Thread: Here's your chance to tell me what's the best.

`My small 5" screen Lowrance unit (2D with maps) started getting black in upper corner and I knew it was a matter of time before that screen was gone. So...thru a points program at work I got a HB Helix 9 with SI,DI, 2D and Maps for free. Ive grown to like the 9" screen as it's easier to see when you have split screens up. I usually only use maps and 2D but sometimes I also run DI. I also like the simplicity of running BH over the Lowrance unit. If I was buying again today I'd take a good look at the Garmin units.

The first thing i would suggest is get it to clean power and see if anything changes. Run it straight to a small 12v battery both pos and neg.

If its not that, its probably the transducer going/gone bad. The actual head units are pretty much bulletproof, all problems are usually power or transducer related.

When you are looking for a new transducer, consider the lvs34 with a garmin head unit to go with it just kidding of course

Sent from my SM-A516U using Crappie.com mobile app

So, is Livescope a feature of some Garmin units or is it a stand alone thing that you can add to a Garmin unit?

Originally Posted by Kevin22

The first thing i would suggest is get it to clean power and see if anything changes. Run it straight to a small 12v battery both pos and neg.

If its not that, its probably the transducer going/gone bad. The actual head units are pretty much bulletproof, all problems are usually power or transducer related.

When you are looking for a new transducer, consider the lvs34 with a garmin head unit to go with it just kidding of course

Sent from my SM-A516U using Crappie.com mobile app

I apologize, I don't think I made it clear in my post. It is on an independent battery, a 20ah lithium, I did that a while back when I figured out that the clutter on my screen went away when I killed the trolling motor lol. I just made a small power box for it and it had been fine since.

Originally Posted by gunwhatgun

So, is Livescope a feature of some Garmin units or is it a stand alone thing that you can add to a Garmin unit?

Livescope is a "black box & transducer" system that hooks up with certain Garmin units. The Garmin unit & transducer give you the 2d/DI/SI readings, while the Livescope system adds another feature known as Forward Facing Sonar. 2d/DI/SI show you the "history" of what it sees as you pass by or over that section of water, while Livescope shows you what it "sees" in real time and with the motion of fish moving (around cover or in open water, or towards or away from your bait).
Many people, myself included, have the Garmin unit & Livescope system as a standalone system in order to render the whole screen to what the Livescope is "seeing". Split sceen images may give you more information at the same time, but the screen size of the unit will determine how easy it is to see each individual image. For that reason alone, I opted to not have a transducer for my Garmin 93sv unit when I purchased it. I already had a Lowrance Hook 7 with its transducer on the bottom of the trolling motor, for DI & maps, so I just delegated that unit to maps & GPS waypoints so I wouldn't have to constantly be switching screens on the Garmin for that purpose or have split screens reducing the size of each segment.

I went from b/w 2d units straight to color DI units, then added the Livescope system ... never having SI or 360 units ... so I am a little biased on Livescope. My Livescope transducer is mounted on the trolling motor shaft & the whole system (Garmin 93sv & Livescope system) is run off a separate battery.

Is Lowrance still a player these days? I know my Motorguide TM linkable to some Lowrance units but I don't know which, and I'm not sure that would be a factor in any decisions. I am just really disappointed in the HB.

Originally Posted by gunwhatgun

Is Lowrance still a player these days? I know my Motorguide TM linkable to some Lowrance units but I don't know which, and I'm not sure that would be a factor in any decisions. I am just really disappointed in the HB.

Yes, Lowrance is still in the mix with HB & Garmin, but their "claim to fame" is their Down Image. HB seems to hold the #1 spot for Side Image, while Garmin is most noted for its connection to Livescope (Forward facing sonar). All three brands have a Forward Facing Sonar setup, but Garmin is the lead horse in that race.

This is mostly centered on an April 2024 Outdoor Life article, as several of the other articles I read mentioned other brands or were more specific in their choices based on specific units rather than simply an overall view.

Originally Posted by gunwhatgun

Is Lowrance still a player these days? I know my Motorguide TM linkable to some Lowrance units but I don't know which, and I'm not sure that would be a factor in any decisions. I am just really disappointed in the HB.

The right “model” Lowrance or Simrad can be linked through motorguide gateway nema with xi3 and xi5 trolling motors provided the trolling motor is pinpoint gps equipped.

Lowrance Gen 2 touch HDS through the HDS Pro series works with the pin point link. And some of the elite series all work not sure on what models of them I’ve always had the HDS series.