New sonar time- Humminbird/Lowrance or a glass bottomed bucket?

[ropesfish]

It's time to hang a better sonar on the boat. I have been researching the Humminbird 998C SI. I'd love to have the 1198C SI but I'm not going to pay the difference in price for just the bigger screen. It's too easy to put a second monitor on the 998 to justify the steep cost differential. I've looked at Lowrance Structure Scan too, but have yet to see much discussion from people using them to survey/ map rather than just finding fish.
Does anyone that has used both units have any thoughts on Humminbird SI vs Lowrance SS? I've looked at rgecy's excellent forum @ Humminbird Side Imaging Forums I have not yet found any support forums for Lowrance that are equivalent.
Any used units for sale out there?
Is there a forum member with great deals on marine electronics that I should be giving my money to? I'd rather spend it where I have some chance of getting it back in a transaction than sending it off to some big store.
Any discussion would be welcomed.

 

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[ScubaFinder]

I was waiting patiently for someone to answer...I owned a Humminbird 987 C SI unit for many years and loved it. The Humminbird unit definitely did the job and it was very versatile, I even used mine off a Seadoo with a home built towfish for a while. I have used the Lowrance but only an HDS 5 and we were bass fishing rather than wreck hunting. My buddy let me goof with it all I wanted, the screen resolution was great and the unit seemed nice enough but there wasn't much bottom terrain to really get a look at, and what I did see was on a 5" screen. I think the imaging quality is comparable between the two based on what I saw, but the Humminbird has more support and versatility for what we do. I wish someone had extensive experience with both, but since no-one else chimed in I thought I'd add my limited knowledge. If I had it to do all over again, I'd go with the Humminbird (unless I could find a great deal on a used EdgeTech.) :-)

Jason

 

[gord]

The only problem with the bucket is avoiding the splash when you're trying to make some time.

 

[ScubaFinder]

Yeah, and the fact that with a bucket you are limited by water clarity which can be a huge issue on Florida's treasure coast. Sonar can see through the murky waters and still make a good image.

 

[ropesfish]

Thanks, Jason and (to a much lesser extent ) Gord. That splash issue can be dealt with by adopting the use of a taller bucket! I do have a Fisher TOV-1 towed video camera that can eliminate having to drag your divers like shark bait on a tow sled, but I really think sonar is a better plan.
I did find some sites that compared the Humminbird and the Lowrance with screen captures from both. It does look like Humminbird has a more mature technology and maybe a better grip on their software. I do wish that the Humminbird had another 60 ft of dependable side imaging performance, but 100 ft will cover the Treasure Coast out to about 16 miles. That is a lot of ocean bottom.
So...with that decided all I have to do is find the very best price and see how many optional devices I'll have to buy.
Of course, as is probably fairly obvious, I am setting this boat up to do a "definitive" sonar survey and create a 3D map that can then be used to overlay magnetometer and sub-bottom profiling results on. By spring I hope to have the autonomous survey boat operational...(I need to clone myself and find a money tree)
The next winnowing process will be which of the excellent mapping programs to use.
Ones that I am aware of:
Reefmaster: Waypoint management and underwater mapping software for Windows PC.

SonarTRX:SonarTRX

Mr. Gecy's Yellowfin: Download link for YellowFin Software

There are some others listed on the side imaging site, but I believe these are the most used.
Has anyone used these or some others and have an opinion?
Is there some better plan that I have overlooked?
----------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------------------------
For anyone else that is interested, here are the sites that I found that helped make the decision:
This is RGecy's most excellent forum: Humminbird Side Imaging Forums

hummingbird side imaging vs lowrance structurescan....

Lowrance vs. Hummingbird SS sonar..? - The Hull Truth - Boating and Fishing Forum

Humminbird "Side-Scan" or Lowrance " StructureScan" Newest model, what to choose? - The Hull Truth - Boating and Fishing Forum which contains this in kerno's post:" You might find that you want to record all the time when you are running and then review the data later on your computer to see if there is anything you've missed. The HBird does program the lat and long into the data, so you can go back and take another look at what you saw that looked interesting and up the resolution for a better view."
Humminbird VS Lowrance (the ultimate battle) - TinBoats.net

 

[Denniss]

Here's another site with some good info, the unofficial hummingbird ss site Unofficial Humminbird Side Image Forums www.sideimageforums.com - Index page

 

[ropesfish]

Thanks, Denniss!

 

[pvet7521]

Ropesfish, what are you using it for, what's your objective? I own a Geometrics 882 cesium mag, I have a Klein sonar built by Gary Kosar. My point is Money is not an object. the very best I mean very best bottom sonar unit I ever had or used is and still is a Lowrance X 16 , 1200 watts, resolution can not be matched by any over the countr unit sold today and you have a paper graph to study, mark and keep forever . I have picked up a lobster trap in 130 ft of water , tires, pipes and in silt it will sub bottom . They are hard to find, harder to find parts for. But there is no better. I have some units good and a parts guy if interested.

 

[FISHEYE]

The benifits of a glass bottom bucket.No electronics to break.No electric needed.Its waterproof.You can make it yourself for cheep.It will last a lifetime.
[h=2][/h]

 

[dennco2000]

I rigged a new boat a year ago with the Low-HDS-8 with side scan/structure scan - I just started using it and it's very impressive but so was the first wheel. It does paint a good picture of whats down there. I like the fact that where you see an object of interest (no matter how far away) you just put the cursor over it and click to store the way-point and it's dead on.
It will also map the bottom and store, so you can sweep an area then permanently overlay it on your map and study it later or live when you go back. You can increase and decrease the scan area and zoom in and out blah blah blah lol. I just had some good video of a wreck but accidentally formatted my the card in my cell phone. I'll try and post some stills in the next week or so.

If you have more question about the HDS PM me and Ill give you my cell number.

Dennis

 

[dennco2000]

Here is some concrete pilings.. I'm sending the pics from my phone so I'm not sure how well they will turn out.

 

[dennco2000]

Below u see more beams and bait fish on the surface.

 

[dennco2000]

 

[dennco2000]

 

[dennco2000]

 

[harryst]

Humminbird Its a great glass bucket

 

[gerryk]

I have the 998 on my boat and also the one below it without the side scan. I love the 998 more than an other sonar i have used. Our water rescue boat at work has the 1198 and the only difference is size. The marina where I got by boat and electronics wouldnt sell the bigger unit to me. They said for one it would take up to much space, secondly it didnt do anything the smaller unit couldnt and it was way more money.
Now with that said if you use your boat only for fishing and your only means of income is tournament fishing then go for the bigger screen.
Alao get he biggest memory chip that will fit in that machine to records vents for review later. Also get the external gps puck as it provides a much better signal. I do have several transducers hanging off the back because the side and down view ones will only wrk up to a certain speed and you will need to quickly switch between transducers, so you will also want a transducers switch,

 

[ropesfish]

To provide some sort of point to this thread, I did finally purchase a 998SI unit.
Humminbird says that due to the single inboard nature of my application, I have to mount a pair of transducers- I am going to mount them on the transom rather than installing 2 more thru-hulls.
All previous replies and any future input is greatly appreciated.