Headhunter Posted September 6, 2020 Report Share Posted September 6, 2020 I have had this love/hate relationship with Navico since I decided to run FMT. I am now starting to learn my way around their world so I thought I would share some of the good, bad and ugly. I bought a 12 inch Carbon for the pathfinder about 18 months ago. Making the change from 30 years with Garmin was difficult and Lowrance Tech support ***. Long waits on the phone, mostly offshore support, poor, outdated printed material and training on their part. I finally got someone on the phone I could understand and he walked me through set up for almost 2 hours. The Carbon was a pretty nice machine until it went up in smoke one afternoon a month ago. A half day on the phone got me an RMA to their repair depot in California. A week later they sent me an email that they were replacing the unit. A week after that I received a brand new (not reconditioned) 12 inch HPS Live which is their latest mac daddy product. Out of the box this is much heftier than the previous unit with higher resolution and a quad processor. Super cool! I never got anything like that from Garmin. Unfortunately, it didn't fit in the carbons cut out so I had to fabricate a new dash inlay. The FMT picture now is like watching HD on TV and the down view sonar is outstanding. At the same time I was up-dating some stuff on our Maverick and and ending up purchasing a Lowrance 9 inch Elite TI2 after spending an hour with Glenn at FMT. Glen is a 12 inch guy, anything else *** from his perspective so I tried the 12 inch HDS before i put it on the Pathfinder and I couldn't see over it properly on the Maverick so I went 9 inch based on feedback from others on this forum. Again, I was impressed with what Navico did to upgrade their product. The new LS22 mount for the transducer was robust stainless with a built in spray deflector. No more plastic junk. Resolution was fine with FMT and the sonar down view was terrific. No rooster tail at speed and the unit saw the bottom up to 35 mph. It could use another card slot so I could run another chip besides FMT. The only issue is the FMT charts take some time to load completely. I am pretty pleased with my purchase so far. As I said Lowrance customer service *** but I have found that there is a pretty good work around. They have great You Tube videos on just about every subject. Some maybe from them but there are a bunch from their dealers. If you can't find it on Lowrance, check Simrad. Some may not be 100 % up to date but close enough that you can figure it out. I bought the carbon from Lowrance's online store so I could purchase their extended warranty but I could never get any service from them. Triplec suggested I try Russell Marine and they are terrific and I recommend them highly. Great service, knowledgeable and they even took my Garmin in trade. Downside is I can't seem to be able to purchase an extended warranty from them and I can't get anyone at Navico to call me back or answer my email. I am finally learning their lingo and seem to have both units set up ok. The only outstanding issues I have are the extended warranty and to try to build and instrument panel that does what I want it to do on the pathfinder. I added the fuel data management to that boat and I can't find a spot for that data on the instrument panel template. I do have fuel rate and range on the main screen I use via data overlay. Lowarance doesn't have a good instrument template since a couple of upgrades ago. Hopefully, this will help others making this transition! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triplec Posted September 7, 2020 Report Share Posted September 7, 2020 Power pole service has us spoiled huh. lol. Just kidding! Good write up and excellent follow up and observations. Thanks for taking the time to post up! I sure do like my Live unit too even though its a 9 and not a 12. It runs FMT excellent and that down and side scan is on point! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
East Coast Dave Posted September 8, 2020 Report Share Posted September 8, 2020 Chuck, I wish I could figure-out the sweet spot for my transducer for my simrad. It’s like a ski off the back, rooster tails and I lose bottom pretty quickly. At least I know we have a resident expert nearby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Headhunter Posted September 9, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 9, 2020 Dave see if you have the stainless ducker bracket. If not try one of those 1000% better than the old plastic one. No rooster tail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Headhunter Posted September 11, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2020 Just a quick update on extended warranties. I got an email response from Navico yesterday, 30 days to the day when I sent it. They no longer offer extended warranties. You need to go through their dealer network. The Elite t2 has only a 1 year warrantee. Thank godd I bought it with my amex card. I get another year on them. You can still get an extended warranty from their online store and probably some dealers like West Marine. Russel does not offer one at this time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scseadog Posted September 11, 2020 Report Share Posted September 11, 2020 I am looking at the Ti2 unit. Which transducer are you using? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Headhunter Posted September 11, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2020 3 in 1 active imaging Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubble Posted September 13, 2020 Report Share Posted September 13, 2020 I'm looking to add something Navico to my Pathy. I currently use Garmin 73SV but ready to get rid of it and replace with Navico unit for FMT. Will also be using Humminbird for 360. Given your experience with Lowrance, if you were purchasing for your Pathfinder today, what unit would you go with? I really like the Simrad NSS EVO 3 12" unit for my application. Not sure how well it is for a finder but for FMT it works great. However, too rich for my blood for just running FMT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egrets Landing Posted September 13, 2020 Report Share Posted September 13, 2020 24 minutes ago, rubble said: I'm looking to add something Navico to my Pathy. I currently use Garmin 73SV but ready to get rid of it and replace with Navico unit for FMT. Will also be using Humminbird for 360. Given your experience with Lowrance, if you were purchasing for your Pathfinder today, what unit would you go with? I really like the Simrad NSS EVO 3 12" unit for my application. Not sure how well it is for a finder but for FMT it works great. However, too rich for my blood for just running FMT. It's cheaper than the Lowrance Live and currently the best value in the market. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Headhunter Posted September 14, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2020 Rubble, I am not sure of the price difference at this point but I bought Lowrance because of the lower price compared to Simrad. At the time I made my purchase the guts were pretty much the same except Simrad had a knob and Lowrance had buttons to zoom in and out. Not sure of the difference now but Russel Marine is a Lowrance dealer. The 12 inch HDS Live I just put on the Pathfinder is awesome. Check Egrets Landing post above as well. You can’t go wrong with either Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rubble Posted September 15, 2020 Report Share Posted September 15, 2020 On 9/14/2020 at 6:42 AM, Headhunter said: Not sure of the difference now but Russel Marine is a Lowrance dealer. The 12 inch HDS Live I just put on the Pathfinder is awesome. Russell up in Alabama? What does LIVE add to the HDS? Just faster processors? I borrowed a buddy's HDS 12 to use FMT in the glades. Worked fine. Was a little slower than I thought and didn't have the knob. Was thinking that the newer HDS units were upgrading processor and maybe adding a second one? I think the newer (to be released?) Simrads have faster dual processors. Fished with a guy over Christmas that had last year's Simrad unit with the know and it was quick as lightening adjusting in and out as well as moving thru screens and populating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FINCHASER Posted September 15, 2020 Report Share Posted September 15, 2020 Rubble youd have to specify which HDS- gen 2, 3, carbon etc. with each generation of unit you go back the less it compares to the Live. Live units also got a better screen thats brighter and no issues with polo. sunglasees even on steep angles. I went from a gen 3 which was great to a live now, hands down a way better unit. For me I chose lowrance everytime over simrad because the customization of the readouts.... can add, delete, change size, inverse the color and move the readouts anywhere on the screen. With simrad you are stuck with the info bar on the right side that takes up valuable screen space and its either on or off. The knob is kinda nice but I dont think its any faster zooming than holding a button down and for fast zoom in / out your better off using the 2 finger pinch like on a cel phone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triplec Posted September 15, 2020 Report Share Posted September 15, 2020 24 minutes ago, rubble said: Russell up in Alabama? What does LIVE add to the HDS? Just faster processors? I borrowed a buddy's HDS 12 to use FMT in the glades. Worked fine. Was a little slower than I thought and didn't have the knob. Was thinking that the newer HDS units were upgrading processor and maybe adding a second one? I think the newer (to be released?) Simrads have faster dual processors. Fished with a guy over Christmas that had last year's Simrad unit with the know and it was quick as lightening adjusting in and out as well as moving thru screens and populating. I don't think the Live adds anything unless you are running the actual "live" transducer other than usual processor upgrade that seems to make our electronics run smoother. I run the 9" Live and its darn fast. The dual processors aren't available until you get to 12'" screen and perhaps then they are likely needed just to run the larger resolution the 12's and up require. Glenn (Egret Landing above) would know for sure. The Russell is Justin Russell in KS. https://www.russellmarineproducts.com and also another very knowledgeable company and Lowrance dealer if you want to pick run it by them. I haven't run my Live in deep water but the images are pretty crisp on the 9". Justin actually sent me a 12 first so I ultimately ran them both and didn't notice a diff in process speed if only running a couple of split screens. I ended up returning the 12 and staying with the 9. I think if you are running multiple transducers or something it may draw on the power enough to slow it but again not sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scseadog Posted September 22, 2020 Report Share Posted September 22, 2020 I just picked up a TI2 9" with the 3 in 1. Wondering about best placement for the transducer, my current ducer is on the transom and I get great returns. Should I keep it there or up in the pocket?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Headhunter Posted September 22, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 22, 2020 Transom works fine on both my pathfinder and Maverick. I even got to use the old holes on the Maverick. Both have jack plates so the transducer can see both sides on side view real well. I know a bunch of guys have them in the pocket. I am sure they will chime in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scseadog Posted September 22, 2020 Report Share Posted September 22, 2020 I think I can reuse my existing holes and might start there prior to drilling any new ones but want to make sure I am getting all the "bang" from new ducer and processor, existing unit is gen 1 HDS 7. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Headhunter Posted October 13, 2020 Author Report Share Posted October 13, 2020 Here is a warranty update from Navico support: They have moved away from extended warranties and going this route. I asked if you had to register for this and the answer is below. I still have not gotten how much but it seems like it could be a pretty good deal. Hi Charles, Yes, your unit automatically qualifies for that 3 years In-Service plan, you do not need to purchase it anymore. When the time comes your 2 years Standard Part warranty expires and your unit became faulty, then your unit will automatically qualifies for the In-Service plan. All you need to provide during the time you call us for In-service assistance is to provide us your unit's Serial Numbers and your unit maybe sent back to us for repair or replacement which involves a minimal cost. Thank you for choosing Navico products! Reynaldo Navico Technical Support USA Lowrance 24/7 Help & Support: https://www.lowrance.com/help-and-support/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hutch03 Posted October 15, 2020 Report Share Posted October 15, 2020 Scseadog i have a 3 in 1 on the transom works great. I decided to get a stern saver type pad because the lowrance did not line up w my old Garmin holes. It has worked flawlessly. Make sure you get the large size. If you would like a photo just pm me and I will send you one. Hutch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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