Raymarine Dragonfly Review

Did a field test with my Raymarine Dragonfly Gold yesterday.  This is preliminary and I still have a lot to learn.  I haven't tried out the GPS.

Location: Quarry Lakes
Kayak: Hobie Revolution 13 without Lowrance ready external plate.
Permanent Transducer Install: Water bath inside hull (I also put it out over the side several times to see difference.  To be honest I could barely see the differnce in my limited testing.)
Conditions: Bright sunny, heavy glare over the water, 12 mph wind. I was wearing polarized blue sunglasses.
Features Tested:  Sonar and DownVision.  Mainly Sonar not much structure at Quarry to do DownVision.
Power: 12v 8a battery, Waterproof wiring done by my fishing buddy, Lucky13 
Fishing: Skunked 

Findings:

Screen is awesome!  Even under a cloudless sky with a bright sunlight creating glare on the water the screen was always visible and very easy to read.  Controls are simple, 2 buttons and 1 UniControl knob. Changing to different applications is a breeze. Commands seem very easy to understand. Transducer is 8 inches long but I had no problem mounting it.  So far so good!

Nice and bright. I wish you have the down scan version of picture #3. Would love to see how those arches look in the down scan. In my Humminbird 597ci, fish just show up as several dots in a lump on the down scan.

I'll have a separate review up soon as well. I've documented the install but when I used it at natoma I didn't find much to graph other than some large boulders.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk

If I'm understanding correctly the arches are essentially a bunch of dots since the fish is in a cone longer and hit more times by the sonar. With downscan the fish is only hit while in a thin slice kinda beam and will always just look like dots more or less.

If I'm understanding correctly the arches are essentially a bunch of dots since the fish is in a cone longer and hit more times by the sonar. With downscan the fish is only hit while in a thin slice kinda beam and will always just look like dots more or less.

I don't know anything about how this stuff works, but if the down scan only shows dots, then how did they come up with the picture-like objects like a sunken bridge or ship? They must be doing interpolation of some sort I would think. Why can't they do that for fish? Just saying

If I'm understanding correctly the arches are essentially a bunch of dots since the fish is in a cone longer and hit more times by the sonar. With downscan the fish is only hit while in a thin slice kinda beam and will always just look like dots more or less.

I don't know anything about how this stuff works, but if the down scan only shows dots, then how did they come up with the picture-like objects like a sunken bridge or ship? They must be doing interpolation of some sort I would think. Why can't they do that for fish? Just saying

"Dot" is probably the wrong word to use. Downscan give's a good resolution "slice" of whatever it passes over.

I didn't sleep at a Holiday Inn last night  (  hope that's not a regional joke) and am fairly dumb to much of this. Somebody's likely got a much better educated answer to the sonar/downscan differences.

The slice analogy is, for the most part, correct.  The higher frequency of a 'downscan' unit allows the processor to gain & process more information about the target thus you receive less of an "arch" & more of a "ball/spot".  The 50/83/200 createe a "shadow" around the fish thus we see this as an "arch".  The higher freq of 455/800 in 'downscan' leave less of an arch & process cleaner by the unit.  Lowrance has been doing this process "cleanup" for many years in their typical broadband units.  They have also released CHIRP for their units as well.  Not a HUGE noticeable difference in their Broadband & CHIRP for our depths/uses but rather for the deep shooting, yes.

Bill

Got this note from Lucky13 about my battery, got it from Cabelas and about 2 years old.

Your ff was drawing an average of .63ah. The math is Runtime=(capacity/draw). You battery is 8ah, so your runtime should be 12.7hrs. However, most SLA batteries do not provide 100% of their ratings. 80% is about what they can actually provide. Unless you have tested the battery for actual draw, 80% is what I would assume. Then the math become (6.4ah/.63ah) ~ 10.15hrs.

Got this note from Lucky13 about my battery, got it from Cabelas and about 2 years old.

Your ff was drawing an average of .63ah. The math is Runtime=(capacity/draw). You batter is 8ah, so your runtime should be 12.7hrs. However, most SLA batteries do not provide 100% of their ratings. 80% is about what they can actually provide. Unless you have tested the battery for actual draw, 80% is what I would assume. Then the math become (6.4ah/.63ah) ~ 10.15hrs.

Then the conversation turns to how bad it is on a battery to drain it completely or as some advise, just to a 50% mark.

Fishingaddict.  I am interested to hear how this unit performs in the salt.  Please keep us informed 

Definitely nice screen on the Dragonfly.

Let's go out and fish.
Then, we can compare it with my Elite 5 HDI. That would be a nice review side-by-side.

I asked this question to RayMarine Support:

I just purchased Dragonfly and installed it on my fishing kayak.  I am concerned about the water tightness of the MicroSD card door.  When the weather gets a bit rough I take water over the bow and soaks my fish finder.  Just how water proof is the card door?

RayMarine answer:

Dragonfly is designed to the IPX6 Waterproofing standards.  Short of submersion (i.e. overturning the kayak), Dragonfly's suitability and use with a kayak is quite common.

Awesome, these look sweet. I would like to get one.

It's a good looking unit and the screen is bright and clear. I also like how simple the controls are but limiting. 

I only had a few concerns... As mentioned

Dragonfly is designed to the IPX6 Waterproofing standards.  Short of submersion

, this is a concern. When I get back from the salt I literally spray off my Lowrance Elite5 HDI with my hose at home, let it dry and it's ready for the next trip. The SD design keeps it completely dry and submersion is not a problem.  This piece of mind is worth a lot: knowing that if I get into a bad situation on the salt and the boat gets flipped, I can right it over and my unit/GPS will still be working to get my ars home safely.

The other factor is ruggedness, the screen design especially. The screen is flush with no protective edges to protect it and I'm not super nice to my fish finders. I tend to get off the water, detach and put them into my crate. I know that my Lowrance HDI screen is depressed and the likely hood of it getting scratched up is low.
I also have a specific RAM mount for my Lowrance, Raymarine does not. It keeps things super adjustable and I don't have a bulky bracket to clutter things up, nice and clean design, install.

Not bashing the product and I believe no FF is perfect. I just think they have a few serious issues to address.

Its mounted on a Ram system. http://www.rammount.com/NewProducts/RaymarineDragonflyMounts/tabid/4727/Default.aspx 
I think it works better than my Elite 5 that's also mounted with a Ram system. 

The Raymarine bulky bracket you are referring to allows fine left to right adjustments that I really like.  I have owned Lowrance and Eagle products.  My first FF was a Cuda 300 then I upgraded to an Elite 5 Gold, both mounted with Ram.  With regards to preventing the screen from scratching I bought a cover so I can put in my crate.  As I do with my Elite 5, I have an extra neoprene reel cover for my Penn International 50WS  that I wrap around as extra insurance.
I do agree the Lowrance card door is better designed.  Thats my kayak upside down for over 20 minutes after a GWS bit it.  I had my Elite 5 on and it didn't fail.  I am coming from first hand experience.  I purposely posted my review without comparing the Dragonfly to my Lowrance Elite 5 that I have enjoyed using through the years.

It's a good looking unit and the screen is bright and clear. I also like how simple the controls are but limiting. 

I only had a few concerns... As mentioned

Dragonfly is designed to the IPX6 Waterproofing standards.  Short of submersion

, this is a concern. When I get back from the salt I literally spray off my Lowrance Elite5 HDI with my hose at home, let it dry and it's ready for the next trip. The SD design keeps it completely dry and submersion is not a problem.  This piece of mind is worth a lot: knowing that if I get into a bad situation on the salt and the boat gets flipped, I can right it over and my unit/GPS will still be working to get my ars home safely.

The other factor is ruggedness, the screen design especially. The screen is flush with no protective edges to protect it and I'm not super nice to my fish finders. I tend to get off the water, detach and put them into my crate. I know that my Lowrance HDI screen is depressed and the likely hood of it getting scratched up is low.
I also have a specific RAM mount for my Lowrance, Raymarine does not. It keeps things super adjustable and I don't have a bulky bracket to clutter things up, nice and clean design, install.

Not bashing the product and I believe no FF is perfect. I just think they have a few serious issues to address.