Going to upgrade my garmin depth finder..

Steve21slx

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Well in a short 3 years the echo 101 depth finder on my boat has bellied up. All indication are that the temp sensor went out which then messes with the transducer. New transducer 69$ and a new echo 101 is 89$. So anyway I want to upgrade now but not sure if I can find something to fit in the same hole in my helm that the old one is in. The hole is probably 3 to 4 inches tall and a couple inches wide. I am looking at a garmin striker 4 plus with GPS which would be nice for marking stumps on the river for night cruises but just not sure if that would work in the original hole. Second option would be to put the new one on the helm somewhere and just leave the old one where it is at to cover the hole. Just wondering if anyone has replaced the old echo 101 and what worked for you? I don't want to get to crazy on price but looking in the 150-200$ range.
 
I recently made a post about upgrading to a Garmin EchoMap 43cv. You can find it by searching.

I couldn't be happier! It was a relatively easy do-it-yourself project.
 
I ordered a new depth finder online, and some thief stole it before I could install it. Remember that you've got to order a new extension cord to go with the new transducer. The OEM wiring will not work as you cannot get to the plug in to the old cord, and it was also connected to the framing underneath the undershielding. And the new wiring has got to be snaked over the right toon to mid ship, and turned 90 degrees to get it to the depth finder head. It just takes ingenuity.
 
I recently made a post about upgrading to a Garmin EchoMap 43cv. You can find it by searching.

I couldn't be happier! It was a relatively easy do-it-yourself project.

I actually read yours. I don't need a chart plotter but it seems those are about the same size as the ehco and was just wondering if you had to cut the hole bigger on helm?

I ordered a new depth finder online, and some thief stole it before I could install it. Remember that you've got to order a new extension cord to go with the new transducer. The OEM wiring will not work as you cannot get to the plug in to the old cord, and it was also connected to the framing underneath the undershielding. And the new wiring has got to be snaked over the right toon to mid ship, and turned 90 degrees to get it to the depth finder head. It just takes ingenuity.

Yeah I am not worried about the wiring and stuff. I was more interested in how the new finder fit in the hole of the old ehco. I was hoping that it was close enough that you would not have to do any cutting on the helm?
 
I actually read yours. I don't need a chart plotter but it seems those are about the same size as the ehco and was just wondering if you had to cut the hole bigger on helm?

The chartplotter is really nothing more than a map / depth chart. We find it very handy now!

The hole needed to be enlarged slightly going from the older Garmin 95 to the Echo Map 43cv. The additional $100 to go from the Striker to the Echo Map is WELL worth it if you ever intend to visit other bodies of water with your boat.
 
Yeah I just can't justify the extra money to the wife for lake maps when we rarely go to a lake and the lakes in my area are really not that big. If they had one with river maps that might be different!o_O I really just want the GPS part so that i can mark stumps on the river in case we are out there in the dark. The river occupants are pretty good about marking random stumps here and there but not all get marked. One was so big some one put a solar powered light on it:cool:. I figure I might go with the striker 4+ for that reason. It also has the quick draw contour drawing stuff with it which could be handy when we cruise the small tributaries off the river. I mean I understand the gps will not be dead on but when you cruise the river at night things start to all look the same so it would be nice to have the bends marked at well. I am not in a big hurry so going to weigh my options and go from there.
 
Ended up getting the garmin striker 4+ so we shall see how it fits in the hole of the echo. Hopefully I will be able do it this weekend sometime.
 
My 2015 24SLX has the Garmin Echo 101. I recently replaced it with a Garmin Striker 4 without changing out the transducer/wiring. So fr it performs fine. I don’t do much fishing but the water temp, depth, and battery voltage readouts have been working just fine. This model also has GPS and boat speed, along with mapping options.

Garmin support told me I would have to use the transducer for the Striker 4 but when I tested the functionality, the Echo 101 transducer worked - continues to do so. I’ll probably mount the new transducer when the Fall pullout occurs in October.
 
My echo 100 was just replaced under warranty with the striker 4. They had to use a plate to cover the old hole since the units weren’t the same size. Big upgrade compared to my old one.
 
My 2015 24SLX has the Garmin Echo 101. I recently replaced it with a Garmin Striker 4 without changing out the transducer/wiring. So fr it performs fine. I don’t do much fishing but the water temp, depth, and battery voltage readouts have been working just fine. This model also has GPS and boat speed, along with mapping options.

Garmin support told me I would have to use the transducer for the Striker 4 but when I tested the functionality, the Echo 101 transducer worked - continues to do so. I’ll probably mount the new transducer when the Fall pullout occurs in October.
Thanks for sharing! I've got the Echo 101 and it works fine but the thought that I could swap it out for something more sophisticated without the trouble of phishing a new line is certainly intriguing.
 
FYI, I ordered it and the Garmin Striker Cast castable fish finder at the same time via Amazon, figuring I would keep the Striker 4 if it worked or do an easy return to Amazon if it didn't. When I was sure it worked, I returned the Striker Cast. Had I kept the Striker Cast, I planned to do a temp mount to the boat by installing a PVC tube vertically at the back of the boat so the device could be dropped in and float in it when I needed depth or water temperature data. It connects via bluetooth to the Garmin phone app.
 
We boat on Lake St. Clair and have been on the water several times since purchasing the Striker 4 and connecting the device to the Echo 101 transducer wiring. So far, it captures everything the same as the 101 - depth, water temp/depth, plus speed (thanks to GPS). The only drawback is the device does not conform to the hole in the console for the 101. I used the back cover of the 101 as a mounting base for the Striker 4 swivel base for now. Not a pretty sight but it covers the hole. I'll probably fashion a plexiglass sheet to cover the hole and then mount to that long term.
 
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