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Ripnlip7
06-20-2012, 08:14 AM
Hi Jim. I bought an HDS 8 GEN 1 from you a year or so back and I am looking to buy a second unit. I was originally looking at the HDS 10 GEN2 but have heard really good things about Simrad. I am having a hard time deciding could you elaborate for me which way I should go. Also are there options for me with them concerning Cartography and the transducer. I need a base model basically since I already have my HDS 8 with the Navionics and am running an upgraded Airmar Transducer. Really looking to pull the trigger soon and would love to hear your take. You were very helpful in the past and i trust you to lead me in the right direction.
Seth
yachtjim
06-20-2012, 03:21 PM
The Simrad and Lowrance stuff have the same technology. Same FF, etc. The Simrad stuff is generally more robust, faster, and has a more sophisticated interface. It has crusing friendly features as well as fishing friendly features, wheras the HDS stuff is more geared towards just fishing. The two platforms will network together just fine as its the same basic software. All Simrad units come preloaded with charts, and you can optionally stick your Navionics card in there too. If you don't mind the added cost of the Simrad units I would recommend them in a heartbeat.