lowrance

That's what I put in my new boat this spring. Took until the middle of August to get it working properly. I used three different units to get one that worked.  All I heard from my dealership was " mail the one you have back to me and I'll send you a new one that I downloaded the updates to, tried it out in my office and worked great" Needless to say it was cluster, GPS wouldn't stay locked on was 99.9 % of the problem. Customer service from dealership wasn't that great.  It was a pain until I kept two units and wouldn't mail them back.  They called and said "I haven't received the unit you mailed me"  I had to go as far as telling them I'm going to keep these two units until I get a unit that worked. Wouldn't you guess, the next unit in the mail worked great...they must have really wanted those other two units back.  I'd go weekends without a depth finder of my boat. Really sucked because the whole boat was brand new and I spent that money on a new Depth Finder/GPS and there I was fishing with nothing.  Worked great into the fall, will be interesting to see how it acts in the spring.  Would I recommend a HDS unit....NO!!!  Maybe I had bad luck, but if that is the case, I know a lot of other guys that bought them and they had the same luck I did.

hey labman were u using the internal gps antenna or a external? just curious if that makes a difference.

I use an HDS 5 with an external and internal GPS antenna. Never had a problem with my unit after installing the update. Never fished it without the update however. I LOVE the unit. Better than the previous Lowrance that I had. I don't think you can go wrong with one of these units!

I've got a 2330 and an LMS 350.  It's all about electronics you trust.  There is no such thing as an upgrade these days.  What ever happened to Genetron?

I bought the HDS5 this summer and have had no problems with it. I really like it and with it being my first gps unit it has really helped my muskie fishing. I have heard of problems with them too, but I think those were prior to the last updates.

I also ran into some bad luck this last spring with Lowrance. I needed two transducers, called everywhere from Bismarck to Fargo and nothing. Called lowrance, said they would ship them out right away. This was the beginning of April. Two weeks went by and nothing . Called them again, now all of a sudden they are on back order. I finally got them at the end of June. It was hard fishing the old fashion way without electronics for those couple of months. Anyway,  If any of you need transducers I would suggest ordering now!

I run a HDS 10, and HD5x.. These units are amazing by themselves, better color more sensisitve and the internal broadband sounder, and GPS work very well. I have now added the structurescan imaging, both with downscan and side imaging. I have had no problems and very easy install, and software update.  Truly amazing stuff!! best money I have spent yet!!

I read your comments on hds5-I am on my 3rd new unit-after working fine for 2-3 months screen locks up in mass of vertical  lines and depth changes to 3 horizontal bars-have changed new transducer and new power cable-lowrance service tecs have no clue?  I would really appreciate any ideas-I am completely frustrated-If you have any thoughts, could you email me direct-I REALLY NEED HELP-thanks "garythegrocer@yahoo.com"

I will never own one of their units again.  Mine went bad the following year I bought it.  Was told, so sorry, we won't fix it.  Old model, buy a new one.  Well, BULL-SHOOT... 1 year old, have 900 in it, and they won't even look at it?  NEVER-NEVER-NEVER again with this brand.  Period.  Buy a different brand.  Most companies will honor their products.

I had the vertical lines with my HDS-5, took it to scheels on the 4th of july, they boxed it up, over a year after I bought it, as i bought it early june 2009, they sent it to Lowrance, 10 days later my phone rang, the Scheels hand said my depth finder was in. $5 bucks for shipping was all it cost me for a brand new unit. I will continue to choose scheels and lowrance, as they have both shown me SUPERIOR customer support.

Stay away, way to many folks I know have had theirs go to hell no matter if its a 5, 7 or 10 just this summer. Watched my buddy pour water out of his HDS10 after the all day rain in the classic last friday. Said the screen started spinning like a slot machine...nice. Starting to see folks going the Humminbird route now, have to see how that works out.
For the money they cost the quality should be allot better in my opinion.

The bugs were worked out for the most part in the HDS line with the most recent updates. As for the waterproof integrity of the unit, that appears to be a hit and miss issue mostly with the early models.

The Humm'rs are solid, very low return rate or warranty issues seen in this new line.

The Humminbird 788Ci is a darn good value and a solid sonar/gps unit. The 798C, even better if you need the side imagery, great unit.

The newest Updates for both the HDS and for the Hummr's are on hand at the Fargo Gander Mountain store if you need them. They will update them on the spot for you after the purchase.

If your open for another option, I recommend you look at the Garmin GPSMAP 536s Sounder Marine GPS with Dual Beam Transducer.

www.youtube.com/watch

Talked with a buddy who had water issues with his.  They didn't have a seal!!!

That issue has been resolved.  Not sure if it was a isolated incident or what.  Regardless, if you are an HDS owner I would strongly suggest you contact Lowrance and tell them you are concerned about the water and screen issue.

Backwater Eddy Said:

If your open for another option, I recommend you look at the Garmin GPSMAP 536s Sounder Marine GPS with Dual Beam Transducer.

www.youtube.com/watch

Eddy, how good are those Garmin units? I'll be getting GPS/Sonar unit next spring and have been doing some research. Like many others have said, have heard bad things about Lowrance support & quality (recently). I've been leaning towards the 'birds, but have been trying to do some research about the Garmin units. But there is very little information out there....so give us some details.