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View Full Version : sounder for 14ft tinny



whopper
26-08-2002, 09:57 PM
sorry people, this topic has probably been done to death but I have only just joined ausfish... I am fitting out a 14ft allycraft, 40hp yammie etc for use on moreton bay, pin, logan, pine etc. most of which is relatively shallow water (Id say ill be fishing up to around 30m with most of it 2 - 10m) Is it best to go for a sounder to suit a particular depth, or just go for the one with the highest pixels?

Has anyone bought a sounder in the $600 - $1000 range lately, and what was it, what do you think, etc. ease of operation and the ability to easily distinguish bottom features (not just the pinnacles, drop offs etc but whether it is sand, coffee rock, reef, rock, wreck etc).

One question I have is whether sounders can operate accurately when the boat is moving? planing?
Some of the bigger units I have seen on mates boats seem to give a reading at practically any speed, although I have no idea if this is accurate.

any words of wisdom would be appreciated as I have been known to buy the first thing I see and be dissappointed with it....

adrian
27-08-2002, 08:14 AM
hi whopper
a sounder can be used at any speed . at speed mine is not as good but near to it ( you may not see the little bumps on the bottom ) the depth is very good at all speeds but remember that at speed if the sounder is telling you that you are about to run aground belive it you are if not already out of the water .
the hummingbird wide I havve does the job that I want it to it shows me the bottom at all times and fish as well . if i was to buy one I would get one with as many fuctions as posssible in the price range as sounders can be taken out of the boat when you sell it .
as for telling me what bottom is like it's comes with reading the manual as well as taking the boat out and driving over area to see what it says ( more the reason to go fishing ;D ) most of the time mine is used for keeping an eye on depth ( or fish ) when off to the fishing spots and on getting there I slow right down and find the spot i want .

the more pixels the more detail you get it will pay for you to take a mate when your shopping for the sounder only to stop you buying the first one you see conpare brands and diffrent models as well. have a lookat the boat show for some good deals

hope this helps
Anzac

whopper
27-08-2002, 04:45 PM
cheers anzac, good advice...

Brenden
31-08-2002, 05:09 PM
Whopper

I bought a Lowrance X75 last year for around $650?, from Springwood Marine. I went for the most amount of Pixels my budget could go (it has 240). I can't comment on the other brands but I seem to have similar uses to what you outlined and I can't complain.

My big tip is to get the shop to set up the one you're looking at and try it in simulator mode at the shop. It gives you a better idea if it'll be easy to use or if you'll need Bill Gates to come out with you ???.

Goodluck with what you buy.

Brenden

Dr_Dan
01-09-2002, 04:16 PM
hey whopper. the most important thing to remember when wanting to get an acurate reading at speed, is the position of the tranducer. Make sure that the tranducer remains in the water at all times, as any air under the tranducer will screw up the readings.

The only other piece of advice, is go for sounder with not only the highest number of pixels you can afford, but also the highest RMS power rating (i think it's RMS, not the peak to peak power rating)

I use a Garmin, and unfortunately, due to a slight shortage of the funds at the time, was only able to buy a garmin with 100 pixels. But i found after hunting around, that the Garmin had the clearest picture out of all of them. I found, that unless you can afford an upper model, lowerence just didn't produce the quality picture that i was after. Of course, as you go up through the models, the lowerence sounders are BEAUTIFUL!

One last thing, if your only going to be fishing in shallow water, i'd recomend looking at a wide cone tranducer. It covers more ground, and produces a much better picture. Ask the shop assistants for the range of tranducers that are available with your sounder.

Hope i've helped in some way

;D enjoy the water ;D