Queensland fishing monthly have done a review of them....I did just a quick read and it was all good on the things to say about the HDS models....I am keen on the HDS-5 and want to get a good price....BIAS in the catalogue have them for $1299.00 & then to get the Navionics Gold is $285 for the small.....
Does anyone now of any better prices?
Might wanna check out Ch smith marine here in melb.
$1049 for the HDS5x for 50/200khz transducer
or $999 for the 83/200khz transducer
Free freight and great back up service if needed
http://www.chsmith.com.au/LowranceFi..._Plotter1.html
OR http://www.chsmith.com.au/GPSPlotter1.html For the combo HDS-5 $1298
Regards frank
Anyone know how many Amps at 12v these new units draw?
cheers fnq
0.7A at 13VDC with backlight on, 0.4A with backlight offOriginally Posted by FNQCairns
forum on ib boats regarding the HDS 5 chart ,few comments are not so favourable in regards to waterproofing,but what concerned me more was the comments on backup from lowrance,ive got an open boat and dont want waterproofing problems and slow backup service to top it off as well
I picked one up 5X 83/200 from Grand Marlin (contact Pete for more info)
I have used the unit in fresh and salt water in open boat and it has performed very well, I am still fine tuning it for dam work to work at Awoonga to get the best screens and sensitivity, but in the salt it has really impressed me and I have found the structure line betwwen weed and coral fantatsic when working in new areas to know what is underneath the boat. I am not blown away with freshwater yet it has been ok but I still need to work on it , initally slightly disappointed with freshwater use but temp break is great. In the saltwater has been very very good, Once I use more at Awonnga I will post how I go in the fresh.
It cannot be to bad as I am Saving up now for a combo unit now. If you want info on units definitely contact grand marlin- I spoke to Bias, Ch, bcf and Pete just knows the units so much better and gave me all the info I needed without the advertising hype. A great price also that helps at the moment below all the others. If anyone wants Pete's mobile let me know, or contact him on the site.
Like others, I am very interested in these unit's as the Furuno price rise is just insane! Now I think I will hold off for a while as the service rendered by Lowrance in there biggest market, America is, well...do a search! We are small fries down here, so I wonder what level of service we would get going on what is said on the "The Hull Truth" , among others. Confused which way to go once again....bloody internet! Sometimes ignorance is bliss.
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mbeck
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LA
Lowrance HDS problems already!!!9:15 PM 3/26/2009
Purchased a new lowrance hds 7 a few weeks ago. As everyone knows gps units are supposed to be waterproof. Well not mine. Was out two weekends ago and got caught in a storm. Rained all the way back to marina and all the way back home. And at home a couple of hours before I put boat in boatport. Well this past weekend when we took boat out again, Launched boat and turned gps on. Nothing. Thought maybe just a bad connection, something came loose, etc. Will fool wth it later. Once I got to anchored still would not come on, had power going to it. Kept seeing a slight flash on screen when I pressed power button. Then realized it wass filled with water behind lcd screen. Took it off and turned it upside down and poured a couple of ounces of water out. Shook it and could still hear water sloshing inside.
Called Lowrance monday and the CSR told me they would try to fix it first. I said noway I want a new one. It is only 3 weeks old and paid $1200 for it. Then he told me there is a 5-6 week turnaround. I was speechless. Said that is ridiculous and he told me sorry that is best we can do. Also had to pay for shipping and insurance which was $30 to ship it to them.
Any ideas on what else I can do? I feel I am at there mercy.
tiger6761
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Birmingham AL
The guys over at hull truth sent me a link to your post. I had the exact same problem. Bought an HDS 7 a few weeks ago. My first major electronics purchase. I fished a small tournament at Lake Wheeler in Decatur, AL. We fished for five days and it rained for 4 out of the 5 days. Electronics were removed and taken inside each night. Started Wednesday. Unit worked like a champ for four days. Awesome signal, awesome picture. The sonar was jumpy, not a smooth scroll. That was my only real complaint. Then we launched Sunday morning. I hooked everything up and we took off. Powered the unit on and could see an obvious water ring around the screen on the inside. NOT condensation, water. The unit powered up but would not get a GPS signal. It was foggy so we had to low crawl to our first spot blind (not that we would have gone much faster with the GPS I just would have felt better). The unit ended up powering off completely later in the morning. Powered back on around lunchtime and worked the rest of the day (with GPS signal). Needless to say I was up-set. Called Lowrance Monday March 16th. Personally I REFUSED to pay shipping on a bad unit I had just dropped $1,200 on. So they said they would send a shipping label. Well it is March 29th and I still don't have one. I called back last Wednesday and wanted a status. They seemed "surprised" I hadn't recieved my label and said they would send another. I'm giving them till Tuesday and then I am working with Cabelas to get this thing back. Lowrance customer support is pretty bad. I have called twice waiting 45+ minutes each time. I even got to the point Friday that I decided to call other companies to see what their customer service was like. Both Garmin and Humminbird took about 20 minutes to get through. Garmin was head and shoulders above any other company I have spoken to. He pulled up the Lowrance site, walked me through his thought process and gave me the best option that got me the same functionality. Unfortunately it costs too much so I am stuck. I didn't call Raymarine because I knew it was way too expensive. Sorry to be so long winded but I want people who are thinking of buying these things that there is a problem. I HOPE it is a quality control issue and NOT a design issue. We'll see.
Are these units still leaking?
I haven't had any trouble - but I thought it was the hds 7 was the trouble early on in the us. I only know people with the 5x, 5 and 8 and all very happy with them with no dramas yet...
I bought mine in May and has performed very well with n issues. I can maintain an excellent bottom picture even at 42knts...
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