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Post by anyfish247 on Jan 16, 2013 10:24:41 GMT -5
I am looking to buy a new fishfinder I have saved for a while. Thinking of buying the lowrance HDS 12 or the Humminbird 1198. Any info. of yalls choice of which one. I'm looking for one to side scan & down scan. But I don't know if the humminbird 1198 does both without the 360 imaging. Any input out there would help even what yall have that is worth the money. But I don't want to small of a screen I can't see all that well. If you are reading this to Fishdoc or JD yall give me some info. too. I know one has a Humminbird &the other has a lowrance.
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Post by mwardncsu on Jan 16, 2013 11:07:26 GMT -5
JD's been MIA here for a long time - unfortunately for us all  The Humminbird 1198C SI will do side & down imaging without the 360 accessory. I think you have to have the latest "x98" series to use the new 360 accessory. That HDS12 Touch is a sweet unit. Built in StructureScan (although you do have to purchase the structurescan xducer separately, so make sure you either purchase a bundle that includes it or that you don't forget to order that too). One thing to think about with the Touch is I am curious to see how they work with gloves on your hands - probably have to take the gloves off of have a pair of those gloves that they cell for using your "smartphone" that have something on the finger tips. Both units do a good job - some say the Humminbird is easier to use, but with the Touch model on Lowrance, I think that's going to change. I fell the Lowrance has slightly better side/downscan imaging. My buddy that just got the HDS12 has moved over from a Humminbird 1197 to a HDS10 last year and adding the HDS12 this year (must be nice  ). I personally think the traditional sonar on the Lowrance is better than the Humminbird sonar. I will say that the old school LCX units may be even a little better with traditional sonar performance when looking for fish in trees, but the Lowrance does the job too - couple it with downscan and the fish will show. The Sidescan will really help you find the schools of fish as well. The Lowrance HDS system is a little more expandable with additional toys - Sirius Weather / Radio module, SonicHub stereo, radar, etc. The Humminbird, in addition to the 360 accessory which looks really cool (although pricey at $2K), also has integration now with the MinnKota iPilotLink so that you can tell the trolling motor to pull along certain depth curves, etc - however, in addition to the $800 iPilot Link, you also have to purchase a specific mapping card.... Lots of options to consider. Overall you'll find more striper guys using Lowrance on SML than Hummnbird, but I know some good striper fishermen in TN that use Humminbird and like them. Some got burned with Lorwrance on support issues a couple of years back, but seems they have really worked to improve their support and overall quality. |
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Post by maintenanceman4lif on Jan 16, 2013 11:50:30 GMT -5
I just got the Humminbird for christmas and love it so far for side and down imaging. Rode around one day and never dropped a rod playing with it. Never knew what I was missing till I got this.... Easy to operate.
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Post by Shadslinger on Jan 16, 2013 20:08:32 GMT -5
Im poor so I dont have either nor have ever seen either used.... ;D
What I can add is on the new touch screen use of phones and stuff while wearing gloves is that a cheap trick to keep from buying cell phone gloves or removing your gloves is to take a needle and thread and simply sew a X into your pointer finger, on the glove of course.
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Post by anyfish247 on Jan 16, 2013 21:50:56 GMT -5
Thanks for the replies. Give me more,give me more! Plus does anyone know where to get rebates or a good price on these units.
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Post by mwardncsu on Jan 16, 2013 22:34:07 GMT -5
Historically Lowrance has had rebates around mid-Feb. Usually a Cabelas or BassPro catalog will give it away early but not yet this year....
Check the local guys to see how good they can do on price - Ben McCall @ SML Electronics or Dewayne @ Captains Quarters or Jessie Saunders @ Saunders Sporting Goods. A reputable online dealers is BOE Marine and will generally be very close to the best price you'll find online.
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leeb
New Member
Posts: 198
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Post by leeb on Jan 16, 2013 22:42:57 GMT -5
Make sure you also compare vertical pixels. More pixels allows more information to be displayed on screen. Vertical pixels are more important than horizontal pixels.
I like my 798c si. You would have to get a 12 inch lowrance for more vertical pixels; however I feel lowrance provides better Di. the 798 i feel was intentionally limited by humminbird so people would by larger platforms. The larger units from humminbird have more power available to the transducer and have better di than the 798.
I have seen post on the Internet where people have rewired the lowrance transducers to work with the 1198. This provided for much clearer si and di. It looked to me from the screenshots that the humminbird provided better images than the lowrance.
I think I will be adding a lowrance elite 7 to have beside my 798 and us the lowrance for di and 2d then the humminbird for si and GPS.
I would really like the hds 12 touchscreen but have to many other wants for now. Maybe I could just sell my dirt bikes and my modis scan tool and get what I want.
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Post by mytoyzfishing on Jan 17, 2013 7:45:25 GMT -5
All depends on what you want to do with it. I have the 997c SI on the pontoon and HDS 5x on the bass boat that I wont be fishing out of any more. I like the mapping/gps and side imaging of the Humminbird and like the 2d of the HDS's. Depending on what happens with the bass boat I might strip it down and put the HDS5x on the pontoon next to the 997.
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Post by mytoyzfishing on Jan 17, 2013 7:46:42 GMT -5
Depending on what unit you go with you can also check out Sportsman's guide. They have some pretty good prices but dont always have all the models in stock. And of course all the local guys which have already mentioned.
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Post by mwardncsu on Jan 17, 2013 9:56:33 GMT -5
BTW, my buddy mentioned above that is moving to the HDS12 has a Humminbird 1197 for sale if you're interested.... not the latest model (can't use the new 360 accessory, etc)..... but has the si/di imaging, etc.
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Post by anyfish247 on Jan 18, 2013 10:00:49 GMT -5
Thank yall for the info. & thanks for the offer on the 1197 fishfinder,but if I got a hummingbird I want it to work with the 360 imaging. One more question if anyone has one of these units would you be willing to take me out on a trip to show me it would help make my decision easier. I would help pay on the trip we could fish for anything or nothing at all doesn't matter to me
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Post by mytoyzfishing on Jan 18, 2013 12:44:36 GMT -5
Id be willing to take you out and show you my 997c si.
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Post by tommy1 on Jan 18, 2013 21:41:24 GMT -5
Question is would the new Elite -7-HDI Lowrance show the bridge like Bent Rods finder  ? We are looking to up grade and that is in our price range. Thanks.. hope this isn't a high jack.. |
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Post by anyfish247 on Jan 20, 2013 22:14:23 GMT -5
Hey Mytoyzfishing send me a email with your phone #. I would like to go out & see what the 997 is like. I'm sure it's pretty close graphics to the 1198. Thanks
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). I personally think the traditional sonar on the Lowrance is better than the Humminbird sonar. I will say that the old school LCX units may be even a little better with traditional sonar performance when looking for fish in trees, but the Lowrance does the job too - couple it with downscan and the fish will show. The Sidescan will really help you find the schools of fish as well.
? We are looking to up grade and that is in our price range. Thanks.. hope this isn't a high jack..