Simrad, Lawrance, or Garmin????

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Makrel
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Simrad, Lawrance, or Garmin????

Post by Makrel »

I am looking at purchasing Simrad NSS evo2, or Lawrance Gen3, or Garmin xs units for my new rig. Specifically the NSS 9 or 12, the Lawarance HDS9 (12 wont fit), or the Garmin 7410xs.

I plan to install 2 units and network these, but typically run 1 GPS and the other fishfinding.

I know most people are brand loyal and generally like the unit they selected. But I would appreciate comments about why you selected one over the other available options.

My last boat I ran a HDS 10 Gen2 and a Furuno 588 sounder. I loved the Furuno and would fit another in a heat beat (even though it is just a traditional dedicated sounder) but it wont fit. The HDS could not compare and was assigned to GPS duties only. I assume the new chirp is an improvement?


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Fruity
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Re: Simrad, Lawrance, or Garmin????

Post by Fruity »

Go the HDS gen 3, with a total scan transducer, It has wifi so you can use Ipad for 2nd screen if required.
Cheers :cheers:
Fruity

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Matt Flynn
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Re: Simrad, Lawrance, or Garmin????

Post by Matt Flynn »

Michael Ede at In and Outboard Marine will show you the pros and cons of each.

Shane Compain (Tackle World Coolalinga) uses Simrad, perhaps talk to him also.
Makrel
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Re: Simrad, Lawrance, or Garmin????

Post by Makrel »

Yes I have figured out Michael is the Guru. And he has given me so many options.

It is a confusing prospect - and an expensive one.

My thoughts now are that I may go Furuno ( I have just found the Furuno TZT2) which is marginally more expensive than the 12 inch Garmin units. But I am more confident in the longevity of the units than I am with Simrad, Lawrance, etc. Opinion based on personal experience and surfing the internet forums.
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Re: Simrad, Lawrance, or Garmin????

Post by jabsy »

I just looked up that furuno and its a sexy bit of kit....

I run two units, both are sounder/gps combos, but I find I use one pretty much for GPS only and the other as sounder only. So maybe get the Furuno you want as your dedicated 50/200 unit, and maybe something cheaper to run alongside as your mapping unit?

maybe a humminbird helix down image unit, it'll run at 455khz so it wont interefere with the furuno, and you can do live mapping on the 8" units and above.
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Re: Simrad, Lawrance, or Garmin????

Post by Makrel »

Jabsy - you thinking along the same lines as me.

I ordered my Furuno unit today from In and out, and will use it as the main sounder and chartplotter. later I may add a second smaller screen for sideview and also use it to display fuel burn etc. Once I recover from the shock of the cost of all this stuff.

The more I looked into the Furuno the more I realised I may not be 100% happy with one of the other units.

Please don't take this as me judging the performance of the other brands - because I don't know how they perform (thus the purpose of this thread). But I loved my previous Furuno and was not convinced the new chip craze was needed by me. I loved the look of the traditional Furuno fish finder and it was high quality kit.

I will report back when I get it fitted and tested.
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Re: Simrad, Lawrance, or Garmin????

Post by jabsy »

Looks like a good move.

If you want fuel burn, dont go near the humminbirds. They dont do fuel flow, and they dont have nmea2000 built in (except for the onix/ion, they can do both)

I've also been told that the 2006 and older Suzis dont give reliable data via nmea either. I cant verify as I have humminbirds and analogue gauges. There is an article around to make up an adapter cable to run nmea from the service port for about $40 per motor, I havent made one up myself but it looks a cinch.
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Re: Simrad, Lawrance, or Garmin????

Post by Gladiator »

RAYMARINE
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