Eagle/Lowrance

[Tony Payne]

ok, I've been thinking about upgrading my core fishfinder/GPS with some of my tax refund...



Lowrance and Eagle are apparently made by the same company...(they have the same plant address and the customer service number is the same except the very last digit).



I like my Garmin units, but I have to believe that the 480x480 resolution and jump in power would improve the overall picture.



I also hate the fact that I cannot get a good sonar read when I am up on plane...I assume that is a factor of power, because the 'ducer appears to be in the right spot.



Anyone have any experience with the LMS480 or the Eagle Fish Elite 480?



C'mon Spring!

 

[Michael Snow]

NO, we don't. The Fish Elite 480 has just started showing up.



I DO have a Lowrance x-91 and I lose detail (and sometimes bottom) at about 40mph. This is due to transducer location according to Lowrance. I've not seen a boat that goes 60mph that can get a good bottom read at that speed. Think about where the transducer is and how it's going to get "smooth" water with that much of the boat out of the water.



MAYBE it gets better, I don't hold my breath.



The difference between the two units is the backlighting and maybe a flasher function in the LMS that isn't in the Eagle. Past that, same general stuff.



I have read and seen myself that the 480 over the 320 isn't that much better. Don't get me wrong, I'd take the 480 over a 320, I'm just not sure if I'd upgrade from the 320 to the 480.

 

[Donnie Matney]

Simmy, my buddy from TN has the fish elite, and so far he loves it. He had to go back and get the mm card (sp?) to beef it up a little, but so far so good. Let me know if want some more detailed info on them. I may get him to post on here.



Donnie

 

[Bob G.]

mikesnow,



I mounted my x71 transducer on the transom for two reasons, to take advantage of the built in temp sensor and to get a decent sonar reading at WOT. My cheesy dash mounted H-bird digital depth gauge that came with my boat has its transducer mounted in the bilge area and it loses the signal at 35-40mph. I assume that it is mounted too far forward. The x71 blocks my view of the H-bird so I don't have to look at it anymore!



Bob G.

 

[Rick Hale]

Lowrance and Eagle have updated their web pages -- You can down load emulators of the units and test drive them--Not the same as real life -- but gives you an Idea-- fun to play with--.

I,ve seen the 480 X 480 display -- really clear.

Besides power, back-lighting, "Man-Over-Board, and a few other bells -- the Lowrance and Eagle are the same.

$75-$100 diff. in price.

Good Luck- HaleDamage

 

[Tony Payne]

I'd really like to get a feature by feature comparison of the two units...I'll start digging farther...



My primary reasons for upgrade are:

Bigger screen (so I can do a split that is usable if I decide)

Better resolution.



On my "triton"... with a the lowrance x-75 I used to get good readings on plane... I know that there are alot of variables involved, but I do know that it is possible.



I downloaded the emulater for the eagle last nite, apparently the install failed as I couldnt get it to run... gonna try again tonite.



Donnie, if you can get your friend to post his knowledge, I think that would help everyone.

 

[Tony Payne]

One more question I have is where it relates to "Power" and the "depth" capability...



Does the extra power that the lowrance offer (4000 Watts Peak to peak) vs Eagles 1500 Watts really make a difference.



given that the deepest lake around here is 200'...



Is the extra power overkill or will it help define "more" targets?



other than possibly a couple of bells and whistles (an flasher on te lowrance) I still cant find any specific feature that says the lowrance is worht the extra $$.

 

[Jon Puhalski]

Power is good not only for reading deep water but with the extro vertical pixels, you'll get better target seperation.

 

[Rick Hale]

I sent a E-mail to Lowrance and Eagle -- Asked the differance between the LMS-320DF and the SeaCharter320DF.

From Eagle this e-mail

"Besides depth capability, the difference is small. The LMS-320 has two communication ports and the SeaCharter 320 has only one. This means that the LMS-320 can interface with two other devices (such as autopilot, radar, another GPS) and the SeaCharter can only interfacewith one.

The SeaCharter does not have the flasher style display like the LMS-320.

Other than these few features and a name, these two units are the same."



Here is a E-mail from Lowrance=

"Thank you for your inquiry. The internal workings of both of these units are the same. However there are a few features that are different in the LMS-320DF. It has Split-screen Zoom, Programmable Upper & Lower depth limits, and Fast Track. It also comes packaged with a white plastic cover and has a greater depth capacity up to 2500 feet, while the SeaCharter 320 DF can reach up to 1500 feet. For many anglers these features are really nothing more than extra bells & whistles.



I think the 320 is the same as the 480 -- just different pic. count..From what Eagle said in Dec...E-mail from Eagle

"The Seacharter 480DF will more than likely be available within the nextcouple of months.

The difference at this time is in the display screen. It has 480 x 480 pixels as opposed to 320 x 320.

Because this product has not yet been released, it is possible that the information here can change."



Not sure if this helps or not --

Good Luck,, HaleDamage

 

[Michael Snow]

If you REALLY want something cool, the Lowrance LMS-330C looks AWESOME. I think it's supposed to have a street price of about $650.. COLOR at 320x240.

 

[Tony Payne]

What does color actually offer? I think of all the bells and whistles, color is the least important...



Unless they intend to have a S&T screensaver for it, then I'd want color!



Tell me why I need color! Edumacate me!

 

[TOMMY RICH]

Color to me IS less important Simmy..just 2cent. And as far as I can tell the max "peak to peak" wattage does make a diff. as far as reading bottom on plane above say above 40 MPH. I'm about to find out cause I've upgraded to the 400TX that the ol' man gave me and it's 2400 PTP. My boat bottom is very smooth so it should give a reading. Let ya' know here soon...and I don't think you could really go overkill on the lakes we fish. Kinda'wished I had a GPS and all that but, still do all right by triangulation. You'd be surprised...a lot of guides still do it so people won't get their numbers

TEE

 

[Texas Transplant]

One of the other 'common' differences between Eagle and Lowrance, is that Lowrance 'saves' your settings, whereby Eagle typically does not. That is, if you change from factory settings for power, zoom, display features, etc. on an Eagle, you'll get to do this every time you power up.



Lowrance 'saves' your settings so you don't need to do this. Maybe someone else can confirm that this is still the case.



Tex

 

[TOMMY RICH]

I believe you right sir...at least my older Eagle III on the front doesn't save my settings. Always goes back to default....

TEE

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

So does my Lowrance.....



TOXIC