Arky ... I've only had the opportunity to use mine, on the water, one time. I do play around with the emulator program, on my computer, but that's only to familiarize myself with button functions & menu choices. Pre-programmed simulations are set to be the best picture/outcome that the unit can show ... and we all know that real time use doesn't always produce the same results.

I'm $477 into this unit .. and do not have a map card. But, since I'll be using it on lakes that I'm already familiar with (for now) ... the in-unit map will suffice. If I start branching out into unfamiliar waters, on a regular basis, then I'll likely get a map card. I knew, coming into this purchase, that it was a moderate upgrade over the unit it replaced (+ color, +GPS, +chartplotter/map/waypoint capability) ... but felt it was worth it, at that price.

I'll know more about how well it's going to work, for me, once I get more time on the water with it. What I'm looking for now, is a discussion on the settings that give the best outcome in picture quality, target seperation, ability to identify cover type, identify fish, ect. ... and the depth ranges being fished. I rarely fish deeper than 30ft ... and the majority of the time it's between 10-20ft. Less than 10fow ... and a down pointing DF is, to me, only useful to keep the boat positioned in that depth, since the cover/targets I'm fishing are not likely to be right under me.

I can see where the elongated oval cone angle of the DSI would be good for spider rigging & slow trolling .. but I haven't gotten into using those methods very often. Anyone have pros/cons to discuss about DSI when casting or dock shooting ??

... cp