|
| Lowrance LCX-28C HD Fish Finder GPS (50/200 kHz Transducer) | 
 enlarge | Brand: Lowrance
Category: CE
Buy New: Too low to display
New (11)
Avg. Customer Rating:  2 reviews
Sales Rank: 59020
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Shipping Weight (lbs): 14
Dimensions (in): 15.6 x 10.7 x 7
MPN: 123-18
Model: 123-18
UPC: 042194529431
EAN: 0042194529431
ASIN: B000LBD54Q
Release Date: November 15, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
|
| Customer Reviews:
lowrance 28c hd October 12, 2007
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Just purchased this and installed it in my 235 Conquest Whaler. Will need to continue to test to provide review on how it works.
As far as installation, it went in easy and connects to the Verado Smartcraft system via the nema connection. I like how everything comes in one box (flush mount, transducer, etc.). But!!! Be warned, if your boat is more than 10 feet long, you will need the extension cable for the transducer. Oh and by the way, it is a special order item at boaters world type shops as well. So if you are like me and purchase this GPS and are excited to get to the weekend to get it installed, you will be dissapointed to find out that transducere cable isn't close to being long enough. You will have to special order from your shop or buy online and wait another week to use the sonar.
Seriously...up the price by 5 bucks and include the longer cable. This was a complete dissapointment considering the amount spent for this unit.
I will report back on the functional capability
Early impressions of the LCX 28-c HD July 2, 2007
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
Some early thoughts on this unit. First of all, Amazon.com had a competative price, and offered the extended warranty much cheaper than other venders. Fast and reliable shipping. I liked this unit for it's features, as well as the fact that it was a complete package, no having to buy a black box, sounder, software, anything. The only extras I purchased were the mapping software and card reader, and the ram mount for mounting to my pedistal. I also purchased a ram mount for the gps, but this isn't necessary if you have a flat surface to mount it on.
The unit is well packaged on arrival, with everything needed for an in dash installation. My problem was I was doing a pedistal mount on a sailboat, and the power/data cord is way too short. Since they don't offer a longer cord, I ended up making my own "black box" to hide the splices. The other thing you shoud realize is that there will be a lot of cords running to the unit. The power cord, NMEA 183 and 2000 cords, and the sounder cable. Makes a tidy installation somewhat challenging. The other problem with the installation is that the ends of the cords with their caps mean that you will be drilling LARGE holes in your hull if you have to bring them through a bulkhead. That said, the installation is straight forward.
I rigged a 12 volt power supply at home, so I could play with the unit. The simulation mode works well, and lets you see the features and get used to the menu. I find it a little awkward to have the curser key at the top, and the enter key at the bottom. They would have done well to put an enter key in the middle of the curser key, it would really speed up entry. The gps module settles very quickly. The Nautipath software is nice, with good information in pop up icons that you access by putting the curser over them and hitting the waypoint key. One thing I have run into is that as you zoom in on the map, you loose the shaded coloring in the shallow water, and the contrast between the land and water is minimal, which makes it harder to read the chart.
I installed the transducer as a shoot through the hull using silicon caulk rather than the epoxy they recommend. I did install the transom bracket inside the hull to provide additional support. I hooked up the unit before I set the transducer in the silicon, and then pushed the transducer into the silicon and checked the performance before it had a chance to set. It worked very well. I used silicon instead of epoxy because the transducer manufacturer recommends it. That, and it will be easier to move or replace if needed.
The NMEA 2000 bus is going to be great. This is definately the way of the future. I was attracted to this unit because it was also backward compatable with NMEA 0183. I have two instruments that I wanted to hook up to the unit, my autopilot, and my dash mount units. Both accepted the older NMEA data without a hitch. One question tech support couldn't answer was whether the unit will take data from a 0183 unit and relay it to another 0183 unit. I would like to have my wind data sent to my autopilot, which allows it to sail to wind. We will have to wait and see if that happens.
So I would give the unit, hardware, and installation 5 stars, but here is the catch. Don't even think you are going to get a reply from Lowrance if you email a question to them. I have written 3 times, twice I got an auto reply that they had received the email, but have had ZERO replies to my questions. So, the second option is to call them. Well, set aside a couple of hours, first, you will be lucky to get through to them, and then you will be on hold so long, you will be going insane from their stupid music on hold. When I did get through, tech support was helpful and knowledgable. I just think it should be easier to get through to them than getting an audience with the Pope. Hopefully they will address this problem in the near future.
I will be interested in hearing others comments on this unit. I will keep you posted as I get more experience with it.
|
|
|
Copyright
©
2006 Adminpal LLC | |
