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Posts: 124
Location: Rice Lake,WI | Was just wondering if anyone has had any bad experiences with them. Looking for
something with the high-speed flasher and decent gray scale around the $300-350,any
suggestions would be great. Thanks in advance.
JT |
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Posts: 1996
Location: Pelican Lake/Three Lakes Chain | The Garmin 240 was a nice unit about 3-4 years ago. They have not updated it since then. I had one on my old rig and replaced it on my new one with a Lowrance LMS-330C which is a little over that price range, but also have an Eagle Fishmark 320 on my bow that is roughly $169 that blows the old Garmin out of the water. Much better grey scale (16 shades vs 3 I think) and much better definition.
The story I was told is that for the last three years Garmin has been putting all of its R&D into GPS units largely because of the war in Iraq. There GPS systems are probably some of the best out there but their locators have suffered because of it. |
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Posts: 1936
Location: Eau Claire, WI | JT,
I've had four of them over the past 4-5 years and used them with zero trouble. I think now they are like $190 at Gander and are still a great unit for the money. Good clarity, more than adequate verticle pixel count and very user friendly. IMHO it will do all you need for musky fishing and walleye fishing if your looking for a good dependable unit on a working mans budget.
Not sure if you're living in Rice Lk or EC these days but if you want to see on in action in Rice call Greg Morse at Crystal Pierz he has one or two on his boat or if you're in EC call me and we'll hit the water some nite. I am still using a 240 for my bow unit.
Have a good season dude... say hello to Casey if you see him..
Later,
Mark Hintz
www.muskyadventures.com |
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Posts: 114
Location: Tomahawk, Wi |
I got one that came on my Ranger, not too impressed. Lowrance all the way- you can't beat them. Well worth the difference in price. |
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Posts: 1189
Location: Bagley,MN 56621 | I have (had, new boat but will go Garmin again) a pair of them on my boat. I loved them , very user friendly and had zero trouble.
Before these I had Lowrances and did'nt like them at all...........thinking it was teh X87,X97 days.
Constantly had to adjust the sensitivity and monkey with it........didnt have to do any of that with the 240.
If I didnt go Garmin,my next choices would be Raytheon and Navman.....Lowrance is at the botom of my list...............but to be fair ( thst does sound a little harsh)I havent seriously researched them in the last few years and it's only my personal opinion and preferance.
My only complaint was losing bottom at 35 MPH plus..........I think I did some with teh Lowrances over that speed to. It didnt really matter, I would burn where I knew what the bottom was and take it easy on new areas (common sense).
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Posts: 291
Location: Minneapolis | I've had one for 3-4 years. Trouble free unit and very easy to use. When I bought it, I played with the Garmin and a Lowrance X85 side-by-side for quite a while in the store. The Garmin was FAR simpler to set up and use without consulting a manual. The automatic range and gain work very well on the 240; I use them most of the time, which is something I've not been able to do with other units.
I pick up a new-to-me boat tomorrow that has an Eagle 320 and a Lowrance 2400, so I'll know soon how well the Garmin compares on the water. |
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| Have used one for quite some time now, and echo everything good said about them. Very user friendly, and easily portable. Speed and temp very accurate. The automatic range and zoom gain are great on the 240. I run mine with 12v 7Ah gel cell batteries, which go from 12.7v to 12.2v in exactly 11 hours; the 240 draws very little. They are now priced lower than I've ever seen.
Don |
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Posts: 5874
| Simple people, like Gregger, like the Garmin's. But if you want absolutely the best in Sonars, look to Lowarance/Eagle. Why would you settle for 240 vertical pixels when you can get 480? Twice the resolution, and resolution is the name of the game!
I'm not bashing Garmin, here. They just don't hold a candle to a properly set up Lowrance unit. BTW, I get bottom up and beyond 50 MPH with my Lowrance X-15. Never lost it on my last boat either with my X-85, but that one was a bit slower. |
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Location: Minneapolis, MN | I have been on the water sitting right beside a friends boat with a x85 and saw a world of difference on my 240. The Garmins are good units especially for the rpice. |
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Posts: 2515
Location: Waukesha & Land O Lakes, WI | The 240 still is a nice unit with speed and temp at about 200.00.....The Eagle FishMark 320 and 480 have great screen resolutions, but the 1500w peak to peak isnt all that great.
The new Garmin 250 is nice in that it enables you to plot GPS waypoints on screen while using your hand held. 320x320 res. About 260.00 I believe....Temp isnt included! That's the only lame thing about it.
Edited by Gander Mt Guide 7/15/2004 4:09 PM
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