Anyone have the Low HDS5?

[BuschPilot]

Whats your thoughts on it. Looking at upgrading from the h20C to this HDS5 unit for the boat. thanks

[Daze Off]

Been thinking the same thing only I am also considering the Eagle 640 as well. Be interested to hear what people are saying about the Lowrance units....

[PerchJerker]

I don't have the HDS 5 but I have other HDS units. I like them.

Comparing the h20c to an HDS is like comparing a 12" black/white tv with rabbit ears and fuzzy reception to a 60" plasma with digital cable ---- or something like that. There will be a huge difference. The screen size and color display will make a huge difference in what you're getting from your map card.

Hope that helps and good luck.

[solbes]

I still have an H2Oc (use it on the bow) and have an HDS7. I was initially going to get the 5 until I split the screen at the store. The splits were a little cramped so I went to the 7. This thing has enough features to keep you busy and excited for a whole season. I've added the engine info with a NMEA 2000 network. I also plan on buying the structure scan within the next 2 years.

But as to the HDS itself, I love it. I mainly bought it for the sonar and I get perfect fish arches. It really performs well, but I should qualify that my previous units were Garmin 240 and Lowrance X-50ds that was stock with the boat. So a big jump in technology.

I haven't had any issues with the GPS portion either. I get position errors of 20-30 feet using the internal antenna. (my H2Oc gets 14 consistently). It gets position locks pretty quickly and zooms in well beyond what I typically use. I also bought the Dr Depth software and the HDS series makes it SUPER easy to take sonar logs so I can create depth maps at home. Load that map onto an SD chip and the HDS automatically uses the chart on your next trip out. FANTASTIC! I've caught more walleyes already this year and my map is maybe 40% complete.

[Tom7227]

I have the HDS5 and the Lakemaster chip and I love it. It takes a little bit of time to figure out how to change things to the way you want it but pushing buttons is what guys do. I didnt' have enough room for anything bigger but I find the 5 inch to be perfectly acceptable. The thing seems to be visible in all light conditions and is fast to acquire the position. A bit pricey but well worth it. Check out the deals at the ProFishing Supply, a sponsor here. I got mine through them and the ability to talk to someone who knows what's going on was well worth it.

[Matt C]

I don't have the HDS 5 but I have other HDS units. I like them.

Comparing the h20c to an HDS is like comparing a 12" black/white tv with rabbit ears and fuzzy reception to a 60" plasma with digital cable ---- or something like that. There will be a huge difference. The screen size and color display will make a huge difference in what you're getting from your map card.

Hope that helps and good luck.

I agree 100%.

I have the HDS7 and a 5. The 5 is on my bow, and I do not use the split screen on it, just straight sonar.

I just did the newest update today to both units,so I am anxious to see the 'new software' at work.

[BuschPilot]

Are the updates necessary right out of the box? I just got the wires ran last night for the hds-5 and need to fasten the transducer down tonight. always scares me to drill into the boat. Whats the best way to do this. thanks for all the input.

[SpecialK]

Have you thought about a transducer mounting board? You still have to drill into the boat, but it allows you the ability to mount the transducer multiple times without drilling into the boat in case you need to move it around because of interference or clearance issues.

[BuschPilot]

i have seen the boards, not really thinking about using it though. I have an existing transducer mounted already without the board and was just going to leave it and mount next to that one. the boards look nice and clean though. Are there any issues that would come with mounting the transducer next to the other one in the boat? I won't be using the old one all the time, just keeping it there in case something happens with this lowrance i can always hook back up the pinpoint the boat came with.

[Tom7227]

Are the updates necessary right out of the box?

I think the answer has to be yes to this one. The most recent update came out only 6-10 weeks ago and I doubt that there's a way for you to tell when the software in yours was developed.

I think there have been 3 updates now for the HDS units. When I went to the HSOforum I saw that there was only two versions and they seemed to be pretty much the same. Logic tells me that Lowrance must have included all of the previous updates in this most recent version. Can anyone tell if that's the case since logic isn't what it used to be.

[Northlander]

i have seen the boards, not really thinking about using it though. I have an existing transducer mounted already without the board and was just going to leave it and mount next to that one. the boards look nice and clean though. Are there any issues that would come with mounting the transducer next to the other one in the boat? I won't be using the old one all the time, just keeping it there in case something happens with this lowrance i can always hook back up the pinpoint the boat came with.

Mount a mounting board on your transom and its much easier to move your ducer around when you have to in case of interference, rooster tail etc. Otherwise your drilling too many holes in your boat and thats a pain to plug over and over.

[PerchJerker]

I would do the updates, a lot of the updates have improved the gps performance .....

[BuschPilot]

what does it take to do the updates? do i need to dowload to a card and then put it into the unit? thanks for all the help. getting excited now.

[magnum mike]

I just got a HDS 8 2 weeks ago and they had to update at the store.

[Tom7227]

what does it take to do the updates? do i need to dowload to a card and then put it into the unit? thanks for all the help. getting excited now.

A blank SD card and a card reader. Go to http://www.lowrance.com/en/Downloads/Product-Software-Updates/ scroll down to the unit your working on and follow the instructions. You need a pretty fast connection to get the whole thing done before it times out. Once you have it on the card you just put the card in the unit and it will upload as soon as you turn it on.

[Riich]

You can access what version of update is on your unit. See which one it is and compare it to what Lowrance has on their site. I believe the manual tells you how to see it, if not it was on Lowrances site. No sense doing the update if you already have it.

[Bullwinkled]

i have HDS 5 like it. The only time I get bummed is when I go to the C store where the sales force is 100% sold on Humminbird as the better option.