Author Topic: New Electronics - Who has what installed  (Read 6287 times)

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Offline cousinlll

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New Electronics - Who has what installed
« on: March 12, 2019, 03:10 PM »
So who has what electronics installed on their boats these days:  1) Brand/Model  2) Features you liked/wanted  3) Meeting your expectations

I'm still using my "old" HBird 998/1198 and feel years & years behind the times...... :greengrin:

Offline OneBlade

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Re: New Electronics - Who has what installed
« Reply #1 on: March 12, 2019, 03:30 PM »
I have 2 Humminbird 998C HD SI.  I got refurbished versions to help on cost.  Having touchscreen smart phones these days I hate not having touchscreen on my electronics.  The buttons on my front device sometimes stick - that's annoying.  I was annoyed I paid that much and the default transducer couldn't handle when I was on plane - annoying - so I had to buy another 2D transducer just for on plane.  Do my finders help me find structure and fish?  You bet!  But I'll admit I'm slow to learn on them and only though talking with others with similar models do I learn some tricks on them.  I like being able to enter waypoints on the computer and upload to the units on the boat (rather than entering waypoints on the units themselves).
I like the integration with my trolling motor for sure.  Telling the fish finder what waypoint to go to is pretty nice as is spot lock and just telling it to go a certain direction.  I downloaded nav maps and have used the feature to follow the contour so it always stays at a certain depth.  That was useful at Powell.  Each time I use one of these features though, it takes me some time to remember the process (I'm getting old).
Like all electronics, they become overtaken by newer technology within a few years. But I'm happy with my electronics and have no plans to upgrade unless I upgrade boat or one of the units dies.  I don't even know what's out there now. 
Lastly, I'm considering getting an underwater infared camera.  Ever see lots of things that look like fish on your electronics but never just quite sure what type of fish?  Would be nice to drop a camera down and verify your electronics by site.
I don't know if trolling motor counts as 'electronics' but I love my Terrova with ilink/ipilot.  Couldn't imagine not having that.

Offline cousinlll

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Re: New Electronics - Who has what installed
« Reply #2 on: March 12, 2019, 03:38 PM »
Yes, lets include the Trolling Motor in this!  That I know I'm way behind with my MK Powerdrive 2 without the AP add on!  I've been waiting for it to break so I can upgrade to the Ulterra.  And i see MK just came out with a built in Mega DI transducer
« Last Edit: March 12, 2019, 03:49 PM by cousinlll »

Offline PhishingPhreek

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Re: New Electronics - Who has what installed
« Reply #3 on: March 12, 2019, 05:23 PM »
I have the same fish finders that came with my boat 16 years ago...... so.... I have zero insight on this. lol
Though, I'm REALLY wanting to get new one since I currently rely on the old technique of "Oh sweet, I got a snag! That means there's a tree down there!"

I do have the Minn Kota Terrova and love that even without the iPilot or other GPS add-ons.  Even that Terrova is old compared to the new TMs that MK is coming out with.

Offline timbo

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Re: New Electronics - Who has what installed
« Reply #4 on: March 12, 2019, 06:03 PM »
I just added a second lowrance hds 7 gen 2 w/sidescan. I have a powerdrive w/i pilot

Offline craigm

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Re: New Electronics - Who has what installed
« Reply #5 on: March 12, 2019, 08:51 PM »
I have the a Garmin 94 vs and a New Garmin 93vs plus and am waiting for the Live scope to be shipped , I am also using a HDS9 touch gen2 have run them side by side and  switched to Garmin , Lowrance bought the Garmin tech for Livescope but will not have it for sale until sometime this spring ( been delayed twice maybe  til June ) . Check out a Utube demo of Livescope and it is available now .   

Offline sparkchaser

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Re: New Electronics - Who has what installed
« Reply #6 on: March 13, 2019, 08:15 AM »
I have 2 1198 SI's networked to a Terrova trolling motor (all 2013). My screens are perfect size for my boat and do everything I ask of them, which is to find fish. I really utilize all of the features at Powell with the Lakemaster chip. Following the contour lines to some is useless, but at a lake like Powell it is gold. I think i will be adding a Garmin panoptix setup to the front though in the near future.
SEA.....HAWKS....

Offline sparkchaser

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Re: New Electronics - Who has what installed
« Reply #7 on: March 13, 2019, 08:42 AM »
One thing I'd like to add is the remote battery sucks. At least for my setup. I've bought plenty of replacements, and cant come up with a solution. I don't get what i think i should out of mine. Which is 10 plus hours on the water
SEA.....HAWKS....

Offline OneBlade

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Re: New Electronics - Who has what installed
« Reply #8 on: March 13, 2019, 03:36 PM »
One thing I'd like to add is the remote battery sucks. At least for my setup. I've bought plenty of replacements, and cant come up with a solution. I don't get what i think i should out of mine. Which is 10 plus hours on the water
I agree as well.  I think the original battery in the remote may have performed better but MinnKota doesn't directly sell a replacement battery so you have to purchase one through other sources.  It's unknown how good that external source is for batteries (they could have those batteries sitting for years, which mean they won't perform as well).  I would hope they improved the remote battery life in newer versions of Terrova with iLink/iPilot but not sure.  I think ours are both several years old.  On a busy day mine will still only last 6-8 hours.  It wouldn't be as bad if I had a USB charger in the front of the boat.  And when the remote battery dies and you are on auto-pilot good luck.

Offline Fishless

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Re: New Electronics - Who has what installed
« Reply #9 on: March 14, 2019, 08:37 AM »
Ya basically a glorified watch battery, to bad they can't come up with a plug in charging system for the remote with a USB adapter so if your remote starts to fade you could plug it in a charge the lithium battery etc. like on our cell phones. 
"I won't be wronged, I won't be insulted, and I won't be laid a hand on. I don't do these things to other people and I expect the same from them." John Bernard Books

 

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