Chirp 53dv vs. Non Chirp 73dv

[BassYak]

So I have a few questions here, but the overall question resides in the title.
Summary: My boat is actually an 11' 5" FeelFree Kayak

I have a echomap chirp 53dv, like the unit a lot and mainly got it for the Quick Draw feature; in order to chart out ponds, quarries, and other smaller bodies of water that I may fish that likely have no available charts.

I got a really good deal I couldn't pass up on a new in box echomap 73dv with transducer.

I am a tech guy when it comes to PC's phones etc... but not marine electronics as of yet. In saying that, Chirp is all I have ever seen with these units.

Thoughts and Questions:
- In looking at the demo mode on the 73dv, the down scan and down imaging at a glance, still looks amazing.
- With the chirp 53dv balls of bait fish are separated pretty good in the down imaging view.
- Never noticed much difference in the normal down scan chirp or no chirp

*Is the bigger screen worth giving up chirp?
*I assume chirp is determined by processing unit and not by the transducer?

Any thoughts or ideas are welcome...Thanks in advance.

[Treeguyus]

hmm tough call but depends on where your putting the unit thus visual distance. Am leaning towards the larger screen

[ring fry]

I am a big believer that bigger is better. Unless you are fishing in water over 100+ feet then it doesn’t matter THAT much. You can see the difference but not enough to change the way you fish.

[BassYak]

I originally got the 5" unit with the thought of it just going on my Kayak. I agree love bigger screens. The feel free however has a sonar pod that sits in the middle of the boat towards the front of your leg area so the screen is not right in your face in any way. I also am always running split screen either with both sonars going for comparison and learning or with the chart/sonar combo. This of course then makes the 5" less visible detail wise. I will post some pics in my Profile Album if anyone is interested in taking a look at my current setup.

thanks to both of your for chiming in.

[LWINCHESTER2]

I look at it a bit differently.

The screen resolution and pixel size of both units are essentially the same.
Both have 480 vertical pixels. This tells you about the detail capabilities of the units
From the screen size, pixel count and pixel size perspective I would expect no difference in the detail.


Now we have to look at the transducers.
I'm assuming you have the GT20-TM with the non-chirp 73dv,
77/200 on 2d. The DownVu elements have chirp capability but your unit does not.
Good chirp requires both a chirp unit and a chirp transducer.


I'm assuming the echoMAP CHIRP 53dv came with the GT22-TM transducer. The GT22 is a better transducer on DownVu and 2D.
It 150-240 kHz on 2d, essentially identical to the 2d on GT8 that is one of my all time favorite transducers.
The DownVu is chirp and should be a bit better.
The DownVu cone is 2.0x50@455 compared to 2.5X53@455 on the GT20 and 1.0x30@800 compared to 1.6x29@800.
That's enough of a difference to see. Smaller front to back cone means better detail. Chirp also means better.
You'll need to try different depths to see the difference.

If both units were chirp or both unit non-chirp, on split screen showing both 2D and DownVu you should see essentially the same detail, just less history. The vertical height and number of pixels determine this. The horizontal length determines how much history you can see at one time. No effect on detail.


The screen capability (detail possible) of each unit is the same. The 53dv has a better transducer in every way.
For these reasons, if i had to choose between these units I would pick the 53dv and let the sacrifice be the amount of history I could see.

[BassYak]

I look at it a bit differently.

The screen resolution and pixel size of both units are essentially the same.
Both have 480 vertical pixels. This tells you about the detail capabilities of the units
From the screen size, pixel count and pixel size perspective I would expect no difference in the detail.


Now we have to look at the transducers.
I'm assuming you have the GT20-TM with the non-chirp 73dv,
77/200 on 2d. The DownVu elements have chirp capability but your unit does not.
Good chirp requires both a chirp unit and a chirp transducer.


I'm assuming the echoMAP CHIRP 53dv came with the GT22-TM transducer. The GT22 is a better transducer on DownVu and 2D.
It 150-240 kHz on 2d, essentially identical to the 2d on GT8 that is one of my all time favorite transducers.
The DownVu is chirp and should be a bit better.
The DownVu cone is 2.0x50@455 compared to 2.5X53@455 on the GT20 and 1.0x30@800 compared to 1.6x29@800.
That's enough of a difference to see. Smaller front to back cone means better detail. Chirp also means better.
You'll need to try different depths to see the difference.

If both units were chirp or both unit non-chirp, on split screen showing both 2D and DownVu you should see essentially the same detail, just less history. The vertical height and number of pixels determine this. The horizontal length determines how much history you can see at one time. No effect on detail.


The screen capability (detail possible) of each unit is the same. The 53dv has a better transducer in every way.
For these reasons, if i had to choose between these units I would pick the 53dv and let the sacrifice be the amount of history I could see.

LWINCHESTER2,

Thanks a bunch for this breakdown. Helps out a lot. You are correct on transducers. The 53 dv came with the GT-22HW and the 73 boxed the GT-20.

Since I ideally want the bigger screen, with chirp, I will try and sell both units and put the money towards satisfying both.

Thanks again so much for the breakdown. It certainly helps support what I felt I may end up doing when I picked up the 73dv.

[LWINCHESTER2]

We are close to the fall new releases. That's always conflicting decision time. The current units will be discounted. The new units will have additional capabilities but only available at list price. I know quite a few people who take advantage of the savings and by buying a discounted unit. I can't fault the strategy since they consistently save money. On the other side it seem I always want the newest and latest. The echoMAP CHIRP units have already been discounted and may possibly be discounted some more. Many of them are packaged with the "CV" type transducers. That actually makes them 2-3 generations behind. I'd pass on those. The original echoMAP didn't have chirp, the next ones did and came with the GT transducer, then they came with the CV. We don't know what the next ones will come with yet. To get better than what you've got on the 53dv will likely mean having to buy a new release at list price unless you can find a bargain on a GT transducer or keep the one you have.

[BassYak]

We are close to the fall new releases. That's always conflicting decision time. The current units will be discounted. The new units will have additional capabilities but only available at list price. I know quite a few people who take advantage of the savings and by buying a discounted unit. I can't fault the strategy since they consistently save money. On the other side it seem I always want the newest and latest. The echoMAP CHIRP units have already been discounted and may possibly be discounted some more. Many of them are packaged with the "CV" type transducers. That actually makes them 2-3 generations behind. I'd pass on those. The original echoMAP didn't have chirp, the next ones did and came with the GT transducer, then they came with the CV. We don't know what the next ones will come with yet. To get better than what you've got on the 53dv will likely mean having to buy a new release at list price unless you can find a bargain on a GT transducer or keep the one you have.

I went ahead and ordered the echomap Chirp 73cv - Confirmed to come boxed with the GT-22 transducer. Was able to find in for a pretty good deal. Now will try to sell my used chirp 53dv and the new in box 73dv...

Thanks again for the info and thoughts.