Furuno v's Lowrance ?
Hi guys,
Have been looking at a few sounders combos and have thinned it down to the Furuno 1670F combo or the Lowrance HDS-5 or 7 combo.
Does anyone have any direct feedback on the Furuno combo, fitted on board your own boat or been on a rig that does ?
http://www.furuno.com.au/products/viewProduct/product/26/158
Will be used for the 20-60m's along the west coast and a bit deeper down Albany way or up Exmouth at times.
My only concern with the Furuno unit would be the inbuilt GPS antenna. It's to go into a 4.5m tinny tiller and would be planning to mount it hard up under the side decks within an Ali case to keep it out of the salt spray/splashes. Would this block the GPS side of things or is there an external aerial lead ?
Have read plenty about the HDS Gen 2 units and it would just be a matter of sizing up the 5 and 7 for best fit if was to go down the Lowrance path.
Thanks guys
Matt
dodgy
Posts: 4565
Date Joined: 01/02/10
One is a toy and one is a
One is a toy and one is a tool. Sounder is better on the Furuno but the charts and plotter is easier to use on the Lowrance.
Does anyone know where the love of god goes, when the waves turn the minutes to hours?
lame
Posts: 315
Date Joined: 20/01/10
you can get external
you can get external antenna's if your worried about signal strength
generally speaking on my different make is just takes a bit longer to pick up a satalite when fired up but fine there after
pale ale
Posts: 1755
Date Joined: 02/01/10
HDS5 is a very small screen
HDS5 is a very small screen and you would not get to use it as a combo with GPS and sounder at same time.
troy fuller
Posts: 411
Date Joined: 30/08/10
Would t use a 5 as a
Would t use a 5 as a combo
mate has a older furuno that I reckon shits over the hds 8-10 that my old man has, furuno for a sounder hds for a plotter
sea-kem
Posts: 14877
Date Joined: 30/11/09
Yep, that's the setup I have
Yep, that's the setup I have Troy 585 sounder and HDS 9 as my plotter. Bloody awesome!
Love the West!
fisho-ron
Posts: 2539
Date Joined: 26/09/09
arhh yes, maybe???but that
arhh yes, maybe???
but that hds 10 also got you your 2 biggest dhuys!!! so cant be 2 bad eh??
love my hds, but if i ever upgrade again it will be to a furuno sounder....just bigger!!
bolts
Posts: 150
Date Joined: 20/07/05
Go the furuno, I've just
Go the furuno, I've just installed the same unit but just the chartplotter in my boat, very happy with the unit it's fast on redraw and picking up saterlites, can hold 30,000 waypoints nothing else can compare. Only negative if it bothers u, can only run c-map 4d charts. After speaking with serveral stores round perth most furuno products have never came back to the store for repairs ect. And that was spanning 18 years at one store, furuno products speak for themselves not marketing campaigns.
Cheers bolts
beau
Posts: 4104
Date Joined: 24/01/10
I use a HDS5 as a combo on
I use a HDS5 as a combo on our boat it doesnt stop us catching fish..
slugger
Posts: 156
Date Joined: 17/02/11
Built in antenna
not sure about the hds5, but i put the hds 7 plotter in recently which also has built in antenna
this sits under ali hard top and thanks to tips from guys on here, works a treat without needing external aerial
i use the hds 7 just as a plotter, and agree with others the 5 will be way too small as combo
mattgreen
Posts: 40
Date Joined: 14/02/11
Hi Slugger, What was the
Hi Slugger,
What was the secret in getting good signal under the hardtop ?
Thanks
slugger
Posts: 156
Date Joined: 17/02/11
Matt, no real secret
slightly angled the unit so the antenna receival points slightly towards the windscreen.
when i spoke to the lowrance tech guys, that said they very rarely hear of people needing a roof antenna, but i thought i would try it first without, and although i was a bit dubious, many others said they had no problems and so far mine works a treat
mattgreen
Posts: 40
Date Joined: 14/02/11
cheers
Cheers for the response guys.
I would love to run individual finder and plotter and if I was running a centre console I would be, but just not enough room in an open tiller for how I want to set things up.
After having a bit of a look today, the HDS5 will be a tad to small for my liking if splitting equal screens. I think the previous Furuno model would aslo be too small as well, but will try and see one in the flesh next few days to confirm.
So its possibly the Furuno 1870F - http://www.furuno.com.au/products/viewProduct/product/26/159
or the Lowrance HDS 7 - http://www.bcf.com.au/online-store/products/Lowrance-HDS-7-Gen2-Combo.aspx?pid=321753&menuFrom=571545#Cross
Are there any negatives with the C-Map 4D charts required for the Furuno v's the navionics cards ?
Has anyone had any faults with their HDS7 units ?
Thanks
Matt
cruisecraft02
Posts: 62
Date Joined: 28/04/13
furuno
hi mattgreen just replaced my old 1650f with the 1670f very happy with it got it from the states at wmj marine.mainly use it as a sounder as i already have gps great backup though
Jackfrost80
Posts: 8058
Date Joined: 07/05/12
Bumping an old thread.I
Bumping an old thread.
I replaced one piece of crud Humminbird unit with a Furuno 627 and I am now looking at replacing my other piece of crud Humminbird unit that I use as a plotter. Space is pretty tight so I've been looking at the 1670f or the Lowrance HDS 5 with the advantage of the 1670 being that waypoints will transfer straight across from the 627. Are the Lowrance plotters that much better than the Furunos and in regard to mapping is Cmap the red headed cousin of Navionics?
Officially off the Pies bandwagon
Stevo81
Posts: 1278
Date Joined: 16/04/12
I have c-mapNT+ on my Furuno
I have c-mapNT+ on my Furuno VX2. It has no where near the detail of navionics. I use my iPad with navionics app too so get to compare the two often and always notice the lack of detail on the c-map.
C-map do have updated charts that aren't compatible with my Furuno unit so I assume they would be better. I had a HDS10 on my old boat with navionics and it was much better too.
Eventually I intend to get HDS12 to use purely as a plotter and the Furuno as a stand alone sounder.
•••••••• Electrical Contractor NOR ••••••••
Tim
Posts: 2497
Date Joined: 26/09/06
Navionics
dodgy
Posts: 4565
Date Joined: 01/02/10
Seems like whitworths did
Seems like whitworths did have a point. Just the bluntness hurt your feelings....
I find lowrance much easier to use than Furuno as a plotter.
Does anyone know where the love of god goes, when the waves turn the minutes to hours?
Jackfrost80
Posts: 8058
Date Joined: 07/05/12
I am a sensitive boy at
I am a sensitive boy at heart. Cheers mate, I think the fact that Furuno only take Cmap is a deal killer for me anyway.
Officially off the Pies bandwagon
dodgy
Posts: 4565
Date Joined: 01/02/10
Saying that I will be
Saying that I will be swapping to the Maxsea system once funds (and dashspace) allow.
Does anyone know where the love of god goes, when the waves turn the minutes to hours?
Tim
Posts: 2497
Date Joined: 26/09/06
Good
Deckie
Posts: 1297
Date Joined: 03/04/09
Lowrance
Hi Matt I have a Lowrance Elite5 Chirp Combo in my 4.2m Tinny.
I find it good as there is not much spare space in a tinny.
It has the adaptor socket for the external antenna if you so desire.
Perhaps a PVC or some kind of plastic cover would be better than aluminium if you are concerned about losing signal.
Cheers & Stay safe
Starbug
Posts: 563
Date Joined: 27/08/09
Will a hard top reduce your
Will a hard top reduce your signal= Yes
Will a aluminium cover reduce your signal= yes
Do you need an external antena= Maybe
Back to basics. You are recieving a radio signal from an orbiting satelite. Distance, atmosphere, Clouds, rain, trees, terain, and the hardtop all will take their toll on the signal level recieved. With a reduction of signal recieved you will pick up less satelites, and the ones picked up will take longer to lock. End result is on a overcast rainy day or if you are up a river with a lot of overhanging trees you may find you cant pick up a signal or your accuracy is reduced.
If I was installing it, I would velcro/ double side tape it in place and see how it performed in various positions, keeping the option of an external antena as a plan "B"
Download the app "GPS Test" onto your phone, run it an look at the GPS signal recieved in various positions. It may help you decide on a position.
Willlo
Posts: 1490
Date Joined: 07/10/11
I have a hds 5 that i use
I have a hds 5 that i use under an ally hardtop and have never had a problem with it,that combined with a furuno 585 has been the best setup i have ever used. Whateva combo you go with make sure the screen is big enough so when you split it it doesnt look like you r looking at a 3inch screen for a combo i wouldnt buy anything less than an 8 or 10 inch screen.
Call Sign - BZ785
Haynes Hunter Prowler CC
Jackfrost80
Posts: 8058
Date Joined: 07/05/12
Hva you hooked them up to get
Hva you hooked them up to get GPS on the Furuno and depth on the Lowrance?
Officially off the Pies bandwagon
Willlo
Posts: 1490
Date Joined: 07/10/11
Nah jack , i didnt think it
Nah jack , i didnt think it was worth it as i think the furuno can only store 25 or so gps marks. I use the KISS principle mate Keep it simple stupid lol. Ive used this combo for years and it works great for me, the lowrance is solely a gps and as my eyesight isnt as good as it was the only change i would make would be to get a larger screen for the gps maybe a 7 or 8 inch , but still a lowrance as i reckon they still make the best gps.
Call Sign - BZ785
Haynes Hunter Prowler CC
Jackfrost80
Posts: 8058
Date Joined: 07/05/12
Cheers mate. I was finally
Cheers mate. I was finally able to connect my Humminbird GPS to my Furuno this morning so I'll hang onto it now until I feel the need to upgrade to a bigger screen.
I just find that while trolling, once I hit the mark button I am already well past the spot and it'd be great to be able to mark prime lumps etc without having to follow my track until I find it later. Obviously I'd have to input these across manually but it'd be a worthy exercise while covering a lot of ground for Macks and tuna especially as I am very light on for good spots atm
Officially off the Pies bandwagon
Subaquatic
Posts: 515
Date Joined: 23/04/11
I have a HDS7 Gen 1, never
I have a HDS7 Gen 1, never had a problem in 320 hours of use (as per the lowrance log ;-) )
I upgraded to the HDS7 Gen3 last year, and I have had nothing but problems. bugs, crashes, lockups, touch screen lockouts etc......
Wish I had gone with something else.
I still have the Gen 1, and linked them together, using the Gen1 as my sounder, and Gen3 as the plotter (when it works)
holth
Posts: 812
Date Joined: 09/10/06
Have a gen 1 lowrance gps.
Have a gen 1 lowrance gps. Great unit , never had a problem other than it being so slow to process .