin. Lowrance just makes everything so complicated or that's how it seems to me. I will probably have more questions in the future. Thanks again!