Lowrance Elite-5 DSI Gold one day sale (today)

Something to keep in mind before buying is the transducer mount.  from what i understand, DSI cannot be mounted through hull.  one of the reasons i'm still leaning toward the Mark 4.

I don't think that's correct. I thought it was, but from the guys who have the DSI I heard that it can be mounted inside the hull.

It shoots through the hull just fine. I got the same quality directly in the water vs through the hull on my DSI unit.

Something to keep in mind before buying is the transducer mount.  from what i understand, DSI cannot be mounted through hull.  one of the reasons i'm still leaning toward the Mark 4.

I don't think that's correct. I thought it was, but from the guys who have the DSI I heard that it can be mounted inside the hull.

It shoots through the hull just fine. I got the same quality directly in the water vs through the hull on my DSI unit.

Great.  I'm sold, off to pick it up.

They are all out in Portland.  They ordered me one though without having to pay for it yet.  I guess that gives me more time to decide.

They are all out in Portland.  They ordered me one though without having to pay for it yet.  I guess that gives me morebtime to decide.

I called just after 9 and put one on hold (while I decided)... when I went to pick it up, he said I had good timing, the two people in line when he picked up were there for the same thing and I got the last one

I didn't want to wait for a Li-ion (or mess with eBay), so I got a Werker WKA12-5F2 12V 54h battery from Batteries+

http://www.batteriesplus.com/product/43546-WKA12--5F2-12V-Battery--dot250-Terminal/100085-1/102629-SLA-Sealed-Lead-Acid-Batteries/102645-Werker/12V.aspx

Put it on regular mode around 1:30, switched to demo mode around 3:00, it's 7 now and still chugging along (no power saving).

Wow. Looks like a few of you scored on this deal. May they steer you all to monster fish!

Ordered mine online yesterday, it's on back order until 7/21! Wish I'd been in Portland. Still looking forward to getting it in a month.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The transducer is too weak if you fish deep water.  I use the HDS5 2nd gen instead.

The transducer is too weak if you fish deep water.  I use the HDS5 2nd gen instead.

Ah - no wonder it was on sale.

The sales guy was trying to tell me that it would probably get 60ft max in salt - but he seemed like he was trying to get me to buy something else so he could sell the last one to someone else.  He didn't mention the 2nd gen.

Can the transducer be upgraded on this one?  Since $300 was my max, I'm sure this was still a good deal, but still

The transducer is too weak if you fish deep water.  I use the HDS5 2nd gen instead.

Ah - no wonder it was on sale.

The sales guy was trying to tell me that it would probably get 60ft max in salt - but he seemed like he was trying to get me to buy something else so he could sell the last one to someone else.  He didn't mention the 2nd gen.

Can the transducer be upgraded on this one?  Since $300 was my max, I'm sure this was still a good deal, but still

That's funny. My sales guy said that the 200 feet is conservative and it could probably do better.  I told him I rarely ever fish that deep and if I did I have a different one I could use so I wasn't worried about it.

The transducer is too weak if you fish deep water.  I use the HDS5 2nd gen instead.

Ah - no wonder it was on sale.

The sales guy was trying to tell me that it would probably get 60ft max in salt - but he seemed like he was trying to get me to buy something else so he could sell the last one to someone else.  He didn't mention the 2nd gen.

Can the transducer be upgraded on this one?  Since $300 was my max, I'm sure this was still a good deal, but still

That's funny. My sales guy said that the 200 feet is conservative and it could probably do better.  I told him I rarely ever fish that deep and if I did I have a different one I could use so I wasn't worried about it.

Little hunch - I bet they're commission based   I've had the same experience at two stores, I don't think I'd shop there again unless there was a killer deal.

I'd bet they're used to selling them to guys in PBs. I wouldn't worry about the depth.

Got the FF installed last night.  Took it out today, transducer didn't work at all in the hull.

Rigged this up tonight, will see how it does tomorrow.

Hmm. How did you install it in the hull? Water puck?

Foam poorly cut and duct taped in.  It did stay down and stay wet, but it was kinda thrown in late after installing the GT90s / pole mount / FF

So it's quite possible it would have worked in the hull, this just seemed like a better option because:

* Everything is in the back, no wires running up to the front (the only hatch you can close without crimping the wires)
* No drilling giant holes
* Plug and play - swivel the pipe up for launch/landing, pull it off the T and throw it in the crate for storage.
* Keeps the battery cable on top too, so the battery can sit in the crate (in a waterproof bag), no pseudo mounting in the hull.

I was thinking of mounting mine on the rudder, or through a scupper on my Outback.  Of course, I don't know when I will ever get it since I had to do a rain check.  I should have just ordered it from the web site, but the local guys are nice and helpful.