Lowrance LMS-350A

[ND Jig Head]

I am considering buying a used LMS-350A. Will this GPS unit accept SD cards? If so what programs will it accept? I know it is a gray scale unit but I have been told that the sonar is very good. Any input would be appreciated.

[cold one sd]

I can give some input as to the sonar. I used an X70A which is the same thing less the backup battery for the memory. It was a great sonar and I used it for years until I had problems and Lowrance wouldn't try to repair it because it was too old. That is something to consider if purchasing a unit that is that old. Only problem I ever had with it.

[marine_man]

About 5 or 6 years ago the LMS 350A was the best locator out there... they had great sonar and ok GPS... the GPS is just a plotter type.. no maps and no chip / card options.

The sonar is very sharp and very good.. but a lot of advancements have been made on the displays, etc that I wouldn't spend a whole lot on it...

marine_man

[Rost]

I have an LMS 350A on my rig. Like Marine Man said, it was an awesome unit 6 years ago, but I think you can get a better unit with more options for much less now days. Heck, you could go buy a Fishmark 480 for $200 and have twice the graph you'd get from a 350A.

It's funny how fast these products advance! Buy a new unit today, and it's outdated tomorrow. A guy just can't keep up anymore.

[PerchJerker]

I agree with the earlier posts, the 350A was king of the heap for many years but it's time has passed. I replaced my 350A with a 332c a year ago. I just sold my 350A on hsolist a few months ago, it is ridiculous what people are still willing to pay for them. Sonar technology, gps technology, and screen technology have all advanced. The 350A is still a good unit if you have one, but it's not a unit to go out and buy these days.

[196thDLR]

ND Jig Head: I love my 350A. However, Lowrance will no longer support the unit. You should look to buy one of the newer units; there are some great ones out there. Like the other posts say, they were great in their day, but, that day has passed. I still use mine because I am too cheap to purchase one of the newer ones.

[Gadgetman]

I have a 350A and broke the transducer on it last year. Do you guys feel that it isnt worth the money to buy a new ducer? Or would that be a reasonable investment for several more years of use out of it. Just looking for some help on what decision to make

[Rost]

Gadget- That's a tough one. A new ducer will cost you $50-$60. If your 350 is in great shape and you're not in the market for a new unit, then I'd say buy it. Otherwise, I'd sell it while people are still willing to big bucks.

I am going to try and limp through one more year with mine. Currently, my sensitivity button is stuck on the "Auto Sensitivity" setting and my windows button does not work.. Amazingly, the unit works awesome despite these two glitches. I am lucky I don't really need the windows button, and the unit does a nice job stuck on auto sensitivity..

[ChuckN]

I have two in my boat and soon to be one. They are fairly good units. But the waypoint stuff I could never figure out, the internal batteries do not work, light went out in one, GPS doesn't work on the other... I am just keeping one on the bow and have a back-up in case one fails.

The biggest pet peeve of my 350A with GPS, it drained my boat battery terrible. I don't know why, but after a couple hours on the water the siren would go off constantly indicating low battery (which was not). I got so tired of that I went and bought a new Lowrance. Can't wait to install it.