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Posts: 41
Location: Minneapolis, MN | I’m thinking about buying a new Humminbird 405SX PLUS for $135 shipped to my door. I think it has a 32 degree single cone transducer and 160x160 pix. Is this a good deal, or is there another unit with speed/temp that you would recommend for a similar price? I graduate in less than two weeks and don’t yet have a job, so I don’t want to spend anymore than this. My current unit is a 200DX that only works when it wants to, so anything would be an improvement.
I mainly fish Mille Lacs and usually less than 12 feet. I think a 32 degree transducer will show roughly 12 feet of bottom under the boat when over 10 feet of water (please correct me if I’m wrong). Would you recommend a different transducer setup, or is this a common cone angle?
Any feedback is greatly appreciated. Thanks.
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Posts: 59
Location: St. Cloud, MN | Slayer
I sold fishing electronics for the last 6 years I would tell you to buy an Eagle or Lowrance product everytime. Not to offend anyone if you like the Hummingbird models but the accurracy and reliabilty tends to be a real problem with them. You may have to spend slightly more I think that it is 169.99 for a fishmark 320 but you are truly getting a much better product from my experience. as far as cone angle the rule for a 19 degree cone is you see about 1/3 of the water column depth in a circle on the bottom so in shallow water like you said you would only see 5-6 ft with a 32 degree cone vs. 3-4 ft with a 19 degree cone. It will actually be much better for you to have a smaller cone because most of the time you'll just be looking for the structures in shallow water and don't really expect to mark many fish due to boat spook and other factors. Good Luck. Q |
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Posts: 1185
Location: Wishin I Was Fishin' | The 320 is available from Bass Pro for 149.99 right now. It is well worth the money. |
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Posts: 1185
Location: Wishin I Was Fishin' | Why would you want speed? I haven't found it to be accurate. I would recommend a GPS(hand held fine) for speed, very accurate even at trolling speeds. |
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Posts: 122
Location: Pittsburgh, PA | While I agree Humminbird had issues in the past, I would recommend taking a look at the new Matrix units. I would say they are as good as if not better than the same level eagle or lowrance. I have a matrix 15 at the bow and a 17 at the console, both hooked up to a GPS antenae. The detail is great. I can pick up walleye within inches of the bottom. I spent a lot of time last year confirming what my finder says with an underwater camera and now trust that when it marks a fish, there is a fish there.
Rich D |
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Location: Athens, Ohio | I have a 400 TX Bird and really like it. Go to their website, they have a transducer exchange program, get the tri-cone. You can shoot beams under docks, etc. with it. Read the rules of exchange, you cannot have installed the transducer first. m |
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Posts: 41
Location: Minneapolis, MN | I’m not sure why I was even considering another Humminbird. The one I have now is the second one that I have had that has only worked intermittently. And I will say that it tends to mistake weeds as fish a lot of the time.
The Fishmark 320 looks like a good deal for $150. I think for less than a tank of gas it is well worth the extra money. I especially like that it will operate at speeds up to 70mph. The descriptions that I have seen say that there is up to 60 degrees of coverage. Does this mean that it is adjustable? I definitely want a narrow cone (~20 degrees) because I’m just interested in what is directly below.
Thanks for the advice.
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Posts: 7121
Location: Northwest Chicago Burbs | I havent read these lately, but they might be of some assistance:
http://muskie.outdoorsfirst.com/articles/05.05.2004/135/Lowrance.El...
http://muskie.outdoorsfirst.com/articles/05.05.2004/370/Lowrance.El... |
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Posts: 59
Location: St. Cloud, MN | Slayer
on your question about the printed 60 degree cone angle? Cone angles in reality are not angles at all it is a focus rating. It is imposible to make sound travel in an exact angle. The deeper the water (I mean very deep) the more a soundwave/cone angle spreads out. If you were to look at a full cone (this would take hundreds of feet of water) it looks like an upside down hot air balloon. If you never fish in deep water i.e. 100 feet+ the cone doesn't have a chance to spread so you basically have the 20 degree angle of viewing they describe. It is only in the deepest water would you get 60 degrees of view at a deep point in the water column. Probably to technical If you have any questions about this shoot me a PM. Q |
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