How to Compare Fish Finders
As with many kinds of electronic devices these days, a person wanting to purchase a fish-finder sonar unit for their boat is faced with an almost dizzying number of choices. There are multiple brands and even brands within brands (just like GMC and Chevy trucks). Each manufacturer produces a number of different models, and some models can be purchased with or without certain features. Keep some considerations in mind to help you choose the perfect unit for your needs.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Compare the brands available to you. If you will self-install the unit, almost any brand will do. If purchasing from a retailer who will do the installation, you are restricted to the one or two brands they carry.
-
2
Compare the size of the screens on the units. They range from very small and compact, to almost the size of big-screen televisions. Size matters, but you will need to consider the space you have available on your boat.
-
-
3
Compare number of pixels in the vertical axis of the screens. Just as with digital photography, the higher the pixel count, the more detail to expect. Since the picture scrolls across the screen, the horizontal pixel count is not as important.
-
4
Compare the widths of the screens. The marks appearing on the right side of the screen are representations of fish, structure and details passing by in real time under the boat. The wider the screen, the longer it will take for the marks to scroll across the screen and disappear, giving a longer history of what was detected under your boat.
-
5
Compare fish-finding features. Decide which ones are important to you and which ones will seldom be used. Most important is sensitivity, used to home in on or filter out details, and gray line, to key in on bottom details. Zoom settings, split-screen options, fish ID features and audible alerts are examples of features you may or may not use frequently.
-
6
Check to see if a variety of transducers are available for a particular unit. Depending on the application you plan for the unit and your boat design, you may need a transducer that's portable or permanently mounted. Mounting locations vary as well.
-
7
Compare power ratings---but don't dwell on them. Manufacturers describe their units in watts; by and large, a 2000-watt unit is more powerful than a 1000-watt unit. But the full power is only needed when using the sonar to image extreme depths. Most fishermen never fish in depths which will test the capability of even low-power units.
-
8
Compare other features available on the unit. Do you need a GPS or not? Is a color screen important, or will a gray-scale screen show all you need to see? Is surface water temperature important? Trolling speed? The sky is the limit on available options, if your pocketbook is unlimited.
-
9
Compare the units, features, size and other details, pick which factors are most important for your needs, single out the units which best suit your needs, then compare prices.
-
1
