Buying soanr/head unit for the boat

[stinkynuts]

Hey Guys can I get a little education on fish finders sonar units etc what do you guys think is the best bang for your buck ? I have been looking at a Lowrance Elite 7 but I am in sure if this is what I need it s a lot of money . I would like it to be able to read depth on plane as I will be running my boat in the river and on lakes. That said is it worth it to tie it to the engine for RPM and Temp I have a Yamaha 60hp also that said is it worth it to also put a Bluetooth add on to it and use it for Radio and to play music from I pod etc . what brands are better than others in your minds . thanks for the input as it will help me make a descion and not over spend for something I may not need or use .

[Willowtrail]

There are so many different answers to your questions.

Where to start, the Elite 7Ti is a great unit. You'll love the touch screen, if price is an issue there is a 5" that's around the $900 mark but it doesn't have NMEA 2000. The total scan transducer is a great tool. Has 2D 83/200 kHz and also built in structure scan with 455/800 kHz and also does water temp.

The engine interface cable is a great addition but remember you will also need a NMEA 2000 starter kit to create you NMEA network. You need to make sure your motor has the proper output as well to connect to the NMEA network.

As for the sonic hub 2, it is only supported by the HDS units so you would need to upgrade to rum the music.

If you have any more Lowrance questions feel free to pm or post here.

[Fishwhere]

I had a lowrance gen 2 hds and now a gen 3 hds and you cant go wrong with them. If you like tinkering around there is in incredible amount of settings and chart options that im still learning about 2-3 years later. It will read when you are on plane on a 60hp. Will be better if you run standard donar as opposed to CHIRP when youre doing so and up the scroll speed when youre going fast if youre nervous about the areas youre in.

I dont know the TI units, but lowrance in general is my preference.