Lowrance LCX-28C HD or HDS 7?

[snoozebutton]

I'm kind of leaning towards this one for the boat and wondered if anyone has this model and if so, what's your thoughts on it.

I was talking to a friend from work and he told me the HD models are new this year and although he thought they looked really nice, he said he'd shy away from them since they are new and wait until he heard more about them in case they have problems.

I currently have the 334 with an internal antenna and am constantly losing possition, that's why I'm leaning towards the external antenna. I'd like to mount the 334 in the front of the boat and use the 28 for the main locator.

Thanks, Steve

[PierBridge]

They have been out a while now and I have not heard anybody complain that has a 28.

I think LMITOUT has one or maybe he has the 37 HD and as far as I know he likes it. Not sure how much he use's the Hard Drive you could save a few bucks and get the non HD unit.

How bad can it be having a 7" Color Sonar/GPS combo in your Boat...

I say get 2 of them!

[caseymcq]

The HD(Hard Drive) models have been out for a while. The model that proceded the LCX-28c HD was the LCX-26c HD. The LCX-28c HD has the same features as the LCX-27c with the addtion of a 30GB hard drive that is pre-loaded with maps and charts. I don't have any knowledge as to what those maps and charts are but I don't think they are lake maps with contours. If that is the case you may still need to purchase a Navionics or LakeMaster chip to get the contour maps.

Right now the LCX-27c is going for about $450 less than the LCX-28c HD (Cabela's has them on sale for $699 and $1149 respectively I am assuming to make room for the new high definition models). If you don't feel the need for the 30GB hard drive with the maps and charts you could save yourself a decent chunk of change and get the same display and features.

The best thing to do might be to go talk to some one selling the units and see what they have to say.

[PierBridge]

Thanks Casey... you are correct the pre-loaded maps won't be nearly as good as the Nav or Lakemaster Chips are going to be.

[snoozebutton]

Thanks guys and now I feel a little stupid. I thought the HD stood for high def, the hard drive I wouldn't really need. I guess it's the HDS series that I was thinking about and that would explain why he said it's still new and would hold off on them.

So next question, is he right about holding off to see if there's problems with these?

[JohnMickish]

The new for 2009 HDS models come with a 2 year warrenty. That should make the decision easier.

[LMITOUT]

Pier is correct, I do have a 28cHD but I see you're talking about something else in the new HDS units that are coming out from Lowrance.

Just to be clear, the maps that are preloaded on the Lowrance graphs are the same as the Lakemaster standard definition maps. The first time I fired up my 28cHD I was scratching my head because I had maps showing on the screen and they were the same as my Lakemaster card, but the card wasn't inserted yet! I didn't know that they came with preloaded maps, but use the card anyway as it has the high definition lake maps for certain lakes which the Lowrance does not.

That being said, the only reason I ended up with the 28cHD is that the 27c wasn't available last spring when I ordered my boat, otherwise I would have got the 27 without the hard drive as the HD is of no use for me.

Anyway, the new units will probably be fine, but as with any new units they will bring a premium price and if the new features aren't anything that you really NEED, then you could save a good amount of cash by picking up these close-out units for a song.

[LMITOUT]

BTW, Dave (Perchjerker) from Pro Fishing Supply can set you up with the units you need, whether you decide to grab a close-out deal on the current graphs or in the future when the new HDS units are available.

Check them out here: Pro Fishing Supply LCX-27c

[snoozebutton]

Thanks again and yeah, I've dealt with Dave before and will again. If he has it, there's no reason to look anywhere else!!

[gofishingtom]

the new lowrance units with be available on feb 1st..if they are ready to go..have heard that they are waiting for a program that need to be loaded on units and if that doesnt arrive in time from china they will probably send units out with it in feb and then give you the upgrade when it arrives at a later date..and not charge for the upgrade..

[PerchJerker]

The LCX 28 and 38 HD models (where HD stands for Hard Drive) are good units that have been around for a few years, although the software update that enables digital signal processing for the broadband sounder functionality has caused some issues with sonar performance in shallow water or weeds. You hear more about this with the LMS 520 and 522 units because they are so much more popular.

The new units for 2009 are called the HDS-5, HDS-7, HDS-8 and HDS-10. The HD stands for High Definition and the 5, 7, 8 etc. stand for the screen size - the 5" screen is the same size as the 520, the 7" screen is the same size as the 27, etc.

I've seen the new HD (High Def) displays and they are outstanding. The new HD units also have some better basemaps in them, plus some options for some new Insights maps, similar to what the 28HD and 38HD models had. According to the Lowrance reps the new HD units with the built-in broadband sounder technology will handle the sonar performance in shallow water and weeds.

As pointed out, the basemaps in the Hard Drive models aren't too popular in this area and aren't really needed, since we have such great options with Nav chips and LM chips. The Hard Drive units with the built-in maps are much more popular in areas that LakeMaster doesn't cover.

Lots of places with on-hand inventory in the old units are clearing them out right now. I haven't put sale prices on my web site but depending on the unit I can get outstanding deals right now from some of my suppliers. If there's something you're interested in shoot me an email and I can let you know if I can get you a discounted price.

[snoozebutton]

I've been looking at either the 27 or 28 but now I'd be more inclined towards the 27. Or would it be worth it to wait for the HDS 7 to come out?

[PerchJerker]

I've been looking at either the 27 or 28 but now I'd be more inclined towards the 27. Or would it be worth it to wait for the HDS 7 to come out?

Tough call. The new HDS 7 will probably be priced the same as the regular price on the LCX 27c, which was $999. Right now you can get the LCX 27c for less than $800 with transducer and gps antenna, so you can save quite a bit of money by going with the older discontinued unit.

[snoozebutton]

Well, I've got a while to decide but when I do, you'll be one of the first to know Dave.

[Deep_Sinker]

Right now the LCX-27c is going for about $450 less than the LCX-28c HD (Cabela's has them on sale for $699 and $1149 respectively

Holy smokes batman...that is a smoking good deal. I paid around 1,100 for my 27c w/dual freq. this spring! I love my 27c! No problems at all.

[snoozebutton]

I paid around 1,100 for my 27c w/dual freq. this spring! I love my 27c! No problems at all.

Are you talking about the 50/200? And do you think that's the way to go?

[knoppers]

Originally Posted By: caseymcq

Right now the LCX-27c is going for about $450 less than the LCX-28c HD (Cabela's has them on sale for $699 and $1149 respectively

Holy smokes batman...that is a smoking good deal. I paid around 1,100 for my 27c w/dual freq. this spring! I love my 27c! No problems at all.

I payed 1100 bucks for my LCX-28cHD in the spring of 07'. great unit. I just put it into my new boat this year, becuase I liked it soo much. then put in a network with my bow mount unit.

[PerchJerker]

Are you talking about the 50/200? And do you think that's the way to go?

Having the narrow beam for open water mostly comes into play in deep water (ie salmon fishing in the great lakes) or in salt water. For inland lakes like we fish around where you're less than 50-60 feet deep you will get better performance with the wider beam.

Another reason some people like having a dual beam is to avoid interference between multiple units. I've had dual beam Lowrance units in the past but almost never used the narrow beam. There's nothing bad about having it, although most people don't get much use out of it.

[snoozebutton]

Thanks Dave, I'm eventually going to have the 334 in the front of the boat. Would I run into interference issues with the two units (whichever one I decide to get)?

[PerchJerker]

If you have a transducer on your bowmount trolling motor and another transducer on your transom and they are on the same frequency, they will interfer when the water is deep enough that the sonar cones get large enough to overlap. On an 18 foot boat that will happen in around 30-35 feet of water, it depends on the bottom content and if the transducers are pointed straight down or angled toward or away from each other, etc.

Since most of our fishing around here is in less than 35 fow, most people don't have issues. My boat is set up with the same frequency on the bow and the transom and I almost never get interference .... maybe only in the middle of summer if I'm doing deep-water rigging or jigging for walleyes, and then I just deal with it or turn off my transom transducer.

[snoozebutton]

Thanks again Dave, sounds like something I don't really have to worry about. Besides, if I'm using the one in the front, there's no real need to have the rear one even turned on.

[LMITOUT]

I have the 522 in the bow and the 28cHD in the rear of my tiller and one or the other needs to be turned off or there will be interference. Water depth doesn't seem to matter and rarely fish in more than 25 FOW around this area. I'll even get interference if another boat is nearby.

As you said, there really isn't much need to have the rear one on when you're in the bow unless you have someone with and they want to watch the rear graph.

[snoozebutton]

If I decide on the HDS-7, when will you have them Dave? And there's suppose to be an update due out in March, would it be better to wait for a unit that already has the update? (I won't need it until then anyway.)

[PerchJerker]

Originally they said they'd be available in January, now they've pushed it out to February. That's the latest info I have. I don't think it would be necessary to wait, if (when) they come out with an update for the software it's essy to do and maybe not even needed.

[snoozebutton]

Are you talking about the unit itself or the update?

[geo17]

i am looking at getting a new unit and the hds units caught my eye. i have a couple questions. to get the new insight technology, do i need to purchase a minnesota card to add to the unit? also, are these units able to show your bait on the screen? for example, when i see some fishing shows and they are fishing for smallies in deep water they fish vertically and always say they can see their bait and the fish coming up to it. is it worth spending the $200 more for the hds-7 instead of the hds-5 for the bigger screen? also about the insight stuff, can the display be switched to the regular map screen? like to show only the depth contour lines and not show them in 3-d. sorry for all the questions....