North Australian FISH FINDER TM forums

G'day Doug, I'm in the process of decking out a 5.4 meter Boden Kit boat for next years runoff, I was lucky enough to pick up a 115 Merc at the right price and am now looking for other toys for it. At around $1500 for the HDS10 I would grab one for sure
Cheers Govite

I'll second that Doug. You might be able to get an even better price if we all get one. if you wouldn't mind, could you PM me the dealers details?

id be keen as well for that price .. be silly to pass that up.. keep me in the loop if you wouldnt mind?

You might have to put a spotters fee on these Doug,

but I'm the same, in the market for a new HDS and keen to know how it goes.

Probably go for the HDS8 though, so wuould be keen to know if he has all the modles.

I'd be interested if you're landing a few boxes and give one a test to make sure it all works in Australian waters.
Where do people find such deals?

hey i will let you know just getting confirmation on a few things if i order a few at a time
only problem will be import tax unless they are shipped seperately
dont hold your breath for one though nothing is finalised yet just getting prices

I would also take one for that money...can you pm me the details, much appreciated

hey doug, I've been in contact with an american mob with regards to a HDS 8 ($1600 delivered roughly with transducer). My reply to the geofencing question that i asked was that all US lowrances are now geofenced. Not sure who your dealer is but you might wanna get them to confirm it again... Cheers!

P.S. I'm still interested in the HDS 10 if your ordering

Lowrance have recently implemented their Geofencing technology into the new units (via a software update) to limit the functionality of US marketed equipment.

Here's a couple of definitions. Geofencing is a GIS term whereby software identifies a region on a map. Lowrance have a geofence programmed into the new units that identifies (via GPS) where the unit is, and if the unit is an American standard unit, and the current location is outside of 30 degrees West and International Dateline East of the Americas, the unit will revert to US imperial units only and flash a message on the screen continuously saying "This unit is not set up in this area please contact authorized dealer". The cursor on the map function will also point to the centre of the US. This does not happen on the international units, which are sold outside of the US.

From what I understand, this comes in via the latest software (Version 3.x) which all new US units are pre-installed with. The interesting thing here will be for people who have purchased USA versions of the popular HDS5, 7, 8 and 10 units and currently have software 2.x installed. If they upgrade to version 3, it's highly likely (pretty sure 100% likely) they will see the same problem above as they will introduce the geofence issue.

You can tell if the feature is installed on new units by checking the box. The box has a sticker on it which states "Made for the Americas. For sale & use in the Americas only".

This is obviously a key point that you would like to consider when purchasing a new HDS unit either from the USA, eBay or other sources. It should also be a key point when buying from "grey marketers" who might be in Australia but actually parallel import.

What's interesting about this is that international units do not have this issue, hence you could purchase one for your yacht and travel around the world, however Americans who have one installed will suffer the problem.

thank blinky was looking at getting a new unit and was not a 100% sure wat all the talk was about

That's interesting stuff Blinky. Sounds like you know your systems. Any ideas why my HDS5 won't show fuel consumption in metric units? It is an international unit, and I have set the parameters in the units menu. I am at a loss as to how to get around it.

Dazza Mac wrote:That's interesting stuff Blinky. Sounds like you know your systems. Any ideas why my HDS5 won't show fuel consumption in metric units? It is an international unit, and I have set the parameters in the units menu. I am at a loss as to how to get around it.

Oh shite no, I'm no expert!!!!!
I just found that stuff a while back when I was snooping around for info on geofencing.
As for your display problem.....I have no idea, I'm a Humminbird man!
Sorry mate.