P66 or Airmar TM165

[the butcher]

Got a new lowrance hds pro and it came with the 3 in 1. If I am mainly fishing in Georgia straight either on the vanciuebr side or over nanaimo and gulf islands are, would you suggest going with a P66 or the TM165? While the TM165 is a chirp transducer, I've heard the performance isn't great in depths past 300ft due to the specs on that device. P66 has always worked but think it's a Shame to use it on a such a high end fisher finder like the HDS Pro. Or should I just use the 3 in 1 that came with it. Anyone with past experience with this dilemma?

 

[terrin]

Got a new lowrance hds pro and it came with the 3 in 1. If I am mainly fishing in Georgia straight either on the vanciuebr side or over nanaimo and gulf islands are, would you suggest going with a P66 or the TM165? While the TM165 is a chirp transducer, I've heard the performance isn't great in depths past 300ft due to the specs on that device. P66 has always worked but think it's a Shame to use it on a such a high end fisher finder like the HDS Pro. Or should I just use the 3 in 1 that came with it. Anyone with past experience with this dilemma?

Nothing wrong with the P66. It’s a good transducer.

 

[pescador]

TM165 is much better than p66. Better definition. It’s a step up. I used to only lose the bottom in 500 ft plus on a Garmin 943. I had a p66 and a 165 side by side in my old boat. The 165 was always better.

 

[the butcher]

TM165 is much better than p66. Better definition. It’s a step up. I used to only lose the bottom in 500 ft plus on a Garmin 943. I had a p66 and a 165 side by side in my old boat. The 165 was always better.

Good to know. Someone told me it wasn't a great transducer for saltwater salmon fishing becuase it uses a high and wide frequency which doesn't penetrate deep waters well. Good to see feedback that it works well for the fishing we do. Any downsides compared to the P66?

 

[cj6530]

I have a TM165 which I bought specifically for salmon as my primary target. It shines in the top 300 ft of the water column and is excellent to 500ft. If you are focusing on fish bellow that depth than there are better larger more expensive options depending on the size of your boat. I replaced a p66.

 

[pescador]

Good to know. Someone told me it wasn't a great transducer for saltwater salmon fishing becuase it uses a high and wide frequency which doesn't penetrate deep waters well. Good to see feedback that it works well for the fishing we do. Any downsides compared to the P66?

Only that in really deep water you lose the bottom. But thats why I had 2 mfd’s on the boat (p66 annd 165). And, don’t turn on your chart plotter when the boats not in the water. You can burn out a 165 transducer if it’s not cooled in water.

 

[TMan]

Got a new lowrance hds pro and it came with the 3 in 1. If I am mainly fishing in Georgia straight either on the vanciuebr side or over nanaimo and gulf islands are, would you suggest going with a P66 or the TM165? While the TM165 is a chirp transducer, I've heard the performance isn't great in depths past 300ft due to the specs on that device. P66 has always worked but think it's a Shame to use it on a such a high end fisher finder like the HDS Pro. Or should I just use the 3 in 1 that came with it. Anyone with past experience with this dilemma?

Have you tried the 3 in 1 yet? I have one and it seems to see the bottom ok. Mine is on a Lowrance Ti.

 

[ratherbefishing]

I tried the included 3-in-1 with my HDSPro. It worked OK but in my opinion the P66 is better for my fishing (ECVI and <300ft). It just works without drama.

 

[Hot-Streak]

3 in 1 is great for bottom fishing when looking for structure. Side scan and down vision.

 

[TMan]

I tried the included 3-in-1 with my HDSPro. It worked OK but in my opinion the P66 is better for my fishing (ECVI and <300ft). It just works without drama.

Roger. I haven't used mine for jigging deeper water and only troll down to 200' or so most times. Inusually use Med Chirp...400+ kHZ as it picks up my gear best. Mine is up 800kHZ but i tend not to use that. So the earlier edition of the 3 N 1. I think they are over 1000kHZ now.

 

[Hot-Streak]

If you end up not using the 3 in 1, I know someone looking to buy one so message me if you want to sell it.

 

[Sharphooks]

I bellied up to the bar for the Furuno FCV800 last season. It has both CHIRP and CW capabilities so I piped in both my P66 and my TM165 and am able to toggle back and forth between the two. Admittedly, I’m not a deep water kind of guy….200 is about as deep as I’ll go and both transducers shine in the upper water column. The TM165 produces a sharper target return which you’d expect from its CHIRP capabilities but the P66 is so capable on its own, especially when you can toggle back and forth between HF and LF that for my approach to summer fishing when the fish are generally in the upper column, it’s really all one needs, especially if you are able to mount the puck directly under your rigger .

I did find the TM165 is a bit harder to dial in, at least it was for me…..the P66 just seems to always produce the target info you need with minimal fuss as long as you keep the puck face clean of marine growth and have it angled properly

The FCV800 is a slab—-I was initially worried about putting it out on the rear deck but so far so good…I had to build up a beefy base plate for it and it seems to withstand the elements…it’s a fantastic tool for a stand alone sonar….I probably use 1/10 of the technology that it offers which is generally my story when it comes to using tech but the screen is so clear in any light condition that this attribute alone was worth the price of entry


Just for comparison purposes, I attach pix of the same target returns as viewed through three separate transducers:


Furuno FCV800 w/ P66: 200 KHZ = HF

Bottom left: Garmin Thru-HUll GT51M

Bottom Right: Furuno DFF3D

You can see how the triple-beam of the DFF3D tends to exaggerate the target returns, especially when applying a bit of zoom. You can also see that the port beam of the DFF3D picks up target returns of both the dummy flasher and the lure above it, then fades out a bit in the middle beam to just the dummy flasher, then those target disappear in the starboard beam. It’s helpful to get three different perspectives on any given target with the triple beam but day in and day out, the P66 ( purchased pre-owned for $50 on eBay) gives me all the information I need to get the job done and has been my meat-and-potatoes transducer for three decades+ of fishing in the chuck.

I have installed and then removed that P66 from 4 different boats now…that’s a testimony to how much I love my P66

 

[RageWelding]

While on the subject, I have a hds12 gen 2 touch. Does anyone know if there is a software update to get the gen2 touch to produce chirp?

 

[Rain City]

While on the subject, I have a hds12 gen 2 touch. Does anyone know if there is a software update to get the gen2 touch to produce chirp?

I'm trying to figure out something similar. I have the P66 but I'd like to improve on its capabilities with a better/newer head unit. I currently have a 2014 era Simrad 9". No idea on it's specs. But I'd like to go with the cheapest 12" I can get that offers good/great sonar capabilities with my existing P66. But I don't need anything fancy either. I was hoping to sneak in under 2k but after looking at the what most of the new 12" units cost at the boat show, I'm not sure I'll get much improvement for my budget. So yeah, any recos on a 12" used unit that would treat me right would be appreciated.

I'm assuming the P66 doesn't have Chirp capabilities though, Dan. Am I wrong there?

 

[RageWelding]

I'm trying to figure out something similar. I have the P66 but I'd like to improve on its capabilities with a better/newer head unit. I currently have a 2014 era Simrad 9". No idea on it's specs. But I'd like to go with the cheapest 12" I can get that offers good/great sonar capabilities with my existing P66. But I don't need anything fancy either. I was hoping to sneak in under 2k but after looking at the what most of the new 12" units cost at the boat show, I'm not sure I'll get much improvement for my budget. So yeah, any recos on a 12" used unit that would treat me right would be appreciated.

I'm assuming the P66 doesn't have Chirp capabilities though, Dan. Am I wrong there?

It does not have chirp. I was thinking it would be nice to try the tm175 though. I was digging through old threads here and Moose at one time had said that lowrance did at one time have an update that would allow chirp with the gen 2 stuff but shortly after removed the update.