Top 5 Editorial Picks

Five current fishfinders chosen for distinct buyer needs—from compact value to a premium expandable system. These are editorial selections, not Amazon or reader ratings.

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  1. 1
    Garmin STRIKER Vivid 4cv, Easy-to-Use 4-inch Color Fishfinder and Sonar Transducer, Vivid Scanning Sonar Color Palettes 4 Inch STRIKER Vivid 4cv Transducer

    Best Compact Value

    Garmin STRIKER Vivid 4cv

    A straightforward sonar and GPS unit for kayaks, jon boats, and small boats.

    • CHIRP and ClearVü scanning sonar in a compact package
    • A sensible pick when you do not need a chartplotter or SideVü
    • Best fit for budget-conscious small-boat anglers
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  2. 2
    Garmin STRIKER Vivid 4cv, Easy-to-Use 4-inch Color Fishfinder and Sonar Transducer, Vivid Scanning Sonar Color Palettes 7 Inch STRIKER Vivid 7sv Transducer

    Best All-Around 7-Inch Fishfinder

    Garmin STRIKER Vivid 7sv

    A capable sonar-first choice for anglers who want a useful 7-inch display without moving into a full chartplotter system.

    • CHIRP, ClearVü, and SideVü sonar for fish and structure
    • Simple setup with a practical 7-inch screen
    • Strong value for most general boat anglers
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  3. 3
    Garmin ECHOMAP UHD2 73sv with GT54 Transducer, 7” Touchscreen Chartplotter, Garmin Navionics+ U.S. Inland 7' Garmin Navionics+ U.S. Inland with GT54 Transducer

    Best GPS & Chartplotter Upgrade

    Garmin ECHOMAP UHD2 73sv

    The mapping step-up for buyers who need confident navigation as well as high-quality scanning sonar.

    • Garmin Navionics+ U.S. Inland mapping and touchscreen control
    • Ultra High-Definition ClearVü and SideVü sonar
    • A better fit than STRIKER when charts matter
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  4. 4
    Humminbird XPLORE Series GPS Fish Finder MEGA Side Imaging+ & HD Touchscreen Display Transducer Included) 9-Inch Display

    Best Side-Imaging Upgrade

    Humminbird XPLORE 9

    A current 9-inch imaging platform for anglers ready to build around serious side imaging and boat integration.

    • MEGA Side Imaging+ and MEGA Down Imaging+
    • 9-inch display with touchscreen and keypad control
    • Recommended configuration: 9-inch, transducer included
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  5. 5
    Lowrance HDS PRO Fish Finder/Chartplotter with C-MAP, 9 to 16-inch Options 10 Inch ActiveImaging HD 3-in-1

    Best Premium Expandable System

    Lowrance HDS PRO 10

    A larger-boat platform for buyers who want premium sonar, mapping, networking, and a serious expansion path.

    • Active Imaging HD and C-MAP charting
    • Wide networking support for integrated electronics
    • Ready to expand with ActiveTarget 2 and the Lowrance ecosystem
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Raymarine C120W Review

The Raymarine C120W is the midsized unit in the newly released C-series widescreen network capable multi-function chartplotter lineup.

The C120W ships with the display unit, a sun cover, documentation, and cabling. The display has an internal GPS sensor and can connect to an optional external GPS antenna if desired.

raymarine c120w multi-function display

Raymarine C120W

It also comes with preloaded cartography covering U.S. coastal waters.

The C120W can also use Navionics Gold or Platinum cards in its single front panel card slot. When so equipped the unit will show 3D navigation and high-resolution photo coverage of certain areas.

The display unit is quite large, it measures 15-inches wide, 10-inches high, and about 4.5-inches deep. Our test unit was loaded with software version 1.12.

We mounted the Raymarine C120W to our test rig using an optional metal trunion bracket. Normally a display this big would be flush mounted in a panel. Hardware to flush mount is supplied.

Compare Best Prices for GPS Chartplotters.

Connectivity

The power supply, which can be either 12- or 24-volts DC, NMEA0183 data, and a video port all pass through a single cable that attaches to the case back with a twist lock connector.

The case back also has two SeaTalkhs network ports that allow the C120W to connect to another C-series widescreen display, radar, AIS, or a black box sounder.

The case back has a fourth cable connection for SeaTalkng, an N2K compliant network. The C120W has a three of NMEA0183 ports built-in.

Port one is a normal NEMA0183 input/output port. Port two is also input/output capable and high-speed, meaning it can operate at 38,400 baud—a necessity today for anyone looking to connect a high-speed device like AIS to this unit. Port three is normal speed input only.

New Autopilot Integration

We didn’t get to test this funtion but Raymarine Marketing Manager, Jim McGowan, gave us the briefing. Here it is. The Raymarine C120W and other C-Series Widescreen systems now feature SeaTalk autopilot integration as a standard feature. This makes it much more convenient to use your Raymarine autopilot navigation mode.

In the past, to make the autopilot track to a route or waypoint on the chartplotter, it was necessary to first activate the destination on the chartplotter, then activate the navigation mode on the autopilot, then confirm the destination on the autopilot too. This required several button presses on each device, and depending on the proximity for your chartplotter to your autopilot control head, may require several trips across the boat or up and down a ladder.

With the latest software in your Raymarine Multifunction Display, the MFD is now totally autopilot aware. We have even added an autopilot status icon to the MFD’s data bar to support this.

Now, whenever you use the Goto Waypoint, or select the option to follow a route, the chartplotter displays a prompt asking if you would like it to activate the autopilot and track to the destination. All of the button presses required to make this