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Simrad, Lawrance, or Garmin????

Posted: Fri Oct 28, 2016 11:29 am
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?

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

Posted: Sat Oct 29, 2016 9:19 pm
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.

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

Posted: Mon Oct 31, 2016 9:34 am
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.

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

Posted: Mon Oct 31, 2016 1:25 pm
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.

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

Posted: Tue Nov 01, 2016 6:46 pm
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.

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

Posted: Tue Nov 01, 2016 7:36 pm
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.

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

Posted: Tue Nov 01, 2016 9:10 pm
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.

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

Posted: Fri Nov 04, 2016 9:04 pm
by Gladiator
RAYMARINE