Lowrance HDS7 marine and Sirius weather/temp capabilities give anglers the edge

Lowrance is bringing high-end side-scanning sonar and Sirius weather/tem capabilities to the small boater with its High Definition System (HDS) units, and a 7-inch model similar to the one given away at the Catalina White Seabass Tournament in in May by the winning team is drawing rave reviews by its new owner.

LOWRANCE HDS-7 WITH Fishfinder, GPS Chart plotter and Sirius weather. The unit is a $2,300 value and is one of the premier drawing prize packages at the Tuna Jackpot.

Floyd Sparks, captain of Tuna Kahuna which won the Catalina tourney, recently installed his new Lowrance HSD-7 unit on his 26-foot Seaswirl after his team's win of cash and prizes, pulling out his old Furuno to make way for the new technology that provides side-scanning sonar, downscanning color sonar, GPS map plotting, radar capabilities, and instant Sirius wether/water temp updates by satellite.

"I'm very exciting about the unit, and it will enhance my fishing capabilities," said Sparks, an Encinitas resident. "There's so many options. The screen is just beautiful. You know, it's like having a computer on your boat.

"The screen is incredibly beautiful. It's like driving a Ferrari, and I just need some time to learn all the capabilities. The other day I was I was sitting off a kelp and it was amazing to see on the sidescanning sonar the kelp and the clear boomerangs of the fish."

Sparks said it was easy to install the unit and the two transducers and for the side and down sonar. "It took two hours to install, looks nice on the boat and it's amazing what you get on that 7-inch screen."

Sparks said the side and down sonar is where the HDS7 unit excels. "The sidescanning will reach 320 feet around the boat, 160 feet on all sides, and the downscan goes to 5,000 feet at that 750 watts. The clarity is unreal. And I can overlaw all the sonars. When I learn all of what it can do , I feel I'll be at a real advantage in my fishing, especially in tournaments."

All Lowrance High Definition System (HDS) chartplotter models offer SIRIUS real-time weather and radio support. With coastal and the first available inland weather packages, Lowrance and SIRIUS give anglers real-time advanced weather information to help them make the most of any fishing excursion. Simply plug the LWX-1 Sirius Satellite antenna into an HDS unit and subscribe to SIRIUS' Inland, Mariner or Voyager weather service. Lowrance HDS systems have full networking capabilities allowing sportsman to display weather on all units installed on a boat.

The SIRIUS Inland Weather Service Package is only available from Lowrance and includes weather radar and lightning with high-resolution display, the latest weather forecasting and icons and text for major U.S. cities.

The SIRIUS Mariner and Voyager Weather Service Package offers saltwater anglers Cross-country weather radar and lightning with high resolution, sea-surface temperature with 2 km (1.2 mile) resolution, tropical storm and storm cell tracks and 3 or 48-hour forecast, wave height, wave period and direction.

In addition, when you include radio with your subscription, sportsmen have access to all SIRIUS satellite music and sports including NFL, NASCAR and college football broadcasts.

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