Fish Finder/GPS Screen size

[Chas0218]

With all this talk about boat electronics I wanted the opinion of those that have had bigger and smaller screens.  I am a recreational fisherman on a strict budget.  I want to buy a combo unit as it is the best option budget wise. What size screen is too small?  I have a 5" screen fishfinder but I think it would just be too small to run as GPS and a Depthfinder. Would 7" suffice or is bigger needed when doing a split screen scenario?  I was thinking of a 9" screen but the price tag scares me a bit.  I saw some manufacturers offer an 8" screen which was some middle ground for me. The biggest problem I am finding is there aren't any stores nearby that I can look at the 7" models.  I can only find the 5.7" and the 9" models.

 

 

As of right now I am looking at the: listed by preference

Raymarine A75/78 (non CHIRP/CHIRP)

Humminbird 800 series

Garmin echoMAP 73dv

 

I don't want to be disappointed in the screen size. I can't afford a Furuno + a transducer.  Lowrance has not impressed me and want a warranty that will fix my unit not pro-rate me to buy another.

 

So how big are these screens really.  If anyone could give an actual height and width measurement of only the screen not the entire unit it would be greatly appreciated.

Edited March 3, 2015 by Chas0218

[lineman49]

I went from a 5" to a 7" two yrs. ago & to me its big enough. Jmo, but I would go with a 7-8". I guess it also depends on how much room you have to mount it in.

[KING ME]

Doing a HUGE electronics upgrade corrently on our rig. Installing 3 new units a 7" and 9" and a 16" all raymarine but Garmin was a VERY close option. For screen size u want the largest you can afford especially when running a single unit as a dual chartplotter/fish finder. When running split screen keep in mind that it is not truely split in half....information/data being displayed takes up screen space also. If you can Afford a 9" you will not regret it. Bigger is always better and if you are going to do it do it once and do it right so you don't regret your investment.

Check out on line so really sweet deals going on . Shop epal and boemarine are really good. Added not a call to JiM at BOE MArine won't hurt either .very straight forward and unbiased

[KING ME]

Raymarine a70 series have a 7" screen with 800x480 resolution

[Chas0218]

Just pulled the trigger on the a68, I realize it is a smaller screen but it is Stupid cheap on www.BOEmarine.com  might actually buy 2.

 

Here is the deal guys:

http://www.boemarine.com/raymarine-a68-5-7-mfd-touchscreen-w-built-in-chirp-downvision-cpt-100-transducer-north-american-gold-bundle-map-1364-99/

Edited March 3, 2015 by Chas0218

[KING ME]

There ya go!!! Awesome company to deal with!

[Rippin'Line]

Wow! good deals on their. P66 for 130? $200 everywhere else

[finsntins]

i checked out boemarine closeouts.the a68 that chas bought i found in several differnt online stores for the same price,not sure where they came up with that msrp price????i then checked 2 other electronics that boemarine had and found them also,in several other stores for the same price boemarine have advertised.not trying to knock them,they do have a large inventory of marine stuff,but thier prices dont seem to be anything great.

[BAITNH]

check out the prices at a place on line called ultimate passage   I found  the best prices there  I purchased a  Lowrance   12 inch  Gen 2   for like  2400.00  got it  and   looked really  big to what I was using  I hope I like it. they also have other   brands

[TileMan Dan]

Check out Hodges Marine. Great prices and quick shipping.

Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

[TyeeTanic]

7" is about the minimum I'd go with.

 

But do yourself a favor - compare one 7" screen to the next. They are not even close to the same size.

For instance, the Simrad 7" unit is actually only 6.5" across.  All of them have different profiles (length:width ratios).

 

I plotted the screen length and width on a paper in actual size, based on dimensions I pulled off the internet.

I basically overlayed many screens. When I did that I could immediately see which screens I was getting more

active viewing area with.

[Xxx]

I wish I would have waited another six months and got a 9" screen. But you know what, I'm happy with what I have and at the time it was a big achievement for me, so I don't do the old should of could of thing, be thankful for what you got and go with it. You can drive yourself crazy with this stuff.

[Chas0218]

Yeah it's only a 5.7" but I think next year I'll just add another.

Sent from my thinking chair...

[old man]

this is my little garmin. I bought it 6 years ago on sale when it was discontinued. It still works great. It's small but even on split screen i have no complaints. I would love to have a big screen job but not for that kind of money. I think some of these big electronics we see today are as much for bragging rights as anything else. And with technology advancing as fast as it is that $3,000 unit could be obsolete next month.

Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

[TileMan Dan]

Everything you buy today is already old tech unfortunately.

[old man]

Pretty soon you will have an i-phone app that interfaces with your lowrance unit and your outboard that will take you to the biggest and hungriest fish in the lake. Then it will select a bait and tell you how to present it. And i will still get shut out.

Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

[Chas0218]

Got the ray a68 in today and looking at the screen I thought I was going to be disappointed but once I turned the thing on it was light years better than my old humminbird 717. The screen resolution is 480x800 where my old one was 320x480. HUGE difference, now I just need some thawed water.

Sent from my thinking car!

[fishdawg]

Buy 2 combo units, same model and size. You will appreciate having a dedicated unit for GPS and sonar and you can split screen and have a back up if you ever need it...