Electronics help?

[Toby Estes]

Getting ready to replace some Lowrance units, thinking about going to Humminbird. Looking at getting a couple helix units. Anyone done this? My Lowrance units are Elite Ti units. Also has anyone had a gen 2 helix and gen3 helix? Was there much difference? I found a good deal on a new gen 2 helix 12, but not sure if the gen 3 is alot better? Thanks for any help.

[Dutch]

You can get some real good advice in the Humminbird forum at bbc.net.

[aarchdale@coresleep.com]

Dont overlook Garmin, They are Def. the front runners in the graph game these days.  Ive had Lowrance, Humminbirds, and now Garmin.   The Birds are easier to use than Lowrance for sure and have cleaner images.   But at the end of the day they are all pretty darn good.    Garmin has the best customer support

[terryj1024]

I have a hummingbird helix G2n  And a garman on the console. Both are not very old And I love the garman way better.

[Sore Thumbs]

Lowrance for 2d

Humminbird for down and side

Garmin for Live

[Toby Estes]

I have heard humminbird 2d isnt real good. What exactly makes it worse than the others?

[Steve McBasser]

3 hours ago, Sore Thumbs said:

Lowrance for 2d

Humminbird for down and side

Garmin for Live

That would be a fun set up..... Better have deep pockets though.

[Bill Babler]

Right now the Birds are falling behind in the arms race, and not by a little.  It is something to watch this battle.  We had 3 yrs. where Minn Kota had it all as far as trolling motors and now they are moving back.  If it were a checker game they have been double jumped and just about to be triple jumped.

The deal is all this stuff works great, there are just newer fish in the skillet to fry.  If money is a factor and when is it not. the Birds will do a great job.  It used to always be Hummingbird had the scan tech. down but Lowrance was by far the best 2 D sonar.

I have spent a bunch of boat time this Winter looking at every ones stuff and by far the best forward view and side scan is now Garmin and it AIN"T close.  2D is pretty much a toss up with Garmin and Lowrance and I really think the Lowrance side scan has inched ahead on HB.  You can however get into the Bird stuff for about 2/3rd. the price of the Garmin and the Lowrance.

Garmin is going no where and will be a player from now into the future.  I think Lowrance will also.  I'm not for sure about Hummingbird.  They have been symbiotic with Minn Kota in the Marine industry, and had the same great run that Minn Kota just enjoyed.  I think there will be somewhat of a merger, there has to be.  Right now however they don't have a huge bargaining chip as their R and D is at the back of the pack right now, somewhat in the same position as Motor Guide.

You really cannot go wrong with any of these products and it is kind of do you want the best and the newest and can your pocketbook afford it.  Or,  are you happy with good that will do the job.

I'm lucky as it is a tax situation for us as we work with the equipment.  I'll hopefully be able to make an upgrade as soon as our 2019 taxes are completed and if it looks favorable for 2020, I will make a complete overhaul to Garmin.

Good luck and really there is no bad decision, just a monetary one.

[bobby b.]

34 minutes ago, Bill Babler said:

I will make a complete overhaul to Garmin.

Bill, Does that include trolling motor?

Bobby

[bobby b.]

For me it's all about integration between troller and the graphs and because I need (or want) the automatic deployment of the Ulterra together with the integration I'm stuck with the Humminbird.  However, stuck is probably not the right word as the Helix G2N 10 inch MDI and SI units I have are way beyond my ability.  I would agree with the others that Lowrance 2D seems to be better than my Humminbirds as I compare my recent pics with those of Bill and Dock.  However with a split screen of 2D and DI I can usually decipher what's going on.   

Regarding G2N versus G3N I didn't see much improvement to justify the higher price of the G3N.

As per a previous post I am considering a new boat.  The recent development with Garmin and Lowrance trollers gives me pause to the point that I may wait to see how this plays out for the next year. 

What I do know is that I want that Live Scope stuff with or without a new boat as I try to replace my lack of skills with equipment.

Regarding technical support, Humminbird is excellent and recent discussions with Garmin regarding Panoptix I found them to be excellent as well.  

Conclusion - if it wasn't for the Ulterra I would get all Garmin stuff and may still do so if I get a new boat.

Bobby