hummingbird-lowrance side by side

[eyewarrior]

Looking for information if anybody has any experience running a Hummingbird DI next to a Lowrance HDS10. Looking at possibly buying a Hummingbird 596c HD DI. I would like to run just the down imaging on the bird and 2D with GPS on the HDS10. I know the lowrance down imaging on a HDS7 does not interfer with a HDS10. Not looking for pro & cons of lowrance vs Hummingbird. Thanks

eyewarrior

[eyewarrior]

OK So nobody has run them side by side. How about any experiences with either running in a group of boats with Hummingbird & Lowrance units.

[PerchJerker]

Down Imaging will not interfer with traditional sonar, they operate on very different frequencies. You would have no issues between a 596c HD DI and your HDS10.

But, for about the same money as the 596c HD DI, you could add StructureScan to your HDS10. That might be a better way to go, for a few reasons --- you'd get side scan as well as down scan, any waypoints you set from side scan or down scan would be stored on your HDS10 (not the case with the 596c HD DI), and if you ever expand to another HDS unit you could connect the StructureScan to it for the price of an ethernet cable and have side scan and down scan on that unit too.

Just wanted to make sure you're aware of these things before you spend your money.

Hope that helps, and good luck!

[gregg52]

what is down imaging???

compared to traditional sonar

[eyewarrior]

Thanks Perch.

I have seen the complete Lowrance set up in action many hours. With the hds 10 having gps, 2d sonar & structure scan all on the screen at once I find the 2d & downscan wdws to small for my old eyes. Having lowrance sidescan would be nice but I would still want another unit and then I would have to spend double+. With the hds5 or hummingbird 5" I could have only the downscan on the screen.

HDS5 480x480 pix vs Bird 640x640 pix same size screen. More pix vs networking. Lowrance vs Hummingbird service. sidescan vs no sidescan. I have been a Lowrance man my whole life vs never had a Hummingbird. I have given it alot of thought and I'm still on the fence as which way to go.

Sometimes I miss the old days with a knotted rope & brick for depth checking and lining up the oak tree with the corner of the white house for location. Life was easier back then but I sure catch a whole lot more fish nowadays.

[TruthWalleyes]

what is down imaging???

compared to traditional sonar

Right side of screen - Side Imaging

Top Left - Down Imaging

Bottom Left - Traditional Sonar

See how traditional sonar can lie to you:

[TooTallTom]

Is there a way to set up the unit to toggle between two screens quickly? I have three pre-sets on my Humminbird, and use the full screen 2-D graph and the GPS chartplotter the most.

But, I rarely use them at the same time, even though there's a split screen available. I just would rather be able to see that much more of each one. Maybe you could ditch the GPS, unless you're looking for a new spot to fish, and save yourself the screen real estate that way?

[Nick Kuhn]

Is there a way to set up the unit to toggle between two screens quickly? I have three pre-sets on my Humminbird, and use the full screen 2-D graph and the GPS chartplotter the most.

But, I rarely use them at the same time, even though there's a split screen available. I just would rather be able to see that much more of each one. Maybe you could ditch the GPS, unless you're looking for a new spot to fish, and save yourself the screen real estate that way?

Set up correctly and if you memorize things you can make it so every screen you can view is available within two presses of a button. I forgot exactly how you have to lay this out, but there are some humminbird forums that tell you how.

[TooTallTom]

I've thought about doing that (I think I figured it out) but I just don't use many of the screens regularly enough to need more than the three pre-sets. One touch beats two touches. (Yes, I am a tech geek.)

That's why I was wondering about the options for customization on a Lowrance. (Could the OP work around the "real estate" problem on the HDS 10 he already owns while still getting all the info he needs fairly quickly?)

[PerchJerker]

That's why I was wondering about the options for customization on a Lowrance. (Could the OP work around the "real estate" problem on the HDS 10 he already owns while still getting all the info he needs fairly quickly?)

The HDS8 and HDS10 give you six customizable presets you can save if you're runnng the 4.0 version of the software. You set the display to what you want, then save it to the preset that you want. To access the saved presets you press the pages button one time to get to the pages screen, and from there you can select any of the 6 preset screens with 1 press of a button.

[PerchJerker]

HDS5 480x480 pix vs Bird 640x640 pix same size screen. More pix vs networking. Lowrance vs Hummingbird service. sidescan vs no sidescan. I have been a Lowrance man my whole life vs never had a Hummingbird. I have given it alot of thought and I'm still on the fence as which way to go.

I understand, it's a big decision given the prices on these things, and can be hard to sort out with how fast they get updates and enhancements. If you're looking for some opinions or thoughts or comparisons or contrasts, let me know and I'd be happy to try to help!