Sounder advice needed
I want to upgrade my sounder which is a Furuno 582l which has a p66 transducer. I want to get a bigger screen and go to a 1kw transducer as the 582 starts to lose bottom at 500/600 ft. As my boat is a Kevlacat a transom mount transducer would be difficult so I think a wet box shoot through would be best. I also have a Navnet 3D MF8D that I just brought from a friend to use as a plotter. I was thinking a Furuno 587 with a M260 would be suitable but I don't think that it will link to the Navnet plotter so that I can mark a point on the 587 and show on the plotter.
I would like to be able to pause the display and scroll back to mark structure or fish as I am on my way to my fishing ground so that I can try the waypoint later. Even if I can't scroll back being able to mark a point on the sounder would be good. Can I do this with the 587/ Navnet combination. Would a 295 be a better option with the Navnet or is there something else with decent screen that would work.
Perhaps using another combo such as a Garmin 1040xs with chirp would be better as the sounder as it would do what want and give better sounder performance than the 587 or 295 and I would just have to transfer the points manually. I want to be able to see fish and the bottom at 1500 ft.
Any advice or help appreciated.
scottnofish
Posts: 1617
Date Joined: 28/08/07
i have a kevla cat aswell
and i run a 295 with a r299 tranny and read bottom fine at those depths ,you might struggle to see fish in 500m with 1 kw you will read bottom but seeing fish will be hard,
Maccas
Posts: 24
Date Joined: 14/08/09
What size kevlacat do you
What size kevlacat do you have and what depth do you think I would be able to see fish with 1kw
synthos
Posts: 522
Date Joined: 23/06/07
No expert but
Have u had a look at the furino ddf1 sonar modules ? I believe they linkup to the navnet 3d and there are 3 models with different power outputs.
Maccas
Posts: 24
Date Joined: 14/08/09
Had a look at ddf1 but really
Had a look at ddf1 but really would prefer to keep navnet3d as stand alone plotter,not use as a combo although I could use as sounder and buy a different plotter. You can even get chirp module and transducer for navnet 3d as well. Bit exy in Australia though.Might be better than 295 but I am not sure.
Shark1
Posts: 1084
Date Joined: 21/05/12
got a 295 its in a different
got a 295 its in a different class , however furuno does not use nmea 2000 so they do not really talk to non furuno units in my experience
johnny
Posts: 23
Date Joined: 10/03/07
Furuno
Hey macca, in my Kc I have a fcv587 and m260 wet box 1kw in the starboard rear compartment.. Pretty happy with it, haven't tried it in the deep deep stuff yet though. Heading to exxy tomoz so should be able to give some deep water feedback next week
Maccas
Posts: 24
Date Joined: 14/08/09
Johnny,what size is your
Johnny,
what size is your kevlacat and did you fit the transducer yourself. How deep have you been with it.
paula8519
Posts: 101
Date Joined: 09/03/10
sounder selection
Choice is dependent on your budget. Forget the Garmin I have the gsd 26 linked to a 4012 head unit and while the 4012 was being sold in the retail market as of last year and with some stock in dealers hands they no longer support the unit. When the power com port broke on the back of the 4012 they would not repair it, they offered me a remanufactured unit for $1900 with a 1year warranty not bad for a $65 part, and while the performance is one of the better chirp units it is not in the same quality league as the furuno options .Garmin do not expect more than 5 years of use out of any unit they build as they quickly remove service back up and expect you to update, they do not service units in Australia and if an issue develops after warranty expires they will offer a remanufactured unit at 2 thirds the price of a new unit with a 1 year warranty for those stupid enough to accept their one sided offer. Furuno repairs its units in Henderson w.a and back up their products , they are supporting units with spare parts and repairs that are 20 years plus in age.THE 295 IS THE BEST especially with the big transducers.There is a reason why most pro fishermen use Furuno.
paul a
Maccas
Posts: 24
Date Joined: 14/08/09
Thanks for that Paul. I like
Thanks for that Paul. I like furuno for the same reasons you do but are thinking a 587 with 1 kW will do for now but I am interested in how good the furuno chirp is because the the navnet 3D can connect to the dff1-uhd chirp module so I could run a chirp 1 kW transducer which may be better than a 295. I would like a 295 but when you add the transducer they are a lot more dollars than a 587/ 1kw transducer. Do you know if the 295 would work with a 1 kW transducer (m260) which would give me a cheaper option and I could upgrade transducer later
paula8519
Posts: 101
Date Joined: 09/03/10
furuno fcv 295
I have the Furuno chirp as well it works brilliantly and is actually cheaper than a stand alone fcv 295.I believe it offers superior target separation turning fish blobs as seen on the 295 into individual fish arches with ground discrimination and individual fish sizes.. The 295 is the industry work horse chosen by many commercial operators, most commercial operators take time to change to new technologies. The airmar 260 is a good unit but it represents the old tone pulse technology. THE 1kw airmar 260 will in the 50kh range get you beyond 500 meters . If you do go the chirp option I have a airmar tm 275 chirp transducer as a spare that I can sell you at an excellent price as I have upgraded transducers . At $1950 for the Furuno dff1 uhd chirp unit and $1000 with aussie warranty for my transducer, you will get cutting edge performance with the latest tech , you can see the difference in performance on the screen. The chirp unit will also give you deeper depth penetration when compared to the 260.
paul a
Maccas
Posts: 24
Date Joined: 14/08/09
Paul,do you have any screen
Paul,
do you have any screen shots of furuno chirp and also of the 295 in the same depth that you could post to show the difference
johnny
Posts: 23
Date Joined: 10/03/07
Kc
5.2 and yeah installed myself, just had to notch the access hole to fit the m260 in. 100 metres max so far, bit will be chasing billies in exmouth in a few days so will take some pics for ya.
paula8519
Posts: 101
Date Joined: 09/03/10
screen shots
Maccas I don't but if you go on line and search you can see the chirp shots from the dff1 uhd that others have posted they show the individual fish arches, non chirp all brands show groups of fish as blobs with different size of blobs and internal colour variation to show fish together where you cant see the relative size of individual fish. Chirp shows different distinct individual fish signitures, that's what its all about.The chirp transducers reduce surface clutter and hold onto bottom at higher speeds, these are the factors that influenced my decision to go chirp. Your 260 firing thru the hull will have less depth penetration by comparison and you lose 15% -20 % thru hull but not with chirp.
paul a
paula8519
Posts: 101
Date Joined: 09/03/10
Is chirp worth it.
Maccas see the recent post" Chirp is it worth the extra dollars ", recently in the hull truth an american website for a discussion on this proposition with screen shots and posts comparing chirp and non chirp see ARBORS posts he is the expert.
paul a
Maccas
Posts: 24
Date Joined: 14/08/09
Thanks for info everyone but
Thanks for info everyone but unless I can use transom mount transducer then may not be able to go chirp as wet box seems to be the best option for kevlacats. Not sure if there is wet box option for chirp.
Is furuno chirp better than simrad as another option would be NSS evo 2 as chirp is built in just add transducer.
paula8519
Posts: 101
Date Joined: 09/03/10
chirp
Maccas they, Airmar have plenty of in hull wet face transducers which they call tilted element. As well as in hull box mounted. Bear in mind that all the experts say go wet face. If in hull mount and shooting thru the hull go the higher kilowatts but they don't come cheap. One cheap alternative to go chirp is the 7 inch Raymarine Dragonfly to be released in April $899 thru C.H SMITH IN THE EAST OR BIAS MARINE WHO WILL PRICE MATCH IN PERTH. The results from the Dragon fly are excellent, VINESH who posts here IS THIER GREATEST FAN see his posts on this forum for detailed results. Their transducer is transom mounted but it is very slick and hangs onto the sea floor at high speed 20 knots, this is probably your best option to get into the latest tech at a bargain price,. Simrad chirp is not the way to go, their BSM2 CHIRP HAS HAD MAJOR ISSUES, ray marine is way better in reliability, soft ware and on screen presentation.
paul a
Maccas
Posts: 24
Date Joined: 14/08/09
Paul. I am not sure about
Paul.
I am not sure about the Raymarine Dragonly performance out deep and I wasn't looking at the Simrad BSM2 but the single chirp that will connect to the NSS evo 2 but still not enough known about the performance of these .
From what you have said it looks like the Furuno chirp is best at depth from your experience. Maybe the best performance of all the current chirp in both shallow and out to 500 metres. Do you think that Furuno chirp is best at the moment.
Getting confused as to what is the best option maybe sticking with Furuno 587/1kw is the best option until chirp has all the problems sorted.