Continue sucking your thumb. Come back when you have grown up.
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I know that the guys on here have wealth of knowlege. I am sorry i should have given more information. I fish mainly the tenn- tom Waterway and picwick. I am looking to spend 2000 - 2500 for both units. Would like something that is user friendly and has a built in GPS.
jimbo65, in the Cabela's catalog 'Fishing 2010' on page 260, you'll find the Lowrance HDS-7's. You can get 2 for the $$$ you are talking about. Later you can add the Structure/DownScan if you want. They have internal GPS antenna's and are VERY accurate. Very easy to navigate through the menus. A real plus is the 2 year warranty. Good luck on your search. Hope this helps. <*)}}}><
It's expensive cause you have to buy it if you want side imaging on either unit. For both brands you can buy the unit without the imaging. Lowrance offers it as an add-on to the HDS units.
Well, if it were my dime, I'd have to go with the new Humminbird 898c SI on the console ($1,350) interlinked ($90) to a Humminbird 788c combo ($600) on the bow. This lets you side scan, mark way points and send them to the bow so you can find them with the troll motor and fish the spot. OR, even better would be the 798c ($900) on the bow (instead of the 788c) which would let you side scan also. This lets you side scan, down image and 2d sonar image, all with 50 channel GPS and only 2 transducers on the boat. I'd probably get the 798 as a ci with internal GPS antenna (same cost) but the 898c as an external GPS antenna. You could do all this with one transducer but I'd put one on the TM which gives you two independent systems (if one gives you a problem) which can be operated as one system if you want. If you want high speed depth, add a third single or dual beam xducer ($75) on the stern and cable ($40) it into the 898c along with the SI xducer. If I had a bigger dime, :eek: I'd up-size the screens on both combo units to 998/898. The learning curve is steep but I bet you'll enjoy it. :)
Just as a "PS" here Jimbo.....Spend your money on hardware and worry about software and maps later. They are always out there if you want 'em.
Also, forgot to mention, mount GPS antenna and SI transducer for each Chart Plotter as close to each other as is practical to avoid built in offsets. In other words, if you see structure on the screen, the GPS antenna should be right over it. :D