Lowrance x-4 pro Sonar or Garmin echo 150, opinions please

[hookedontronics]

Well, since the depth gauge is not functioning in my boat i fgured i would just get a simple fish finder and kill 2 birds with 1 stone. I was leaning toward a lowrance x-4 pro sonar but a friend has tried to point me in the direction of the garmin echo 150. Does anyone have one of these units and if so what are your opinions on it? I will likely end up getting 2, 1 for the wheel and 1 for the front by the trolling motor. I am just getting my feet wet with the intro of fish finders, i'm not looking for anything crazy just something simple and functional.

thank you

 

[hookedontronics]

no one?

 

[Bugpac]

I wouldnt buy either, i would put the money in a jar and save up for a color unit, lowrance or a bird. You wont be happy later with either u posted.

 

[russ010]

If all you're looking for is depth & temperature, then either unit will work just fine. I wouldn't count on them to actively search for fish, but you can tell what the bottom composition is with them fairly easy.

I've never used Garmin, but from most of what I've read on them, they are pretty good units.

Have you thought about buying a $200 unit (since you are looking at getting 2 - $100 units)? You could get a bit pricier unit, then just buy an extra transducer for the trolling motor, extra power cord and mount - then just take the unit off each base and put it either on the bow or on the dash area depending on where you are at the time

 

[hookedontronics]

That's a good suggestion Russ. What you you recommend for a $200 unit. Likely I'll just put the cheap one at the cockpit and a complete separate one up front. All I really need is depth for the cockpit

edit: better yet-What features (specs) do i want to look for in a fishfinder unit?

 

[russ010]

Well... brand depends on what you are used to or like most (most personal preference type of stuff)... I've only used Humminbird and Lowrance, and currently have Lowrance on my boat now.

I think for just 2D sonar (no side imaging, down imaging), Lowrance has the better picture (again, my personal preference). I would look at the Lowrance

As far as what to look for...
1 - RMS power. This is how much power your unit will put out at the transducer to get the best signal. Atleast 500W RMS (not peak-to-peak) is the least I would go for (this is usually in the $200 range)
2 - Resolution (i.e. 480 vertical x 480 horizontal pixels) - the higher the pixel count, the better picture you will get - the larger the screen size you go is when you actually get into this

Here are some units (and probably in the order I would buy) for around $200

1- Lowrance Mark 5x-Pro (this one gets my vote due to the better resolution and a few more features than the Humminbird) - not to mention the fact that I personally think it gives better 2D view than Humminbird)
RMS - 300w
Resolution - 480x480

2 - Humminbird 718
RMS - 300W
Resolution - 320 x 320

If I were to buy more expensive units with down/side imaging - I'd probably go with Humminbird second time around. You can update Humminbirds, whereas with Lowrance - when they update something really cool, you have to buy a whole new unit. Humminbird just puts it in the software and gives it to you for free when it's available.

 

[hookedontronics]

what is down / side imaging?

Also you said you want at least 500w but then you listed 2 units that are both 300w?

 

[russ010]

well... you can't get 500w in a $200 unit... (I should have paid attention to that before I posted), but as long as you're not going to be fishing deeper than 40-50 feet, you won't have a problem

Side imaging and down imaging is a fish finder that gives you back a clear picture of what you are actually looking at under the boat. It's almost like you are looking at an underwater camera so you can see exactly what you are looking at. This is what I have on my boat and here are some pictures that came off my unit (these are all active bait balls and fish)

 

[hookedontronics]

That is pretty cool. Judging from those pictures I'd say you have a very expensive unit

 

[russ010]

That is pretty cool. Judging from those pictures I'd say you have a very expensive unit

You don't even want to know... I have a Lowrance HDS 8 and HDS 5 on the boat - along with Structure Scan which is an additional model you have to have for imaging (unlike Humminbird)

I bout smaller units, and when they messed up - I upgraded a lot cheaper than you can buy for retail. I started with the HDS 5x which I still have and bought when HDS first came out for around $400. Then I bought an additional HDS 7 from a business going under for around $600. It went out, and I was able to upgrade to the HDS 8 for $200. The HDS now costs around $1800 for just the unit, then tack on an additional $500 for imaging.

Needless to say - it ain't cheap! But I saved up all of the winnings I made from fishing tournaments, along with some other funds that come in monthly from military pay (I'm in the Air Guard, so all of that check rougly $400 for a weekend) goes into what I call my "fishing fund". I don't buy all at one time if I can help it, and I scour the web for deals and usually end up calling places and negotiate prices.

Amazing what just a little phone call can get you compared to the price you see on their website.

 

[TNtroller]

The Mark 5 pro is a good FF/DF, I had two on my Tracker at one time, but upgraded last year. The 5 pro is dual beam 83/200, has scroll back feature so you can rewind so to speak to look at that BP again or something you may have missed, split screen for 83/200, a flasher, and a couple more features. Easy to use, easy to set up/install, and a 5" screen. Picks up or paints the bottom well, good definition on the screen, even in bright sunlight.