Hello all, I just bought my first boat, a 1994 Starcraft Fishmaster. It came with a bunch of stuff including this fish finder, I do not see any model number for it, it just says Ultima.

Can anyone tell me how good this is? I am not even sure how old it is.

Just looking for some insight.

Thanks all,

Jeff

Upload a picture and maybe someone will be able to figure out the model number and then you may be able to find a review of it somewhere on the net.

Thanks CGH, I will do that.   Actually the picture you attached is exactly what it looks like.

I will still try to take a picture of the front and back of the one I have.

Thanks

Jeff

Here is the manual for it:

http://www.humminbird.com/PDF/ultima.pdf

Thanks Wayne, that looks to be the one I have. Now I am looking for anyone that has had or has this unit to tell me how good it is?  

What is the good, what is the bad? How much is it worth??

If I am told that it is a peice of junk I will look at getting one now before the season starts.

Thanks alot everyone, and keep in mind I am a very green noobie with all of this.

Harpoon

This is a similiar unit to what was on my boat I bought last year. The biggest issue is the resolution is very poor. I used it for a couple trips then went and got a Humminbird 565 and was amazed at the difference. You can see so much more with the higher resolution units out now. The fish in my avatar was actually caught due to the better unit. I had been over the spot multiple times but with the 565 found a hump in a otherwise flat featureless area in ~20ft of water. Second cast to the little hump and there he was.....

harpoon, I've never had that particular model but I have had numerous sonar units since the 1970's. Some were similar to it in performance and brand as that was the best technology at the time. The manual does not give any specs but from the pictorials, it looks to be a rather low pixel count unit that may be 15-20 years old. The newer models of just about every mfg have a lot higher pixel count for better target separation and identification. About the most you could hope for as far a fish arches for bass is 3-5 blocks in a pyramid shape or a single pixel to indicate a small bass or panfish.

It is capable of showing you the bottom shape and depth which may be all you need. I may be considered junk as compared to newer more powerful, higher pixel count units but if it still works it may be good enough. If it fails at some point, you will have gained the experience of operating one and can appreciate the advances in today's technology when you replace it.

For someone that does not have a sonar unit, it is better than not having one.