My first post to this newsgroup and it is because I recently purchased a
18' Ranger that has a Lowrance LMS-350A fish finder on it that does not
work.

The seller told me that it did not work thus it was not a surprise to
me. I have not had the boat in water but the screen is just random
lines, dots, etc. As the transducer is already installed I would like to
purchase another unit of the same make and model so I can just plug in
the my current transducer and go.

I also want GPS but I am not familiar with what info a marine GPS
provides especially on older units like the above mentioned one. I have
noticed that they must be still quite popular as they bring a pretty
penny on e-bay. If I purchase the one at http://tinyurl.com/2fs46pu on
e-bay what can I expect to see as far as GPS goes? If I am on a river
will it show towns along the way and nearby roads like the GPS units in
our vehicles do?

Another alternative would be to simply purchase a new Humminbird 161 GPS
Fishfinder from Amazon for approximately $190. This brings me to another
question. Why are individuals paying more for old used LMS-350A's than
they can purchase a new unit like the 161 for?

If you would educate me it would be appreciated.

Cheers,

Don

On Tue, 14 Sep 2010 00:24:01 -0500, IGot2P wrote:

My first post to this newsgroup and it is because I recently purchased a
18' Ranger that has a Lowrance LMS-350A fish finder on it that does not
work.

The seller told me that it did not work thus it was not a surprise to
me. I have not had the boat in water but the screen is just random
lines, dots, etc. As the transducer is already installed I would like to
purchase another unit of the same make and model so I can just plug in
the my current transducer and go.

I also want GPS but I am not familiar with what info a marine GPS
provides especially on older units like the above mentioned one. I have
noticed that they must be still quite popular as they bring a pretty
penny on e-bay. If I purchase the one at http://tinyurl.com/2fs46pu on
e-bay what can I expect to see as far as GPS goes? If I am on a river
will it show towns along the way and nearby roads like the GPS units in
our vehicles do?

Another alternative would be to simply purchase a new Humminbird 161 GPS
Fishfinder from Amazon for approximately $190. This brings me to another
question. Why are individuals paying more for old used LMS-350A's than
they can purchase a new unit like the 161 for?

If you would educate me it would be appreciated.

Cheers,

Don


First question - how do you know that the transducer works?

A marine GPS, more correctly a chart plotter, will show some shore
detail but normally only that shown on the usual marine charts. Going
up some small podunk river will probably have no information; going up
the Themes will have considerable detail well past London; details and
soundings are shown on the Chao Paya to the N. edge of Bangkok.

Cheers,

Bruce
(bruceinbangkokatgmaildotcom)

On 9/14/2010 6:19 AM, Bruce in Bangkok wrote:
On Tue, 14 Sep 2010 00:24:01 -0500, wrote:

My first post to this newsgroup and it is because I recently purchased a
18' Ranger that has a Lowrance LMS-350A fish finder on it that does not
work.

The seller told me that it did not work thus it was not a surprise to
me. I have not had the boat in water but the screen is just random
lines, dots, etc. As the transducer is already installed I would like to
purchase another unit of the same make and model so I can just plug in
the my current transducer and go.

I also want GPS but I am not familiar with what info a marine GPS
provides especially on older units like the above mentioned one. I have
noticed that they must be still quite popular as they bring a pretty
penny on e-bay. If I purchase the one at http://tinyurl.com/2fs46pu on
e-bay what can I expect to see as far as GPS goes? If I am on a river
will it show towns along the way and nearby roads like the GPS units in
our vehicles do?

Another alternative would be to simply purchase a new Humminbird 161 GPS
Fishfinder from Amazon for approximately $190. This brings me to another
question. Why are individuals paying more for old used LMS-350A's than
they can purchase a new unit like the 161 for?

If you would educate me it would be appreciated.

Cheers,

Don


First question - how do you know that the transducer works?

A marine GPS, more correctly a chart plotter, will show some shore
detail but normally only that shown on the usual marine charts. Going
up some small podunk river will probably have no information; going up
the Themes will have considerable detail well past London; details and
soundings are shown on the Chao Paya to the N. edge of Bangkok.

Cheers,

Bruce
(bruceinbangkokatgmaildotcom)

Actually, I don't know that the transducer works, it is just a guess
that the main unit is what is bad. I figure if I purchase a good working
used unit like I have with a transducer that I have it all one way or
another. Anything that works that I don't need will go back on e-bay.

I still need advice whether to purchase another older unit like the one
that I have or just start over with a less expensive new one like the
Humminbird 161. The main advantage of an older one would be that I might
not have to change the transducer and brackets. The main advantages of a
new one is the lower price and probably a better readout.

BTW - it would be used in the USA.

Don

On Tue, 14 Sep 2010 00:24:01 -0500, IGot2P wrote:

My first post to this newsgroup and it is because I recently purchased a
18' Ranger that has a Lowrance LMS-350A fish finder on it that does not
work.

The seller told me that it did not work thus it was not a surprise to
me. I have not had the boat in water but the screen is just random
lines, dots, etc. As the transducer is already installed I would like to
purchase another unit of the same make and model so I can just plug in
the my current transducer and go.

I also want GPS but I am not familiar with what info a marine GPS
provides especially on older units like the above mentioned one. I have
noticed that they must be still quite popular as they bring a pretty
penny on e-bay. If I purchase the one at http://tinyurl.com/2fs46pu on
e-bay what can I expect to see as far as GPS goes? If I am on a river
will it show towns along the way and nearby roads like the GPS units in
our vehicles do?

From a quick look at the LMS350A manual on the Lowrance web site, it
appears that the unit does not have a chart plotter capability. It
does have a "plotter" screen which is just a blank page that will show
your track and waypoints - but no maps.

--
Peter Bennett, VE7CEI
peterbb4 (at) interchange.ubc.ca
GPS and NMEA info: http://vancouver-webpages.com/peter
Vancouver Power Squadron: http://vancouver.powersquadron.ca

On Tue, 14 Sep 2010 09:13:05 -0500, IGot2P wrote:

On 9/14/2010 6:19 AM, Bruce in Bangkok wrote:
On Tue, 14 Sep 2010 00:24:01 -0500, wrote:

My first post to this newsgroup and it is because I recently purchased a
18' Ranger that has a Lowrance LMS-350A fish finder on it that does not
work.

The seller told me that it did not work thus it was not a surprise to
me. I have not had the boat in water but the screen is just random
lines, dots, etc. As the transducer is already installed I would like to
purchase another unit of the same make and model so I can just plug in
the my current transducer and go.

I also want GPS but I am not familiar with what info a marine GPS
provides especially on older units like the above mentioned one. I have
noticed that they must be still quite popular as they bring a pretty
penny on e-bay. If I purchase the one at http://tinyurl.com/2fs46pu on
e-bay what can I expect to see as far as GPS goes? If I am on a river
will it show towns along the way and nearby roads like the GPS units in
our vehicles do?

Another alternative would be to simply purchase a new Humminbird 161 GPS
Fishfinder from Amazon for approximately $190. This brings me to another
question. Why are individuals paying more for old used LMS-350A's than
they can purchase a new unit like the 161 for?

If you would educate me it would be appreciated.

Cheers,

Don


First question - how do you know that the transducer works?

A marine GPS, more correctly a chart plotter, will show some shore
detail but normally only that shown on the usual marine charts. Going
up some small podunk river will probably have no information; going up
the Themes will have considerable detail well past London; details and
soundings are shown on the Chao Paya to the N. edge of Bangkok.

Cheers,

Bruce
(bruceinbangkokatgmaildotcom)

Actually, I don't know that the transducer works, it is just a guess
that the main unit is what is bad. I figure if I purchase a good working
used unit like I have with a transducer that I have it all one way or
another. Anything that works that I don't need will go back on e-bay.

I still need advice whether to purchase another older unit like the one
that I have or just start over with a less expensive new one like the
Humminbird 161. The main advantage of an older one would be that I might
not have to change the transducer and brackets. The main advantages of a
new one is the lower price and probably a better readout.

BTW - it would be used in the USA.

Don


First of all, a transducer is just a transducer. If the frequency is
the same it will work with a different head. West Marine used to, or
does, sold some transducers separately. Just match the frequency.

Another note. If you have an un-cored fiberglass hull you don't need
to drill holes in it. You can bond the transducer to the inside of the
hull and it will work normally.

To be frank, I don't find the usual chart plotters very helpful, and
the smaller the screen the less helpful they are. Any screen works if
you are just toddling along in deep water but trying to get into a
secluded anchorage, between two islands, on a dark night you really
want as large a screen as possible to get all the detail that there
is.

Cheers,

Bruce
(bruceinbangkokatgmaildotcom)