Need help with a new gps + ff !!

I had an old gps that had died and never had a FF and GPS together SO

I will be using this on the front of my boat for trolling, spider rigging, and what ever .with the transducer on the trolling motor.

I know everyone likes some better that others and I ain't stuck on this one or and Brand or model but I just don't know nutin bout the new stuff and don't want to buy one and then a week or two later hear from every one that man you should not have got that one !!


I have been looking at the Lowrance elete 5 DSI and I know nutin bout them and nutin bout the SD cards but I called the factory outlet today (anyone ordered from them??)and they could not tell me If it came with a transducer cauce in the reading bout features nothing about a transducer like some other models do,,, or if the temp guage was in the transducer ??

All I know is I been told to get at least 480X480 pixels and I want to be able to have a split screen with FishFinder on one side and GPS on the other side, water temp, with mic SD cards capable and color cause I never had a color one does it make that much difference ??.

PLEASE help if you have one of these units tell me about it
AND what other units are out there that you all know about that is as good as this one mabe for a little less $$

Thanks for any help

First I would never buy from the factory outlet. They are not associated with either mfg.
Look else where but before you buy be sure to contct Brian @ BBG Marine. He's very knowlgable and has great prices.

Personally I like Lowrance HDS units and would recommend them to others. Others like the Bird units just as well. Both companies make good units.
One thing for sure is to buy the biggest screen you can afford. Once you get to chasing your waypoints across your screen you'll understand what I'm talking about. Virtually every one I talked to said the samething to me last year when I was looking and I'm glad I listened.
Of course the SI/DI units are more expensive but you won't regret it once you start to learn it.

Good luck with your decision.

Thanks crappie max,,, That is some of the stuff I need to know. the people I talked to at the factory outlet acted like they were in a hurry and were not able to tell me if the temp sensor was built in the transducer or if the unit even came with one.

I read about the different models and some said they came with a transducer and other models did not mention comming with one. They told me to call Lowrance and I did but the guy I talked to was in a hurry also and just kept stating the features and calling them by the short cut names and letters that I had no idea what they were. So I still keep trying to fugure out which one to get..

"Look else where but before you buy be sure to contct Brian @ BBG Marine. He's very knowlgable and has great prices."

X2

Brian has offered many good prices on great gear, worth a phone call. I have older stuff but my GPS saved my bacon last summer while night fishing and the fog covered me up. Worth every nickel. Personally I like the imaging on Lowrance stuff but HB is a bit easier on the wallet. Not sure of which way I will go when I upgrade, but If I'm doing it once I'm doing it right and I think I would go with Lowrance. My current Lowrance does a fine job.

If ya get on these boards you will find 100 guys to tell you each brand is the better choice than the other so it's really up to you to figure out what you are looking for and how much money you're willing to spend.
All this new stuff was really confusing to me at 1st but the more I looked at it, the more I liked it. DI units are pretty cool but if you have the means I would also look into SI as well. I figured it all has a learning curve and like you said I didn't want to have regrets 3 months later so I opted to go all out. I have no regrets and the more I use it, the more I understand and like the units. I liked it so Much I added a 2nd unit this year.
On lowrance most of the transducers have temp sencers built into them. I know some people have through hull transducers mounted inside their hulls and some of those models will have external leads with temp sensors.

Yes that was why I wanted to find out if the temp sensor was in the transducer and if I needed to order it that way, cause I want it mounted on the trolling motor and did not want to have two cables running down the shaft.


I will try and give Brian a call. Thanks for the info on Brian and all of you guys for the info.

The more info I get and figure out will help make my mind.

If the interest is just 2d and GPS... Brand is a tossup...

If the interest is moving into DI...the HB units have 2d in addition to the DI and GPS... Where the Lowrance DI units are GPS/DI only...

Some find DI as a "replacement" for 2d...
Some find DI as a "compliment" to 2d...

Rickie