So is Onyyx already listed as a legacy product??
That hurts for the guys that just bought into those!!!!
That and guys buying G2 and then the next week G3 coming out and then the Carbon. Most guys can't keep up with the changes!!!
So is Onyyx already listed as a legacy product??
That hurts for the guys that just bought into those!!!!
That and guys buying G2 and then the next week G3 coming out and then the Carbon. Most guys can't keep up with the changes!!!
For the money, the elite TI 9 inch from lowrance is good and has most of the features of the HDS line
All units fully network with each other just like raymarine. The current helix fully networks with 6 year old 1100 series units. The new solix fully netoworks with 3 year old onix units. The hds3 fully networks with older hds units. You don't have to keep up with the changes. You should also know enough about the company to know the update cycle. Same as any company. If you buy an iPhone in September it's your own fault when the entire world knows the new one comes out in October.Originally Posted by Hickory Legend
Garmin is the only one to offer built in highly accurate mapping for free but coverage is limited. Humminbird offers very accurate maps as well with lakemaster but coverage is also limited. Humminbird will also use navionics. Raymarine and lowrance have options but most use navionics. I personally skip right over units that only use navionics due to the innacuracy of the product and the lack of features like lake level offset and depth highlight. Navionics does have the best coverage but who cares when the maps aren't accurate. Unless you just like looking at a bunch of lines that don't mean anything.
They all offer use mapping products but there are some major differences. Garmin records on the unit to a regular sd card. No uploading, no sharing your data unless you want and no pc software required. Humminbird requires the purchase of a zero line card for $100 to store more than 8 hours of data. Lowrance requires you to upload to the cloud and wait. They also require a paid membership to keep your data private.
They all make great products and you really can't make a bad decision but they all have strengths and weaknesses. one is head and shoulders above the rest with side imaging. Others have better down or offer better mapping options or have world class forward imaging or excellent 2d. Some have terrible customer service, etc. that's why I run a combination of units to get the best of both worlds. You simply need to decide which of those techs is the most important to you before you start you search. There is no right or wrong choice only what works best for YOU
Last edited by TroyBoy30; 04-27-2017 at 06:11 AM.
who has the best side imaging? is Ray Marine axiom the best 3d technology out there today? are all units moving towards the raymarine path of having no buttons- and all touch?
Overall is the new mega units better than the Axiom?
With my Raymarine unit and Navionics + card I can create my own real time maps using sonar chart live. I don't have to upload anything. I can upload stuff to Navionics if I want to update the Navionics chart everyone gets but my logs display the updated chart in real time. It has been this way on my Raymarine unit since the LH17 software update last year. Sounds like Hickory uploads all of his logs - which I do not do.
A Raymarine unit with a Navionics chart does allow depth shading but it is different from what I have seen on other brands. The fishing range shading allows you to set a min and max depth and it works for me. The shading is blues and not multi-colored. It will not do depth offset on the unit only on the Navionics app. What I do in situations where the water depth is at winter pool is to use the shallow water feature. If the lake is down 5 ft I just go in and set the shallow water depth to 5ft. This puts a red hatch pattern in water less that 5 ft.
I think mapping is one thing to consider when looking at which brand to go with. I am no mapping expert but I don't think all mapping software is best for all lakes. Some lakes are better on Navionics and some lakes are better on lakemaster etc.
One of the best things someone can do is to talk to guys that they fish with and see what they use. For me, electronics represent a big chunk of money. Any of the guys in my club would be happy to take me out on the lake to show me how their stuff works - as I would do and have done for them. These are questions I asked myself when I swapped from Lowrance to Raymarine; what kinda support can I expect, how easy will it be to use, will it show me what I want to see, how many years will I be able to use it before I have to replace it. Everyone's fishing style is different so everyone's electronic needs are different. I think that there are pluses to each brand in certain situations.
humminbird has been mapping and side scan images IMO than lowrance. I have no knowledge of the rest.
I know this is dated, but I'm considering the Raymarine to replace my Simrad. All of the reviews talk up the fact that Raymarine won't spin out new units every year to make stale the latest/greatest unit you just bought ($1,500-$2,500 tier)... This has been a huge pet peeve with other brands. But, geez, looks like Raymarine did the exact thing they promised not to, in rolling out the Axiom Pro to cannibalize the Axiom. I'm not trolling, just really, really frustrated. I would gladly hand over $3k for a 9-12" unit that I could put on my boat today and be ABSOLUTELY ASSURED that it would remain a brand's flagship unit for the next 36months. That doesn't seem too much to ask, as these units are nothing more than small PCs that can be kept cutting edge via S/W and F/W updates. OR, go the route of cell phones and evolve these units into 1yr disposables that we toss and replace for $400 a pop. They aren't even remotely as smart as the average phone or laptop that costs a third of the price. The actual sonar component isn't new tech, across ANY brand. Would love to see Apple or an Android upstart get into this game and actually disrupt with a better platform and approach. Admittedly, we collectively are just not a huge market; but, boat electronics have got to be the most behind-the-times segment of consumer electronics.
No the Axiom and Axiom Pro are both current units. The Axiom Pro has the 1Kw Chirp sonar, dual Micro SD ports on the front and the controls on the right side. The Pro is just the big brother of the Axiom with a few more features
Current line up is Es, Gs, Axiom, Axiom Pro, and Axiom Pro XL.
All running Light House 3
Just to clear the water, I’m not Pro Raymarine. I use Raymarine and like the features and product line.
Ill never tell you what to by or which is better, I get no money so why would I care.
I do defend the product when it’s called out for something it is or isn’t.
Based on some comments on here, I guess Garmin bought Navionivlcs for the crappy mapping???
Wrong, Axiom Pro has features that Axiom doesn’t have. Both are current and compatible with each other. Also compatible with older eS and gS units. That means units 5+ years old can be upgraded to Lighthouse 3 software for FREE.
Regarding product / price, R&D for marine electronics isn’t cheap and there are probably 10,000+ phones for every fish finder. Economies of scale play a big part of pricing. Asking Apple to enter the marine electronics market with throw away $400 units would surely be the death of marine electronics.
GARMIN!
2021 Skeeter ZX225
2021 Yamaha SHO 225 VF225LA
humminbird, with a MK TM.
I would vote for the Garmin simply because I have the 7” Echomaps plus cv and it was a simple set up and the touchscreen works flawlessly. Buy what feels right when you play with it at the store. I was dead set on the Hook2 7 or 9” and the touchscreen was the deal breaker for me.
2006 Triton SP-185, 2006 Evinrude Etec 90, PowerTech NRS3, Garmin Echomap Plus 73CV & 93SV
Go to GPS or cabela's and look at the mega si vs the others. That will help you decide. Plus I don't know if I would want to fish without my 360
garmin bought navioincs to fill the holes in coverage they had. the lakes that they offer in max def are simply awesome. better in some cases than lakemaster, which is really saying something. these lakes where scanned by garmin themselves and not purchased from other sources. while navioincs has great coverage, the accuracy can be less than perfect as some data is very old at this point. they are adding the navioincs data to the data they already have and all will be included, pre loaded on the unit for free
Why can’t you have both say Garmin for the panoptix and hummingbird for maps and detail ? I will be adding Garmin to the front for that reason with my Lowrance there also .
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