Lowrance X50 Sonar or Bottom Line Tournament 320 Max Sonar

Ive been doing a LITTLE looking around online for fish finders, and i have narrowed it down to these two . Just want to know what you guys think? Is there something that i am missing?

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0023860016460a&type=product&cmCat=search&returnPage=search-results1.jsp&QueryText=bottom+line&N=4887&Ntk=Products&Ntx=mode+matchall&Nty=1&Ntt=bottom+line&noImage=0

or

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/item-link.jsp_A&_DAV=MainCatcat602025-cat602011&id=0038175018288a&navCount=26&podId=0038175&parentId=cat602011&masterpathid=&navAction=push&catalogCode=IG&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat602011&hasJS=true


Paul

Boy, that X50 looks alot like the Eagle Fisheasy 245DS that I have my eyes on (thanks to Sean and a few others who have touted it).  I believe Eagle is Lowrance's "off brand."  The only difference I can see is in the "peak to peak power" (whatever the hell that is - although I'm sure someone will chime in and tell us!). 

http://www.basspro.com/servlet/catalog.TextId?hvarTarget=search&hvarTextId=74212&hvarAID=froogle&cm_mmc=Froogle-_-Marine%20%26%20Electronics_Electronics_Fish%20Finders%20%26%20Navigation-_--1-_-Lowrance%20FishEasy%20245%20DS%20Fishfinder

The advances in sonar technology have been phenomenal in the past few years, and innovations seem to come at an escalating pace. With all of the technical jargon and industry trademarked terms like FishReveal, FishTrack, CDI, COG, and XTE, buying fishing electronics can be an unnecessarily confusing process.

When you break it down to the basics, what you want to do is use a sonar unit to find fish and then catch them. From bass to billfish and walleye to wahoo, the challenge is always the same; where are the fish and at what depth? Improvements in the way sonar signals are produced, analyzed and displayed have greatly enhanced the ease with which an angler can locate, identify and target specific fish, but for most electronics shoppers the issue is what do I need and why.

Before you tackle the buying decision for an electronics purchase, you should have an understanding of some basic terms and the way sonar works.

In their simplest form, fishfinders are an adaptation of military technology for civilian purposes. A sonar unit beams out an electronic impulse that is transmitted as a sound wave in the same manner as the Navy pinging for submarines. When the signal bounces off of the bottom, and objects in between, the unit interprets the returning signal and displays the results on a screen where the user can determine the value of the information being returned. For the more advanced units, you'll have to compare and evaluate the value of additional navigation and mapping features, then compare the costs of the various brand names, but lets start with the basics.

Four elements determine a sonar unit's ability to help you in your quest for fish: a high power transmitter, efficient transducer, sensitive receiver and high resolution/contrast display. In a nutshell more of everything is better, but just how much more do you need to effectively fish your favorite body of water is the issue.

Power
Let's look at power first. The term peak-to-peak is normally used to describe the output power of a sonar transmitter. This term describes the results of a measurement of the total swing of AC voltage from its peak negative value to its peak positive value. Power on sonar units is generally given in Watts. A Watt is a practical unit of power, or rate of conveying energy, defined, as is the power of a current of one ampere driven by an electrical pressure of one volt.

RMS is another term that is used in evaluating sonar. RMS is an acronym for "root mean square," or a DC voltage that will produce the same heating effect (power output in Watts) as the AC voltage. RMS value is equal to 0.707 times the peak value of an AC voltage. Divide peak-to-peak by 2 and multiply by 0.707 to determine the value for a sign wave.

You don't want to spend money on a unit that is more than you need for your particular application. The depth and quality of your home waters will determine this issue. If you routinely fish relatively shallow lakes, high frequency is more of an issue than power. In murky water and greater depths you'll need more power and a lower frequency to penetrate all the way to the bottom. Power is also an issue when it comes to the speed of the signal in relation to your boat speed. A very weak or slow signal will return information after you are long gone, making it virtually worthless, unless you want to spend a lot of time backing up.

 
 
 
 
 

Transducer
To select the transducer that's best suited to your needs, you need to consider the transducer's operating frequency, cone angle and type of installation.

The transducer functions like an antenna to send out sonar signals (sound waves) and receive return echoes. Transducers can be attached to the transom or inside the hull of a boat, or even to a trolling motor using a special mounting. The transducer must be matched to the transmitter, to withstand the high power from the transmitter, and convert the electrical power into sound energy with minimal loss in signal strength. Units that have greater power can differentiate between soft and hard bottoms, and at the other extreme, detect the smallest of echoes returning from deep water or identify tiny baitfish.

The active element in a transducer is a man-made crystal created from either lead zirconate or barium titanate. Chemicals are mixed to form a compound, then poured into molds and oven fired to create hardened crystals. Once they've cooled, a conductive coating is applied to two sides of the crystal and wires are soldered to these coatings so the crystal can be attached to the transducer cable.

The shape of the crystal determines both its frequency and cone angle. Most sonar units use round crystals. The crystal's thickness determines its frequency and the diameter determines the cone angle or angle of coverage. For example at 192 kHz, a 20-degree cone angle crystal is approximately one inch in diameter, whereas an eight-degree cone requires a crystal that is about two inches in diameter. While it may seem backwards, logically, larger diameter crystals produce smaller cone angles. That is why a 20-degree cone transducer is much smaller than an eight-degree one - at the same frequency.

To help you decide what cone angle will best suit your needs for the type of fishing you do, consider this. The wider the cone angle, the less sensitive it will be in deeper water, but it will give you a wider field of view in shallower water. To figure out which cone would best suit your needs, use this formula to determine the area that a certain cone angle will cover.

1/2 of the cone angle x 3.14 divided by 180 = tangent. Tangent x depth x 2 = Diameter of cone in feet.

For example if you are in 18 foot of water the 9-degree transducer will be viewing a section of the bottom approximately 2.8 feet in diameter. The 24-degree transducer in 18 foot of water will be viewing a section of the bottom approximately 7 feet in diameter.

3-D and Multiple Beams
If it helps you to visualize structure more realistically, you should consider Humminbird's new 3-D Paramount. Humminbird has five different sonar beam configurations, including Single Beam, Dual Beam, Tri-Beam, Quad Beam, Wide-Side and Six Beam which is used for their 3-D display.

Their Single Beam covers a 16-24 degree range depending on the fishfinder unit, and reaches a depth of 600-1000 feet. The ID+(™) fish identification marks the size and depth of detected fish in the beam's range.

For broader coverage, the Dual Beam offers 600-2000 foot of depth depending on the fishfinder unit. In addition to the precise center beam, a second beam of 53 degrees surrounds the first beam expanding the coverage around your boat to an area equal to your depth - in 20 feet of water; the wide beam covers an area 20 feet wide. The dual beam ID+ fish identification is always visible on-screen: fish in the center beam are solid, and fish in the wide beam are hollow.

For the widest coverage, the Tri-Beam uses three sonar beams to form a continuous 90-degree area of uninterrupted coverage and reaches a depth of 600-1000 feet depending on the fishfinder unit. A precise center beam locates fish and detailed bottom structure, while two wide beams look to the left and right to cover an area TWICE your depth - in 20 feet of water, the wide beams cover an area 40 foot wide. The tri-beam ID+ fish identification display fish in the center beam as solid, fish in the wide beams as hollow and point left or right indicating location.

The Wide Side uses three sonar beams to keep an eye on bank and bottom structure. A center sonar beam shoots down to 120 feet while port and starboard signals spread out 120 feet in either direction.

Six separate beams provide excellent contour and shape for on-screen 3D display clearly depicting bottom structure and drop-offs. The six beams provide 53 degrees of continuous coverage up to 240 feet deep.

 
 

Transducer Housings
Transducers come in all shapes and sizes and need to be protected with a metal housing. Most transducer housings are made from plastic, but some thru-hull transducers are housed in bronze.

Receiver
The receiver has a number of very complicated tasks to perform in order to quickly separate and identify an extremely wide range of signals. To accomplish this task it must first dampen the extremely high transmit signal and then amplify the small signals returning to the transducer. It also has to separate targets that are close together into distinct, separate impulses and then present them in a recognizable display.

Display
For the end user, the display is probably the most important aspect of selecting a fishfinder. Black and white, color, contrast and detail are critical decisions that will have the most dramatic effect on what you are able to discern from a returning sonar signal. The most important factor, relative to detail, is the tiny pixel. A pixel is simply a dot. If you've ever looked at a newspaper picture under a magnifying glass, you can easily understand pixels and their role in displaying information. In much the same manner, thousands of tiny dots make up a sonar's display image. Units with fewer pixels display images that appear blocky and very crude. The more pixels, or dots that your display has will determine how smoothly it is able to display lines, curves and subtle differences in structure.

A higher resolution (more vertical pixels) and greater contrast will give you more discernable images that are easier to identify. Displays are getting bigger every year, and by today's standards a large display would be 640 pixels wide and 480 pixels high. Anyone who has used one of the early flashers will readily agree that deciphering today's units are beyond comparison. Advanced units display images of fish in proportion to their size, indicate bottom consistency, boat speed, thermoclines, navigation information and water temperature.

Another important issue to consider is where the unit will be positioned on your boat. Will it be in the sun or under a cuddy cabin? Some screens perform better in bright sunlight and the higher contrasting displays are better performers in direct sun.

The revolution in color monitors takes object identification to a whole new level. With black and white technology you had to have on-the-water experience to know what you were looking at on the display. With high-resolution color displays, fish show up in different colors and almost jump off the screen.

Most of today's sophisticated units display fish as symbols in varying sizes proportionate to their actual size, instead of the inverted arch. This is especially helpful in dealing with schooling fish and targeting big fish. When this feature is turned off, and you are dealing with actual returns, you will enjoy the benefits of seeing important underwater details such as thermoclines, baitfish and fish movement. On the Humminbird Matrix, additional features are available such as WeatherSense, which monitors barometric pressure.

Frequency
Most sonar units operate at 50 khz (kilohertz), 192 khz or 200 khz. There are distinct advantages to frequency that you need to consider before making a purchase, and some units operate at both low and high frequency, depending on the task that is assigned.

Water has a natural ability to absorb higher frequency signals more than those on the lower end so the 50 khz units penetrate deeper depths; however, the have a wide cone angle and produce less definition and target separation. They are also more susceptible to noise and distortion.

Higher frequency units, in the range of 192 to 200, are very effective in shallower depths, have a narrower cone angle, and produce better definition and target separation. These frequencies are less susceptible to noise and distortion.

In summary, saltwater applications for greater depths generally require 50 khz sonar, while in shallower, freshwater applications the higher frequencies are preferred for their increased qualities of display and discernment. Anglers who fish both salt and freshwater, or large bodies of water such as the Great Lakes should consider units that have the ability to operate under both ranges. This additional flexibility is worth the extra dollars if you want maximum performance in both environments.

Waypoints, GPS and Navigation
Once you've found the fish you were looking for, finding them again is the next challenge. For fishermen who target species, such as bass, which relate to shorelines with visual landmarks, this isn't that difficult, however, open water fishermen have a much greater challenge. With advanced units, this task is achieved by simply pushing a waypoint button, which places an icon on the screen and stores the data so that you can return again and again. Think of a waypoint as an electronic address that can be stored, retrieved and navigated to from any where in the world. Thanks to the amazing accuracy of the Global Positioning System (GPS) you can return to within a few feet of where you caught a fish ten years ago. Some anglers might call this fishing memory, but fish that relate to structure can be found in similar haunts during seasonal cycles almost like clockwork.

 
 

More sophisticated units have the ability to log up to 1,000 waypoints, 1,000 event markers and 100 routes with 100 waypoints per route.

Differential GPS (DGPS)
DGPS is a system devised initially by the U.S. Coast Guard that is now an international maritime standard, to improve GPS accuracy levels to within 10 meters. It employs a land based, fixed position, DGPS reference receiver to first calculate any basic GPS errors (and previously Selective Availability errors). It then transmits the necessary correction factors to mobile GPS receivers in the area. DGPS does require an added beacon receiver to communicate with the standard GPS unit.

WAAS is an acronym for the Wide Area Augmentation System, which is a system of satellite navigation designed by the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration to boost the accuracy of GPS satellite navigation. WAAS improves GPS accuracy to within seven meters, but WAAS is currently not fully implemented. WAAS uses geostationary satellites that are positioned over the equator, and the angle of acquisition becomes more severe the further north you travel. Since this is a line-of-site connection, terrain can obstruct your access and you may experience temporary loss of WAAS support in some localities. This is especially true in hilly or heavily wooded areas. If you fish a large body of water, and fish so many locations that you have a tough time remembering what structure is where, you might want to consider the advanced features such as MapCreate, available on Lowrance units.

Maps and Advanced Mapping
Select models of Humminbird and Garmin have built in maps, which provide details in varying degrees for each body of water in any given area.

Specific models of Lowrance and Eagle units include GPS mapping capabilities with the option to activate precision satellite navigation and to create custom electronic charts. Options on other units give you the ability to insert pre-loaded memory cards with maps for specific locations The MapCreate option requires access to a PC with CD-ROM drive.

MapCreate(™) CD software lets you create unlimited, custom, detailed maps on MMC or SD memory cards for navigational display, and features a unique, searchable database4 of over 700,000 Points-of-Interest to easily find/identify marinas, restaurants, airports, emergency services, and more MapCreate is compatible with optional Navionics(®) CLASSIC(™) and HotMaps(™) electronic charts on MMC cards for select domestic and international areas, featuring depth contour lines and other helpful navigation aids.

Portability
If you want the flexibility of a dual unit that can be used in your boat or removed for an ice fishing trip, or fishing from a local dock, consider the portability option.

Humminbird's Piranha 1 and 4 and their new SmartCast are designed with this option in mind. Other portable units include the Hawkeye FF3300P, and portable flashers such as MarCum LX-3 Ice-Fishing System, Cabela's LX-3 flasher, You'll find the features of these units to be most adequate for enhancing these alternative-angling options.

Downrigger Advantage
Anglers who do a lot of trolling with downriggers should give serious consideration to the Bottomline Master NCC 5300. It is billed as a navigation command center, but its main advantage for trollers is complete control over downriggers. With just a push of a button you can raise or lower your downriggers, set them to follow the bottom's contours or to cycle at preset depths and intervals. A single multi-view transducer provides two side views and a bottom view that are displayed on a 240 x 400 pixel Super Twist display driven by 5,200 watts of peak-to-peak power.

Pinpoint Control
Pinpoint fishfinders have a number of exceptional features, but they are most noted for their ability to interact with trolling motors. With these units you can preset a specific depth and Pinpoint will navigate along a breakline or depth where fish are holding, freeing up the angler to concentrate on more important issues, morphing fish from pixel images into the live well.

Another feature of Pinpoint is its history review option. You can hit the history review button and review 6 previous screens of data if you want to study an area in more detail without going back over the same ground. These are some nice fishfinders, however, if you don't intend to attach them to a trolling motor you need to keep looking. These units are not designed to operate as stand alone units.

Additional Features
As you move up the ladder of sophistication from the basic entry-level units, you'll find the price increases with the addition of features such as water temperature, boat speed, zoom, weather data, GPS and control of downriggers. While these features don't have much to do with finding fish, they can be very helpful when it comes to catching them, or trying to figure out why they aren't biting. If you already have a temp sensor and are comfortable with the accuracy of your boat's speedometer these features may not be that important to you. The key to being happy with the unit you buy, two fishing trips later, is deciding how and where you are going to use this tool and how many bells and whistles you want. The more you know about sonar, the more features you'll convince yourself that you need. More often than not, the fisherman that is most pleased with their buying decision is the one who has spent time reading the owner's manual and using their selection to the fullest extent of its capabilities.

Looks to me that the Eagle actually is more powerful.

Eagle is the like the chevy compared to the GMC of Lowrance.  It is the same thing, just a few less bells and whistles of Lowrance.

MolBasser

I got the eagle cuda 242 for $80 from cabelas. it is doing the job pretty well for rockfishing at least.

but it's probably the plymouth of the line,  .

Wow, that is quite a "chime in" MOL.     When I get some free time I might actually read it (but thanks for the info)!

Hope it helps!

I'm still learning myself.

MolBasser