Why should I choose Garmin?

[riverc]

Hi all,I am looking to buy a new unit.I have a Lowrance elite 5dsi I use for mapping and downscan but do not like it screen is hard to see in bright sunshine.I have a Humminbird 798ci si combo that I do like 2d and sidescan but I want a bigger screen.Have been looking at the Humminbird Helix 9di or 10di.
Started reading about Garmin I really like the 93sv echomap chirp but cannot decide which one to go with.I mostly fish Blue Mesa Res. Near Gunnison Colorado.Wife and I mostly troll for Kokanee salmon,brown,rainbows and lake trout.We also jig for trout and yellow perch.Will keep the 798 on board was wanting to stay with Humminbird,but that Garmin sounds good.
Why should I go to the 93sv over the Helix?I just do not know enough about Garmin beyond GPS for the truck lol.

[Larry3215]

Look at the Panoptix threads on here. You want Panoptix :)

Garmins CHIRP is also outstanding. MUch better than Humminbirds.

Then there is QuickDraw if you need charting for lakes with little or no depth info.

[Todd Driscoll]

Hi all,I am looking to buy a new unit.I have a Lowrance elite 5dsi I use for mapping and downscan but do not like it screen is hard to see in bright sunshine.I have a Humminbird 798ci si combo that I do like 2d and sidescan but I want a bigger screen.Have been looking at the Humminbird Helix 9di or 10di.
Started reading about Garmin I really like the 93sv echomap chirp but cannot decide which one to go with.I mostly fish Blue Mesa Res. Near Gunnison Colorado.Wife and I mostly troll for Kokanee salmon,brown,rainbows and lake trout.We also jig for trout and yellow perch.Will keep the 798 on board was wanting to stay with Humminbird,but that Garmin sounds good.
Why should I go to the 93sv over the Helix?I just do not know enough about Garmin beyond GPS for the truck lol.

In 2016, Garmin also added HD, 1-foot contours for Blue Mesa Reservoir. This mapping will be preloaded on the echoMAP CHIRP 93sv, assuming the unit has the latest mapping version.

[bksnaz]

Just purchased a 93sv and like it. The chirp is really good. The DI and si is solid. The main reason I wanted the garmin was the panoptix. The mapping seems good as well. Coming from a hds 7 & 12 touch, I do miss the touch screen. But I had to sacrifice touch and some size to get a panoptix ducer and the unit for what I sold the hds 12 for. The 93sv screen is not as bright as a helix.
A company called berleypro makes sun visors for all the units pretty much so I may add that later. In AZ, so plenty of bright sunshine here. A feature I was not really aware of and really like is the fact you can remove the head unit from the wiring bracket. Kind of like removing aftermarket radios in a car. Just pop the face off. Nice security feature as I have it on a kayak and travel with it on trailers and bed of truck.
Cons - wish it was a bit brighter, wish it had 2 sd cards slots so u could QuickDraw while running a map card. Of course I wish it was touch, but that is possible just need to spend more.

Very pleased with it overall and the panoptix seems promising. Only had it for 6 weeks.

[Treeguyus]

bksnaz, very good over view of the 93SV. Will look into the sun visors berleypro you shared with us. As far as the touch screens like the 7 and 12 like them until my late fall fishing. The unit needed to warm up when cold or gave me fits in the rain. It is all about personal choice, Garmin after speaking with marketing designed the 73 SV and 93 SV to be stand alone, they are not networkable as we are accustomed to defining "network". Being able to read transducers on different locations on the boat is important to me or sharing with my fishing partner. We comprise about 30% of the market that prefer networking, including boats with fly bridges. Mapping is not as important to me as others on this site, but will work with it this coming year. With side to side comparisons feel that Lowrance does the best job with chirp, for reference my chirp comes from 1040's not the new 93 SV.

If you would not mind could you post some screen shots when you have some time....thanks for your comments. As for myself learned a lot about the 73 and 93 lately, but because of the network capability already in the 741 as an example and the 70 will stay with these units as a module networked to the 1040. The 73 and 93 were designed to compete with other units in the price category, fewer features but the units compete very well

[Treeguyus]

Forgot the Hummingbird Helix is a stellar unit for down scan when set properly

[Todd Driscoll]

Cons - wish it had 2 sd cards slots so u could QuickDraw while running a map card.

Know that you can record QD contours directly to your LakeVu mapping card.

[riverc]

Thanks for the replies guys after a lot of reading on both Garmin & Humminbird I have made the decision to stay with Humminbird.Garmins look good but feel the Humminbird is my best choice at this time.

[bksnaz]

Know that you can record QD contours directly to your LakeVu mapping card.

Did not know that - thanks Todd

[Larry3215]

Thanks for the replies guys after a lot of reading on both Garmin & Humminbird I have made the decision to stay with Humminbird.Garmins look good but feel the Humminbird is my best choice at this time.

Dang! You spit the hook and got way!

Good luck with your fishing! Any sonar is better than no toys at all :)

[LWINCHESTER2]

The market is so competitive that there are lots of good choices. Just look at the prices of lower end units that have color, 2d and down sonar. And they ALL WORK!!!!. Yes there are benefits to chirp, and side sonar. Everybody offers some sort of side sonar and it works too. I think Garmin has the edge on 2d and chirp with better transducers and software but once you want more than a basic unit the price jumps by leaps and bounds. Don't get me wrong. I don't think anything can beat my 7610xsv, but look at what I paid for it. I would say that for 75% of the time a basic unit of any brand would still show me the fish, within the specs of cone angles and db rating.

Often it comes down to the "ultimate" performance or a unique product. It looks like that Humminbird, while licensing SI, retained their "sharpness" feature as unique to them. Then they have the iPilot Link that has little, if any real competition. Garmin has Panoptix which has NO competition.

I expect that the majority of the low and middle sections of the market to shop based on price foremost. And there are bargains all around.

[Riccochet]

My problem is there is no middle ground. You can get the 93SV for under $1000, and the next level up is the 7608 +transducers is going to set you back $2500, AND it's a smaller unit. Makes no sense to me. I suppose you could get the 942xs, but you'd need the GC10 box and the GT51/2 transducer which brings the price right back up to almost 7608 levels, and you lose some functionality. You're either spending a grand, or two grand +.

[LWINCHESTER2]

Sometimes it's a bit difficult to get a handle on the marketing schemes. I don't know if the 942 and 1042 are currently available or soon to be. Before them it looked to me line there were three "current" promoted lines. The Striker series, being low cost, but very competitively priced and offering more features. 2d,side and down with a real chirp designed system and and low "Q" chirp transducer on all chanels. No ethernet networking, no Panoptix. Next was the echoMAP series that added Panoptix but still no ethernet networking. Then a big jump to the 7600 series that had it all, 8 pin and 12 pin transducer ports, 2 network/Panoptix ports, and interference rejection best in the industry. Is it worth it? You have to decide that. It was to me.

The 1042 box looks like a winner but I have my doubts about the 942. No 12 pin transducer port, but it does have an 8 pin port and ethernet network/Panoptix capability. Garmin has an impressive group of 12 pin transducers, low "Q" and fully chirp. Time will tell if there's a niche for this unit. Personally, I would have made the port 12 pin and with the 12 to 8 pin adapter cable transducer options wouldn't have been limited at the get-go. You can add one of the black boxes to add whatever you want, but my preference would be to get my options built-in. Maybe the idea is using the 942 as a second unit plugged into something else that has the built-in features. My 2 cents ain't worth much as you can probably tell. I do not have any background in marketing.

Several people are skipping the gap by scavenging the older units that are Panoptix compatible and waiting for a generation change when the 7600 level units will be discontinued. I've heard this more than once. The unit + xd + Panoptix; yes, a bunch to chew on.

[Riccochet]

That's why I just bought a 7608 for my console. It has all the features I want, 12 and 8 pin xd ports, dual ethernet, pretty much everything I'll need. I can live with the smaller screen size. Next year I'll add a 9-10" unit on the bow with panoptics. Hopefully they'll release something by then that's comparable to the 93SV but with a networking port.

[Treeguyus]

My problem is there is no middle ground. You can get the 93SV for under $1000, and the next level up is the 7608 +transducers is going to set you back $2500, AND it's a smaller unit. Makes no sense to me. I suppose you could get the 942xs, but you'd need the GC10 box and the GT51/2 transducer which brings the price right back up to almost 7608 levels, and you lose some functionality. You're either spending a grand, or two grand +.

What about the 1040 it falls between the 93SV and the 7600 series, a 10 inch screen. Drawback one Ethernet port and needs a GC 10 box for side scan. Retails under $2000.00

[LWINCHESTER2]

There are quiet a few Garmin units in the 700,900, and 1000 series that, while not necessarily outdated, I consider eclipsed. Garmin has led the way in the introduction of new low "Q" chirp 12 pin transducers. Many of these units do not have a 12 pin transducer port. Now if the xd you intend to use is 8 pin, it's irrelevant. But the reason I bought the 7610xsv was the broad range of selection of these 12 pin transducers and specifically the GT50, fully chirp, very powerful, and 260/455 for side and down, and the complete slate of software functions/settings for 2d chirp.

Now look at the competition. Until very very recently, the only 2d real chirp transducer you could use with Hbird or Lowrance was the Airmar TM150. They are still playing catchup on real chirp on all channel transducers and it looks like, best case scenario, is that each company will have ONE fully chirp transducer, unknown "Q" to be offered in 2017.

I'm not saying it matters to anyone else, but it matters to me. GT50/51/52. Take your choice. How much power do you want? What frequency do you want? What frequency range do you want on the 2d? We don't all like or want the exact same thing. Then there are the 2d only low "Q" chirp transducers. GT8,15,17. Again choices on power and frequency range. Okay. I've wondered off the subject. Those last three are 8 pin.

It's just my preference. I never have liked the notion of buying a unit and then buying a black box add-on. I did it with Lowrance with the LSS and still don't like it. I don't know that you save any money either way.

And I'm in a bad mood. Too cold and windy to fish today or tomorrow and I know where a big school of walleye are hanging out.

[LWINCHESTER2]

I can understand the Humminbird thing with iPilot. They also have the 360 that some people really like. IMO their 2d sucks. Bad design, bad implementation. But somebody will have to help me out on where Lowrance is leading on anything. I'm still running their 83 kHz on one one unit and every once in a while it is key. Other than that I just don't see they have much going for them. I do ocassionally hear about their 2d chirp on the Airmar TM150 but I did a comparison of it and the Garmin GT15. Airmar and Lowrance don't have any edge on Garmin.

[Scuirus]

Now look at the competition. Until very very recently, the only 2d real chirp transducer you could use with Hbird or Lowrance was the Airmar TM150. They are still playing catchup on real chirp on all channel transducers and it looks like, best case scenario, is that each company will have ONE fully chirp transducer, unknown "Q" to be offered in 2017.

The full Airmar range can be used with Lowrance. I have TM150M, B75H, B175H-W and TM265LH on my boat. B75H and TM265LH I installed one year before SonarHub was introduced (for use with Simrad BSM-2) and B175H-W which by far is the best available transducer also for bass fishing I installed in the spring of 2014 together with SonarHub.

[LWINCHESTER2]

The full Airmar range can be used with Lowrance. I have TM150M, B75H, B175H-W and TM265LH on my boat. B75H and TM265LH I installed one year before SonarHub was introduced (for use with Simrad BSM-2) and B175H-W which by far is the best available transducer also for bass fishing I installed in the spring of 2014 together with SonarHub.

You are certainly correct that these 2d chirp transducers have long been available for Lowrance, Simrad, Garmin and others for a while now and I considered purchasing an Airmar for my Lowrance some years ago. My statement was incorrect. I failed to be precise in what I was trying to say. Trying to be more precise I'll add two clarifications. Price and Combo transducers.

Having to spend more that $1,000 for a transducer is why I don't have a 265. Of the 2d chirp transducers the TM150 came into wider use because it was chirp and costs much less than the others. You may have a 175 and 265 for bass fishing but of the bass fishermen I know, not one has one of these and it is because of price. I neglected to point out the issue of affordability. Garmin offers the GT8HW that retails for $150 and can be purchased for less and also GT15M that I did a head to head comparison of with the TM150 and sells for much less. Whether either of these low cost Garmin chirp transducers will compete with the Airmar 175 or 265 I'll probably never know.

When I said that each company will have ONE fully chirp transducer, I should have specified "COMBO" transducer and specified that "fully" meant chirp on all channels; 2d, side and down. Thank you for pointing out my error and I've tried to make this is an accurate correction.

I think that the overall generalization that Garmin users have more transducer options is valid. Garmin users have the option of all the Airmar transducers as well and the Garmin produced transducers.

[Scuirus]

I agree Garmin have very good offerings for those preferring combo transducers, I prefer Airmar CHIRP transducers which can be used with most brands. In addition to all my Lowrance and Simrad CHIRP sounders I have a 527xs with GT8HW and TM150M (in addition to the TM150M in Navico version) and I have made adapters so I can use the Garmin with the Airmar with Navico connectors and use my Lowrance and Simrad units with the Garmin transducers. I'm impressed by GT8HW, but as we have also seen in comparisons posted both here and at THT it's comparable to TM150M in performance, for the price it's very impressive, but if you want the best transducer B175H-W is the way to go. I have actually used GT8HW with Lowrance as well with good results, but an impedance matching transformer is needed to avoid frying the transducer.

I don't have any shallow water screen shots with B175H-W, but the screen shot below should still be able to document the B175H-W performance.