Hello to all,  Looking to mount a small FF on my pontoon boat SE285 pro , Would like something with down scan ,, But a smaller unit ,these two seem to fit the bill ,Has anyone had any experience with either one ... Any opinions are appreciated ... Thanks  Carl

I have a 346, its a nice little unit. Had it on my kayak, transferred to my bass boat. Might even sell it. Im thinking of upgrading to Side Imaging.

You like the unit, how are the images ?  Carl

I have several Lowrance units.  Elite 4 DSI GPS, Mark 4 GPS, and Elite 5 DSI GPS.  I have a couple of each and the really nice thing about them is they all use the same mounts and the same transducers which makes swapping them out for whatever I want to use that day a 5 second job.  I have been amazed at the images I get on these units.  I am not nearly as fond of the Mark 4's non color display but it works just as well as the others.  The Elite5 is by far my favorite with my failing eyesight, but all of my boats are smaller and sometimes the larger unit just gets in the way when I am fishing for different species.

Do you have a problem reading it with the boat moving ? , I'll only be using a trolling motor , It seems like a nice unit (4x dsi) but has gotten a bit of a bad rap as to clarity and seeing fish on it ??  

I like the HB. Good quality images. Having the 2D sonar is a great tool as well.

You also may want to take a  hard look at the Raymarine Dragonfly.  It has excellent color down imaging resolution, standard sonar, and GPS, all housed in a compact 5" display.

Do you have a problem reading it with the boat moving ? , I'll only be using a trolling motor , It seems like a nice unit (4x dsi) but has gotten a bit of a bad rap as to clarity and seeing fish on it ??  

For the DSI to produce the images, you have to be moving since the sonar pulses have to scan as the unit records.

For the DSI to produce the images, you have to be moving since the sonar pulses have to scan as the unit records.

Pretty much true.  All of my units will work fine up to about 25 MPH.  My boats all top out at 30-35 so that works fine.  I have older 2D units mounted also for use at higher speeds.

I have the HB346C on my kayak and really like it.  The DI produces a nice image.  I first tried the thru hull install.  Once I switched to a dedicated trandsucer arm, however, the images improved seemingly 3X.

 

The DI sees the fish as dots.  I would say that it would be tough to use the DI to seek out fish?

 

As for seeing the contour/depth, the unit has put me on some nice fish...I wont fish without it.  I highly recommend it.

 

I bought a plastic dry box from WalMart and put a deer feeder type battery in it.  Mounted the HB on top of that and it is completely portable.  Sits on the hatch between my legs in front of me.  Color to me has been very useful.

JustJim,  I did'nt see anything that said the elite 4x di was better than the 346c dsi ?    Where was that posted ... Thanks Carl

Carl, that is subject to brand fanboys.

Im not affiliated with anybody. But Ive only had the HB 346. Im not going to say its better than the 4X DSI cause I dont know if it is or not.

first of all if you want to water temp & how deep it is that is your money to blow.   you plan on using a car battery?  LIPO is the way to go.. do the homework 

Andrew ,I think just about all the new ones measure temp and all tell you how deep the water is, thats how they work ??  So i dont' understand your comment ..... 

first of all if you want to water temp & how deep it is that is your money to blow.   you plan on using a car battery?  LIPO is the way to go.. do the homework 

 

$75 for a 11.1v battery?  LOL, I'd just get a 12v 7ah battery from Radio Shack for $20.