Lowrance HD fishfinders

[tswebb71]

Has anyone purchased one of the new HD units from Lowrance and if so, do you like it?

[Wabash River Bear]

Has anyone purchased one of the new HD units from Lowrance and if so, do you like it?I'll be ordering an HDS-7 this Saturday. If nobody responds, I'll give you a rundown after I get it mounted up and running, probably be a couple weeks.

[deemo99]

I have an HDS 7, have not used mine yet either, but will be out on both Friday and Saturday. Won't be cats, but will be able to give you my $.02 on the unit. Am I allowed to post a non-catfish pic:crazy:

[deemo99]

I have an HDS 7, have not used mine yet either (on the water at least), but will be out on both Friday and Saturday. Won't be cats, but will be able to give you my $.02 on the unit. Am I allowed to post a non-catfish pic?:crazy:

I do have it mounted on the dash and have played around with it some in the garage. Crisp screen and easy to use even without looking over the manual at all yet. I bought it with Insight and it even has the same HotSpots info for our area as the paper maps have. So far, not disappointed at all, will likely add SI over next winter based on what I have read so far about the Lowrance SI availability dates:roll_eyes:

Sorry for the double post, makes me feel like a noob!

[Steve]

I have the HDS7. Used it 2 weeks ago on Lake Barkley. This thing blows away my old HB 767. Has some issues that I haven't had time to resolve yet. Just needs a little tweaking. My buddie has the HDS 5. He called 2 nights ago to tell me what the bottom looks like now with the HDS on a hole we've been fishing for years. Tells me there is crevices in the bottom holding fish that we never seen on our old sonars.
Steve

[Wabash River Bear]

Mine should be here next week, Cabelas had it on back order for a few days, shipped out yesterday.

Any news on a release date for the Structure Scan side viewing add on? Price?

[joer]

I am poor so I was only able to afford the 5. It's a great unit! I love the scroll back feature if you want to go back and look at a reading that happened a few minutes earlier.

[BigOBear]

Went by BPS and picked up a 7 today. I'm almost positive you'll do your own installation Bear (seen those boat mod pics... excellent work!)... what about the rest of you. I've never installed a transducer before... pretty tough to get it right? Recommended to have a shop do it? Reckon I'll break out the book and read up on it. Bet them fellas charge an arm and a leg.

The fellas behind the desk said the "sometime in march update" is now a "sometime in april update". Got a funny look and then a laugh when I asked if the add on for the side scan would be a grand. They said that while they really had no idea how much it would be they really didn't think it would be that much.

[joer]

Went by BPS and picked up a 7 today. I'm almost positive you'll do your own installation Bear (seen those boat mod pics... excellent work!)... what about the rest of you. I've never installed a transducer before... pretty tough to get it right? Recommended to have a shop do it? Reckon I'll break out the book and read up on it. Bet them fellas charge an arm and a leg.

The fellas behind the desk said the "sometime in march update" is now a "sometime in april update". Got a funny look and then a laugh when I asked if the add on for the side scan would be a grand. They said that while they really had no idea how much it would be they really didn't think it would be that much.

Jimmy it's pretty simple to install. I've done several. Just read the handout that comes with your unit, use good quality sealant and wait 48 hours before you use the boat!:wink:

PM me is you have any questions.

[Wabash River Bear]

I have a plastic transducer mounting plate that I picked up at Gander Mountain for about $12.00. That way you only have 2 holes in your transom, and you can change transducers and locations with out riddling your boat with screw holes.

[BigOBear]

Good advice. Thank you both!

[BigOBear]

Good advice. Thank you both!

[riverbud55]

Talked to the Lowrance rep and did a demo/ training seminar at the Fred Hall outdoor/boat show , only difference about the hd models then the last few years models are they have internal hard drive instead of having the SD card hence HD is for hard drive and not high def screen:wink: only thing the hard drive will do is allow you to do is to a have lot more internal memory and not the need for different SD cards on hand for different areas fished, the look and feel in demo is no different then my 525:wink: if your fish areas larger then the size of your state you live in it mite be worth it

[riverbud55]

Talked to the Lowrance rep and did a demo/ training seminar at the Fred Hall outdoor/boat show , only difference about the hd models then the last few years models are they have internal hard drive instead of having the SD card hence HD is for hard drive and not high def screen:wink: only thing the hard drive will do is allow you to do is to a have lot more internal memory and not the need for different SD cards on hand for different areas fished, the look and feel in demo is no different then my 525:wink: if your fish areas larger then the size of your state you live in it mite be worth it

[BEHITJ]

The differance in the old models and the HD model is the old ones are analog signal 1500-4000 watts vs. the HD model which is broadband digital and has 33,000 watts thats a big differance.

[deemo99]

I had some issues a while back while trying to post and have been too busy fishing to re-post (shrug).

I really like the HDS unit. I am probably going to add a Navionics card as the Insight for my area is really accurate in some areas and no where close to accurate in others.

GPS (position wise) is very accurate, downward sonar is great and all of the features and functions are almost mesmerizing!

I would highly recommend this unit to anyone interested in it. I have not used any of the new H-birds, but I am sure they work great too.

I finally caught my first cat(s) last night fishing with my wife in Sturgeon Bay! Nothing big, but we caught 7 fish total--didn't have the camera though, so no pics sorry. I hadn't caught a cat in almost 15 years so it's good to get back in the game:wink:

[SkipEye]

So.....?????? Anyone care to post some more reviews on these HDS units?

I won't be giving up my 1197 by any means but am really intrigued.

[SkipEye]

Talked to the Lowrance rep and did a demo/ training seminar at the Fred Hall outdoor/boat show , only difference about the hd models then the last few years models are they have internal hard drive instead of having the SD card hence HD is for hard drive and not high def screen:wink: only thing the hard drive will do is allow you to do is to a have lot more internal memory and not the need for different SD cards on hand for different areas fished, the look and feel in demo is no different then my 525:wink: if your fish areas larger then the size of your state you live in it mite be worth it

This is incorrect. HDS stands for High Definition System. Straight from Lowrance.com:wink:

http://www.lowrance.com/upload/Lowrance/Images/Category/HDS_category_logo.jpg

[jim]

THe HD units are High Definition,not hard drive although they do have hard drives.The hard drive feature came in several years ago.If you are talking to a Lowrance rep that told you that ,you need to send his name to the company so they can square him away.Last year the Broadband sounders were add on black boxes which is why I didnt buy one.Lowrance told me thay would incorporate the broadband feature into this years model.They were so impressed by broadband capability that they wanted it available to the public as soon as possible.The difference in signal and resolution is amazing and soon they will add side scan in modular form for those of you that appreciate that feature.SC will probably be 1-300$ add on module.Get all the info at the Lowrance website.:big_smile:

[Piperat]

Lowrance.com finally has pictures and video of the new side imaging on their site. Check it out:big_smile:

[hunter]

Ordered the HDS-7 and should be here Friday, Have been running my LCX-17m for a few years now. I get it on and running I will post my review. I am hoping there isn't a whole lot of difference between the two in operations, sure would bit if I have to learn all over again.

[SkipEye]

Google on the internet for HDS 7 water intrusion. You'll find that they have had some problems. Supposedly was fixed for units manufactured after March but piperat just bought one 2 weeks ago or so and the first time it got rained on it went belly-up!:ooooh:

He 'upgraded' a lil' bit to the HDS 10.:smile2:

[hunter]

What a kick in the ba@@s, to late to cancel. Guess I can run with zip lock bag over it. :smile2:

Thanks for the heads up SkipEye

[Brad30110]

I have a HDS-5 that I have been using for 4 months. I removed my old Lowrance X-51, and installed the new one. Very easy install. It took a bit to learn the ins and outs of the system but now pretty much have it figured out. My first unit had water intrusion issues during a morning thunderstorm on the river. I sent it back and Lowrance was very speedy about sending a replacement. From what I understand very few systems were affected by this problem. Since my new system came I have had no issues with it. The HDS system works great and remember to keep it updated off of there website. I can't wait for the structure scan to come out soon!