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Author Topic: Has anyone ever returned a fish finder to BPS that was installed on thier boat?  (Read 2472 times)

Jethro

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Bought a gps/sonar combo at Bass Pro kind of on a whim and it's a problem. I didn't have a ton of money for a high end device, but I need speed for trolling coldwater fish, so I got a Humminbird 581ci HD DI. Seemed to be a great unit just no color but it appears as if this GPS is horribly inaccurate at slow speeds. I have a 20 year old handheld Garmin GPS IV and it's spot on, but this unit jumps all over the place. It becomes accurate over 3-4 mph, but I troll hardware at 2.2-2.4mph. Really disappointed but I already installed it on my boat. I might as well save the $300 and keep using my Piranha Max and my Garmin IV until I can afford a higher end unit. Reading reviews on the 581 it seems that mine is not defective, it is just the nature of this model. Even my old Droid cellphone is spot on with GPS speeds when using the Navionics app. So now that this is installed, I'm sure I have no options with BPS? They won't take it back, will they? This would be a great unit for someone who doesn't troll coldwater fish, the down imaging is awesome and shows structure great.

JDK

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Did you ask BPS?
# SAND

Jethro

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Not yet, I guess I could call them, just came to this sad realization last night when I tested it on the water.

robbi

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Make sure your transducer is in a good spot and it's not being affected by cavitation or something along those lines.  I bet BPS won't give you a problem, they're pretty good about their return policy.

Jethro

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Make sure your transducer is in a good spot and it's not being affected by cavitation or something along those lines.  I bet BPS won't give you a problem, they're pretty good about their return policy.

Yeah, it's the GPS that is the problem, not the transducer. The GPS is internal in the headunit. To be fair, the unit other than the trolling GPS accuracy is incredible for a budget device. It is amazing to step up to down imaging after using a Piranha Max. Really amazing detail. And it works flawlessly at full throttle on my boat. There is no rooster tail behind the boat I assume due to the new design of the transducer. The GPS tracks and waypoints are very accurate actually, aside from the issue I am having. Anyway, I am going to stop by BPS tonight and see what they can do for me. I'm hoping I can upgrade to the 688 and hopefully the 'ducer and powercord and mount kit are all the same so I can just swap headunits. 

Mac Attack

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I think you hit it.
Ask if you can return it and upgrade to a better unit.
Good luck

fire314

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you might want to check your settings to make sure your not on true north but magnetic or on the right datum or something else that was changed in the settings .

Jethro

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I used it yesterday trolling and I guess it's acceptable. Little disappointing it's so inaccurate but I will live with it. The rest of the unit is great for being so inexpensive. Maybe I will live with it this year and sell it next year lightly used. I will say it's awesome to have the fish finder hard wired rather than my portable unit. No more charging a battery or dealing with the suction cup falling off, no more running an unsightly cable and the last thing I need is another 3 minute process at the launch.

burgerunh

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I would return it and do the upgrade.  Be honest that you are disappointed and want to upgrade.  This place is like the wal mart of tackle shops.  They have a return policy and as long as you comply with it you can return anything.

appleye

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Does it have the ability to add an external antenna? Also check your location and make sure there's nothing over the top of the unit to interfear with reception. I have a friend who put a unit in his boat and had the same problem. Once he moved it to a higher location in the boat it worked fine.

Jethro

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Does it have the ability to add an external antenna? Also check your location and make sure there's nothing over the top of the unit to interfear with reception. I have a friend who put a unit in his boat and had the same problem. Once he moved it to a higher location in the boat it worked fine.

Yeah, it's not being obstructed at all. It just takes 5-10 minutes to lock on to the satellites and then it's not accurate with the speed at trolling speeds. It's just a super cheap GPS. Shame, because the GPS is more the reason I bought it. I was fine with my Piranha Max, just wanted to add a chartplotter/GPS. It's workable, but I do not suggest this unit. Wish I could afford something more but the list of boating items I need is pretty big this year so I am going to have to deal with it for now.

 



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