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This will be short and sweet. The last three trips to Strawberry before today I caught approximately:
1) (On my boat) -- 100 fish (300 between three of us)
2) January 1st -- 45 to 50 (80 to 100 between two of us)
3) January 10th -- (22 and 42 between two of us)
And today -- I got skunked and between seven anglers we caught 3 fish! Talk about a humbling experience. We fished south of The Strawberry Marina and saw very few fish on the fish finder (I used my Lowrance).
Here is my report on the Showdown fish finder:
It looks really nice in its storage case. It has a very small footprint, so it takes little space on the sled.
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[quote kentofnsl]
Here is my report on the Showdown fish finder:
It looks really nice in its storage case. It has a very small footprint, so it takes little space on the sled.[/quote]
but how well did it work? [crazy]
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How in heck would I know -- I couldn't get it to turn on![mad]
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Bummer Kent, please let us know how/if Nature Vison rectifies the situation. I'm bummed about the fishing up there and even more peeved that you got a bad unit!
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i don't mean to be a smart a.. but.... did you plug the battery back into the head unit after charging? I only ask because i did that the second time i used mine and it wasn't until i pulled the whole unit out of the case that i noticed my error.
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Yes, I plugged, unplugged, plugged again multiple times. I also attached the battery cables to another battery that I knew was good and it still would not fire up. I picked up some new fuses today and I am hoping that the fuse somehow blew while I was charging the battery and a new fuse fixes it.
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[cool][#0000ff]Tried my new ShowDown at Yuba today and it worked fine. Saw a lot more fish than I caught. I must have got a defective unit too.[/#0000ff]
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Sorry to hear about your defective unit. I tried a new fuse in my Showdown this evening and unfortunately it still will not fire up (Aaaaaarrrrrggggghhhh[frown]). I will be calling the manufacturer tomorrow.
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[cool][#0000ff]After having a similar frustration, I discovered that I needed to hold the power button down for two to three seconds...rather than just pushing it once. I am guessing you have read the instructions thoroughly and have been doing that, but that is about the only thing I could suggest before calling tech support.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]My analysis, at this point...after watching the online videos and reading several other reports...is that the ShowDowns are great technology. However, there seems to be a few quirks in the manufacturing process that results in a lot of complaints. Either the machines work perfectly or they don't.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]My new unit worked fine. I really like the way it displays and the zoom feature. I have never liked the circular flashing display of the Vexilars and Marcums. Great units but the vertical display of the ShowDown makes more sense and is easier to read and understand. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]The half inch separation of the SD is BIG...especially when fishing for bottom huggers like perch and walleye. I did not use mine all day yesterday, since I did a lot of "musical holes" to find single fish in different holes. But, when I plunked down and watched the screen, it was eye-opening to see the perch sneak in right on the bottom and then rise up to look at (or hit) the jig. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]After reading more about the unit, I suspect that some of that would be fish coming in from the side (displaying deeper at the edge of the cone) and then appearing shallower as they got nearer the center of the cone.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I need to try the unit on more waters, under different conditions, before I can render a qualified opinion. I suspect that it will be awhile before there is enough feedback from the buying public to get a true read on just how good (or bad) the SD really is...or how they hold up over time.[/#0000ff]
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No matter how many seconds I hold down the power button on mine it won't fire up. I guess that I should have treasured the moment that it fired right up when I first opened up the package (in my kitchen, not on the ice).
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[quote TubeDude][cool][#0000ff]After having a similar frustration, I discovered that I needed to hold the power button down for two to three seconds...rather than just pushing it once. [/#0000ff]
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I have to do that with My Bottomline also.. Have from day one whether warm weather or cold..
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That sucks!
I would tend to agree with TD's assesment of the showdown situation. I took mine back and I have had the Humminbird 35 for a couple weeks, no where near as accurate. I understand the manufacturer is very good about replacments.
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