New Lowrance Gen 2 Touch screens!

[Channel Cat]

Got to play with a couple of the "New" Touch screen HDS Gen2 units, WOW!  Will probably be selling my  HDS 5 gen 2 units soon for an upgrade. I hate it when this happens
Here is the link: WARNING, May cause sonar envy!
http://www.lowrance.com/en-US/

[DSCS]

Those are sweet units. Even have the Structure Scan built in! I think a lot of folks were surprised that Navico is bringing their "top tier" technology to the Lowrance line.   

I switched out HDS to a couple of Simrad NSS units over last winter. Love the touchscreen!  :smile1:  Only problem with my setup is I have an NSS 8 at the helm and an HDS 8 on the port side. When I change anything on the HDS8 I usually touch the screen a couple of times before I remember I have to use the buttons on that one. 

[ak-angler]

I dunno... I'm still not convinced that small boats and touch screens are a good combination, especially with the wind chop we usually have to run in.

[wedocq]

I can't wait to see how well they work. I have told myself a million times, "I will not by Lowrance again, as long as I live". And yet here I sit, thinking this sounds pretty cool.  :biggrin:

[Salmon King]

***RED ALERT!***  HINT....HINT...  ***RED ALERT!***

I'm in the market for a steal of a deal on an hds unit (5, 7, or an 8) with Insight

S.K.

[DSCS]

I dunno... I'm still not convinced that small boats and touch screens are a good combination, especially with the wind chop we usually have to run in.

I haven't touched one of the new Lowrance yet so don't have first hand knowledge. I did take a quick look at the operator manual online and it seems to be a pretty slick setup. They do devote some of the screen real estate to soft "buttons". There is also a "cursor assist" where you touch and hold on the screen, then it pops up an object that you can drag to the exact spot you want to position the cursor.

My Simrad NSS units have a rotary knob and a few buttons so I can chose whether to use the touch screen or buttons and knobs to do whatever I want. Having used the touch screen units for a full season now I haven't had any problems at all with them. Realistically, about the only thing I do when "running in a chop" is change the range on the chart or radar so it's not a big deal for me.

The other knock I have heard on touch screens is "they'll be covered in fish slime and smelly jelly"  Well I eat, drink, attend to other bodily functions, smoke cigarettes, take pictures, etc while I'm fishing. I keep rags and wipes place throughout the boat and don't have globs of fish slime dripping off my fingers. Haven't had a problem with the touchscreens.

[Threeweight]

I have handled the Raymarine touch screens in stores... pretty slick but I share the concern about handling them with wet hands (or hands covered in Tuna! blood and oil).  The Ray's have both the touch screen controls and their soft key controls (with the little joystick/knob for moving the cursor around on the screen).

[amazing grace]

I did have a touch screen phone and I did not get along with it well So I will not be picking one up anytime soon. But I am pretty ole' fashioned :whistle:

[Salmon King]

Great!  Glad to hear they're coming out with them!! NOW...

Someone go out and buy an upgrade so I can get the "old-fashioned" one for my boat!

Hurry now....I'm waiting!

I'm in the hurts and the hunt for a smokin' deal right now.
I've got to get back on the water before the action is over!!!!!!!!!

S.K.

[amazing grace]

sk, that hodges maring deal is looking awful good. Under $600 for brand new unit with the loaded software. I think if you compare it to what you might fins a gen 2 used unit, you might as well buy new.

[Chuck Jones]

The new HDS 7, 9, and more are a real upgrade, however this technology race seems like planned obsolescence.  You no sooner get used to one iteration, and another comes out.  If anyone is planning on dumping a "old and outdated" HDS 8 or 10, I would appreciate a PM....

The new HDS units are much more rectangular rather than square, and will present a lower profile.  For the folks with the larger boats, there may be ample space on the dash, however I find that even using the HDS 5 takes up some room and partially covers one dial.  The new line also uses the upgraded LS II transducers.   I share in the concern over smudgy fingers.  Given the fact we're often using scents, cutting sardines or anchovies, cleaning fish etc....it's really easy to forget to completely wash your hands and end up with schmootzy on the screen.   I'm perfectly happy with buttons.

[Keel-er]

Depending on which touchscreen technology they are using and the IP (Ingress Protection) rating, water may not be an issue.  I assume that they have selected a touch technology which allows use with bare hands and maybe nitrile gloves so resistive or capacitive, the latter is what the smart phones and most tablets use and it is a glass layer over the display so pretty impermeable to water.  Resistive is also a glass panel with a polyester layer over it so the panel itself it pretty well protected as we use it in some of our medical devices and, well you can imagine, hands get dirty in doc's offices and hospitals.