Quote Originally Posted by farmer1940 View Post
I have been reading just about everything that I can find on this down imaging depth Finder and I'm wondering if they are worth the money that people are paying for them seems to me that a lot of people are having trouble getting it set so they can see what's going on. Just my opinion but I may be get just too old to learn how to set it.
If you're referring to the Elite 5DSI unit ... current price is about 1/2 of what the original MSRP was. I think it was around $650 originally. I bought mine for $475 from a member, and that was for the unit, two transducers, the trolling motor mounting sleeve, & insured shipping. I've seen them for around the $300-$400 (nib) price range (tm mount included).

We're not really having so much "trouble" getting them set, as we are getting them set to get the best image possible ... considering that there are quite a few different ideas on how to set the different menu items, and differing opinions on which settings work best for different people & different waters. One could simply leave it on factory settings, and auto-run, and have a very good experience with the unit. But, that diminishes the full capabilities of the unit, so you're not really getting the full bang for the buck experience from it.

I think the biggest kick against this unit has been that people want to see fish symbols, arches, or images of fish ... having been used to these things from the old tech 2d depth finders. These units don't have the fish symbols, and don't show "arches", because they're not 2d cone technology. But, by the same token, you wouldn't see "picture like" images on a 2d sonar ... just "pixel blobs" of various shapes, that you'd have to (guess) interpret for yourself.

Like any other technological piece of machinery, one has to use it, study up on it, experiment with it, and discuss it with other owners in order to get the most out of it. That's exactly why I started this thread ... as I was a total newbie to color units, Down Imaging, GPS, and doing anything to a depth finder other than turning it on & letting it run (for the past 40yrs).

... cp