Marine Electronics
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Lowrance has announced a new line of fishfinders and GPS chartplotters. Called the Elite and Mark series, the new units give crisper and cleaner sonar images from even deeper depths and with higher levels of details.
The new series have been designed not only to scan underwater life but also underwater coastlines up to 1,000 feet beneath the surface. With a standard Trackback function the new sonar devices can not only store but also organize sonar images chronologically, allowing anglers to actually study underwater geography and the habits of fish.
All the new Elite models include a true 5-inch, 480×480-pixel SolarMAX 256-color display, noted for its detailed and crisp details of sonar images, and its wide viewing angle in all extremes of sunlight conditions. The Elite-5x and Elite-5 fishfinder models, in addition to a great display and stunning depth capabilities, also include a transom-mount 83/200 KHz Skimmerâ transducer, permitting up to 120-degrees of fishfinding coverage along with the ability to read underwater temperatures.
The Elite-5 and Elite-5m chartplotter models add even more with a built-in 16-channel GPS+WAAS precision antenna and built-in U.S. basemap with over 3,000 lake maps complete with coastline and depth contours. The special-edition Navionics chartcard, which comes with Elite-5 Gold and Elite-5m Gold models, covers even more area. Inside the chartcard you will not only find maps of United States waters but also Canadian coastal waters and over 125 major Canadian lakes. Also included are detailed maps of the Great Lakes, Alaska, Hawaii, and the Bahamas.
The Lowrance Elite and Mark series models, available in the United States and Canada, range in price from $199.00 to $619. The Elite-5x fishfinder is priced at $449 and the Elite-5m chartplotter $499. The top of the line product, the Elite Gold, which combines a chartplotter and fishfinder, is priced at $619.
For those on a budget, the Mark-5x fishfinder is a bargain at $159 as is the Mark-5x Pro fishfinder, which is priced at $199. The Mark series of fishfinders incorporate a File SuperTwist LED and a Skimmerâ transducer with built-in temperature sensor. The Mark-5x Pro is comparable to the Elite-5x in that it also has sonar depth capability down to 1,000 feet at a viewing angle of 120 degrees. The Mark-5x features a sonar depth down to 800 feet at a viewing angle of 60 degrees.
Both the Elite and Mark series have been designed with easy-to-use menus, which allow for single-thumb control of all the menu options. Additionally, the units can be mounted and dismounted quickly with a quick-release, tilt and swivel bracket. The devices are also seaworthy. The Elite and Mark series have one of the highest submersible waterproof ratings; coming in at IPx7 with a one-year limited warranty.
