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Posts: 431
| My dad is thinking about purchasing an LCX 28c HD. Does anybody have anything good or bad to say about this unit? Seems like there are a bunch of Lowrance complaints lately. Any other suggestions for GPS/sonar combos are appreciated. |
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Posts: 2323
Location: Stevens Point, WI | I have two Lowrance LCX-27's and the only difference between the 28HD and the 27 is the HD has built-in maps from Lowrance. The 28HD is $200 more through Cabelas, $1,199. However, you could also get the HD unit or get the X-27 unit for $999 and spend the $200 on a Lakemaster or Navionics chip. Or you can get the 28HD and the chip for about $1400 give or take a little. But I'd highly suggest these units. I really like mine and wouldn't think twice about owning there product! It's the best on the market imo. |
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Posts: 3518
Location: north central wisconsin | I run a similarily sized unit(couple year old lcx-25c), along with the bigger lcx-111c. While I do like them alot, I don't feel these color units offer the sonar readings/detail that my old monochrome jobs did. I really like the units and am very comfortable with the mapping and software navigation, which means alot to me, but Lowrance is no longer CLEARLY 'the best' out there anymore. You owe it to yourself to at least check out the new stuff from Humminbird before you buy. They are more expensive for similarily sized units, but really have a ton to offer in the way of sonar technology.
Edited by Reef Hawg 6/26/2008 4:52 PM
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Posts: 443
Location: Indiana | I have 2 of the 28cHD units. Overall I love them. There is an issue right now with readings in shallow water, I am pretty sure that will get fixed in a software update though. I would highly recommend them. |
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Posts: 218
| GPS system is great. Easy to use and easy to read….
Sonar seems to show less detail than the monochrome units. However the real problem is the unit’s terrible performance in shallow water. It looses the bottom whenever it needs to rapidly change depth ranges in water less than 10’ deep. If it is reading over weeds in shallow water it looses the bottom almost instantly. This happens when the unit is in automatic mode. If the unit is placed in the manual mode for both sensitivity and depth range it works a little better. However, it will then chart only water for that range or shallower and nothing deeper will be shown on the screen. The digital display will still read the true depth. The unit still locks up in the manual mode much too often.
Technical service is hard to reach with phone waits up to 45 minutes and for a while the 800 number was down. The answer given for my problems was put the unit in manual mode and download the 2.3 software. I have not updated the software yet so I don’t know if it will cure the problem. Before you buy the unit make sure it has the latest software and look and Hummingbird units. As mentioned in other posts Hummingbird has some great working units on the market. I wish I had considered Hummingbird before I bought Lowrance.
Edited by Southshore 6/27/2008 7:09 AM
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| Lowrance is no longer CLEARLY 'the best' out there anymore. You owe it to yourself to at least check out the new stuff from Humminbird before you buy. They are more expensive for similarily sized units, but really have a ton to offer in the way of sonar technology.
i agree, it's worth checking out the comparable Humminbird units.
i ran a Humminbird 917 (7" screen, dual-beam) on my console last year, with Lowrance on the bow. this year i've got a Humminbird 967 (8" screen, 6 beam transducer) on the console and Humminbird 787 bow.
they're great units, with very good screen resolution and great detail on both the gps maps and the sonar definition.
as for price? the side-imaging units are pricey, but i've found the standard units to be the same or LESS expensive than the Lowrance, especially when you closely compare features.
currently at Bass Pro: (i know there's cheaper places out there, but it's a good point of comparison since they sell both kinds)
Humminbird 1157 NVB
10.4" display 600x800 resolution
200kHz 20*/83kHz 60* beams
1000 Watt RMS / 8000 Watts peak-to-peak
16-channel GPS, 3000 waypoint max
Navionics maps pre-loaded
$2299
Lowrance 113cHD
10.4" display 600x800 resolution
50/200kHz transducer
8000 Watts max power
12-channel GPS, 1000 waypoint max
Lowrance maps pre-loaded
$2349
Humminbird 955 NVB
8" display 400x800 resolution
Navionics maps pre-loaded
$1399
Humminbird 917
7" display 480x800 resolution
$999
Lowrance LCX 27c
7" display 480x640 resolution
$1049
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| I Removed my Lowrance unit myself as I was always loosing the bottom in the shallows, I hated my unit took a big loss and sold it, Replaced it with the top of the line Humminbird unit and I LOVE IT........ I always considered Lowrance Number one, But no more, Sure they make a great unit,and sold thousands of them, and if you ask the people who bought them how they like them they all say I Love it...Of Course'''''''What do you expect them to say? I think I purchased the wrong unit, it's not as good as I thought it would be , or I liked the older Model better.....NEVER.....Fisherman in general are followers and will not very often admit they spent too much money for something they did not need, or something they are not happy with. The truth is there are people that will only want the Most expensive unit made, and will rave about how great it is and what your missing. Don't Believe it''' .Humminbird makes a Great Unit and now that they really have their foot in the door on the High End Units, there is No stopping them.................Choose wisely Jr. |
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Posts: 3518
Location: north central wisconsin | mjr, I've seen scores of people including myself reporting that they have gotten a bit frustrated with Lowrance over the past few years. Sure, they were 'the' one to buy for alot of years and people 'followed' trend in that respect, but to say that knowledgable fishermen just settle for poorly working units, and NEVER complain, and that you are seemingly the only one that has 'seen the light' is a bit of a stretch. One problem is that oftentimes people buy these units as their first one, and don't know what a great looking sonar reading should look like. Lowrance does make a great unit, and once the proper software is installed and learned(the losing bottom in shallow water issue is not the unit but the software, as I've gone through that headache and completely resolved it by backdating software versions), work very well(I have software in a one year old unit, that is 3 years old....ARgghh).
That said, thanks for reporting on Humminbird price comparison Mike. Would anyone recomend the side imaging units? I have talked to people that love them, but also those that are frustrated and confused with them, especially when moving quicker than trolling speeds. Have heard multiple transducers might be needed with these units..?...
Heck, why do I care, I leave my unit at home when on the home waters, where I'll be spending alot more time unless the wife starts moonlighting at Kountry Kitchen...oops I mean......
Edited by Reef Hawg 6/29/2008 4:35 PM
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Posts: 431
| I was looking at the lowrance units again this weekend. I'm leaning towards the 28c HD. The 28C HD comes with maps preloaded, but are they high quality maps? Or am I better off getting the 27c and buying map chips? |
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Posts: 2323
Location: Stevens Point, WI | momuskies - 7/7/2008 9:50 AM
I was looking at the lowrance units again this weekend. I'm leaning towards the 28c HD. The 28C HD comes with maps preloaded, but are they high quality maps? Or am I better off getting the 27c and buying map chips?
I think the chips will do you better than the maps that are preloaded on the units. However, I know the HD units are only a $100 more in Cabelas and for that price it might be better just to get the HD units. If I were buying two new units over again, I'd probably get the HD units rather than the 27's but either way you go you'll be fine. |
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Posts: 443
Location: Indiana | I have the HD units. The preloaded maps are limited (in Indiana at least) I prefer the chips.
PS: The signal loss in shallow water seems to be fixed in the software update and manual adjustments I made. |
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Posts: 431
| mseybert-
which chip are you using? |
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Posts: 443
Location: Indiana | Nivionics hotmaps. I happen to have the 2007. Works well, there are a couple of errors on labeling the contour lines, but overall they are very helpful. I would definetly recommend them. |
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| I bought a 520C on May 17 and have been disappointed ever since. The unit locks up constantly when in weeds in 10' or less (virtually useless for musky fishing weedlines). Their tech support has been non existent for me. I can't get through on the phone and they won't even acknowledge my emails. I will never buy Lowrance again. I am a member of Muskies Inc. and The Okauchee Fishing Club and at every meeting we are hearing more complaints. I only wish I'd known about this thread before May 17. Before that everyone I talked to told me that the 520C was a very dependalbe unit. A good friend bought a humminbird the same day and it's great. |
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Posts: 32944
Location: Rhinelander, Wisconsin | fishhawk,
There is a thread describing how to correct that issue here:
http://muskie.outdoorsfirst.com/board/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=43...
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lowrance question