Eagle Vs. Lowrance GPS/Finder Combos questions

[hoggs222]

I am looking to upgrade my old (10 years old) simple Lowrance finder and am looking at upgrading to a Finder/GPS combo.

I know that Eagle and Lowrance are made by the same company. I'm not looking for a new "top of the line unit", just something to run off of my Lakemaster chip and have a split screen.

My biggest issue for this upgrade is that I don't want to use my H20c, as it eats batteries too much. I mainly use the H20c for icefishing. I do have the power cord for the handheld, but I'd rather just upgrade the finder.

Any suggestions for a comparable Eagle to Lowrance combo? Color is definitely a bonus, but not necessary.

[stumper]

Id look at the Eagle 642c. Internal GPS antanae and color. This week you can find them for 329.oo if you look in the right place.

[hoggs222]

Let me guess, starts with a C? That flyer is what got me thinking about it.

[BoxMN]

Do a search here, there was at least one or two posts that I put a bunch of stuff/review info into.

In a nutshell, for the price it is a GREAT deal, and works good except for in shallow weedy areas (8-10, common Lowrance/Eagle software prob). We did get a second one for our boat, have ben using one for about 4 years or so. Also, it uses same xducer as eagle 480/320 and a bunch of lowrance units, so if you have those you have lots of flexibility. I.e. we have two 480 units and two 642c units now, and three boats to use them on, with bow mount trollers and transom mounts. So we can swap according to need or season (duck) or if wehave probs.

The tech is older than fancy new stuff, but still works just fine. My only complaint is the newest version of the software, and they are not supprting it any longer. BTW - the new units come with v1.6, while I think v1.3 or v1.4 was better.

Lakemaster works better with it than Navionics, but both work.

Good luck! It's a great deal IMO.

[Tim_Anderson]

I have been running Lowrance for years, and have honestly been pretty disappointed. They are great when they work, but have some real problems that are very common and widespread to the point of being nightmarish - usually having to do with constantly finding and losing their position, or just losing it altogether. Three of the four different units I have had have all failed with the same problem. The only one left standing is the X113, and they are really spendy. I have had several smaller units and would not recommend them at all. Several of my friends and associates have had the exact same problems. I work at Gander too, and the guys in fishing are all too familiar with it too. I keep sending them in, and they keep either replacing my units or giving me refurbished ones, but always for a price. Like you, I am trying to keep my boat compatible, but it feels like I am chasing money.

I am about ready to try something new and have been hearing a lot of raving about the humminbird stuff. Just my opinion and something to think about.

[Chris Haley]

Stay away from the internal antenna if you want to mount inside a storage hatch. It will not lock on.

[harvey lee]

I have been running Lowrance for years, and have honestly been pretty disappointed. They are great when they work, but have some real problems that are very common and widespread to the point of being nightmarish - usually having to do with constantly finding and losing their position, or just losing it altogether. Three of the four different units I have had have all failed with the same problem. The only one left standing is the X113, and they are really spendy. I have had several smaller units and would not recommend them at all. Several of my friends and associates have had the exact same problems. I work at Gander too, and the guys in fishing are all too familiar with it too. I keep sending them in, and they keep either replacing my units or giving me refurbished ones, but always for a price. Like you, I am trying to keep my boat compatible, but it feels like I am chasing money.

I am about ready to try something new and have been hearing a lot of raving about the humminbird stuff. Just my opinion and something to think about.

I totally agree Tim. I am in the process of putting 2 new Bird SI units on the boat for this season.

I finally did get a new program in my 522C and it now works very well.