new gps ...furuno or lowrance ??
ok , so my gps units could do with an upgrade
currently I am running two ,,original is a Furuno ,with about 800 + waypoints still works well , but id like to have a bigger screen , colour etc and upgrade it as the screen lettering is starting to fade
second unit I acquired a few years ago with a boat buy is a hummingbird , its colour and works well ,has about 675 waypoints on it
so I have always had good life with no hassles from the Furuno , so I was thinking to upgrade with Furuno … it will likely be a gps, sounder combo … but ill only be wanting to run it as a full gps as I have a good Furuno 620fcv, with a 2kw transducer that does all I need
so talking to a few peeps , some are advising to go with Lowrance ? , as Furuno are exy and Lowrance will be better value and make better gps ??
to date iv not done a lot of research , been too busy ……
so who runs what and why ?? looking for feedback on the both as just gps units ??
price range is around the 2-2.5 k mark ?
what peoples thoughs on either ? have you got either and what are the differences for the gurus to chime in with ??
hezzy
OFW 11
evil flourishes when good men do nothing
Tim
Posts: 2497
Date Joined: 26/09/06
Size
How big a screen do you want? Would a Gp-1971F work?
hezzy
Posts: 1519
Date Joined: 27/11/09
that's about the size id be
that's about the size id be wanting tim yeh
OFW 11
evil flourishes when good men do nothing
Tim
Posts: 2497
Date Joined: 26/09/06
Setup
Would make a good setup and fits in your budget.
Compatible with your sounder too which allows for backup.
Jackfrost80
Posts: 8050
Date Joined: 07/05/12
I run a HDS7 Gen 3 next to my
I run a HDS7 Gen 3 next to my Furuno as a dedicated plotter and I love it. Touch screen plus hard buttons and very easy to use to toggle through the menu options. BCF had the HDS7 Carbon for $1119 last week.
Downside is the your 620 won't send waypoints to the Lowrance without installing a Markfish
Officially off the Pies bandwagon
Jarryd87
Posts: 43
Date Joined: 15/09/15
Simrad
Hi hezzy
I have a simrad nss7 with a FCV588 and it’s great, easy to use. I got it as a gps but put a p66 on it for track back to mark spots instead of setting up a mark fish. You cans still use all the lowrance accessories with the simrad aswell
Jarryd87
Posts: 43
Date Joined: 15/09/15
.
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Wrighty4one9er
Posts: 75
Date Joined: 22/07/10
Check out the Raymarine
Check out the Raymarine Axioms. i have had mine for 6 months now and loving it
sea-kem
Posts: 14857
Date Joined: 30/11/09
Lowrance all the way for me
Lowrance all the way for me for GPS, way to user friendly.
Love the West!
hezzy
Posts: 1519
Date Joined: 27/11/09
which model do you have
which model do you have andrew ?
furuno historically have had the better quality electronics imo , but lowrance do seem to have easy functionality
im also interested if i can sinc my 620fcv in to a new furuno combo ?
hoping to catch a tech guru at boatshows coming up
OFW 11
evil flourishes when good men do nothing
Jackfrost80
Posts: 8050
Date Joined: 07/05/12
Aye Hezza. Furuno use a
Aye Hezza. Furuno use a different sentance for waypoint data and Lowrance won't recognise. You can sync a Lowrance to the Furuno so that it sends GPS and you can use your 620s mark function but it won't send the waypoint data back to the Lowrance. To do that you need a Markfish which gets the two talking together www.chsmith.com.au/Products/Markfish.html and I can now send depth, temp and waypoints to my Lowrance with it.
Officially off the Pies bandwagon
hezzy
Posts: 1519
Date Joined: 27/11/09
apparently if I go the Furuno
apparently if I go the Furuno combo , I can direct cable it to the fcv 620, and use the mark function direct to the chart plotter , it can also use a ''wifi type app to a Furuno radar , no cable ,,, ? so im told today ..
so Furuno is looking an easy fit option ,
hezzy
OFW 11
evil flourishes when good men do nothing
Jarryd87
Posts: 43
Date Joined: 15/09/15
Earth2ocean can download
Earth2ocean can download your marks out of the old furuno plotters for a small fee and convert them to suit your new plotter. Saves a few days of transferring them manually
Jackfrost80
Posts: 8050
Date Joined: 07/05/12
Yep no issues with Furuno
Yep no issues with Furuno units talking to each other and I looked at the same option when I upgraded but at the time the 1817 only ran CMAP charts so something to keep an eye out for if you have/prefer Navionics charts.
Officially off the Pies bandwagon
Tim
Posts: 2497
Date Joined: 26/09/06
Yep
your Furuno sounder will connect to the new units
sea-kem
Posts: 14857
Date Joined: 30/11/09
I've got a HDS9 Gen 2 touch
I've got a HDS9 Gen 2 touch Mike but as a stand alone GPS. I run a Furuno 585 as Main sounder, reckon I've got the best of both worlds there. I recently transfered all the waypoints from that GPS to the new one going in the project boat very simple I did it before drinking one beer lol.
Love the West!
little johnny
Posts: 5330
Date Joined: 04/12/11
Agree with sea kem
lowrance very user friendly .easy screen to see. Easy menu system
Devocean
Posts: 48
Date Joined: 06/09/09
Yep I’m with seakem and
Yep I’m with seakem and little Johnny. Been runnin a old HDs just upgraded to HDs Carbon 12 and this thing is ridiculously good easy to use. Plus it runs Navionics which in my option is way better than c-maps
sea-kem
Posts: 14857
Date Joined: 30/11/09
Navionics are bloody
Navionics are bloody brilliant as well as their online support. I managed to pick up a second hand gold card of here for my second unit for half price.
Love the West!
marble
Posts: 773
Date Joined: 03/09/09
Don't F$%^# about, get
Don't F$%^# about, get Furuno. New ones do navionics or cmap im pretty sure.
PMY 25 Centre Console DF300 Suzuki
little johnny
Posts: 5330
Date Joined: 04/12/11
Never played with furuno
Maybe easy unsure.? Still run jrc sounder Navman/ lowrance gps . Little Andy furuno all the way. It's what your happy with I guess.i like simple:)
Devocean
Posts: 48
Date Joined: 06/09/09
I was pretty keen on the new
I was pretty keen on the new Furuno but was told only takes c-maps. Def Furuno for sounder / Lowrance for plotting
Fish_Hunter
Posts: 91
Date Joined: 18/01/15
lowrance plotter > furuno sounder
from a lowrance owner who wishes he had a furuno sounder. I run a HSD 12 gen 3 but still wish i had 2 screens
FIFO's got knobs on it - but it buys my toys !!
Belly Fish
Posts: 499
Date Joined: 09/03/12
Moved from a Lowrance GlobalMap to HDS Carbon
...and I'm a little disappointed.
I customised a lot of screens on my GlobalMap, but whilst it is easy to do on the Carbon, there are obvious fields missing. For example, it is not possible to add Time to Destination or Estimated Arrival Time to your customised screens. Time to destination is on the default steer page, but ETA is nowhere to be seen. I use these a fair bit when travelling, so it's a huge omission in my mind. Lowrance support desk couldn't help :-(
ChopChop
Posts: 67
Date Joined: 17/01/15
Hezzy. Where did you land?
I am weighing up options similar to you. Looking at Furuno 1971 as main sounder with a smaller seperate Lowrance for GPS Plotter. Prefer separate units. Keen to hear from others who have done the same.
ChopChop
Posts: 67
Date Joined: 17/01/15
Hezzy. Where did you land?
I am weighing up options similar to you. Looking at Furuno 1971 as main sounder with a smaller seperate Lowrance for GPS Plotter. Prefer separate units. Keen to hear from others who have done the same.
SeperateKnob
Posts: 660
Date Joined: 28/11/16
Garmin all the way
Garmin all the way
Ktreloar
Posts: 115
Date Joined: 05/08/16
Furuno
the new furuno gps units are awesome rate them better then lowrance. I run mine as a god and sounder next to my 588.
ChopChop
Posts: 67
Date Joined: 17/01/15
Thanks mate. What model? What charts does it run?
I liked Navionics on my last sounder but used c map before that and rated it also. Not as much detail up north, but was 10 years ago.
same on Garmin, seperateknob. What models and what charts?
Budget is 2.5-3k.