Post by: kbyers on July 16, 2011, 10:42:42 AM
Post by: cohoho on July 16, 2011, 11:24:49 AM
Post by: kbyers on July 16, 2011, 01:00:54 PM
Post by: cohoho on July 16, 2011, 02:25:10 PM
Post by: BLUEBULLS on July 16, 2011, 02:49:30 PM
Post by: Goomsba on July 16, 2011, 02:56:51 PM
Post by: longknife on July 16, 2011, 04:00:55 PM
Post by: Wacenturion on July 16, 2011, 04:47:17 PM
I know this is probably a Ford v Chevy thing but I am trying to make a decision between the 2. I am looking at the 798ci HD SI Combo humminbird and the HDS 5 Lowrance. I have always had Lowrance but for the price it looks as though the Humminbird has more features. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated. Thanks guys
More features.....yeah....like side imaging. You can get that with the Lowrance by adding the black box for $600 more.
Even if they were the same features and same cost, just google customer service on both. That by itself should convince you to avoid Lowrance. :twocents:
Post by: Wacenturion on July 16, 2011, 04:48:35 PM
I looked at that model but I am not sure that I will like only having the down imaging and no sonar. One thing that I noticed is that with humminbird is that the units are not expandable like the lowrance units are. And the Lowrance are initially cheaper but more expensive to add the down or side imaging.
Humminbird has sonar, side imaging and down imaging all in one. Not sure where you are getting your information.
Humminbird units are just as expandable as Lowrance with the newer units having Ethernet ports.
In fact new Humminbird products for 2012 include radar for one that connects to units with Ethernet capability.
Post by: MtnMuley on July 16, 2011, 10:02:12 PM
Post by: PolarBear on July 16, 2011, 10:15:40 PM
Post by: lokidog on July 16, 2011, 11:50:25 PM
Customer service is much better if needed. I have a Lowrance GPS (GlobalMap) and a Humminbird FF/GPS.
Post by: kbyers on July 17, 2011, 07:03:17 AM
Humminbird has sonar, side imaging and down imaging all in one. Not sure where you are getting your information.
Sorry I should have been more clear. For a couple hundred dollars more initially for the Humminbird model you get the side and down scan, a feature which I would have to pay 600 bucks to add to the Lowrance. But if I dont buy a Humminbird with side scan or down scan I can not add it down the road. Is that not correct?
Post by: Wacenturion on July 17, 2011, 11:45:19 AM
If like me you have a 798c si that is a year or two old without the Ethernet and without down imaging, it is merely a free download off of the Humminbird site to an SD card then inset and upgrade the unit to add the DI.
Older units without SI cannot be upgraded to either....just the side imaging units.
Here's some spec's on the Lowrance HDS5
# Built-in Broadband Sounder
# Internal 16-channel GPS+WAAS (GPS+EGNOS+MSAS for non-Americas) Antenna
# Brilliant, New 5"/12.7 cm SolarMAX™ Plus Display
# Built-in High-Definition Insight™ Mapping Options (Americas) or Navionics World Background map (non-Americas)
# Largest Selection of Chartcard Options Including Navionics® Platinum+ with TurboView™
# SIRIUS Satellite Weather and Stereo-Quality Radio Capability (Americas)
# Ethernetworks and NMEA 2000® Performance Networking Options
# Expanded New 2-Year Limited Warranty
On the Humminbird 798ci HD
Display
* 5.0" diagonal
* 640V x 640H
* 256 Color TFT
Cartography
* Navionics Compatible
* LakeMaster Compatible
Memory
* Waypoints: 3,000
* Routes: 50
* Tracks: 50 w/20,000 points each
Sonar
DualBeam PLUS
* 200 kHz / 20° @ -10db
* 83 kHz / 60° @ -10db
* Depth: 1500 ft.
Side Imaging/Down Imaging
* 455 kHz / (2) 86° @ -10db
* Max Depth: 100 ft.
180° total coverage
Power Output
* 500 Watts (RMS)
* 4000 Watts (Peak-to-Peak)
GPS Features
* 50 Channel GPS
* Trackplotting
* Chartplotting
* GPS Speed
* Humminbird ContourXD™
Network Modules
* Ethernet (optional)
* Satellite Weather (optional)
* WeatherSense™ (optional)
* Wireless Sonar Link (optional)
* Cannon® CannonLink (optional)
* InterLink™ (optional)
Difference....
Lowrance 16 channel GPS....Humminbird 50 channel GPS
Pixel strength....Lowrance 480x480 Hummingbird 640 x 640 (much clearer)
Price...
Lowrance HDS5..$1300 plus or minus depending on combo pkg.
Humminbird 798ci HD....$1049
Save yourself at least $150.
Last but not least....Humminbird customer service trumps all. Hope the above helps.
Post by: kbyers on July 17, 2011, 11:50:03 AM
Post by: cohoho on July 18, 2011, 10:17:25 PM
Post by: C-Money on July 19, 2011, 05:45:38 AM
Post by: trippledigitss on July 19, 2011, 09:11:06 AM
Post by: PolarBear on July 19, 2011, 09:40:14 AM
Post by: Wacenturion on July 19, 2011, 10:30:22 AM
In all honesty, both are great units from great companies. Just go to a store, play with both and whichever jumps out at you buy it.
Agree to a point...both are great units. Becomes a personal choice as far as features, looks etc. However if the unit stops working, then customer service is paramount. Again that's where Lowrance falls down.
I took the following off another board that I remembered from a couple months ago. Notice all three support numbers for customer service are the same. Navico is an off shore company that bought out Lowrance. That's about when their customer service went even further south. The following information would be enough to make me avoid buying anything from Lowrance. For what it's worth.
From another forum...............
Navico is Lowrance Simrad. and Northstar. All the same support.
Crappy. And garmin in no better. Stay with Furuno.
I googled each brand. and looked up thier support number
here is what I found.
Simrad 1-800-628-4487
Lowrance 1-800-628-4487
Northstar 1-800-628-4487.