Lowrance X-18C or X-19C

[ChuckN]

Anyone own either the X-18C or the X-19C? Are these the units that the color screen first was introduced and hard to see in direct sunlight?

Opinions?

Do they accept new LakeMaster chips?

[veha44]

the x-18 and 19 are no longer being made, they have been changed to the x-20 and x-25/26. there are no problems viewing the 18 in sunlight, but depending on how recent the x-19 is you could run into problems. also if someone wanted to upgrade their screen on a 19 they just have to send it back to lowrance and pay $200 and they will get the new screen. since these units are color they can run virtually any chip on the market. the only unit that i know of that cannot take a certain chip is the x-15 and that unit does not take that navionics premium from last year and the new one from this year. if you can find an old one they are a good deal, if buying off of hsolist or something of that sort make sure the deal includes the gps puck, those are like $220 seperatly and have heard of some people buying the unit thinking they were getting a steal only to end up paying more when they had to get the puck. hope this helps.

ps the lakemaster chip is awesome, just look into if you fish any of the rest of the region or lotw areas then you might want to look at the navionics chip

[ChuckN]

Thanks for the great information veha, everything I was looking for!

[PerchJerker]

Earlier this year I was shopping and ran into a dang good price on an x-18. Just couldn't get myself to buy it though - I liked the screen size, but the resolution (pixel count) was too low, especially for a large screen like that. I ended up going with a 332c and am glad I did --- new unit vs. used, cheaper than a used x-18, much better screen resolution, and a better unit in my opinion. Good luck with whatever you end up doing.

[TravisC]

i have a 19c and after the $100 upgrade the screen is as easy to see as my 104. they sent me a whole new unit.

[Wave Runner]

I've used the X-19 for two years now and have had the screen "upgrade" done. No problems seeing the screen in the sunlight. The only problem in seeing the screen is when you're wearing polarized sunglasses. The X-19's screen is polarized also. A polarized screen and polarized glasses make for difficulties...

[fishlakeman]

Anyone who looks on HSOList for a Sonar unit, be aware of units that don't come with a transducer. Most likely, they were stolen. I know this because I worked at Gander Mountain 2 years ago and had 2 guys steal an X-19 and a Vexilar Edge right off the display. They had one guy distract the employee while the other took the units. We watched them on video do this, the next week I saw one of the men back in the store and let the manager know, but with harassment lawsuits he wasnt willing to risk it cause he wasn't 100% sure it was him- only 99%. That really [PoorWordUsage]ed me off.

Anyway, my brother just bought a new 332-C and it is one hell of a unit. I'd highly recommend this unit. Great price!

[TSCTSC]

The 332C -- Does not it cost a bomb? Like USD600 - 650?