# Lowrance HDS-8



## Bass_Hawg (Apr 12, 2004)

Anyone have one of these or any of the HDS Family.

I am really wanting one. I also know sometime soon they will be releasing the Side Imaging transducer for it.

I guess before I drop close to 2 grand on it I want to make sure it who ever has one is super happy with it. 

What all do I need to buy with it. (hidden cost). Does it come with a transducer and GPS Antenna. Can I mount Transducer to Trolling motor? I would assume it does and I can. Just getting started shopping.

Any input would be great.


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## roger23 (Mar 7, 2007)

I have a HDS 5, It does more that I need ,,it took me a long time to figure out all the functions ,,if you get one ,get a extra power cable so you can play with it in the house,,,if you want it to monitor your motor and fuel you will have to get a harness compatible with your motor

http://www.lowrance.com/en/Downloads/Manuals/

scroll down to operations manual,you can see all about it


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## MikeG1 (Jul 25, 2009)

I have this unit for sale. It is brand new, never used. Comes complete with transducer. Note the 5X does NOT include GPS. Deal, PM me.


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## SumpinWong (Sep 15, 2007)

I have the HDS5 w/ Lake Insight, and at first I loved it. Now that I have owned it for a few months... not so much.

The thing definitely has a few bugs, or issues. I can get it all setup how I want it and run around the lake for several hours without any problems... then all of a sudden it will:1) Turn itself off, and back on. 2) Switch background colors. 3) Change frequency on the transducer. 4) Sensitivity and color adjustments go to 0% ... can't see a darn thing!

The downloads, or updates that Lowrance is offering to the consumer for these units is only for those that purchase Navionics chips. They have no advice for me and my issues, and I'm not happy with the $799 purchase!


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## Alwsfishin (Apr 5, 2004)

LCX 38HD I've had it for 2+ yrs, excellent unit for the money.


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## roger23 (Mar 7, 2007)

SumpinWong said:


> I have the HDS5 w/ Lake Insight, and at first I loved it. Now that I have owned it for a few months... not so much.
> 
> The thing definitely has a few bugs, or issues. I can get it all setup how I want it and run around the lake for several hours without any problems... then all of a sudden it will:1) Turn itself off, and back on. 2) Switch background colors. 3) Change frequency on the transducer. 4) Sensitivity and color adjustments go to 0% ... can't see a darn thing!
> 
> The downloads, or updates that Lowrance is offering to the consumer for these units is only for those that purchase Navionics chips. They have no advice for me and my issues, and I'm not happy with the $799 purchase!


I can't see mine with sunglasses on ,,I all ways turn my back lite up to 10,,low battery voltage will cause it to turn on and off as will a bad connection,,,I would not recommend this unit to anyone,,to complicated to use!!!!


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## papaperch (Apr 12, 2004)

I have read on several sites that Lowrance has had more than its share of problems with the HDS series. I am not bashing Lowrance just stating what I have read. The main problem from what I've read is the units are not water sealed very good. Moisture creeping into them causes them to short out.

The complaints must be valid as Lowrances customer service ( normally very good ) is taking a beating as far as co-operation and turn around time. For what these units cost one would think that more research would have been done prior to retailing these units.

I hope Lowrance did not follow the business plan of Winchester back in 1964. For those of you who are into guns know why the term pre-64 determines the value of your gun. A short explanation of what Winchester did was " So what if its junk as long as the Winchester name on it. It will sell ". It did work until the American consumer caught on. Hopefully Lowrance is not following this plan and these units are a glitch in their company's history.

From what I have read they ( Lowrance ) has a lot of consumer unrest now and a major effort will have to be made to regain these disgruntled customer's loyalty again.


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## sixtyminutes (Jan 3, 2009)

I love mine. I hope I don't have any trouble with it. I would definitely buy another one. I am planning a HDS10 if I can save up the funds. The detail and target separation of the sonar is the best I've ever seen. The unit in auto mode makes adjustment so that I hardly ever need to tune it. It reads at high speeds. It is a bit complex but it has a ton of features. It's kinda like computer software. You just gotta play with it and get to know it.
The GPS / chart plotter is something I will never be without if I have a choice. Everyone has an opinion, but I am very pleased with everything but the price. But then again, Hummingbird is just as expensive for a similar unit. 

I have owned Eagle, Humminbird, Lowrance and Garmin. I am very critical of my electronics as I consider them one of the most important tools I have for the kind of fishing that I do.


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## Shortdrift (Apr 5, 2004)

papaperch said:


> From what I have read they ( Lowrance ) has a lot of consumer unrest now and a major effort will have to be made to regain these disgruntled customer's loyalty again.


 I can vouch for the above based on experience.


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## pezman38 (Nov 9, 2009)

I like my HDS 5. I had some issues but the dealer took care of it.


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