Humminbird Smartcast Fishfinder System

[reidwalker]

Just wanting to know if anyone has tried out the new Smartcast wireless fishfinders. I am interested in knowing about both the regular monitor and the wrist watch models. Thinking of buying them and would like to know how well they work and what you might like or not like about the systems. Please only respond if you have actually bought or used them and which model you used. Thanks for your replies.

[DrownedDesertRat]

Not sure what happened to the rest of our conversation on here...

Anyway, still want my RF10 unit? I desperately need the money, by this Friday if possible. How soon do you think you can have it here? I'll even throw in some free batteries. []
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[reidwalker]

Hey there,
I sent you a private message regarding your RF10 unit. If you didn't get it then send me an email.
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[DrownedDesertRat]

I also sent you a private message (so I think). Haven't heard back from you yet. Feel free to e-mail me if you want.
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[Flagmanonice]

[] HOW MUCH ARE YOU SELLING IT FOR RAT ?
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[DrownedDesertRat]

Well, since it's used I'm thinkin' about $120. Even has batteries which are normally sold separately! [cool]
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[DrownedDesertRat]

Humminbird is at it again!

Their "Matrix Fishing Systems" is being manufactured so that you can attach a separately purchased accessory "available fall 2003" which will read the "SMARTCAST Remote Sonar Sensor", the green thing you attach to your line.
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[fishfather]

I have the watch model and it is good and bad. Good because it's light and small and it does work but the sensor tends to hop around alot which causes it to restart. On a lake it would be perfect. On the ocean when it gets choppy it is less reliable. If you are really serious about catching fish get a traditional mounted fish finder, if you just enjoy fishing,etc then this would be ok too
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[DrownedDesertRat]

A couple weeks ago I purchased the RF30 (watch model). I was excited about it! But then I discovered more dislikes than likes. Here's the positives:

- Great for helping find structure, fish, etc.
- Nice and compact, lighweight, not a hassle to carry around.


Now here's the dislikes:
- Kinda bulky if you wear a watch on the same wrist.
- Hard to use while wearing a jacket.
- It doesn't have a clock in it.
- If you turn your wrist the wrong way, it can interfere with the 900Mhz signal from the transducer.
- You need to wear it on the wrist opposite your reel hand so you can see the screen
- No backlight. Can't use it at night without some external light source shining on the screen.
- Unlike the RF10, it only has one size fish symbol.


Here's a few things I think it could use:
- A built-in clock
- An internal light
- Temperature sensor


An overall improvement on the Smartcast systems would be to add a temperature sensor on the transducer with a readout on the watch.
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[Powermaker]

[size 2] [font "Comic Sans MS"] Mornin' Reidwalker, I have the Model RF-30 wristwatch. It does real well at bottom graphing, but the advertised range is slightly miss stated. On a clear day with no wind I can read out to about 50' any kind of waves reduces this way down because it's a line of sight transmission. The further away it is the flakier it gets. As far as the fish finding capability, results are still coming in. Being winter the fish are out in the deep water so I haven't marked any fish lately. However, it did mark the goldfish I have in my pond in my backyard. Oh yeah, I'm fishing from shore, I also use a seperate rod for the finder, the .2oz capacity is too small to do me any good. If your in a small boat or a tube this could be an inexpensive option. The watch part is very bulky and doesn't make it to my wrist. It's easier and more reliable when I hold it in my hand, due to the line of sight thingy. Hope this helps. [/font] [/size]

[size 2] [font "Comic Sans MS"] David [/font] [/size]
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[DrownedDesertRat]

Thanks for the info Powermaker!

I was at the sportsman's show and talked to the Smartcast Rep about the new RF20 model that hooks onto your fishing rod. It's exactly the same as the watch only it has an extended antenna and hooks onto the rod. Everything else is the same. I told him that they need to squeeze a back-light into the unit and that would improve it tremendously.

I think I'm gonna get me one of the more expensive Humminbird units made for boats and get the hook-up for it to use the Smartcast transducer. Probably the best way to go although I did love having the RF10.
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[Powermaker]

[size 2] [font "Comic Sans MS"] For more flexability you can get 2 sensors ( "A" and "B channel). The down side is you have to restart the watch to select which channel you want. If I could go back in time, I think I would have gone with the RF-20. (Curse that hindsight) [/font] [/size]

[size 2] [font "Comic Sans MS"] David [/font] [/size]
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