Best affordable 7" touchscreen Chartplotter Sonar

Fishin said:
I bought a lowrance hds 7 live package with the 3&1 transducer on sale at harbour chandler for $999 can’t beat it for the price and the features it has I absolutely love it for what I do the down scan/side scan is really neat, built in charts/gps dead simple to install and use works really well used it all over nootka this summer and locally in Victoria/sooke, it replaced my hds 8 which was extremely big and bulky the hds7 live is pretty much the same screen size but half the weight and size of the hds 8. I do have a tablet with navionics which also works well together it’s a great combo.
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That’s pretty much the one I think I want. What charts were included?
 
Bifmalibu said:
That’s pretty much the one I think I want. What charts were included?
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C-MAP US Enhanced Inland and Coastal mapping. Works fine for me navionics is a little better in my opinion but really can’t complain with this unit. I believe harbour chandler has it for around $12-1300 right now with the 3&1 transducer so still good value for the money and having the charts and gps built in, it’s water ready out of the box without having to buy anything else.
 
Trophy 2000 said:
I use Navonics on my iPad with mount on dashboard and really like it and possibly too small on phone . I have Lowrance 7 HD live but still prefer Navonics app . You can pick up used cheap iPad with cellular but do not need plan with mini or 9 in model . I only use Lowrance for sounder .
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I used to use my iPhone in the same way but found occasionally the gps point of my location didn’t update quickly enough. Almost put me on a reef once.

I ended up picking up an elite Ti9 with the 3in1 transducer on a Black Friday sale at cabelas. Great unit. 3in1 allows for side and downscan. Side scan doesn’t really work well in the salt but the transducer does allow for medium and high chirp which is good. the p66 transducer is a nice upgrade for the salt but not needed. And it did come a with a navionics card. This was 4 years ago.

If I was to do it again tho I’d go with an HDS. Faster processer so screen response is faster with a bit better detail.
 
kaelc said:
Amen! It’s pretty “fun” finding a rock that’s not on the charts with a depth sounder. Boat yards love people who rely on iPads too much.
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even better trying to keep'em charged and bright sun light on an open boat ...... and not get eaten by saltwater spray .......lol
 
Irishwolf said:
I used to use my iPhone in the same way but found occasionally the gps point of my location didn’t update quickly enough. Almost put me on a reef once.

I ended up picking up an elite Ti9 with the 3in1 transducer on a Black Friday sale at cabelas. Great unit. 3in1 allows for side and downscan. Side scan doesn’t really work well in the salt but the transducer does allow for medium and high chirp which is good. the p66 transducer is a nice upgrade for the salt but not needed. And it did come a with a navionics card. This was 4 years ago.

If I was to do it again tho I’d go with an HDS. Faster processer so screen response is faster with a bit better detail.
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I picked up HDS 7 Live on a smoking deal at Harbour Chandler $999 with transducer and non glare, fast and clear . I do not seem to have issues with my one year old iPad Pro with any lag as I am thinking fast processor. I appreciate the heads up with lag as I was thinking of buying used early gen. iPad dedicated on the water .
 
I just picked up a Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite 10.4" 64GB Android 12 Tablet with Snapdragon 720G 8-Core Processor - Grey for $199 during Best Buy's back-to-school, plus a waterproof/drop-proof case for $35. It's brighter and cheaper than the IPad. 8 hours battery run-time but will run Navionics endlessly if you can plug it in. Works well side-by-side with my old Humminbird unit.
 
Damn Ugly said:
I just picked up a Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 Lite 10.4" 64GB Android 12 Tablet with Snapdragon 720G 8-Core Processor - Grey for $199 during Best Buy's back-to-school, plus a waterproof/drop-proof case for $35. It's brighter and cheaper than the IPad. 8 hours battery run-time but will run Navionics endlessly if you can plug it in. Works well side-by-side with my old Humminbird unit.
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Does Navionics load so all you need is the gps, or are you using up internet data?
 
MikePA said:
HDS live 7 on sale for 999

harbourchandler.ca

Lowrance HDS 7 Live with Active Imaging 3-in-1

Harbour Chandler is a locally owned and operated business that has had its doors open to the public since 1985. What has made us so successful over the years is our well-stocked shelves, our fair prices and our efforts to find whatever it is that our customers are looking for.
harbourchandler.ca harbourchandler.ca
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I purchased on same sale last summer and drove up from Victoria to pick up . This is a smoking deal !;)
 
leftcoast said:
does that come with transducer and map card?
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Transducer for sure, it is loaded with maps but not with the west coast maps, I bought that extra. I think the 93sv or 94sv has the west coast maps pre-loaded. Black Friday and Boxing Day seem to be the 2 sales periods that I remember.
 
Last edited:
Aquaholic said:
Tr

Transducer for sure, it is loaded with maps but not with the west coast maps, I bought that extra. I think the 93sv or 94sv has the west coast maps pre-loaded. Black Friday and Boxing Day seem to be the 2 sales periods that I remember.
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@Fish-on has me covered lol.......
 
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