depth finder opinion !

miamiangler1 · 10-03-2006, 07:39 PM

I have a Matrix 12 .. which is supposed to go to 800ft , but does not go passed 450 on a good day ... I am thinking of adding another one ... Lawrance 107cx... color ... 1400 watts ... rated at 2500 ft ... If anyone has one ... is it a good unit... and does it mark fish down that deep my range right now is to fish in the 600- 650 ft depth .. in hopes to find tiles .. right now I am guessing at the depths I am fishing

tight lines >>>>

Gaitor · 10-03-2006, 09:34 PM

Whatever you decide on, make sure it has 50 khz as well as 200 khz transmitting capabilities. When operating in deep water, you need to ensure you are on the 50 khz frequency and also be aware that it is very easy to "overdrive" the signal ... i.e. run too fast for the signal to reach the bottom and come back up. Thru-hull transducers also give a better signal than a transom mount.
Furuno makes a few nice ones that are within reach of most semi-serious fishermen : the FCV 582L, FCV 620, and the FCV 585. All of those units use the same transducer but I would recommend the 525STMSD. All of those units are rated for 2500 ft. Good luck and tight lines!

miamiangler1 · 10-03-2006, 11:22 PM

Thanks Gaitor, I will look at the units and thanks for your advise ... I like my Matrix it is a good unit in shallow water and like the gps thats in my unit ... use it a lot in flamingo ... cant get lost with it .. helps in back tracking out of hell`s bay :lol: just wish it could find some snook around all those islands

well tight lines and keep dropping !

Gaitor · 10-04-2006, 03:41 AM

If you want to research those models and do some price comparisons, one of the better websites/online stores is:

http://www.cascademarinenavigation.com/

I was impressed with their pricing.

kyle · 10-04-2006, 11:43 AM

I can tell you that I just put the furuno fcv585 on my boat with the 1kw through hull. I love it, its there newest digital machine it looks like your watching a plasma t.v. I can read bottom in 1200' while i'm running 29knts. I just found this site the price of the unit here is less than what i paig for it so its a good deal. I can say that the transducer that they are selling with it is no good. There are like four different thru-hulls.
I would hate to say this but with a transducer you get what you pay for. I think my transducer was another 550 on top of the price of the machine.

http://boating-electronics.stores.ya...unofcv585.html

miamiangler1 · 10-04-2006, 01:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gaitor

If you want to research those models and do some price comparisons, one of the better websites/online stores is:

http://www.cascademarinenavigation.com/

I was impressed with their pricing.

Thank you , for the info... I have checked the site ... they do have good pricing... thanks again Gaitor ... tight lines

Gaitor · 10-04-2006, 07:39 PM

The 'ducer for the models I just mentioned retails for $215 and change at the website I listed above. It is a 600w model that registers speed, temp, and includes a high speed faring block. There are more powerful models, but for your size boat and the depths you will be fishing .... anything more may be overkill. Just my opinion

Good luck!

kyle · 10-04-2006, 10:27 PM

agreed

fish-n-dude · 10-19-2006, 05:55 PM

Learned alot about depth sounder. The Furuno FCV620 wroks great. Be sure to buy the 1K ducer though. Even though the 620 is only rated at 600W the 1K ducer uses a different crystal arrangement. The 1K ducer has a beam angle 5 deg (200k) and 12 deg (50k) versus the 600w ducer has a beam and of 12 deg (200k) and 45 deg(50k). I think those are the actual numbers but I could be slightly wrong. Anyway I'm runnin the FCV620 with the 1K ducer and I can mark the bottom from Stuart to Walkers no problem when I crossing. There's some pretty interesting suff out there in the middle.

DIRTYFOOT2 · 10-19-2006, 06:52 PM

FURUNO.NUFF SAID
DF2 :twisted:

miamiangler1 · 10-19-2006, 10:03 PM

Thanks for the input ... I like the Furuno... but I am in a 16 ft open fisherman .. I dont have much room left ..so I cant have to big of a unit ... I am not going to the Bahamas with my boat .. but I sure wish I could .I do have the range too do it .. .. so If I can get a unit that mark well in the 1000ft .. it will be fine ...do the Furuno come with Trans ducers???

fish-n-dude · 10-20-2006, 06:12 AM

You could possible get a dual GPS / Sounder unit to save space. Buddy of mine has the SIMRAD (30 or 32 or ?) something like that. Good unit and it works well. He can mark down to 2500'. Screen is a little small for having both GPS / Sounder info (my opinion) but it does perform very well. Your biggest problem is going to be ducer placement. I don't think they make any transome mount 1K ducers. I had Garmin Bluechart 240 with a transom mount ducer. This was a 600 watt unit and marked the bottom great down to about 650. After that is was questionable. It did read the bottom to about 1100 once (flat calm, little current) but the return was so weak that you couldn't really make anything out.

Belize · 10-20-2006, 07:23 AM

I have a c70 raymarine which is a gps and depth in one. might save you some space. howver you will find the in hull trans to be huge to fit in a 16 ft boat. the one used for most brands is the airmar M260 in hull. (airmar.com)
this raymarine setup - or rather the airmar - works wery well. The deepest I have been in 2600 ft so far and had no prob reading the bottom.

But for you I am sure that I saw a 1 kw transom mount on the raymarine site. It was on a removable aluminum mount. check it out on the raymarine site - it will take a while to find it

miamiangler1 · 10-20-2006, 03:51 PM

thanks fish-n-dude & Belize, I will check it out ... I already have a Matrix 12.. called Humingbird and there is nothing they can help me with the unit I have .. I thought they would have a different transducer for there unit and thought of using a stronger one ... but they use the same one , just the other units are stronger in watts.. mine is only 250watts... so I have room on the other side of my console ... the matrix has a gps = I have my Garmin 12 as back up ... as for thru - hull ... I cant use that ... I traliler my boat and not much room in the bilge .. just like a foot awayfrom the transom.. so I probably have to use a trans mount ... I know it probably is not the best ... I looked at the raymarine and for the price I can get the lowrance dx107 .. for $ 499... and has 1000wats ... I just dont know if it will read to 2500ft ...they say it does

I will have to call the company to find out ... if it is rated 2500ft ... in fresh water or salt ... I am not to much in a hurry but would be nice to know how deep I am getting the Tilefish :!: and try to find deep structures all input is very much appreciated thanks

Incognito · 10-21-2006, 07:49 AM

If you are REALLY interested in the most powerful and detailed fishfinders then look at all the Simrad models. Simrad makes more fishfinders than anyone else from small recreational models to 8000 watt commercial units. They also have their own line of transducers with 38/200khz frequencies that is great for deep water. They also are compatible with all the Airmar transducers.

dropsalot · 10-21-2006, 12:32 PM

I have the Raymarine DS400x and really like it. It reads bottom (saltwater) to at least 1800 which is the deepest I have been with it. Using transom mount ducer in bilge as a "shoot thru." There apparently have been some fogging problems with this unit, but so far (1 year+), none with mine.

miamiangler1 · 10-21-2006, 03:25 PM

Thanks ... I am going to look into it ... I tried to find the liberty ship todayin 384 ft and with to one I have .. it was impossable and fustrating my unit just was not in the mood to mark bottom today

.. and also has a fogging problem ... so I will check out the DX400 ... and dx 500

dropsalot · 10-21-2006, 06:04 PM

The DS400X, 500 and 600 are all the same unit, screen size and price are the only differences. The 400 screen is fine for me, but I suppose the larger displays would obviously provide more detail.
Good luck

miamiangler1 · 10-21-2006, 07:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dropsalot

The DS400X, 500 and 600 are all the same unit, screen size and price are the only differences. The 400 screen is fine for me, but I suppose the larger displays would obviously provide more detail.
Good luck

Hi dropsalot... I did check the prices its a big difference DS400..$272.94 and the DS 500 $ 498.44 My main concern is reading the depth.. the 50/50 line is about 17miles out and I rarely go that far off shore ... it`s about 1200ft ... havent tried dropping that far manually yet

I am probably going to go for the Raymarine ... just have to see about the transducers... I checked on Airmar.com .... they have one P79 in hull with 600w RMS hoping that will work better then the transom mount !

ian cameron · 10-22-2006, 05:40 AM

The single most important thing you can do to get the deepest bottom picture is to get a narrow beam transducer for your deep frequency - usually 50kz.

It's like lighting up the road in front of your car with a long range spotlight instead of a fog light or low beam. Same power output tightly focussed goes much further and more accurately.

I can get a reading in 3000ft with my 600watt Furuno 582l

10-03-2006, 07:39 PM	#1 (permalink)
miamiangler1 Grander Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: north miami, keystone point Boat: ,live bait ,deep dropping,swordfishing Best Catch: 7ft sailfish on 10#test with diawaBG20, 100#tarpon on 6#test baitcaster bass rod Occupation: selfemployed,real estate, painter,model builder Posts: 1,507	depth finder opinion ! I have a Matrix 12 .. which is supposed to go to 800ft , but does not go passed 450 on a good day ... I am thinking of adding another one ... Lawrance 107cx... color ... 1400 watts ... rated at 2500 ft ... If anyone has one ... is it a good unit... and does it mark fish down that deep my range right now is to fish in the 600- 650 ft depth .. in hopes to find tiles .. right now I am guessing at the depths I am fishing tight lines >>>>

10-19-2006, 05:55 PM	#9 (permalink)
fish-n-dude Lines In Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Stuart, FL Posts: 73	FURUNO FCV620 Learned alot about depth sounder. The Furuno FCV620 wroks great. Be sure to buy the 1K ducer though. Even though the 620 is only rated at 600W the 1K ducer uses a different crystal arrangement. The 1K ducer has a beam angle 5 deg (200k) and 12 deg (50k) versus the 600w ducer has a beam and of 12 deg (200k) and 45 deg(50k). I think those are the actual numbers but I could be slightly wrong. Anyway I'm runnin the FCV620 with the 1K ducer and I can mark the bottom from Stuart to Walkers no problem when I crossing. There's some pretty interesting suff out there in the middle.

10-20-2006, 06:12 AM	#12 (permalink)
fish-n-dude Lines In Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Stuart, FL Posts: 73	Dual Unit You could possible get a dual GPS / Sounder unit to save space. Buddy of mine has the SIMRAD (30 or 32 or ?) something like that. Good unit and it works well. He can mark down to 2500'. Screen is a little small for having both GPS / Sounder info (my opinion) but it does perform very well. Your biggest problem is going to be ducer placement. I don't think they make any transome mount 1K ducers. I had Garmin Bluechart 240 with a transom mount ducer. This was a 600 watt unit and marked the bottom great down to about 650. After that is was questionable. It did read the bottom to about 1100 once (flat calm, little current) but the return was so weak that you couldn't really make anything out.

10-21-2006, 07:49 AM	#15 (permalink)
Incognito Lines In Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Key West, Florida Occupation: Charter boat Capt. Posts: 86	Simrad If you are REALLY interested in the most powerful and detailed fishfinders then look at all the Simrad models. Simrad makes more fishfinders than anyone else from small recreational models to 8000 watt commercial units. They also have their own line of transducers with 38/200khz frequencies that is great for deep water. They also are compatible with all the Airmar transducers.

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10-03-2006, 09:34 PM	#2 (permalink)
Gaitor Hooked Up Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Palm Beach Gardens,FL Boat: 25 ft HydraSports Best Catch: 150 lb Pacific Sail, 100 lb Tarpon from the surf Occupation: Old Retired Fart Posts: 558	Whatever you decide on, make sure it has 50 khz as well as 200 khz transmitting capabilities. When operating in deep water, you need to ensure you are on the 50 khz frequency and also be aware that it is very easy to "overdrive" the signal ... i.e. run too fast for the signal to reach the bottom and come back up. Thru-hull transducers also give a better signal than a transom mount. Furuno makes a few nice ones that are within reach of most semi-serious fishermen : the FCV 582L, FCV 620, and the FCV 585. All of those units use the same transducer but I would recommend the 525STMSD. All of those units are rated for 2500 ft. Good luck and tight lines!

10-03-2006, 11:22 PM	#3 (permalink)
miamiangler1 Grander Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: north miami, keystone point Boat: ,live bait ,deep dropping,swordfishing Best Catch: 7ft sailfish on 10#test with diawaBG20, 100#tarpon on 6#test baitcaster bass rod Occupation: selfemployed,real estate, painter,model builder Posts: 1,507	Thanks Gaitor, I will look at the units and thanks for your advise ... I like my Matrix it is a good unit in shallow water and like the gps thats in my unit ... use it a lot in flamingo ... cant get lost with it .. helps in back tracking out of hell`s bay :lol: just wish it could find some snook around all those islands well tight lines and keep dropping !

10-04-2006, 03:41 AM	#4 (permalink)
Gaitor Hooked Up Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Palm Beach Gardens,FL Boat: 25 ft HydraSports Best Catch: 150 lb Pacific Sail, 100 lb Tarpon from the surf Occupation: Old Retired Fart Posts: 558	If you want to research those models and do some price comparisons, one of the better websites/online stores is: http://www.cascademarinenavigation.com/ I was impressed with their pricing.

10-04-2006, 11:43 AM	#5 (permalink)
kyle Hooked Up Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: WPB Best Catch: 1209lbs Kings 1 day, 1900Lbs Mackeral 1 day,70" sword Occupation: Commercial fishing, college Posts: 196	I can tell you that I just put the furuno fcv585 on my boat with the 1kw through hull. I love it, its there newest digital machine it looks like your watching a plasma t.v. I can read bottom in 1200' while i'm running 29knts. I just found this site the price of the unit here is less than what i paig for it so its a good deal. I can say that the transducer that they are selling with it is no good. There are like four different thru-hulls. I would hate to say this but with a transducer you get what you pay for. I think my transducer was another 550 on top of the price of the machine. http://boating-electronics.stores.ya...unofcv585.html

10-04-2006, 07:39 PM	#7 (permalink)
Gaitor Hooked Up Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Palm Beach Gardens,FL Boat: 25 ft HydraSports Best Catch: 150 lb Pacific Sail, 100 lb Tarpon from the surf Occupation: Old Retired Fart Posts: 558	The 'ducer for the models I just mentioned retails for $215 and change at the website I listed above. It is a 600w model that registers speed, temp, and includes a high speed faring block. There are more powerful models, but for your size boat and the depths you will be fishing .... anything more may be overkill. Just my opinion Good luck!

10-04-2006, 10:27 PM	#8 (permalink)
kyle Hooked Up Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: WPB Best Catch: 1209lbs Kings 1 day, 1900Lbs Mackeral 1 day,70" sword Occupation: Commercial fishing, college Posts: 196	agreed

10-19-2006, 06:52 PM	#10 (permalink)
DIRTYFOOT2 Grander Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Lake Worth fl Best Catch: 53lb Black Grouper Occupation: Gunnel Washer Posts: 2,001	FURUNO.NUFF SAID DF2 :twisted:

10-19-2006, 10:03 PM	#11 (permalink)
miamiangler1 Grander Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: north miami, keystone point Boat: ,live bait ,deep dropping,swordfishing Best Catch: 7ft sailfish on 10#test with diawaBG20, 100#tarpon on 6#test baitcaster bass rod Occupation: selfemployed,real estate, painter,model builder Posts: 1,507	Thanks for the input ... I like the Furuno... but I am in a 16 ft open fisherman .. I dont have much room left ..so I cant have to big of a unit ... I am not going to the Bahamas with my boat .. but I sure wish I could .I do have the range too do it .. .. so If I can get a unit that mark well in the 1000ft .. it will be fine ...do the Furuno come with Trans ducers???

10-20-2006, 07:23 AM	#13 (permalink)
Belize Lines In Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Ambergris Caye, Belize Boat: 30ft custom built Best Catch: dutchgirl, 34-25-34, 130 lbs Occupation: Broker Posts: 84	I have a c70 raymarine which is a gps and depth in one. might save you some space. howver you will find the in hull trans to be huge to fit in a 16 ft boat. the one used for most brands is the airmar M260 in hull. (airmar.com) this raymarine setup - or rather the airmar - works wery well. The deepest I have been in 2600 ft so far and had no prob reading the bottom. But for you I am sure that I saw a 1 kw transom mount on the raymarine site. It was on a removable aluminum mount. check it out on the raymarine site - it will take a while to find it

10-20-2006, 03:51 PM	#14 (permalink)
miamiangler1 Grander Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: north miami, keystone point Boat: ,live bait ,deep dropping,swordfishing Best Catch: 7ft sailfish on 10#test with diawaBG20, 100#tarpon on 6#test baitcaster bass rod Occupation: selfemployed,real estate, painter,model builder Posts: 1,507	thanks fish-n-dude & Belize, I will check it out ... I already have a Matrix 12.. called Humingbird and there is nothing they can help me with the unit I have .. I thought they would have a different transducer for there unit and thought of using a stronger one ... but they use the same one , just the other units are stronger in watts.. mine is only 250watts... so I have room on the other side of my console ... the matrix has a gps = I have my Garmin 12 as back up ... as for thru - hull ... I cant use that ... I traliler my boat and not much room in the bilge .. just like a foot awayfrom the transom.. so I probably have to use a trans mount ... I know it probably is not the best ... I looked at the raymarine and for the price I can get the lowrance dx107 .. for $ 499... and has 1000wats ... I just dont know if it will read to 2500ft ...they say it does I will have to call the company to find out ... if it is rated 2500ft ... in fresh water or salt ... I am not to much in a hurry but would be nice to know how deep I am getting the Tilefish :!: and try to find deep structures all input is very much appreciated thanks

10-21-2006, 12:32 PM	#16 (permalink)
dropsalot Lines In Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Great Guana Cay, Bahamas Posts: 20	I have the Raymarine DS400x and really like it. It reads bottom (saltwater) to at least 1800 which is the deepest I have been with it. Using transom mount ducer in bilge as a "shoot thru." There apparently have been some fogging problems with this unit, but so far (1 year+), none with mine.

10-21-2006, 03:25 PM	#17 (permalink)
miamiangler1 Grander Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: north miami, keystone point Boat: ,live bait ,deep dropping,swordfishing Best Catch: 7ft sailfish on 10#test with diawaBG20, 100#tarpon on 6#test baitcaster bass rod Occupation: selfemployed,real estate, painter,model builder Posts: 1,507	Thanks ... I am going to look into it ... I tried to find the liberty ship todayin 384 ft and with to one I have .. it was impossable and fustrating my unit just was not in the mood to mark bottom today .. and also has a fogging problem ... so I will check out the DX400 ... and dx 500

10-21-2006, 06:04 PM	#18 (permalink)
dropsalot Lines In Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Great Guana Cay, Bahamas Posts: 20	The DS400X, 500 and 600 are all the same unit, screen size and price are the only differences. The 400 screen is fine for me, but I suppose the larger displays would obviously provide more detail. Good luck

10-22-2006, 05:40 AM	#20 (permalink)
ian cameron Lines In Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 43	The single most important thing you can do to get the deepest bottom picture is to get a narrow beam transducer for your deep frequency - usually 50kz. It's like lighting up the road in front of your car with a long range spotlight instead of a fog light or low beam. Same power output tightly focussed goes much further and more accurately. I can get a reading in 3000ft with my 600watt Furuno 582l

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