I am looking at getting an inexpensive, yet functional chartplotter as well as depth finder. I've used a Garmin Echo 150 the past two seasons for depth & water temp, but need the chart plotting capability. Inexpensive is kinda critical here. I'd love to hear from people who have experience with the Lowrance Elite-4x DSI, or any of the Elite-4 series. . Also what about Lake Insight, Navionics or any other compatible chips? How are the preloaded charts? Do you need the additional chips? I will be sailing Lake Michigan from Milwaukee north this summer. Alone. Thanks for the info. Jennifer
Anyone have experience with Lowrance Elite 4-x DSI?
- Thread starter jenquay
- Start date
I am a fan of the older Lowrance LMS-522c unit. Mapping and depth combined with an internal GPS antenna. A good used unit should be affordable.
We got an Elite 5 DSI at the start of last season and we were completely satisfied. We got it as a combo with the Navionics chip, but we ended up using the built in charts as they seemed more accurate and detailed for our area. It came with a transducer that's meant to be transom mounted, but we bedded it inside the hull in silicone and had no problems in depths from 3 feet to 80. The main reason we went with it was that the screen seemed much nicer than the competing Garmin model.
Does the Elite-4 and Elite-5 essentially have the same features with just a larger screen size on the E-5? I've looked for a list of built in lakes with no luck yet. Is there depth shown on the built in charts? Is Lake Michigan included? I have so many questions. If only there was a really detailed video!
I did purchase the Lowrance Elite-4. It had the Navionics chip included, with coastal waters (including the Great Lakes) and you can switch the chip to inland lakes which does have Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, where we often sail. It also has the transducer with the unit. I do not use it for fishing, but do want to see what the bottom is like below. I can set the screen to just look below, another screen for the chart plotter or use a split screen to see both at once. Being on a very tight budget, I am extremely pleased with the system.