Lowrance Elite-5 DSI

[LEECH21]

I posted this in the equipment forum but haven't had any responses:

I'm thinking about buying this unit for my boat. Anyone have any experience with it? Thanks

[mhines]

I dont have any experience with it on the water, but I was dead set to buy that unit this spring.........I went to Bass Pro in IA and played around with the Humminbirds, and Lowrance units for well over an hour. I decided to go with the bird, and cant be happier! My suggestion is to play around with both, and see what works best for you.

my $.02

[LEECH21]

Which hummingbird unit did you go with?

[CaptainMusky]

My buddy has the elite and really likes it. I personally think its best as a complementary unit versus dedicated since its down imaging only meaning you don't have traditional sonar.

[mhines]

I ended up spending more than i had planned and bought the 898 SI...It has both down and side imaging, as well as GPS(i cant remember if the DSI has GPS).

[CaptainMusky]

Yes, the elite DSI series has GPS.

[LEECH21]

Yeah, I'm looking for a good unit that has both GPS and a good graph for about $600 bucks.

[Esox_Magnum]

HDS-5 would be my top choice for that money...

[delcecchi]

What does HDS offer over elite series besides networking?

[CaptainMusky]

Networking capability. Better charting. The DSI I believe takes map chips, so thats good, but overall the HDS is just a faster unit.

Obviously the DSI has downscan which the standard HDS 5 will not for the price you are talking. You do NOT have a traditional sonar with the Elite DSI though either. That is one reason I turned away from them when I was looking for a unit for the front of my boat.

Aside from networking two units together on the HDS, you can also display all sorts of other things, radar, XM radio, motor diagnostics, etc.

I think the DSI will have issues working properly when moving at high speeds which is why I only intended to use it at the trolling motor, but went with an HDS5 instead for networking capabilities.

[LEECH21]

Soooo.... the HDS5 doesn't need a contour lake card like Lakemaster? Why is just having down imaging bad? Also do you have to pay extra, like a monthly fee to run the radar, XM, etc?

[LEECH21]

Looking at the HSOforum..to get the radar, radio, etc...it seems you have to buy all the extras to go along with the HDS 5. If that the case then the Elite-5 DSI would better fit my needs. I'd love to get the more options, but the wallets not quite full enough...aka can't pass it by the wifey

[mhines]

I think the Elite 5 is down scan only.........which means you will not have a traditional sonar function. You only get the down scan which is nice, but still difficult to find fish. I prefer to find structure with the down scan, then use traditional sonar to see the fish on the structure. I use traditional sonar WAY more than the down scan function.

[Esox_Magnum]

With the HDS you can always add down/side imaging at a later date

[LEECH21]

So lets state the facts:

The down imaging is nice to find structure..not fish

The regular sonar finds fish better than structure...

The HDS-5 has regular sonar and not down imaging.

The Elite DSI has only down imaging.

The Elite takes a lake GPS card for contours.....

Does the HDS need a card as well? I assume so.

[Esox_Magnum]

HDS doesnt need a card but will show more detail with one...

[mhines]

So lets state the facts:

The down imaging is nice to find structure..not fish

The regular sonar finds fish better than structure...

The HDS-5 has regular sonar and not down imaging.

The Elite DSI has only down imaging.

The Elite takes a lake GPS card for contours.....

Does the HDS need a card as well? I assume so.

Correct

Correct

Correct----You can add structure scan at anytime, and get both down and side scan

Correct

Correct

The HDS will need a card for contours(i think)........If its anything like the Humminbird stock maps, I get some contours/depths on popular lakes, and areas. The contours are not as good as quality as having a mapping card installed.

[delcecchi]

To revisit the original question, I looked online and big C has a good price on a bird 597 or 587 same price for either. I know nothing about birds but looks like exactly what he needs.

The 587 has both conventional and DI sonar. both have gps. Price is online only.

[CaptainMusky]

The hds takes a map chip too. To get full charting capability you will want either the navionics the new lowrance chips or an old lakemaster chip. You can get insight pre loaded on an hds 5 but its junk IMO. Map chips are the way to go.

Downscan isn't a bad thing I just don't know what your intents are for this unit. If its going to be your main unit id say go for hds. If you are adding it to a trolling location then the elite may be a better choice due to Downscan. Like I said earlier I think the Downs an has issues working at high speeds so cruising across the lake reading may besuspect you are right all those other items are add ons for hds but its something you can add over time. Think what your long term plan is and if it matters to have the ability to add those features. Honestly I will never use half of what the hds can do but the networking is important to me and having a traditional sonar as well. I would love to have downscan too.

[LEECH21]

I have a 16 ft Crestliner tiller. This will be my main and only graph on the boat. When I troll with my trolling motor which is on the bow of the boat (I have a wireless foot pad), I sit in the back by the graph. I will use this unit for staying on structure, but I also want to be able to see the fish. I will be mainly using this unit for walleyes. I have a Lakemaster chip that I bought last year for my hand held Lowrance unit. How do I know if it will work on a new open water Lowrance? Thanks fellas for all the help!

[Superduty]

I couldn't do without traditional sonar if I was only going to have one sonar/gps in the boat. Sonar is much more versatile than downimaging. If it were my money, I would look around for a good buy on a HDS5 gen1. They can be had at a good price since the gen2 came out. Another option is to consider the elite5 sonar unit instead of the DI unit. I still vote for the HDS5 because you can add the structure scan at a later date when you cash another check on Green Lake!

[CaptainMusky]

If you bought the lakemaster chip last year and its the "microsd" chip it should work. The HDS unit requires the larger microsd adapter, but the elite you can plug the microsd right in (if memory serves).

I would think you handheld used the microsd as well. Just a small chip like what would go in a cell phone. For the HDS units you would have that larger chip that the microsd slides into. Hope that makes sense.

For what you are using it for, I personally think the HDS would be the better choice.

You can see fish with the downscan just fine at slow speeds, but unless you can confirm that higher speed operation isnt an issue with the downscan models I would opt for the hds. My $.02

[CaptainMusky]

leech21, if you are interested I can get you a guy's number who sells used HDS units for real cheap. I bought my hds 5 off him and it works flawlessly. I wont share it in open forum or what I paid, so PM me if interested.

I bet you could even upsize to an hds 7 for the money you are talking.

[LEECH21]

Thanks for all the info guys. I have been researching the snot out of all the options. I'm now leading towards the Hummingbird 587ci HD DI Sonar/GPS Combo. Its seems to be the best unit for the price...about $450. It also offers GPS, standard sonar and down imaging.