furuno FVC620 vc Lowrance HDS7 with LSS structure Scan, what to buy ?

[tfenn]

Looking for thoughts on my fishfinder upgrade for lower Bay fishing.

The furuno has more power as a straight up fish finder;The Lowrance has side scan option.

Does the side scan really work well ?

Looking for experience with either.

Thanks in advance.:help:

[Jaybr]

I've got the HDS on my boat with Structure Scan, and yes it works. I can cruise along the CBBT and see every piling, rocks along the pilings, and any fish hanging around them with the sidecan. Downscan is awesome too, I've been over a couple wreck and can see every detail. I'm just learning and consider myself a novice, but it definately works.

My only complaint with the HDS is that it's slow, especially zooming in and out with charts. A couple weeks ago I played with a Simrad unit at Greentops and it's much faster than the HDS and uses the same structure scan unit.

[1987-cobb]

Looking for thoughts on my fishfinder upgrade for lower Bay fishing.

The furuno has more power as a straight up fish finder;The Lowrance has side scan option.

Does the side scan really work well ?

Looking for experience with either.

Thanks in advance.:help:

Here is a review of the Furuno 620 sonar only. -- $838 with transducer.
http://www.marine-electronics-reviews.com/furuno-fcv620.html


Here is a review of the Lowrance HDS5 (gps chartplotter with transducer) $572.
Sense you are comparing, I used the HDS5 review because it has about the same screen size as the Furuno 620.
http://www.marine-electronics-reviews.com/lowrance-hds-5.html

LSS-1 StructureScan review -- $548.
http://www.marine-electronics-reviews.com/lowrance-structurescan.html

As far as comparing power output of the HDS Broadband to the Furuno.
The internal (Broadband) sounder uses a digital signal processor. Hard to compare Broadband Sounder to a conventional analog unit since the sensitivity of the broadband sounder is so high it uses significantly less output power. But if you need to compare, the Broadband sounder is equal to 3.75KW RMS analog power. The Furuno 620 output is 600 watts RMS.

SideScan/DownScan works really well.
Some Potomac river screen shots (fish nets). Great for finding structure & fish.
http://i559.photobucket.com/albums/ss35/LateSummer/N2.png

http://i559.photobucket.com/albums/ss35/LateSummer/shot1-3.png

Good luck!!

[Seahunter]

I've owned both and while the HDS is a nice machine for the money, there is no comparison when it comes to the screen presentation and the overall quality of the machine.
The down scan is a nice feature if you would use it. Otherwise I'd go with 620 which is a better screen presentation.

FWIW: Furuno uses DSP (digital signal processor) in their sounders as well. As do Rayamrine and a host of other manufacturers anymore

[tfenn]

Well, I did buy the Furuno, and it works very well.

I put in the B45 thru hull transducer.

I purchased from Marine Electronics and was impressed with the price and delivery. Good Job Guys !

thanks for the advice.