replacing old garmin gps with depth finder,

[wmassey9]

Just want to upgrade. larger screen. have garmin 400/50o series. would like to use old transducer and wiring harness

 

[Mustang65fbk]

I'd repost this question in the General Discussion part of the forum to get some more feedback and replies on the matter as this section doesn't get as much traffic. That being said, last summer I just replaced the 7" touchscreen Garmin that came with my boat when I bought it in October of 2021 with a Garmin 943xsv. I see you've got a Seafarer, of which I've got a 2004 GW 228 Seafarer as well, and I think the 9" screen is a great happy medium for my boat. I know that guys will get bigger 10"-12" screens, enclose the small electronics compartment behind the steering wheel with starboard and then flush mount something bigger. But I personally didn't want to go that route for a couple different reasons, such as not having a locking door to "secure" the GPS behind it, and I feel like it's more exposed to the elements when it's flush mounted. Anyway, I like everything about the 943xsv, it's got traditional/SideVu/ClearVu sonar and everything is built into it without having to run a separate sonar/black box. I'd honestly upgrade the transducer at the same time while you're replacing the MFD as you don't want to have a brand new MFD running on an old transducer, if your transducer is really old. Looking up your old MFD, the owner's manual has the years of 2010-2012 on it, which means that technology is at least almost now 12-14 years old. And if you haven't replaced the transducer in that time, it's also likely going to be of the same vintage and quite a bit outdated. I would, and did, definitely replace both, of which I replaced my transducer with a Garmin GT-56UHD that can be found for less than $400. I think the entire process of removing my old electronics and installing the new ones probably took me oh maybe 2 hours at the most? The most time consuming part was running the cable for the transducer in the same location that the old one was installed in, and then having the sealant cure. The rest of it was extremely easy to do. I'd post a few more details about what you're looking for such as the style of boating/fishing that you do, the size of screen that you're looking for, if you want it to be touchscreen or button operated, what features you're looking for and probably the most important thing would be your budget.

 

[Hookup1]

Sonar technology has improved significantly over the last ten year. CHIRP and side-scan are now everyday transducers. You can use your existing transducer but I would recommend upgrading. The 943xsv/1243xsv are great units. Whichever one fits your boat and your budget.

Replacing the cable is not difficult and most likely required - cables are different between series.

 

[DennisG01]

It's highly unlikely that the old transducer will work with anything new. In fact, I really can't fathom (see what I did there?) it working at all. The only way you'd know for 100% is to ID the ducer you have (most are made by Airmar) and check with whatever new unit you are looking at to see if it's compatible. Also, it's very unlikely that the connections, themselves, will be the same.

As Hookup said, it's not all that hard to replace the whole thing - if you're handy and have done this kind of thing before, it's only a couple of hours.

 

[Recoil Rob]

I'll second the 943xsv recommendation, I have 2 on my 180, was able to mount them SxS on the console top behind the windscreen.