Electrics help

[Billo]

FINALLY getting a boat and need some assistance on what to look for in the way of electrics .

I would like to get away as cheap as humanily possible ( without purchasing crap ! ) ...ie get away for under $1000 , and am willing to buy second hand ...but fairly new .

I have found a Garmin 240 sounder for $350 as new ,( not used ) how are do these stack up ?

[Lucky_Phill]

Garmin should be Ok. Good brand in GPS's , but unknown ( me at least ) in sounders.

Might have a Garmin 126 up for sale very shortly, cheap.

Phill

[MAHI_MAHI]

Got'ya Tackle ( australian internet sales) ...will scare you with new electronics prices ...BUT that is what you have to pay, when purchasing new.

Garmin 240 BLUE ( SALTWATER SERIES) ...A GOOD UNIT

[MAHI_MAHI]

IF you're feeling brave try > google.com.< and search 'fishfinders" ...in USA >>>prices are very good ...but mailing fraught with excessive costs...and someone has advised previously not to use UPS as service costs are involved...

[Billo]

Cheers fellas .
Just looking around for a good second hand deal or two ...

need GPS , Sounder, marine radio also need an EPIRB .

trying to get away under $1000 on the lot , see how we do hey ...have no idea as i have never realy looked before , just getting a feel now .

[MarcusD]

I believe that Springwood Marine are auctioning off some of their gear on Saturday. From what little I heard of the radio ad the gear is available for viewing on Friday too.

Might be worth a look?

[Grozzo]

Got'ya Tackle ( australian internet sales) ...will scare you with new electronics prices ...BUT that is what you have to pay, when purchasing new.

Garmin 240 BLUE ( SALTWATER SERIES) ...A GOOD UNIT

I can get this unit for roughly $500-550 to my door and they retail in Got'ya for $800

Not a bad saving hey full legit with warrenty!!!!

[Zeeke]

Timbo, check out the Humminbird Matrix Sounders, you can have GPS and Sounder in one, ive got a Humminbird Matrix 25 and the resolution is fantastic, just waiting to be able to afford a gps aerial and ill have gps action aswell, lookin bout $500-600 for a matrix and gps aerial, you can also get a software upgrade kit and upgrade the software on the matrix for new options and things that come out in time, the matrix sounders already have 3 accessories, a weather sense which predicts the weather over 6-12hrs, the gps aerial and a smart cast accessorie which consists of a base aerial and a castable wireless sonar/transducer so you can cast around to scout out other parts of water while anchored up within 100 feet

Tim

[Zeeke]

btw, Matrix and GPS for $500 AU if you order from America, still leaves you enough money to easily afford a new radio and epirb for the boat, and saves on console space being a dual unit

Tim

[Billo]

Too many to choose from !!!

Tim , those matrix systems look alright to me , and quite reasonably priced ....but i have been told they aren't much chop and to stick along the lines of Garmin , Lawrence Furuno etc ..

How would the Matrix 20 stand up against the Lawrence or even against a Garmin in the same price bracket ?

[Zeeke]

hmm, having never used a garmin i wont say anything, but having seen a few Lowrance sounders in action id say its pretty close match, the newer Humminbird sounders are alot better then what they were making 2yrs ago.. they have picked up there act.. ive got a Matrix 25 and with the upgrades on it (downloadable from Humminbird) and using a PC connection kit, i think its great, im able to also add and delete GPS marks and the system also displays a map so you can virtually read distances between marks and what not, also mark tracks and monitor things like that

As for screen quality, yesterday while fishing the reefs i was able to watch my sinker drop down as a thin line, when winding up i was able to see a thick line coming up when a fish was present and hooked on or a think line when i was baited.. so the sounder is perfect when fishing in conditions when you want to drop your baits to a certain depth, you can see the sinker bouncing around and such

Accessories, ive now got 2 on my matrix, GPS and WeatherSense, gps is very accurate.. well, accurate as a gps can get, usually saying its within 15ft of being on target.. and the weathersense has been very accurate aswell, it hasnt let me down and usually shows whether its going to be cloudy or raining or sunny over the next 6 to 12hrs and so far its been spot on

but yea, resolution is awesome on the matrix, ive compared it to a mates Legend 2005 (which is a $1000 sounder) and top of the range last year for the humminbird sounders and the matrix are just as good, if not, a bit better.. and with the quick release mounting, theres no knobs and cables to undo when taking it out of the boat after a days fishing, its just a simple press of a button and out it pops

Tim