Fish Finder screens

Color or Grey screen, which is best??
Any suggestions a decent priced FF?

I'd say color is better in that it's much easier to distinguish reflection strength (full color spectrum vs monochrome).  However, monochrome works well enough and is much cheaper.  It doesn't hurt to look at both of them in demo model at your local marine store to see the difference.

As for models, that really depends on your budget.  I'm a big fan of decent $80-$150 fish finders that are nice and small for kayaks, work well enough, and are easier to replace than the more expensive models. 

For the inexpensive models I prefer the Eagle Cuda and Eagle Fisheasy lines over the Hummingbird PirhanaMax series.  I've had one Eagle for years with no problems and a PirhanaMax that lasted almost a year in which I had corrosion and leakage issues. 

There are various models to choose from and I believe both Eagle and Hummingbird have recently discontinued some models to make way for newer ones.  You can probably pick up a good deal on the older models right now.  I believe the smaller Lowrance fishfinders are basically the same as the Eagle Cuda/Fisheasy line.  If you need a specific model suggestion, I'd recommend the Eagle Cuda Fisheay 245DS at ~$150.  If you need a less expensive model, you can pick up an Eagle Cuda 168 for well under $100 and it will probably suit you just fine for most purposes.

For a bit more money, Hummingbird makes some really nice fishfinders in the $200+ range including some sidescan models that cost $1000+.

At the very high end are the Raymarine, Furno, and a few other manufacturers that make commercial grade fish finders/marine op centers that cost thousands.

Brian

ok, been looking at the humminbird 717 to mount on the trident. taking some imprecise miscalculations from the sonar shield mounting area, and comparing them to the listed sizes of both the 717 and the 383 ( which is what O.K. says it uses to complete the full monty factory angler package that retails for more than i make in 3 weeks) it seems they are almost identical in size. the 717 comes standard with a transom mount transducer.  has anyone ever adapted one of those to work thru the hull old school? [ goopin it in place inside with a bit of water under it]

sure, it's greyscale, but i like the larger size and the fact it's just at $200. plus it'll just fit in that mount area really well

and, yeh before y'all beat me up about it, i kno i posted some time back about their exchange program and all that. but, working on a budget, and taking tips from posts by FFTW and a few others doing things on the cheap, thats just an added expense right now.

so, any advice?

I'm using an Eagle Cuda 168 and it works fine by me.  The construction is sturdy and watertight.  I have been tempted to try and get one of the Hummingbird's with the larger screen, higher screen resolution, and real-time display to satisfy the tech geek in me though.  For the money you can't beat the '168: 20*-60* cone(depending on sensitivity setting), 200mHz, and 800W.

I'm happy with my Eagle Cuda 240. $199 and has GPS. It's greyscale and i can see it good in any light. Nice and compact.Great all around finder for the price.

the 717 comes standard with a transom mount transducer.  has anyone ever adapted one of those to work thru the hull old school? [ goopin it in place inside with a bit of water under it]

so, any advice?

I'd read on another forum that it made no difference to mount a transom transducer as a thru hull.  Turns out, they were right.  Even with goop squeezed out between the hull and the transducer it works great.  In the pictures below I used some closed cell packing foam and cut an opening to the shape of the transducer.  I've also read (here I believe) that direction doesn't matter.

Bsteves is right about the color screen being easier to see but it does use a lot more juice. So if you don't mind the battery dying quicker then color is still good. I have the Eagle Cuda on My outback and it's a rock solid unit. I'm super hard on pretty much all my fish/yak gear and it's taken the abuse like a champ. I did get a Humminbird 580 combo for the Adventure and it's really nice. If you wanna satisfy the geek in yourself it's pure indulgence. The display is super detailed and the dual beam trans. picks up everything. Really solid unit.

Z

Z., Brian, thanx guys, thot that that was the general consenus...i really really like what i see on the 717..color doesnt matter, sometimes, most times, it's better for me not to have something that distracting.. maybe if i ever move up to a PB, or, goddess forbid, somehow turn pro [ yeh right] i'll think about color.

hey if u are gonna go with a 5 inch display then check out the eagle fishmark 480....480 pixel 
i don't know how much the 717 is but the eagle is about 199 i think
just a suggestion
it is actually same height and width but smaller depth i think (don't quote me...i know its smaller somehow maybe its width...717 has extra space on right side for some reason)

i am not particularly a big fan of humminbird but not really for any reason i have only ever used eagle or lowrance...hell we have had a eagle on my dads MB for 3 years and it was 3 years old when he bought it and finally some pixels went out a few years ago...so basically it lasted 5 or 6 years...and it was a fairly cheap model
i doubt there is anything wrong with humminbird just throwing out a suggestion for u to check into...i don't know about you but i like to look at alot of options before i spend lots of money hehe

http://www.solunar.com/Eagle-FishMark-480-P1191C39.aspx

by the way there is a link if ur interested

here ya go kid, look fer yerself

http://store.humminbird.com/humminbird-products/sonar/700-series/717/prod406730-1.html

i am not particularly a big fan of humminbird but not really for any reason i have only ever used eagle or lowrance...

Like an old wise man said "Don't knock 'em 'till you try 'em."

I used an Eagle Cuda for a few years and then got a Hum 580.. man... like going from a hand held game to Playstation. The Eagle was a tough unit and did a good job mapping the bottom but the Hum just offers so much more. They are quality, tough machines with the most insane screen detail. Once you adjust all the settings (I just did after having it for 6 months ) to what you like it's just even better.

Z

ya but ur comparing apples to oranges...a 640vX320H 5 inch display with chartplotter vs. a at most 240Vx160H 4 inch display with no chartplotter not to mention half the depth and power

i haven't seen a humminbird in person for a very long time...i remember when i first started fishing my friend had one on his dads boat and i wasn't impressed but we are talking 4 or 5 years ago...i was just saying pure clarity 480Vx480H is gonna be clearer than a 320Vx320H

now if ur looking for optional handheld gps hookup then humminbird is obviously better...and this realtime stuff i suppose i don't thoroughly understand wat they mean by that...pretty much ur update rate is gonna determine your "instant display" rate...a fishfinder that can keep up with a boat going 70 miles an hour in scroll rate is gonna be instant at 4 miles an hour
i never learned to use real flashers so i don't know the advantage there...i have heard when read correctly they are much more accurate on bottom structure but i can't see a system built for a regular finder being the same as a flasher but if i haven't said it before i will say it now i am no expert and probably don't know enough to make some of these statements especially on flashers

but i was merely providing another unit to check into...personally if i was gonna buy a unit for gps or chartplotting use i would want it built into the unit...but obviously those are much more expensive which is probably why i won't get one   

but i was merely providing another unit to check into...personally if i was gonna buy a unit for gps or chartplotting use i would want it built into the unit...but obviously those are much more expensive which is probably why i won't get one   

...and i really appreciate your offer of an alternative...

do not see chartplotter as an offered function on the 717, matter of fact, i didnt see it listed on the page your link took me too either. maybe i missed it.

 right now that ability isnt one that i feel i need, 'cause most of the chartplotters i've looked at are way over what i feel a newbie yak fishers budget should be. expandability via waterproof connectors to things like gps, downrigger controls, etc are nice touches...means i can transfer this unit to a powered boat if i want to and build a fishing "home network" onobard....yeah, it's nice to have a FF, but this isn't supposed to be a technology race to see who can spend the most to pimp out their boat. ... this is supposed to be about fun,and innovation and upgrading on a budget...and right now, i've budgeted a max of $350, by saving it back til i can buy this or that gizmo. i came up with this price point by totaling up all the components to include the battery and charger, btw, not just the cost of the FF itself.

but! another boat? thats a whole new category of spending

dont get me wrong. i liked what i saw regarding resolution and all that, and it's priced inline with my budgeted allowance. but, if i read that right, it doesnt come with a transducer, which they want another $100 for. i'll take the lower pixels and slightly better resolution and slightly larger case for the same price, cause i know for a fact it comes with a transducer, which i'll mount in hull...instead of wasting that scupper hole or drilling another in my boat. [ thanx all you old timers for showing me the difference]

so, i'm still tempted to buy the humminbird, doesnt mean i will  tho.. yet.

sounds like a good idea to me...and i confused chartplotter with the trackplotter option on the 717

hey anybody know how the wireless option deal works on the 717?

wanderingrichard are you gonna go with a gps unit that is mounted or just a handheld

i had a lowrance H20 handheld which woulda been sweet but it got stolen lol 

p.s. the eagle fishmark does come with a transom mount but it is only single frequency vs. the 717 with dual

u gotta pay 40 bucks more for duel on the fishmark