H.B. Greg

[ezgo]

I want to ask a question, dont take it like I am bashing H.Bird or Lowrance. Now with all this talk on gps issues (the donut) with H.B. can you tell me why I should spend my money with H.B. and get 597ci HD DI instead of going with lowrances HDS series or ther Elite series with there DSI. I posted in the donut post how I am on the fence. I like the H.B. with DI but there is a voice in the back of my head saying stick with what you have which is Lowrance on my boat but neither has gps. What holds me back alot on the Lowrance is the complaining of the customer service. Like I said I am not bashing either company I am looking for help trying to pick a unit out. This is alot of money for me to spend on myself rather than my family. Thanks

[Humminbird_Greg]

ezgo,
I will not post anything about the Lowrance unit as I do not have one, I have not run one and I just don’t get into the whole us versus them thing (though I will post to correct mis-information about our products). From what I heard though; the 597ci HD DI has additional sonar in the form of two conventional (or 2D) sonar beams and a higher resolution display. We have a great bunch of folks in our Customer Resources department. There are several of us that try and help with answering questions as well when we can.

Sorry but I gotta cut this short as I have a meeting in 3 minutes!

[ezgo]

ezgo,
I will not post anything about the Lowrance unit as I do not have one, I have not run one and I just don’t get into the whole us versus them thing (though I will post to correct mis-information about our products). From what I heard though; the 597ci HD DI has additional sonar in the form of two conventional (or 2D) sonar beams and a higher resolution display. We have a great bunch of folks in our Customer Resources department. There are several of us that try and help with answering questions as well when we can.

Sorry but I gotta cut this short as I have a meeting in 3 minutes!

Thanks for the info I get where your coming from with the us vs them thing, I am just trying to find a answer on what is a good fit to me. My post sounds harsh but I dont mean it that way. I am leaning real hard on the 597ci HD DI.

[T Mike]

Hi Ezgo, The Humminbird 597 has sonar, GPS and Down Imaging. The comparable Lowrance Elite only has 2 of the 3. ie DI and mapping, sonar and Gps but not Sonar, GPS and Down imaging like the 597 unit you mentioned..

You also mentioned Customer Service as a point. Do a google search on both Humminbird Customer Service and Lowrance Customer Service and go from there. Not to mention you got Joby and Greg on here. Doug and myself pop in here as well to help however possible. If I can be of any help with questions or concerns shoot me a pm or email.

Mike

[rnvinc]

I want to ask a question, dont take it like I am bashing H.Bird or Lowrance. Now with all this talk on gps issues (the donut) with H.B. can you tell me why I should spend my money with H.B. and get 597ci HD DI instead of going with lowrances HDS series or ther Elite series with there DSI. I posted in the donut post how I am on the fence. I like the H.B. with DI but there is a voice in the back of my head saying stick with what you have which is Lowrance on my boat but neither has gps. What holds me back alot on the Lowrance is the complaining of the customer service. Like I said I am not bashing either company I am looking for help trying to pick a unit out. This is alot of money for me to spend on myself rather than my family. Thanks

Remember that the "Donut" is an easy fix by HB..it's simply a programming item...

HB will eventually fix the "Donut"...

HB is like any other big corporation....they have to know that their investment (paying programmers to write the correct code to eliminate the " Donut") will be offset by enough profits to make the investment change feasible...

That is why it is SO important to keep "Project HB Donut" alive and moving....

We are making noise that "the powers that be" at HB will hear and realize that HB is losing money to the competition because of a simple software fix...

Rickie (an almost satisfied HB owner)...

[mduncan62]

Remember that the "Donut" is an easy fix by HB..it's simply a programming item...

HB will eventually fix the "Donut"...

HB is like any other big corporation....they have to know that their investment (paying programmers to write the correct code to eliminate the " Donut") will be offset by enough profits to make the investment change feasible...

That is why it is SO important to keep "Project HB Donut" alive and moving....

We are making noise that "the powers that be" at HB will hear and realize that HB is losing money to the competition because of a simple software fix...

Rickie (an almost satisfied HB owner)...

I agree Rickie, but when it comes to the paid gun, there won't be a mention of the donut. Easier to sell the unit based on Customer Service. Features apparently don't matter any more.....

[Shellback]

I'll take a donut anytime compared to a company who obsoletes $2000 LCX units as unrepairable after only 3 years or so of service. I go to many fishing sites, and this is the only one I hear people complaining about the donut. Probably 95% of the users don't even know what people are talking about when folks mention the donut. Pretty simple solution, if you don't like the donut, move on to something else. I ran Lowrance stuff, when their customer service dropped the ball on me, I moved on. Hey I got a couple year old Lowrance H2OC, know what, it doesn't have a donut. Know why? It takes about 20 minutes to get lock on satellites, then as soon as you move, it loses them. Not only no donut, no position whatsoever!

[mduncan62]

I'll take a donut anytime compared to a company who obsoletes $2000 LCX units as unrepairable after only 3 years or so of service. I go to many fishing sites, and this is the only one I hear people complaining about the donut. Probably 95% of the users don't even know what people are talking about when folks mention the donut. Pretty simple solution, if you don't like the donut, move on to something else. I ran Lowrance stuff, when their customer service dropped the ball on me, I moved on. Hey I got a couple year old Lowrance H2OC, know what, it doesn't have a donut. Know why? It takes about 20 minutes to get lock on satellites, then as soon as you move, it loses them. Not only no donut, no position whatsoever!

Sorry that people are complaining about the donut Shellback. As someone who's owned both, and others that do to, I think it's a valid argument. We're not paid salesmen, just guys who really spend their hard earned money to buy electronics. Sorry if we want the stuff to function correctly. HB has had GPS problems for years, don't you remember the high priced GPS puck, and all the updates. This isn't a new issue, and just because this is the only site you see complaints on doesn't mean we are wrong.

When the best sales weapon these guys have is to bash the customer service of Lowrance, that should tell potential buyers something about the units. Like you said, we'll continue to move on.

[crappieslab]

Ezgo, I fully understand the money thing the way the economy is, my suggestion is research,research,research. Do not buy one till you are very comfortable shelling out the money. I know the last time I was on the Lowrance website they had a simulator on the units but do not know if they have any on the new Di and Si units. Maybe HB Greg can put a bug in the ear with the powers to be in a meeting to get a simulator on thier website because I know they do not have a simulator, What a great sales pitch, Try it before you buy it without a salesman pushing for a sale at the counter! By the way I have a HB 987si and a 997si on my boat and I like them. So Ezgo do not jump into a purchase until you want to, Di,Si and GPS is not going away!

[Humminbird_Greg]

I did not take your post that way ezgo.
You should try and figure out what unit would work better for you. It would be best if you could spend on-water time doing this but that is not always possible. All you can do at this point is to try and understand how each units works given the information you can find and than decide which would work best for you.