Well, after much research and with the always helpful posts of others here on the board, I ordered a Humminbird 997c combo GPS/Sonar. I purchased the package that includes the "brain" and 'ducer but without the pre-loaded Navionics charts since I already have the latest chip for Moosehead and Winni. Best deal I found was from a place called "Just4Electronics" based in Miami, FL for $1,526 and change:
http://just4electronics.com/index.php
Because of my awful experience with Lowrance, I had wanted to get an extended warranty, but was warned that Humminbird does NOT support any of these offers and endorses none of the 3rd party sellers offering such. However, it appears that unlike Lowrance Humminbird routinely fixes any problems with these units, typically for nothing, long after the warranty expires. Here's hoping I don't have to worry about that, but from feedback it appears they have a different philosophy.
I'm heading up to Moosehead for a few weeks of site work and fishing later this week, will post about the performance of the unit after I've had a chance to shake it down.
Re: Took the plunge on a Humminbird 997c GPS / sonar
Eric,
Congratulations and I don't think you'll be disappointed. I also saw no need for the Navionics bundle which contains older maps which can't be updated. Some advice: mounting is a key with this huge transducer. Make sure you mount it so nothing obstructs either side of it. This would impede the ability of the unit to read of to both sides. I highly recommend you join the Humminbird Yahoo groups forum. There is a ton of info, especially pics of mounting the unit properly. Also, there are experts from Humminbird who check this site and answer any questions that arise. Good luck!
Re: Took the plunge on a Humminbird 997c GPS / sonar
ERIC,
I have a Humminbird model 787c2 with the navionics platinum chip.It is 2 or 3 years old and the only trouble I have had was my fault.Heads up for you, boat was on the trailer in my yard with the covers on. fish finder on the dash in the sun on a day the temp reached 98 in the shade. Next time we went to the lake it was cooked, no picture at all. After 2 hr the screen came back about 50%.Called humminbird and sent it to them for $150 they will fix anything that is wrong with it and ship it back to you.It works great again but when I am done for the day fishing I remove it and wrap it in a towel and put it under my seat.It never happened before but it was never 98 before this either. I didn't get it fixed for nothing but the work they did was 100%.The warranty had already run out when this happened.
Ernie.
