I know it's kinda of silly to be looking at this when you don't have a boat; but, I've got to do something constructive with my time. Can somebody tell me if the differences b/w a Garmin 178C and a Garmin 188C are really worth the $400 or so extra bucks you pay for the 188. From what I can tell, here are the differences (remember I'm a rookie so I don't know what half this crap means).
Max Depth 178 is 900. 188 is 1500
transducer 178 is single 200 kHz 188 is dual 50/200
power 178 is 3200Watts 188 is 4000W
pixels 178 is 320x320 188 is 320x234
color on 178 is 256 level CSTN 188 is 16 level LCD
cone angle on 178 is 20 deg. 188 is 40/10 deg
I know just enough to make me dangerous. Anybody want to explain to me why one would be better than the other...especially if your not planning to fish 900 feet of water anytime soon. Teach me grasshopper.
Garmin combos
Moderators: bman, Chalk, Tom Keels
I just bought a Garmin Fish finder (320C) and a Garmin GPS (182). Didn't opt for the color GPS?? Haven't installed the GPS yet, but put the fish finder in last weekend and had no problems. 
Anyway, the 178 should be all you'll need for fishing and crusing in water <500 ft.
FYI: The water depths given by the manufacturer are mathmatically calculated depths. meaning in perfect conditions the unit would reach those depths. I generally figure about half of the posted depth to be the actual depth capability of the unit.
I would opt for the dual transducer (50/200). It should be available for either model. (200 is for shallow/ 50 is for deeper) It helps when your in deeper water to get a more accurate picture of the bottom. The cone is narrower so the beam travels greater distances. Think of it like a shotgun with a full choke(50KHz) less spread further distance.
Higher the wattage, higer the signal sending strength. Also, higher the battery drain.
Hope this helps!
Anyway, the 178 should be all you'll need for fishing and crusing in water <500 ft.
FYI: The water depths given by the manufacturer are mathmatically calculated depths. meaning in perfect conditions the unit would reach those depths. I generally figure about half of the posted depth to be the actual depth capability of the unit.
I would opt for the dual transducer (50/200). It should be available for either model. (200 is for shallow/ 50 is for deeper) It helps when your in deeper water to get a more accurate picture of the bottom. The cone is narrower so the beam travels greater distances. Think of it like a shotgun with a full choke(50KHz) less spread further distance.
Higher the wattage, higer the signal sending strength. Also, higher the battery drain.
Hope this helps!
