Well, a decision was made...

I did some research, asked questions, narrowed it down to a short list and decided to go to a retailer to put my hands on some sonar units to help make up my mind. In the end all me research was for nothing lol. I was let down to find out that the new Eagle units would not connect to my TM , or any TM for that matter. The lowrance Elite units were very nice but a different contender came into play when compared to the Elite 9 at the $999 mark. After a tutorial and help comparing the units by the staff I went with the one I never thought I would get.

Great choice…


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That’s a good one. I think you will be happy.

I feel good about it, but I have to admit I hope y'all are right lol. I really did not do any investigating into Garmin. The guy at the counter asked me if I was open to look at another unit at the same price as the Elite unit and I said yes and that was the one he showed me. After a few minutes with each one, I could start to see why the Garmins are so popular now. It seemed, at least to me, that it was a bit smoother and quicker between screens, and if the image on my boat is anywhere near as good as the display on simulation, then it will be leaps and bounds ahead of my Helix 7.

Gun ... Simulation mode is just a tutorial to show you what each choice does to the screen image. It's usually calibrated to give you the best images for each change you make. You'll have to dial in your unit to the prevailing conditions of the body of water you're on, and your choices may change during that trip or a trip to a different lake, or on a different day.

Best to take it on a "field trip" and just play around with the buttons to see what they do & what their effect is on the screen image. Take a note pad & pencil and document what looks best to you. Take the manual, too, so you can know what each button or combination of buttons is going to do ... and make note of which ones you'll likely use on a regular basis.

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Originally Posted by CrappiePappy

Gun ... Simulation mode is just a tutorial to show you what each choice does to the screen image. It's usually calibrated to give you the best images for each change you make. You'll have to dial in your unit to the prevailing conditions of the body of water you're on, and your choices may change during that trip or a trip to a different lake, or on a different day.

Best to take it on a "field trip" and just play around with the buttons to see what they do & what their effect is on the screen image. Take a note pad & pencil and document what looks best to you. Take the manual, too, so you can know what each button or combination of buttons is going to do ... and make note of which ones you'll likely use on a regular basis.

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It's funny that you mention these things, as the ease of doing just that on the Garmin is one of the factors that changed my mind, and a direct contradiction to a statement I made about a Garmin unit I had years back. On my HB unit I dreaded having to tweak it for a different set of conditions as it seemed to be so slow going through the menus. In comparison this unit, is as quick as my phone between menus and you can make small changes very quickly. I am hoping to get it installed in the next couple of days and get it on the water.

Congrats

I've been using lowrance touch screens for a good while. I've been thinking of adding a new screen to the bow, and the garmin is what ice kind of decided on also. I've used the echomap on friends boats, so I'm comfortable with it. I believe you made a great choice.

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Originally Posted by DWILL

I've been using lowrance touch screens for a good while. I've been thinking of adding a new screen to the bow, and the garmin is what ice kind of decided on also. I've used the echomap on friends boats, so I'm comfortable with it. I believe you made a great choice.

Sent from my SM-S908U1 using Crappie.com Fishing mobile app

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I was pretty set on a Lowrance because of my Motorguide, then read about some issues after some new updates. With that info in mind and after seeing the two side by side and then factoring in current sale prices at my local box store. I feel like I got a good deal and a unit that is just a tiny bit more user friendly. The Lowrance stuff was really nice and I don't think there is a bad decision between the two.

It's hard to go wrong with a Garmin Echomap these days.

Great choice on the Garmin unit.
I'm a Lowrance guy through and through but I added a Garmin 93sv along with Livescope to my boat last winter.
If either of my Lowrance HDS units die, I'll switch everything to Garmin. Very easy units to use and easy to set up.

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Originally Posted by crappiemax

Great choice on the Garmin unit.
I'm a Lowrance guy through and through but I added a Garmin 93sv along with Livescope to my boat last winter.
If either of my Lowrance HDS units die, I'll switch everything to Garmin. Very easy units to use and easy to set up.

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Just from my experience at the counter the Garmin Juuuust edged out the Lowrance for ease and fluidity between menus. I will say, had the Garmins not been on sale or had the Lowrance units had the same percentage markdowns, my decision very well may have gone the other way. As it is, I got a slightly larger screen and slightly better user interface on the 10 inch Garmin for the same money the 9 inch Elite would have cost me. I am very excited to get it on the water soon and see how it does for me in real life lol.

As others have said you made a good choice with the Garmin.

You chose well Grasshopper! I have a 9 and a 12" Garmin- wouldn't have anything else!

I have a few garmins and tweaking images between screens is really easy shortcuts to navigate options you can set up home keys to do different things as well as add different options to main screen or hide them. Some playing around some YouTube watching there are some good videos with lots of information to get it dialed in. If nothing else I’ve found default option on everything is a good place to start and can use it and never tweak any further until you are comfortable