Sounder Recommendations please

[Ben Earl]

We are getting into jigging more and more here in the islands and I wanted to update my sounder. I will probably have to order it from the US and I was thinking $500 would be my budget if I shop around.
What is everyone using and what should I look out for?
Cheers,
Ben

[Stephen Polzin]

I'm using a Furuno FCV 620.  Very good sounders, though a bit more than your budget.  Really worth putting a little extra aside if you can. 

[Ben Earl]

Hi Stephen, thanks for the answer. I can go higher for sure, was just trying to be frugal 

[Peter Childs]

Ditto with the Lowrance HDS-5 go the 50/200 transducer for deepwater jigging, not the 83/200!

[Mario Benedict]

+1 for the Furuno FCV-620. I now trust what my sounder shows me :-)

[Ben Earl]

Yeah I am reading good things about the Furunos. What kind of transducer are you guys using? Looks like the fcv 620 with a basic transducer is going to run me $850ish

[Tony Busscher]

Its out of your budget I use a Furno 585 with 1 kw transducer great unit see things never seen before good for 500 plus mts   

[Stephen Polzin]

Yeah I am reading good things about the Furunos. What kind of transducer are you guys using? Looks like the fcv 620 with a basic transducer is going to run me $850ish

I'm just using a 600 watt transom mount and it's fine (much better than anything else I've ever used).  I've heard the 1kw transducers are the ultimate but they cost almost as much as the unit and really I think you'd need the  FCV 585 to get the most out of them.

[Mario Benedict]

Same tranducer for me. Not sure if you'll gain anything by using the 1kw transducer since I think it's the 620's limitation that only allows you to fully utilize the 600w.
The 1kw transducer will also blow your budget even more as they are significantly more than the 600w.

How deep are the waters you're jigging ?

[Ben Earl]

There are some areas here that Im sure have never been jigged before - its pretty wild and I am hoping to do some pioneering. At the moment we are only going to 120m but we could go deeper. There is good sized Onaga in the deeper waters that I wouldnt mind extracting!

[Jon Li]

For me Furuno or JRC are the 2 brands I put on top of the list .

Jon .

[Ben Earl]

For me Furuno or JRC are the 2 brands I put on top of the list .

Jon .

Never heard of them before Jon but I am a huge fan of all things Japanese so I will check them out. Any particular model I should look for?

[Jamie Moir]

At the risk of appearing indelicate, pretty much forget checking models.

When it comes to sounders, $500 is penn/banax budget. Even a lowrance hds5 is around $850 and a furuno 620 is more like $1200.

I think at the lower end of the market, furuno doesn't give you good value for money and I'd probably buy lowrance. Personally I think the HDS8 is the best pick, its the cheapest lowrance with soft buttons.

[Jon Li]

Jamie is absolutely right , the lowest priced Furuno would be double your US$. 500.- budget and JRC won't be much different but may be you can find a used older unit in perfect working condition , Furuno n JRC products are made for commercial application and they last a long time , my FCV292 similar to this : http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/FURUNO-292-USED-FISHFINDER-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem2c5830330bQQitemZ190458114827QQptZBoatQ5fPartsQ5fAccessoriesQ5fGear have been on my boat for more than a decade and still function perfectly .

Jon .

[Jon Jarvis]

Raymarine all the way for me.