lowrance structure scan

[Trophyhunter8]

Been waiting to see how much it will cost. well they just announced it's an add-on "module" that cost $699.00 then you have too buy the HDS that will cost that much or more. Hmm people thought the cost would come down. looks too me like this cost more than humminbird. I don't know if this is true or not but one of the electronic guys at bass pro told me the other day that lowrance processors for the gps are 16 bit and humminbird are 50 or something. So if that is true humminbird is better anyway. Oh well we still have the c-rig for us poor people. Maybe they will go bankrupt like all the overpriced things anyway.

[ironhead70]

thats funny we was there a few week ago and a guy there said that no other company would come out with any thing close to a humminbird for about the next 5 years

[Bass Addict 170]

thats funny we was there a few week ago and a guy there said that no other company would come out with any thing close to a humminbird for about the next 5 years

Ironically, I do work there. It's not far from the truth that Lowrance will not come up with anything to compare with Humminbird SI in the next 5 years, Humminbird is running off and leaving Lowrance's tech in the dust. And on the previous comment, Humminbird's new SI units have a 50 channel GPS receiver with incredible accuracy, while Lowrance is only 16. As of now, even comparing the new HDS StructureScan against Humminbird Side Imaging, Humminbird takes the cake.

[Duayne]

Ironically, I do work there. It's not far from the truth that Lowrance will not come up with anything to compare with Humminbird SI in the next 5 years, Humminbird is running off and leaving Lowrance's tech in the dust. And on the previous comment, Humminbird's new SI units have a 50 channel GPS receiver with incredible accuracy, while Lowrance is only 16. As of now, even comparing the new HDS StructureScan against Humminbird Side Imaging, Humminbird takes the cake.

I am way a layman on this but from what I've seen, I thought the Humminbird return was far better as well. And I am a Lowrance guy.. Now knowing that the humminbird uses the more accurate GPS makes the humminbird even more attractive.

I have a question. How well does this technology work in water where the side imaging can't reach a bank, say over open water over a channel? Can you still view bottom structure, related bait and fish schools even though the imaging is not hitting a bank?

[zx150]

Well, I was hopping with a little competition the price would come down a bit. But, if Humminbird is still far better than Lowrance than I don't see the price coming down any.

[MASBASS]

Well I have a small question here. If there are only X number of sats in the sky let say 100 (which is alot more than there are) and of that 100 only 20 are visible for the next two hours why would i want a 50 channel reciever with only 20 sats in the sky that I can use. Does not make sense to me but I just a dumb old country boy that knows just a little about GPS. I will do a little research and get back to this one.

[slimshad09]

I been in open water and it works the same. It doesn't need to see the bank. I was amazed when I first turned it on. I wish I had more time to drive around and play, but when I do get a chance to get now I would rather fish. I have seen several brush piles and got a better idea on what my favorite spots looked like. Pretty cool!

[davidsa]

If the price is really $699 this is a complete joke I was hoping for more like $250 which I thought might be reasonable.

[Bass Addict 170]

Well I have a small question here. If there are only X number of sats in the sky let say 100 (which is alot more than there are) and of that 100 only 20 are visible for the next two hours why would i want a 50 channel reciever with only 20 sats in the sky that I can use. Does not make sense to me but I just a dumb old country boy that knows just a little about GPS. I will do a little research and get back to this one.

You've brought up a good point actually. Typically, there are only 21-24 satelites operating at one time in the sky. At some point, there were actually 27. But the point of the 50 channel receiver vs. the 16 is that it allows you to grab a signal from as many as you can, that way if you move out of signal from one, you've already got or are working on a signal from another. Also, even though you only need 3 to triangulate a position (4 for altitude), having more gives you a little better accuracy. Now obviously, Humminbird went a little overboard with a 50, but from what I can figure, they've upgraded it so much that having this extra capacity allows for a much faster satelite aquisition rate, and have noticed a lot less complaints of signal loss out of the Humminbirds (internal and external alike) compared to any Lowrance (including external GPS modules).
One other perk of Humminbird I forgot to mention was the speed of their processors. The reason of why I doubt Lowrance's Structure Scan will compare is because it must work seemlessly with the GPS to locate and mark structure. Humminbird's processors blaze through information, including Navionics Charts, while I have actually froze up multiple Lowrance HDS units, some with the Lake Insight maps (less information than Navionics). This is a major factor that makes Side Imaging such an unbeatable piece of technology, once you get to the nity-grity of the unit. Feel free to come to Bass Pro in Clarksville to compare the HDS and Humminbirds side-by-side. And don't worry, we don't make commission, so bring any more questions you might have. Hope this helps!