My new troublesom sounder

[MitchCalcutt]

Hi every one,
I have never looked in Electronics before and have some interesting reading.
I unfortunately have an issue with a sounder and the service centre to which I sent it for repairs.
I won’t mention the name of the offending manufacturer or the 737 model # just in case it eventually comes back working.

If you were to purchase a product from USA because it had a world wide warrantee and you saved $500 by purchasing it there, you would expect that world wide coverage would include other countries including Australia. If you thought that, then you would be wrong.
My spiffy new sounder came from Fishfinder in the USA, as I remarked I saved $500 by getting it over the net. With that saving; who in there right mind would get one from here. The sounder arrived 7 days later to my glee. As I am an electronics technician I read instructions carefully before installing it. After the system had been installed I followed the instructions to the letter as best I could, given the instructions weren’t designed to help anyone.
Power up nothing
Pulled the plug and tried again nothing
Replaced the battery with a much bigger battery and tried again with some results that weren’t encouraging. After an hour I began to get the s---‘s and gave up,

I most defiantly could go on for hours about how have been d—ked around by H--------- in both Australia and the USA but I won’t.

I do have a point though; don’t let this story get you down about getting items over the net, the money you save out weighs the remote chance you will encounter a problem with your item. If you purchase from here, get the salesperson to hook the system up to a power supply while your there and make sure it works. Warrantees on products purchased over seas will never be repairable in Australia regardless of what the manufacturer says on the packaging.

My last piece of advice is to anybody who isn’t sounder proficient and is in the market to buy. Sounders come in every conceivable shape and format, unless your good with electronics stick with one that is user friendly. Some sounders are simply overcomplicated to the point of being useless to most people who get one. If you can’t navigate through the main menus and understand it, then don’t buy it.

Mitch Calcutt

[disorderly]

mitch, importing electronics from the states has been a common topic here.
For a while it seems to have been common knowledge that furuno,raymarine and garmin will currently fulfill their warranty obligations locally on O/S bought units.
I have had this experience with a garmin unit but even in my case it was a PITA.

I believe there are also some issues with some brands whereby the units of measurements are not in metric on US purchased models.

Hope it turns out all right for you in the end as I also know just how frustrating this can be.
As you mention in your last paragraph it really pays to do some research on the user friendliness of your proposed unit.There are plenty of fella's on here willing to share their experiences with different units.I find ausfish a great forum for sharing experiences and gaining helpful advise,which is particularly useful when buying electronics sight unseen..

Scott

[Heath]

Mitch,
Any chance of trying the head unit on someone elses boat with the same unit? sometimes the plugs and pins can be a pain in the ass.

[MitchCalcutt]

Mitch,
Any chance of trying the head unit on someone elses boat with the same unit? sometimes the plugs and pins can be a pain in the ass.
Hi Heath,
The unit i have has a software fault, It tries to perform the required task, desides it cant do it and freezes up. thats one of many issues this sounder has. I wish it was that simple, I'd rather buy new leads than send it back to the States. I will be without a sounder over Xmas.
Thanks
Mitch

[disorderly]

Mitch, after my experiences with warranty services I would not hesitate to buy a combo unit, probably garmin to get me out of trouble and give me a backup.
When I had a problem I did not think it would take a nearly 3 months to be repaired and that my time off the water continued from one week to the next...and the next and next...
Mate,if I had had a backup unit my whole life during that 3 month period would have been so much different and I would have been out fishing instead of cursing the service agents .I eventually did purchase another unit but I had lost nearly 3 months of my fishing life and the stress involved.
My advice ...the best grand you could spend would be a combo unit that will do the job until ..whenever you get the problems with the current one sorted and provide a backup if it ever happens in the future that you are without a unit and need one to tide you over.

Scott

[MitchCalcutt]

Mitch, after my experiences with warranty services I would not hesitate to buy a combo unit, probably garmin to get me out of trouble and give me a backup.
When I had a problem I did not think it would take a nearly 3 months to be repaired and that my time off the water continued from one week to the next...and the next and next...
Mate,if I had had a backup unit my whole life during that 3 month period would have been so much different and I would have been out fishing instead of cursing the service agents .I eventually did purchase another unit but I had lost nearly 3 months of my fishing life and the stress involved.
My advice ...the best grand you could spend would be a combo unit that will do the job until ..whenever you get the problems with the current one sorted and provide a backup if it ever happens in the future that you are without a unit and need one to tide you over.

Scott
Hi Scott,
Thats the same advise Dad gave me before he died when i told him i was thinking about getting a Humminbird. That was a year ago, he also said I'd be mad if i did as they have one of the worst reputations on the market.
I've had little to do with Garman What are they like to use?
Mitch

[disorderly]

mitch.

I previously had humminbird and lowrance units.
I now have garmin and furuno units.
I have heard the garmins described as being very user friendly and I have found my combo unit to be simple to operate and was affordable to initially purchase.

Scott

[DR]

I would consider getting in touch with original supplier, Explaining problem & asking for an exchange to anther brand. if they are reputable they won't have a problem & it will only cost the postage.As you said they get here in about 7 days, so if you're quick it might just make it for xmas.

[MitchCalcutt]

I would consider getting in touch with original supplier, Explaining problem & asking for an exchange to anther brand. if they are reputable they won't have a problem & it will only cost the postage.As you said they get here in about 7 days, so if you're quick it might just make it for xmas.
Hi Dr,
I have been in touch with the people from Bass Pro; they have unbelievable prices on colour Lowrance sounders now for xmas and will test unit on bench before shipping. That way when and if my 737 comes back I can back them against each other.
I chose the 737 with wide side for a specific purpose, I hope it works, next time.
Mitch

[cobiaman]

mitch, my mate has a 737 and it is really easy to use and its a great unit, hopefully yours will get sorted out soon. cheers graeme

[davo]

Don't worry about Humminbird service in Australia. I bought an Aussie one and had to chase them for three weeks and still no joy. I to am in the electronics control industry. The GPS's also have a glitch in them. They loose signal while the old Garmin just keep going. Also they interfer with GPS's when the face is directed in front of them.

[MitchCalcutt]

Don't worry about Humminbird service in Australia. I bought an Aussie one and had to chase them for three weeks and still no joy. I to am in the electronics control industry. The GPS's also have a glitch in them. They loose signal while the old Garmin just keep going. Also they interfer with GPS's when the face is directed in front of them.
Hi Davo,
I wonder what percentage of faulty equipment gets dumped onto the Australian market. From what i read on this site and hear from many people, it is a high percentage gets dumped for us to deal with. I'm sure less people have no trouble than those who do.
Mitch

[Stenno]

Hi Mitch,

I was, as we speak, about to buy from BassPro a Humminbird - not now!

Mate, thanks for the heads up, I'll look to a Garmin from now on.

Cheers

Stenno.

[Steve B]

Mitch,

Sorry for your dillema but be CAREFUL buying Lowrance from USA. They DONT AND WONT honor warranty claims in Australia on imported sounders either.!! I know this because I have had to send mine back TWICE. (still cheaper than buying in Aust, BUT I was without a sounder for 1 month each time)

Forget about going thru the dealer in US, they will only direct you to the manufacturer for the above reason, same as Humminbird. I recently sent my Humminbird Matrix 10 (purchased O/S) for a quote to repair in Australia. Minimum $180.00. Naturally, I didnt go thru with it, I cant blame local dealers/repairers for not touching imported units. Importing is a risk you take to save a buck. Some you win some you lose. I still do it and take the risk.

There has been plenty of threads about this before. I am suprised you had difficulty installing it though, I found it easy, and I aint no computer tech.!! I have a Lowrance, Garmin and Humminbird all on same boat, humminbird is easiest to navigate IMHO.

As a few of the guys said, Garmin, furuno, raymarine honor warranty locally on O/S purchased sounders. Have a good read back thru previous threads regarding importing sounders. Might help you decide which way to go in the future.

Hope this helps, Steve

[MitchCalcutt]

Mitch,

CAREFUL buying Lowrance from USA. They DONT AND WONT honor warranty claims in Australia on imported sounders either, I know this because I have had to send mine back TWICE. (still cheaper than buying in Aust) Forget about going thru the dealer in US, they will only direct you to the manufacturer, same as Humminbird.

There has been plenty of threads about this before. I am suprised Basspro sold you a humminbird in the first place, as I believe, humminbird had an exclusive import deal with BLA. I tried a few years back and they wouldn't sell me one claiming that reason.

I cant blame the local repairers and dealers for not touching imported units. As a few of the guys said, Garmin, furuno, raymarine honor warranty locally on O/S purchased sounders.

hope this helps.
Thanks Steve, I got the Humminbird from another site, i was going to get the Lowrance from BassPro. I just can't bring myself to getting another sounder as long as they ALL have software trouble, its too risky.
My Humminbird got back from the U.S on Saturday, It was only away for 9 days. Now if the wether will just fine up for one day.
Mitch