I don't want to spend more than 1500 on a unit and I would like others opinions on the best unit available for the price. I don't currently know how operate any unit but I would like something that will make finding structure and fish easier resulting in more enjoyable time on the water. I know I would like to have GPS, Sonar, and Mapping capability, but I'm not very familiar with SI vs DI vs Structure Scan. I currently use an older model Lowrance that came with the boat and the sonar doesn't work and the depth finder messes up every time I take off. I have cash ready to spend but I want to get the best I can for hopefully under 1500. Any information and opinions will be great.

898C from Humminbird.
Simple to install, easy to understand, great customer service and support.

Humminbird 898c gets you Switchfire 2D Sonar, Down Imaging, Side Imaging, GPS Mapping, 50 Channel GPS Receiver with 4x Refresh Rate, and alot of features for that Budget Amount.

+ 1 on the Humminbird 898c SI Combo w/GPS ! !

Check w/ David @ shut-up-and-fish,......he`s a forum member,great to deal with. He can give you an un advertised price that is very low. He`s in Carrollton

Trim It High and Let it Fly ! ! !

Hey Doug, i sent u a PM, will ask here for everyone else that might want to know; can you get a SI unit w/o gps ? Don`t need two gps`s, will it save much on the cost ?

Thanks ! !

All the SI Units come with GPS. Because that is one of the great features of Humminbird is the ability to use the GPS to cursor over the fish or structure andmark the location of the point-of-interest not the boat location. I would never run SI without GPS to valuable of a feature.


Plus if running 2 Units I like to have my receiver near the transducer to improve accuracy of the waypoints:

I hate to be the one dissenter here, but the HB/Lowrance discussion is very much a Ford/Chevy debate. There's no disputing that HB makes a good unit, but there's definitely plenty of folks like myself that prefer the Lowrance. You can get a Gen 2 HDS-7 bundle with LSS-1 for $1500 minus the rebate. I'd definitely suggest going to a store like BPS that has both so you can try them out and see which one you like better.

Good point patriot. Looks like a trip to Caballes is in order

The Academy here had a Humminbird 998 unit on clearance for $1499 the other day. Think they only had one but would be a very good upgrade from an 898. Sure wish it would have been on sale last year when I was buying.