Posted by GANGGREEN on 2002 PM:

Lowrance sonar question

Since Lowrance discontinued the LMS350A, the X85, X70, etc. I was hoping that some dealers might be trying to unload them cheap. Does anyone know of any dealers or tackle shops that are selling these things off cheap.

I'd love to upgrade my cheapy Eagle on my bow to an X85 if I could get one cheap enough.


Posted by JOHN G on 2002 PM:

Good point Bill, along with the upgraded names, they uprgraded the price also!!! JOHN G


Posted by patx on 2002 PM:

BOTTOM LINE BABY!

Seriously - take a look at the TX HR and the NCC 5500 before you make a Lowrance purchase - just my 2.0 cents!

Pat Xiques


Posted by GANGGREEN on 2002 PM:

Pat, Thanks for the input.

If I end up in a new rig this year I'll do my homework and check out all the brands of electronics. I figured that since Lowrance discontinued all the old models that I might pick up an X85 or LMS350 for around 300 clams. That's alot of sonar for that price. As it turns out I hear that some of the Gander Mountain stores are selling the X85s for $299.

I've got an LMS350A on the console of my rig and I couldn't be happier with it. It reads walleye and perch that are practically laying in the mud, downrigger cables, a jig below the boat and usually the thermocline.

The only problem that I've got with Lowrance is that if something goes wrong with your unit that they charge you a flat rate service charge. For instance, once my backlight went dead, the rest of the unit worked flawlessly. I called to have the backlight replaced and they said they'd replace it as well as clean the unit and fix anything else that was wrong for $119. I told them that nothing else WAS wrong and that I had no intention of paying over 100 bucks for a $2 backlight. The guy on the other end of the phone told me that if I sent the unit he'd replace it with a brand new LMS350A (mine was 7 or 8 years old) for that price. I did it and I couldn't be happier.

Thanks again for the advice Pat.


Posted by TONY ON ICE on 2002 PM:

LOWRANCE ELECTRONICS

GANGGREEN
Those Cheapo Eagle units are the same exact units as Lowrance on the inside.
With the type of fishing you like to do, there's really no need for the X-85 or equivelant but for around $300.00 you can buy an Eagle Fishmark 240 with 1200 watts of peak power, 240x240 pixels and all the features that the X-85 had and more, plus you have a new unit.
This Fishmark 240 is the same as the Lowrance X-91 with 1200 watts instead of the 3000 that the X-91 has.
Savings of $150.00

I think Reeds Sporting Goods in
Minnesota has some blow-out specials going on X-85's and LMS-350-A units.
I'll check and let you know.

__________________
TONY B. <*)}}}><


Posted by JOHN G on 2002 PM:

Tony welcome to the board...you have made some good insights on the sonar thing: the 240 is a steal because the differnence in Wattage only comes into play if you are fishing MUCH deeper water, it will discern better in very deep water with the higher watt output, but I am talking hundreds of feet deep....for the average basser, sonar will be used normally no deeper than about 40 or 50 feet if at all that deep, so the 240 will perform exactly like the higher priced spread for what most bassers do.......good point..... JOHN G


Posted by GANGGREEN on 2002 AM:

Thanks Tony and John.

I had wondered about those Eagle units. Of course I knew that Eagle and Lowrance were both made by the same parent company. It sounds like the Fishmark would suit me. My old unit is one of those 128 pixel deals that is just too hard to read and it has no definition.

I had already checked Reeds and they are sold out of the units. Good call though, Reeds often has great prices on electronics, especially discontinued items.

By way of introduction folks, Tony is a friend of mine from the
Syracuse area who occasionally pops his head in here. Hopefully we can encourage him to post occasionally because he knows quite a bit about fishing in general and he knows a great deal about the central NY waters. He's also the guy who caught the perch on Rob J.'s Seneca Lake post.

Welcome Tony.


Posted by OnceBitten on 2002 AM:

Bill,

I saw the Fishmark 240 for sale in
Rochester for $249 this weekend , so before you buy one, give me a shout. Maybe you can save yourself 50 bucks or more.

Fred


Posted by TONY ON ICE on 2002 AM:

THANKS FOR THE WELCOME JOHN & BILL

Hello John !
Great site and a great bunch of guys.

My business is fish-ing related so I'm lucky enough to rub shoulders with the sales / marketing reps, tech people and fishermen on a pretty regular basis.
Primarily Ice Fishing though.

I don't consider myself a Bass Fisherman but there's something about consisantly catching 3 to 6 pound Smallmouths in
Oneida Lake and the Seneca River in my back yard that keeps me interested.
Beyond lake Erie, there's no comparison to
Oneida lake for Smallmouth fishing and the rivers that flow between Central New York and Lake Ontario are untouched hotbeds for giant smallmouths.
If you're ever up this way from Early October until it gets to nasty to use the boat (hasn't happened around here this winter) around mid December, give me a shout and I'll put you on some of the best "Big" smallmouth action in the country.
We have some big perch here too!! :^)

__________________
TONY B. <*)}}}><


Posted by TONY ON ICE on 2002 AM:

LOWRANCE / EAGLE SONAR

GANGGREEN
The only difference in the Lowrance and Eagle units is that the Eagle Sonar units are made for the mass merchants I.E. Wal-Mart, Dicks, K-Mart Etc, Etc. Lowrance units can only be purchased through distributors to the fishing trade.
The only other difference is sometime the power as we've discussed between the Lowrance X-91 and thr Eagle Fishmark 240.
Like John stated, the 3000 watt X-91 is overkill for what we usually do and 1200 watts is more than we'll ever need on the waters we fish. Even Seneca lakes 600 ft depths aren't off limits for the 1200 watt units or less.
If you can snag one of those Fishmark 240 units for $249.00, jump on it.
Rochester isn't a long drive for you and maybe we could meet for lunch out that way.
I'm heading to Seneca in a few minutes here but I have a feeling we'll get blown off the lke today. Snowing pretty good right now.

__________________
TONY B. <*)}}}><


Posted by JOHN G on 2002 AM:

by the way, I would like to also mention that for anyone used to the old 128 pixel displays, when you jump to that 240 by 240 screen, you will not believe the difference in quality, amazing! My usual mode to run the machine is in Automatic bottom tracking but with the fish ID off...the clarity is excellent.....I believe in the accuracy of their products as I have proven them time and time again on the water..... JOHN G