2010 Locator Poll

[marine_man]

If you were to buy a new Locator today for open water fishing, what brand would you purchase?

[Chode2235]

I would be a big fan on which ever electronics company actually got serious about networking my boat. Connect my trolling motor, downriggers, GPS, depth finder etc all together.

You see so much fragmentation in design and functionality. Do these companys lack the vision? Especially with humminbird and Minnkota having the same corporate overlords. I don't need more detailed graphs, I need my stuff to work together.

[gregg52]

ya this new age is tough

specially for old guys like me

i bought 2-520 (thousand$$) they dont read all the time

i guess there is a fix for it

but i think i'm going to use those strictly for the chips and gps

and i'm going to install my flashers which i have a trendous amount of confidence in and can decifer the bottom down to pebbles and when i see fish i catch em

maybe i'm one of those old dogs you cant teach new tricks to ....lol

[Larson15]

Humminbird and minn kota are doing this

[Chode2235]

Humminbird and minn kota are doing this

More info on this please. It could affect my planned spring purchase. Thanks.

[marine_man]

I would be interested to hear the same... I know Minnkota has the I Pilot out know which works a lot like the old pin point system did, but hopefully stands up a little better

Either way, the functionality is another nice tool.

marine_man

[Larson15]

Here are a few things you can do with the humminbird.

1. Interlink your graphs together so they share information such as sharing gps waypoints, etc.

2. Minn Kota offers built in transducers on there trolling motors.

3. Humminbird Cannon downrigger interlink can operate up to 6 downriggers

4. Minn Kota ipilot controls and steers your boat with the ability to record and retrace paths. Holds your boat in one place with no anchor, and a bunch of other features.

And since lakemaster chips are now available for the Humminbird its really a no brainer on which one to get IMO. From what i have seen and heard the lowrance HDS units have been troublesome.

[AaronM]

Here are a few things you can do with the humminbird.

1. Interlink your graphs together so they share information such as sharing gps waypoints, etc.

2. Minn Kota offers built in transducers on there trolling motors.

3. Humminbird Cannon downrigger interlink can operate up to 6 downriggers

4. Minn Kota ipilot controls and steers your boat with the ability to record and retrace paths. Holds your boat in one place with no anchor, and a bunch of other features.

And since lakemaster chips are now available for the Humminbird its really a no brainer on which one to get IMO. From what i have seen and heard the lowrance HDS units have been troublesome.

Can't Lowrance units do exactly the same?

[PerchJerker]

I would be a big fan on which ever electronics company actually got serious about networking my boat. Connect my trolling motor, downriggers, GPS, depth finder etc all together.

You see so much fragmentation in design and functionality. Do these companys lack the vision? Especially with humminbird and Minnkota having the same corporate overlords. I don't need more detailed graphs, I need my stuff to work together.

You're right on, it's very fragmented.

Minn Kota motors - the i-Pilot is a gps system and sounds great for boat control, but it does not network with any other GPS units, sonars, data cards, etc.

Humminbird - has the Cannnon link so it will work with downriggers, has the Interlink so you can connect 2 GPS units to share gps data, does not network with more than 2 units or share sonar images or network with engine information. some or all of that may be coming as HB as added an ethernet port to their new units this year, although there is no functionality for that port at this time

Lowrance - does not network with downriggers but other than that has the most advanced networking options at this time --- you can network more than 2 units, you can network and share gps and share sonar data, you can share side imaging between multiple units, you can interface with Yam and Suz and Rude engines (but not Mercs) for engine info, etc.

Unfortantely with 2 big players that are direct competitors I don't think you'll see any shared technology or components. It'd be great if it was like the computer world where you simply added the drivers or programs for whatever hardware or functionality you wanted to run, but I don't think we'll see that anytime soon.

[gregg52]

old dog here again

it seems to me most of this stuff is gimmicks to sell

and with so much trying to inter twine it all is kinda asking for troulbe

and i'm not real sure its going to put more fish in the boat

i believe the chips are the best thing since the green box

and of course gps

but this is all pretty simple stuff and user freindly

[Larson15]

I agree, learn how to use that lake chip. Every year these chips get better and better. The new lakemaster chip is awesome.

[riverview]

I wish i could buy a locater that would improve my summer fishing as much as vex improved my winter fishing.

I agree the lakemaster chips are amazeing.

[Chode2235]

Originally Posted By: Chode2235

I would be a big fan on which ever electronics company actually got serious about networking my boat. Connect my trolling motor, downriggers, GPS, depth finder etc all together.

You see so much fragmentation in design and functionality. Do these companys lack the vision? Especially with humminbird and Minnkota having the same corporate overlords. I don't need more detailed graphs, I need my stuff to work together.

You're right on, it's very fragmented.

Minn Kota motors - the i-Pilot is a gps system and sounds great for boat control, but it does not network with any other GPS units, sonars, data cards, etc.

Humminbird - has the Cannnon link so it will work with downriggers, has the Interlink so you can connect 2 GPS units to share gps data, does not network with more than 2 units or share sonar images or network with engine information. some or all of that may be coming as HB as added an ethernet port to their new units this year, although there is no functionality for that port at this time

Lowrance - does not network with downriggers but other than that has the most advanced networking options at this time --- you can network more than 2 units, you can network and share gps and share sonar data, you can share side imaging between multiple units, you can interface with Yam and Suz and Rude engines (but not Mercs) for engine info, etc.

Unfortantely with 2 big players that are direct competitors I don't think you'll see any shared technology or components. It'd be great if it was like the computer world where you simply added the drivers or programs for whatever hardware or functionality you wanted to run, but I don't think we'll see that anytime soon.

Yeah I would love it if the depth finder moved to a model where you could buy the hardware and software separately. I think of the navionics app for my iphone and I know that is the future. If you could have some well built multi-function hardware in the boat to do all sorts of stuff beyond depth readings we would be set.

Something like the new iPad, but waterproof. You can download and buy the different apps from Lakemaster, Navionics, humminbird or lowrance, and some guy writes something awesome in his spare time. The sonar heads need to be more stand alone computer, open standards, and everything should be networked.

It's all right there, but it requires the big boys to think about their products in a bit different way than they ever have. They have been in the hardware business, they need to be a bit more in the software business.

[PerchJerker]

I wish i could buy a locater that would improve my summer fishing as much as vex improved my winter fishing.

That's a really interesting comment and I think there's a couple reasons lots of guys feel the same way you do.

1. Flashers are pretty simple to use, there are only a few things to adjust on them and it's easy to see the results of the adjustments. On the other hand, open water units are more confusing with multiple screens and menus and options, and it can be harder to see results from the changes you're making.

2. Ice fisherman spend a lot of time staring at their electronics and tweaking them to fine tune performance. I think a lot of open water guys don't spend enough time learning and tweaking their open water units ---- but if you do you'll get much more out of them. When I get new electronics I spend 30-60 minutes per trip for my first 2 or 3 or 4 trips --- about 2-4 hours in total over the course of a few trips --- doing nothing but playing around with the electronics and trying to learn them and get them dialed in. This is not time spent fishing or crusing, it's time spent checking out the electronics and tweaking them and learning what they're showing me. As the year goes on --- weeds grow, algae blooms, fish move deeper, etc, I make adjustments to my units to keep them dialed in where I want them.

Also, it's okay to go back and restore the factory default settings every so often, to make sure the adjustments you've made are really the best.

[marine_man]

Here are the results from 2009 & 2008:

2009:

2008:

Pretty interesting to see the huge jump to Humminbird. I'm sure part of it is the Lowrance Customer Service issue, and them producing a higher quality unit. It used to be that Lowrance was the by far leader, and Humminbird was ok, but not something that was viewed as a high quality depthfinder.

marine_man

[mojogunter]

I will address your comment new technology not putting more fish in the boat. The easiest thing to point out would be the I pilot. Say you start a trolling run on Gull Lake with its drastic break lines. At the start of your run you hit record on the I pilot, and on that pass you are lucky enough to run over a large school of fish. You can hit another button and it will trace your route in reverse or the original direction as many times as you want giving you the opportunity to stay on active fish. Another option is you find active fish and want to anchor right over them to jig or maybe slip bobber. Now all you have to do is hit the anchor button and the I pilot will hold you on that spot in wind or current. The I pilot isn't really like the pinpoint system at all. The pinpoint system tried to use sonar to steer the boat. The I pilot uses a GPS to control the boat. That is comparing apples to oranges.

old dog here again

it seems to me most of this stuff is gimmicks to sell

and with so much trying to inter twine it all is kinda asking for troulbe

and i'm not real sure its going to put more fish in the boat

i believe the chips are the best thing since the green box

and of course gps

but this is all pretty simple stuff and user freindly

[Basseyes]

Networking the units together is a major chore my 16 year old and I are in the middle of. He's taking networking classes in high school and helping me a lot. The strange thing to me is the lack of information from the in store reps at the evil empire C A b elas. They know little about the systems as a whole working together.

The guy at C a pRas is way more helpful than any one we've talked to so far and had a great point this stuff is still fairly new and they have yet to develop its full potential. Keep in mind the combo units only have been out a short time. 20 years ago down scanning and side imaging were pipe dream. Now the down scan imaging gave me wood for the first time in a long time over depth finders. I own a Lowrance 112 lcx and it is a great tool if you use it and pay attention to what it's telling you. I see a lot of guys who pay little attention to their finders once they start fishing. The devils in the details and details take time.

My biggest frustration right now isn't with the ford vs chevy debate but more with my 2000 mercury optimax and getting an answer if I can link into the systems PCM sensors for my 112's system. My question is can I tap into each individual sensor and run off a trunk line back to the 112 and will it read the information on the unit? Mercury what a butt pain! If I could trade even up right now for a Yamaha, 'rude or Zuk with a $80 cord that plugs right into the motor I do it in a heart beat just to be able to get that option of linking my outboard in with the 112 just for having the engine info. Good lord those big motors are very expensive and I would love to be able to see the motors running hot or whatever and be able to shut the motor down before the $4,000 power head melts down. Is that to much to ask for?

Signed Sincerely Frustrated!

[gregg52]

mojogunter

i agree with you you have to pay attention to yoor locator no matter what it is

i've been using plotters way back to the loran to help stay on fish

and go back threw them when yu find them on a break

i guess my point was theres so much stuff on these locators today that they invite troulbe

i still have my old flashers(green box type flashers)and they are up wards of 30yrs old and to me because i used them so long (just recently bought the 520s for the new boat)i have so much understanding and confidence and they are so relialbe 30 ys old cost 129$ still working

Over a thousand bucks in 2 520c and dont really work from the start

so it goes with out saying the 1980 flasher will go in the 2007 boat lol

but that just i can realsticly say i caught less with the new stuff

goes back to the old dog theory lol

[yaggie]

Here are a few things you can do with the humminbird.

1. Interlink your graphs together so they share information such as sharing gps waypoints, etc.

2. Minn Kota offers built in transducers on there trolling motors.

3. Humminbird Cannon downrigger interlink can operate up to 6 downriggers

4. Minn Kota ipilot controls and steers your boat with the ability to record and retrace paths. Holds your boat in one place with no anchor, and a bunch of other features.

And since lakemaster chips are now available for the Humminbird its really a no brainer on which one to get IMO. From what i have seen and heard the lowrance HDS units have been troublesome.

Interesting. I just purchased two HBs with the new boat and both the dealer and Bass pro said you cant see watpoints on the other gragh. The ipod cannot connect with the units either. Someday I hope. If I am not correct on this please let me know.

[Outfitter17]

After 14 season with Lowrance, 2 with Pinpoint inbetween, I have chosen to go with Hummingbird. I have had problems with my lowrances over the past couple of years as well as some of my guides have had some major issues. It's time to try something new and hopefully its the right move.

[gregg52]

ya i shoulda just saved a thousand

if its working leave it alone

[mojogunter]

Gregg

Guys will do better with things they have confidence in. Whether that is a lure, rod, or locator. I agree completely with you on that. I will say that the new locators do offer so much information it can be overwhelming to a guy, but in time as you learn to use this information it will make you a better fisherman. I have not been impressed with Lowrance the last few years and I switched a few years back to HB, and have been very happy with them for three years anyway. I still have a 520 on the bow of my boat that I seldom use, but I do know that it didn't work worth a can of beans until I did a couple of software updates on it. After that it has worked fine when I have used it. That may be the issue with yours. You can find the updates online at Lowrance you just need to load them on an SD card and put the card in the unit and turn it on and the unit will update on its own. If you need help with that let me know and I can send you the file.

mojogunter

i agree with you you have to pay attention to yoor locator no matter what it is

i've been using plotters way back to the loran to help stay on fish

and go back threw them when yu find them on a break

i guess my point was theres so much stuff on these locators today that they invite troulbe

i still have my old flashers(green box type flashers)and they are up wards of 30yrs old and to me because i used them so long (just recently bought the 520s for the new boat)i have so much understanding and confidence and they are so relialbe 30 ys old cost 129$ still working

Over a thousand bucks in 2 520c and dont really work from the start

so it goes with out saying the 1980 flasher will go in the 2007 boat lol

but that just i can realsticly say i caught less with the new stuff

goes back to the old dog theory lol

[gregg52]

thanks i appreciate that

i did talk with the guys at reeds and they told the same thing i'll probably do it here when it warms a bit more

[Deep_Sinker]

I have a Lowrance HDS 7 and it is fantastic...would like to get a bigger screen this year and add radar for big lake fishing.

[lakevet]

Planning on getting vexilar edge. Hard to find used one for sale, told they are solid unit, and vexilar service is great. Already have separate GPS. Hate to cram too much on one screen. Anyone running an edge?

lakevet