Humminbird Sonar?

[MNBIGBEAR]

I put a similar post on the expert forum and I'm pretty much hearin crickets. Just thought I would check with my local guys to see if you could help me out. I think I am going to get a new Humminbird sonar/GPS. I like the looks of the 900 series but am not sure of which one to get. Is the side imaging sonar or 3D sonar worth the extra bucks or is the 2-D still the way to go?

Also on that note...Anyone have an idea of what a good asking price for a Lowrance LMS-240 with GPS antenna, swivel mount and speed sensor would be?

Thank you in advance for any advice.

[Cliff Wagenbach]

MnBigBear,

Sorry but I have not used the 3-D type of sonars or been in a boat that has it.

My son had a Humminbird reg. sonar for a while and had good luck with it.(Went back to a Lowrance though!)

No idia what the Lowrance 240 is worth either!

You should be able to get around 1/2 of it's original value if it is in very good condition I would think.

Cliff

[heartattack22]

I have not used the Hummingbird units yet...the new Greenwood Fire Boat has it on it for looking for drowning victims. Its supposed to be the cats meow. We have to wait for the water to get soft again before we can see.

[mrwalleye_13]

I read a whole bunch of crap on it and looked at a bunch or screen shots users had shown i dont remember where it was but I want it... Side imaging looks awesome but personally i will be waiting for college to end... by then they should have it perfected and awesome...

[MNBIGBEAR]

I went to the humminbird website and looked at the images of the side imaging sonar there. Really impressive as far as picking up individual pieces of structure on the bottom. The only part that seemed a little tough to me was actually seeing the fish. The had images pointing out what were fish and I thought it was still tough to make them out. For now I think I am going to stick with the 2-D sonar. Humminbird is boasting that it can pick up a 1/4 oz jig down to 70ft or something. That works for me. Any of you guys used the navionics platinum chip yet?

[taw]

MNBear,

Humminbird Side scanning technology is amazing and works great in the following situations. Open water searching for baitfish, looking for hard to soft bottom transition zones, areas where wood or other objects are present but below the water surface and in areas where weedlines are well defined with many cuts and points you cannot see without a side scanning option. The readout is quite different then traditional sonar and will take some time to get used to. The units have 2D sonar built in so you can visualize what the side scanner is showing you in 2D at the same time. You can see out each side of the boat up to 240 feet and see down to 150' in depth. The 900 series side scanner now runs 2 frequencies 455 khz for wider search and less definition, and 600 khz for higher definition. The unit has an eight inch screen with 480 vertical and 854 horizontal pixels. It comes with a 16 channel GPS included and optional NVB package where you get all of the continental US Navionics chips for $200.00 built in and updateable. This is a top of the line sonar which I personally rank as one of the best units on the market regardless of brand and I own 4 brands of sonar currently.

3D sonar is another option but is basically designed for near shore saltwater applications in the south. The unit is quite easily fooled by weedgrowth and other objects present in the water. I am not a big fan of this type of sonar.

[heartattack22]

One big use of it as far as on the Greenwood Fireboat is locating drowning victims.

[MNBIGBEAR]

I can see a definite value to the side scanning sonar in that arena. personally, I am going to have to do some more research on em. I would love to see one in action.

[Scott M]

I just saw a Hummingbird info-mercial with Uncle Al and Teddy Tak. Wow, that looks like some cool beans. Side imaging and GPS and traditional down viewing sonar. What else will they come up with? I better not ask because they will think of something. How much do one of those units cost?

I won't be getting this stuff for years (when I can afford a decent boat) but it looks cool. Hopefully they will have it perfected and will improve target identification for fish. I can see how interpreting that can be difficult.