Garmin echo 550c fishfinder

[Cluais]

Looking at buying the new echo 550 fishfinder,has anyone used it already..
All reviews I seem to find is about how they perform in freshwater

[hugo]

Returning the favour from the other thread.....

I was going to buy a 550c but spotted the 500c on special offer a lot cheaper (along the road from you, in Killea). Main difference seemed to be extra display quality (550c described as "video" grade which I didnt think was really worth the extra) so I got the 500c. Its pretty amazing kit. So much more precise bottom detail visible compared to my old 160, and way more flexible, I'm more than happy with it. I think Jimc got a 550c this year and was also impressed, maybe a pm to him would help.

[Etihad]

I also have the Garmin 500, brilliant bit of kit. Much better than my Garmin 400

[JimC]

Have used the 300, 500 & 550.....superb!

[Cluais]

Ya I think I'll make a purchase,the cheapest I can find the 550 is 440 euro
The sterling is very bad at the moment

[hugo]

Have used the 300, 500 & 550.....superb!

Is the 550 much of an advance on the 500 apart from screen?

[JimC]

Give CH marine a call....they might do a little better than their web price of €440.

[blowin]

A mate bought a 550c and we've been out with it maybe 8 times . TBH it is nowhere near as good as his old ( cheaper ) Eagle but those are discontinued now so that is academic .
2 things are really disappointing :
--- it loses track of the bottom if you are traveling at more than a few knots so it is almost useless for cruising around looking for interesting features .
--- it doesn't show fish very reliably !!! Certainly not mackerel anyway . You can be pulling in full strings while looking at a blank screen . We have given up using it to find decent pollack .
I am hoping that someone else who has one will tell me that ours must be faulty if it is as poor as I say . All the reviews were excellent but from recent experience I'd say that it appears to be a good navigation aid but a poor fish finder .
ATB

[hugo]

--- it loses track of the bottom if you are traveling at more than a few knots so it is almost useless for cruising around looking for interesting features .
--- it doesn't show fish very reliably !!! Certainly not mackerel anyway . You can be pulling in full strings while looking at a blank screen .

My previous sounder also lost bottom when motoring, turned out the transponder unit on the transom had been knocked off the correct angle and was being blinded by cavitation. With the 500c I can still see bottom when belting along at full tilt.

Dont have a problem with invisible fish either. The section of the handbook "Configuring appearance of suspended targets" might help, or has that been tried already?

[Donnyboy1]

I agree blowin, I reckon the transponder may need some adjusting!
Regarding seeing fish... you could change the sensitivity but that can go the opposite way in that urchins start appearing as fish...
I mostly use mine to tell for bottom and suspended particles which may or not be fish... and the fish symbols are turned off

[blowin]

Cluais -- I am very sorry if I am sidetracking your thread . I'll excuse myself with the thought that you might find the comments from the other guys useful sometime , but will hope you don't encounter the same problems !!
Hugo and Donnyboy1 --- many thanks for that really helpful advice . It is heartening to know that there is probably an easy solution . I reckon it will be worth the hassle of getting the boat out of the water to fix the transponder . And Donnyboy1 you've mentioned exactly the feature we want --- seeing clutter as well as fish . No doubt you have found that it can run in thick ( 10 m ) bands and very few fish will feed in it .
Cheers all

[Cluais]

No problem mate hope u get it sorted soon..

[donal domeney]

http://www.marinewebstoreireland.com/#/ ... 4532615252

Marine Web Store, Woodview Estate, Killeagh, Co. Cork, Ireland.

[fishfeatures]

got the 500c a few months ago and find it great to use. I have it set up on the lower of the two frequencies as I'm not fishing too far off shore so depths aren't huge, with the a-scope turned on so it shows exactly when something is below not a 1-2 secs later. Never have a problem with it showing the sea bed even at 30 kts.
personally i think it's a great peice of kit.

[blowin]

Perhaps the problem with mine is my own ignorance ?
It turns out that the transponder is fitted inside the GRP hull , not beneath . But presumably this should be ok because it is right beside the previous one and that worked well ??.
So that should eliminate cavitation as the cause . Or maybe the Garmin has a wider cone so it is picking up something which the other didn't ?
You suggest that the lower frequency setting is better for shallow water . We are normally in a max of 120 ft . Could that be it ?
Sorry to keep asking for advice but any thoughts are gratefully received . Meanwhile I'll get hold of the user manual and start again at page 1 .
ATB

[JimC]

Perhaps the problem with mine is my own ignorance ?
It turns out that the transponder is fitted inside the GRP hull , not beneath . But presumably this should be ok because it is right beside the previous one and that worked well ??.
So that should eliminate cavitation as the cause . Or maybe the Garmin has a wider cone so it is picking up something which the other didn't ?
You suggest that the lower frequency setting is better for shallow water . We are normally in a max of 120 ft . Could that be it ?
Sorry to keep asking for advice but any thoughts are gratefully received . Meanwhile I'll get hold of the user manual and start again at page 1 .
ATB

I would not worry too much about the frequency you are using in terms of the return you are getting - both should give you a decent return. Cone angles will not make the difference at this stage. It smells of an installation issue.

I would check out the installation of the transducer. How is it fixed to the hull? Could there be air bubbles between it and the hull? Could you be getting noise (bubbles etc) passing down the hull when moving. Generally a thru-hull installation gives better performance at speed but less performance at low speed.

There is a few shots in this video of the 500 in operation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_AvIHn2frQ

[fishfeatures]

I agree with JimC , check the installation of the transducer as you may have bubbles trapped under it. Just remeber if it's siliconed down, silicone absorbs sound so it's like the transducer has to work through a rubber mat then the hull before the sound waves start to hit in water.

I wouldn't be in water of 120ft only up to 60-70 ft and I find the 77 khz helps cut out all the unwanted pick up that the 200 khz shows, which makes my time spotting fish from weed and stuff out there a bit easier.

[TheMightyMac]

I use a Garmin 555. I have no problems with it, we find it very good

[blowin]

Many thanks for all your input , including the pm's
It seems likely that the silicone bed is dampening the signal a bit but I am very pleased and equally embarrassed to say that the main "problem" was inappropriate setting of the Gain . Turning it right up has given a good image and turning off the fish symbols has got rid of the annoying feckers which were just the result of cavitation .
It still loses the bottom when travelling above I would guess 15 knots ( in 60 ft of water ) but I can live with that .
Happy now . Very sorry if I put anyone off the product -- it is AOK .
Cheers .

[Cluais]

I ended up buying the 500c last week and delighted with it..
Mine still held the bottom at 30 knots