Hi Jersey

are you looking at the Lowrance HDS 5? if you are the 50/200khz transducer is an additional $250-$300 on top of the unit price. The 50/200khz will give you a larger search area as the 50khz beam/ sound echoes are wider. The 83khz beam from my understanding is better suited to inshore use.

HTH

Ben  

Hi Jersey, was in at BIAS in Claremont getting the lowdown on the HDS-5x myself the other day.

Basically in a nutshell they told me that 50/200khz is for deepwater use. The 200khz part would be fine for depths right up to 100m, then the 50khz part would be good for deeper.

Now this is the strange part they said that for the 83/200khz that the 200khz part would preform the same function as the other, but that the 83khz is more suited to shallow water in creeks and rivers for example. Apparently it has something to do with the shape the sonar signal is at different depths. The idea that a sonar signal goes down in a cone shape is only ture for some khz signals apparently. The 83khz would help sound out to the sides a bit better, rather than in a narrow beam directly below the boat as the 50khz would do in deep water.

So for me, never really going deeper than 80m (occasionally 120m), and doing alot of inshore and creek/river work i have settled on the 83/200khz. Plus the transducer unit is half the size so wouldnt be as massive hanging out the back of my tinnie.

Hope this helps you.

Buzz and Wanderer for the information,you both explained it far more understandable foe me,a dumb bastard,than I have been able to get from the experts that sell them.Thank you once again and good fishing.jersey

my humminbird as a 83/200 for the standard 2D sounder component. as Buz says it helps with the edge of the beam definition. The side imaging is 455. This is a very narrow vertical beam that requires advanced processing capability so the transducer is large accordingly.

these units have a menu option for freshwater, inshore and offshore environments

jersey from what i have read in lowrance setup the standard 200 hz is suitable up to 100 mts and then recomended to change to 50 HZ for deeper , the only thing changeing is the cone angle and the frequency but if you fish regularily in say 50- 70 mts the cone angle/frequency on the 200 hz isnt as defined in the return signal so an improved 83 hz fills the gap from shallow to deep water soundings

the 200/50 khz is $50 more than the 83/200 due to the bigger transducer. i can get a detailed image of the bottom on 200khz in 200 metres of water. saying that it is searching a very wide area hence the 50khz with the narrower cone will let you know what is directly below the boat. the 83/200 will suit your fishing depths perfect.

For the comments and thoughtful appraisals of the different trannies,I will go for the 83/200 I think but i appreciate the input from you all.Good luck to those of you in the Blue water classic.Jersey