Lowrance Announces Active Target Live Sonar and Elite FS

[Walleyedude]

Lowrance announced their new Active Target Live Sonar today. Compatible with HDS Live and HDS Carbon. Looks like it's the real deal, the video images are pretty amazing. Retail is $1499 USD, so likely around $2000 all in in Canada. I better start saving my pennies...

They also announced the new Elite FS series to replace the Elite TI2. The Elite FS will be compatible with Active Target live sonar, gets a full pinch to zoom touch screen, and is now fully networkable with Ethernet. It'll be the best bang for the buck sonar unit out there.

https://www.lowrance.com/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1La5Wmn9ww

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQK_MuRvkRw

[Remps17]

Looks awesome. We need something to compete with Garmin and their livescope. humminbird is apparently right around the corner with new tech to.

This should start bringing down the price of the Garmin....maybe.

[hawk-i]

Meh, I'm holding out until they build an auto cast system that will interface with active sonar and cast my lure directly to the fish...:)

[AlbertanGP]

Thanks for posting this. I don't even follow Lowrance's releases any more, and I have a Carbon 16 and two Carbon 12s on my boat. Livesight was a complete joke.

They have to do something though. LiveScope is raping them in tourneys down south.

[Walleyedude]

Thanks for posting this. I don't even follow Lowrance's releases any more, and I have a Carbon 16 and two Carbon 12s on my boat. Livesight was a complete joke.

They have to do something though. LiveScope is raping them in tourneys down south.

Yeah, Lowrance has been bleeding sales to Garmin everywhere since they launched LiveScope.

I know several die hard Lowrance guys that spent $3-4000 buying a dedicated Garmin setup just to have LiveScope and ran both brands on their boats.

The new ActiveTarget appears to be every bit as good, maybe even a little bit better, and it’s plug and play right into your existing Lowrance network - at half the cost. I’ll have one for sure, and no doubt I’ll have to go through another steep learning curve like i did with Side Imaging, LiveSight, etc... lol.

I’ve been using LiveSight for the last year and a half or so, it’s not LiveScope, it was never intended to be, but it’s far from being a joke. It’s got a learning curve, but once you figure it out, it’s a great tool to have. The really wide beam angle and lower frequency mean you cover a lot of water, the downside is the clarity and “picture like” resolution aren’t there. You can watch your bottom bouncer in real time, and if you’re fishing vertical, the ability to see your lure and the fish in real time is very cool. I don’t think I’ll be getting rid of it, I can see where you’d “need” both depending on what you’re doing.

[Captainkip]

Looks good. Lowrance licenses the tech from Garmin so it should be just as good as good as livescope.

[Walleyedude]

Lowrance licenses the tech from Garmin so it should be just as good as good as livescope.

Where did you see/read that?

Got a link?

Thanks.

[MooseRiverTrapper]

The technology coming out these days is unbelievable.

[AlbertanGP]

Looks good. Lowrance licenses the tech from Garmin so it should be just as good as good as livescope.

They did. But they got Garmin’s old tech that was a generation or two old. Just look at the transducers.

And maybe saying Livesight is garbage is a bit harsh. Saying it’s garbage compared to LiveScope is 100% accurate though. :)

[Captainkip]

Where did you see/read that?

Got a link?

Thanks.

Just do a good google search. It’s all complicated. Humminbird, Garmin, and Navico have been settling license disputes in court for a while now. Seems they’ve all stole from each other somewhat over time.

[Walleyedude]

Just do a good google search. It’s all complicated. Humminbird, Garmin, and Navico have been settling license disputes in court for a while now. Seems they’ve all stole from each other somewhat over time.

I’ve seen the rumours and read about the law suits, I’ve just never seen anything official or concrete when it comes to the different brands sharing or licensing technology or what they may or may not be sharing. What are they each sharing? Is it a year or two old tech? Are there limits? Is it just patents or is it actual physical hardware or software?

I can see why none of the OEMs would advertise that kinda thing, but a lot of rumours seem to get thrown around on the forums as though they’re fact. I’m not big on speculation and rumours, but I’m all for learning the details if they’re available.