Can’t go wrong with a Garmin 73, 74, 93, or 94sv depending on what deals you can find and which maps you want.

 

I have an echomap 73sv and its pretty good, that is if you can deal with garmins active captain and its "issues". Case in point, had it working for a while then traded my cell phone in for a better one. Finally got active captain to play nice then the phone just died. When I got a new one under warrenty this is where the real mess came in. To make a long story short, after setting up the phone and resending all the maps from active captain, I kept getting a map is locked error when I booted the unit.

I found some troubleshooting tips online and removed the SD CARD, booted up the unit with no issues. I ended up having to buy another SD CARD so that activecaptain could reformat it. Now, had I saved the adaptor that comes with the SD CARD I could have put it in my laptop and done the same thing without paying $40 for a new card.

Finally, after much effort the activecaptain app and the unit syncs everything.

Hope this helps.

 

I have and like my Echomap 94SV. But I think there are better deals for someone who fishes both salt and freshwater. Some units have maps for both areas included, but the Echomap requires you to put out about $200 for the not included map.

 

Thanks for the info. Cabela's has a Garmin Echomap 106sv Ultra with the GT54 transducer on sale for $999.99. More than I wanted to spend but comes with Lake and Coastal maps and seems like a pretty good deal compared to what else I've found. Marked down from $1,999.99.

https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/garmin-echomap-ultra-106sv-fish-finder-chartplotter-combo-with-gt54-transducer?ds_e=GOOGLE&ds_c=Cabelas%7CShopping%7CSmart%7CBoating%7CGeneral%7CNAud%7CNVol%7CNMT&&&gclid=Cj0KCQjwiIOmBhDjARIsAP6YhSWgW5Z-IvrTXL83qoY540Lu7ssrwoyJJsH-vaD_6jhGpVDx8prgP04aArvqEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

I have a GPSMap 1042XSV. Great unit.

 

Can you point me to where I can find one for $800.00 or under?

 

Very happy with my garmin 94 sv but won’t hook up to radar if that’s in your future

 

I was at Roger's Marine getting Navionics + chip. They had a brand new Garmin Echomap that swapped out from a boat. I don't know the price.

 

was impressed by my friends Garmin Striker Vivid 7sv. For what he paid it has lot of features and good visuals. Wi fi connectivity helps a lot in today's time. Take a look and it falls right in your budget. Whoever I talked to was satisfied with the price and performance.

PS: I know your price range but my friend the day you decide to invest a chunk, LIVESCOPE is a game changer.

Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk

 

I have a similar boat, went w/ the Garmin 73 back when it had come down to something like $650 from around $800 when they first came out. That was maybe 2-3 years ago, now I think you can get the 9" for about the same price if you have the space, or else the 7" is down to ~$500 or so last I saw.

I got mine w/ the freshwater chart option instead of salt even though I fish/crab Alsea Bay more than anywhere else, but no chance I'm ever taking it offshore and the standard charts don't really help at the level of detail needed for the shallow sandbars shifting around the bay; I reckon the lake charts would me more useful if/when I take it inland. For the cost of the 7" screen though, the savings difference is about enough to buy whichever other Nav chip option so you could have both...

 

I'm just an old retired dude with old electronics on my boat. I only do salt and figure if I can see bottom structure I'm good to go. Would I like one with pretty colors and fish waving as they go by? You betcha.

 

Honestly, regardless of which modern unit you buy, if you haven't had a new fish finder in 5 or 6 years, you'll be blown away at how nice a unit you can get in that price range. That said, my Garmin 94sv is pretty much idiot-proof and can be had in that price range.

 

We purchased the Garmin Echomap 73sv. It’s a nice fish finder and chart plotter. Using it on inland lakes not coastal. $750. The Garmin replaced a Hummingbird Helix 7. Worked good for fish finder and Speedo, but lacked in maps and would randomly turn off or just go into demo mode. Gremlins?

 

I run a new echomap and gps map, both 7 series. As my eyes have more birthdays, the less I like split screen. The gpsmap came loaded with freshwater and coastal maps, but no xducer. Echomap came with a great xducer but no maps. Both were factory reconditioned and fully warranted by garmin and less than $650 each. Accuracy, ease of use and price along with all the purdy colours are a win! Places like Hodges Marine have stuff like that on sale all the time.

 

Go for the Cabela's Garmin Echomap 106sv. Hard to find a better deal.

 

Thanks for all the input. I pulled the trigger on the Garmin 106sv Ultra from Cabela's. I didn't realize they gave a MIL/LE discount until I just saw it while looking at their website. That knocked another $100.00 off so seemed like a no-brainer.

 

Yeah the Cabelas/BPS Vets discount is pretty slick if you have one of their club/credit card accounts; can just verify w/ them once and then the discount status is stored w/ you user profile so it gets automatically applied every time even if I don't remember to look for it.

 

Came today and I got it all hooked up. Pretty tight fit on the console of the old Gregor, but it should work.

 

Went from this....lol

 

Good grief! Takes up half the windshield Are you sure that ones big enough? I could troll behind you 100 feet and read that one.

 

Usually in the back running the kicker so no longer need binoculars...