Lowrance questions

[salmonhunter1]

Hello Tom,
I was wondering what lowrance gear you have on your boat.. I've know you have high end stuff but I'm thinking on the 7" screen gps/ fishfinder with side scan ( not sure how it works in saltwater but it looks cool). Plus radar and I'm thinking also getting there big VHF radio. I kinda like to keep the same.. Also if I remember correctly you also have weather on your units, does that work good for the puget sound and the straits.
If this sounds about right or if you have other suggestions please let me know.

[Nelly]

Hello Tom,
I was wondering what lowrance gear you have on your boat.. I've know you have high end stuff but I'm thinking on the 7" screen gps/ fishfinder with side scan ( not sure how it works in saltwater but it looks cool). Plus radar and I'm thinking also getting there big VHF radio. I kinda like to keep the same.. Also if I remember correctly you also have weather on your units, does that work good for the puget sound and the straits.
If this sounds about right or if you have other suggestions please let me know.

Hey SH, Welcome aboard and while I've been running Lowrance for years, I made the switch to Lowrance's "Big Brother" Simrad this season and couldn't be happier!
Simrad and Lowrance are part of the Navico family of fine marine electronics and if there is a better product out there, I sure haven't seen it!
My advice to you is to look into the Lorwrance HDS-7 Gen 2 or HDS-8 Gen 2. Also take a look at the new HDS 9 Gen 2 Touch. Here's a link to the factory site:
http://www.lowrance.com/en-US/

What you refer to as "side scan" is Structure Scan and it will really open your eyes to a whole wider view of the water column!

CHIRP (Concentrated High- Intensity Radar Pulse) sounding technology is also available through the Sonar Hub and has made my day more times than I can count this season by keeping me on the fish!

Adding a radar adds days to your fishing year by allowing you to safely navigate when other boats are lost in the fog! In addition, by using the Lowrance VHF and networking it to your main display unit, you can locate your fishing buddies that also have Lowrance/Simrad VHF radios. More inportantly, AIS (Automatic Identification System) information will be displayed on your chartplotter showing vessles equipped with AIS transmitters (ships, ferries, freighters etc.) which gives you even more collision -avoidance technology!

I do run Sirius satellite weather and it's kept me safe from a few lightning storms but my favorite aspect of the Sirius subscription is the music that comes in over my Sonic Hub Audio Server that keeps Great White a rockin' while we're fishing and no, salmon are not afraid of my subwoofer...

[salmonhunter1]

Thanks Tom,
Ill also check Simrad.

Ya I play Led Zep and Pink Floyd when I fish and I fell the fish like the music also cause I seem to always catch fish when its on.

[salmonhunter1]

Question about your fish finder sending unit. 1.are you using the factor sending unit or are you using an Armar unit. Also it seems the factor unit are using ( or selling) the 83/200 transducers are you using one of those or the normal 50/200.

[Nelly]

Hey SH,
I'm using the Airmar TM 260 which is a multi element transom mount 'ducer capable of pumping out 1000 watts.
The factory supplied transducers are fine but the Airmars are state of the art and really give you a super picture!

[StickySharp]

Tom,

Just to verify...the TM260 supports CHIRP?

Thanks - Dave

[Nelly]

Hey SS,
According to Gemenco (Airmar's USA transducer distributor) engineers, the TM260 does not support CHIRP. The TM260 is a 50 and 200 kHz ducer.

When you pick up a Sonic Hub which offers you Structure Scan as well as CHIRP, it comes supplied with a TM-150M which is a medium chirp 'ducer.

[salvelinus]

Nelly
You indicated that you run the airmar 260 utilizing chirp w/ your simrad...i have that ducer for a garmin system and it does not run chirp...which is it?

[Nelly]

Nelly
You indicated that you run the airmar 260 utilizing chirp w/ your simrad...i have that ducer for a garmin system and it does not run chirp...which is it?

Hey Sal,
Please see my response above; the TM 260 is a dual frequency (50 & 200 kHz) 'ducer and the TM 275 is a CHIRP ducer.
I've never operated or studied anything but a Simrad CHIRP unit so I cannot speak to issues with other brands.
Good luck!

[salvelinus]

Nel
I have no issues with Garmin electronics, in fact they work quite well out of the box and are very intuitive to use. As a ProStaffer, you should recognize that this fact alone should be a key selling point for the marine electronic industry. Marine electronics are an important tool but I would caution those that are actually paying for their electronics in today’s market that, just like every other gadget in society, they will be outdated by the time you get them installed our your boat. You do not really need $5-10k of garbage hanging off your boat when you can pull many a salmon in the PNW utilizing electronics that set you back less than a thousand bones. Tomorrow you will be able to purchase the next generation system that is offered for less money than you threw away on your Generation 59285 system IX that you have not even had time to install because you were too busy trying to keep up with the boat next to you that was pullin’ fish all day long with a 1975 era flasher unit that merely shows the depth and a little bait. Pretty soon we will be chasing blackmouth and any unit that provides a bottom signal will set you up. To Quote Gil Travis on the HullTruth “the most expensive and fancy gadgets still cant put fish in the box…its not rocket science, just fishing….keep it simple stupid.” I do not have any stickers on my boat, nor have a dog in the fight but would simply offer to provide some clarification to a few things on this thread that were confusing the picture and help out the fishing brethren pull a few fish. And BTW Nel, the size of fish in relation to run timing has little/nothing to do with their ability to swim faster, did you hear that at UW? You may want to ask your in-house Biologist about that statement.
Keep your worm wet.
edj