What fish finder would you recommend for the sound and why? I'm hoping to find a good one for under $200, maybe via E-bay.

The boat I bought came with a new (still in box) Impulse 2800+ and a new (still in box) Impulse 3000 Loran-C. But neither has mounting brackets and the 2800+ doesn't have a transducer. Both are probably circa 1991 since the boat is a 1991. I have no idea how good the 2800 is or if it even compares to today's fish finders, so if anyone has info on the 2800+, I'd love to hear it.

Thanks!

Aint much out there for <$200.00. If you are an eBayer I would think about selling those finders you have to add to your purchasing budget for a good finder. Most of the Eagles and Garmins are $350.00+. You get what you pay for.

Ok, so what's a good finder for $300 to $500? I'm not against spending the money, but when I see $500 retail FF's going for $300 on Ebay, I figured I could get a good one for around $200. I'm a cheap bastige at heart.

Braz

I have a Garmin 240 Blue on my boat and love it. Real easy manu navigation, strong and wide freq range, and install myself without too much hassle.

Brazin, there are a couple good ff in the $200 range, the Garmin 160 Blue retails for $240 or the Eagle 320DF which is $200, they are both 500 watt (RMS) dual frequency units that come with speed & temp. They really have no competition in the sub-$300 fish finder market (IMHO)

As for the ff and loran you mentioned, I wouldn't waste my time, they are dinosaurs as electronics go.

Sometimes dinosaurs are perfectly good. I have a Si-Tex HE357 paper chart recorder on my rig. State of the art when it came out, and I'd have to spend somewhere around 600 bucks for the equivalent display size and resolution today (say, a Lowrance LCX-15MT). 600 bucks will buy a LOT of replacement chart paper at 5 bucks a roll (I go through 2-3 rolls a year) Of course, it looks kind of silly mounted next to a brand new Garmin GPSMAP176.

I generally out fish the boats around me and have for many years. I just got a fish finder a few years ago and paid $100 for it replaced it this year with one that cost $120. Shows me the depth bottom structure etc. The only reason I got one was entertianment for my two small kids and to teach them how to read conditions with a visual aid. I think they make you less of a fisherman . But that is my way of life and not for everyone.

It really depends on what type of water you will be fishing. Some units work better in the shallow river and others work better for deeper off shore fishing

I agree sometimes dinosaurs are ok, but when you have to find a mounting bracket and X-ducer, for a unit thats over 5 yrs old, I think your wasting your time. As for the loran, they will only work for 2 more years, which is about how long it takes the avg. weekend warrior to learn how to use them, scrap it and get a gps. Just my .02 worth.

The Humminbird Matrix series look pretty good and are GPS compatible.

I have a garmin 160 blue, works GREAT!!

Another vote for the Garmin 160 Blue Line.

Same unit as the higher priced 240 but not as many pixels.

These are both excellent FF,especially for the price.

Both units will be on sale at Boater's world during the Boat Show(I'm told)

Glad to see ya made it back OK Scott. Give me a call or email.

A great fish finder is my buddy Steve @ 3-rivers.

I think the recommendations AkKings gave you are good ones. I personally have the 240 Blue and like the extra pixel count. At the time I bought it the Eagle 320 DF wasn't on the market, but I would have seriously considered it given the price. AKKings.....correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the Eagle has a higher pixel count than the Garmin 160.

LF, the Eagle does infact have the higher pixel count, 320x320 as apposed to the Garmin which is 160x160, if I were currently in the market for an inexpensive, entry-level ff I would probably go with the Eagle 320DF. You can't go wrong with either though.