Today's Tuesday Tech Tip: Sounder Basics
This is a long one, where we go into detail about interpreting the sonar screen, using functions such as gain, choosing a frequency, and the benefits of down-scanning & side-scanning sonar.

Tuesday's Tech Tip: Transom Transducer Placement.
Wherein we look at some examples of both good and bad transducer installs, and what to look out for to get the most out of your transducer.

Tech Tip Tuesday went so well, we thought we might make a regular thing of it! This Tuesday Tech Tip - Save your waypoints! It's only a matter of time before your unit deletes them - With new units it's easy with a micro SD or SD card, but with old units it can be tricky to get the right card type! If you've got a good idea for a tech tip, let us know below!

Tech Tip Tuesday: If you have a Furuno FCV fishfinder and are fishing in reasonably deep water, make sure you earth out the sounder correctly - it can have a marked difference to the sounder performance! On the FCV62* and FCV58* units, there is a machine screw which is the earthing point on the back of the unit, just below the power connector.

If you purchase a Garmin GPSMAP or echoMAP sounder/chartplotter unit between 15th May and 30th June, you're able to claim a free BlueChart G2 Vision chart card (RRP: $459.00) directly from Garmin.

To claim, simply follow this link and provide your proof of purchase: https://garmin.formstack.com/for…/marine_bluechart_promotion

If you're in the market for a new sounder/chartplotter, now is the perfect time to get in and save some money. Browse our Garmin GPSMAP and echoMAP range HERE

These cool new satellite messengers from Garmin use the Iridium Satellite network to keep you in contact with family and loved ones whilst you're out of normal cell coverage.

The two models available share the exact same satellite messaging functionality. However the main difference between the two models is the added topographic mapping capability of the inReach Explorer+. While the inReach SE+ is GPS enabled and allows you to mark waypoints and leave trails on a grid system, the Explorer+ model allows you to use preloaded topographic charts and use waypoint routing.

For more information, visit https://goo.gl/eAUS4F

We recently went and visited some of our suppliers at the Auckland On Water Boat Show, to find out about what's new and what's up and coming in the world of marine electronics. Watch the video below to see the highlights from Garmin, Furuno, Fusion and Lowrance.

Garmin QuickDraw Contours + Panoptix

We recently had the chance to get out on the water and do some decent testing with the QuickDraw software and a Garmin Panoptix transducer. This video also covers some aspects of set up that you'll need to do before creating your own charts, such as setting install depth and tide offsets.

Needless to say we are blown away with how well these two technologies work together and look forward having more of a play.

Happy Easter everyone! We will be closed for the whole weekend but will be back and rearing to go on Tuesday!

Great news for Garmin users! The much anticipated Quickdraw Contours update from Garmin is finally here.

We had the chance to test the update before release, and we have to say, this new feature is amazing.

Quickdraw Contours is a free update which allows you create your own charts of the sea or lake floor using your Garmin sounder and transducer, which updates live while you fish.

This is especially useful for lake fishers as it allows you to map out your own favourite fishing spots where other maps may not exist. Mapping out your own fishing spots helps you to get greater detail and accuracy than what you get with traditional charts. That means you can easily identify rocky areas or dropoffs where fish might like to hang out.

One of the biggest bonuses of this update is the fact that all the processing of data is done in your sounder unit on-the-fly, there's no need for extra software or computers to process your maps and you don't need to be a techincal wizard to use it, meaning you get more time on the water doing what you love - fishing.

Watch the video below to see the Quickdraw software in use

Quickdraw is suitable for use with any Garmin Panoptix™ transducer, any HD-ID™ sonar, any CHIRP-enabled, Garmin DownVü™ transducer or NMEA 2000®-compatible depth transducer.

This update works with any of the following transducers: Garmin Panoptix, HD-ID sonar, any CHIRP, Garmin DownVü or NMEA 2000 depth transducers.

If you're not sure whether your Garmin sounder is compatible with ...

Here are some screenshots that have been submitted by customers as part of our screenshot cashback promotion. It's always good to see satisfied customers getting the most out of their gear and we're constantly stoked to see you guys out there putting it to the test!

(Remember, if you purchased a fish finder from us between 1/11/12 - 15/12/15 and you send us a screenshot of your unit in action, we will give you a $15 cashback)

Tony Orton - Offshore Adventures (Mangawhai Heads) - Shallow water Kingfish around bait.

Ben Pokaia - Nomad Sportsfishing New Zealand - "18-22kG puka in about 140m" 

Joseph Butterworth - "Single trout mark splitting up a small shoal of smelt. Garmin 1020xs"

Craig Brown - Kindly donated his $15 cheque to the Tauranga Coastguard. Thanks Craig!

Stu Griffin's haul for the day.

Simon Smith "Got these shots out from Tairua yesterday. We spotted the Tuna on the surface and got a triple hook up on Big eye but lost one. Went back on the sounder and saw the amazing sign then marked it and went back 200m to it and got back on the Tuna. Garmin 7410 with GT51. We have the TM265 but find we get much more detail just watching the top 150m with the GT51. Fish went 43kg and 35kg"

Ben Pokaia - Nomad Sportsfishing
Getting readings at 800m while travelling 19.9 knots, and 668.1m at 22.1 knots. Ben uses a Garmin GSD-26 sounder and TM265 transducer. 

Great news! If you purchased a Fishfinder from us between 1/11/12 and 15/12/15, send us a screenshot of the unit while it's in use on the water and we will pay you $15. Simply email the screenshot or photo (along with proof of purchase) to sales@baymarineelectronics.co.nz to claim the cashback reward.

Super simple!

*Terms & Conditions: Offer valid for all GPS & fish-finder products purchased from Bay Marine Electronics between 1st November 2012 and 15th December 2015. Proof of purchase (tax invoice) must be presented to claim cashback. Limit of one claim per customer only. Offer ends 15th March 2016. Your submitted image may be used for promotional purposes such as on our website and facebook page. By submitting an image you are giving us permission to use the image for this purpose.

Furuno's GP1870F and GP1670F plotter/sounder combos are now shipping with the C-Map 4-D Bathymetric chart. These charts are not based on the older bathy information which other bathy charts are based on, but instead are based on a much more recent Navy survey. The improvement in detail and accuracy is noticable.

To celebrate, until 8th Jan 2016 special pricing applies to these models including a Transom Transducer and NZ Chart with Bathy Data.
GP1870F-DT-NZ   $1099
GP1670F-DT-NT  $ 849

Madness. Just madness.

 CHART UPDATE OPTIONS

The current version of 4D MAX contains bathymetric data for NZ, version .34

Existing customers that have one of these versions below are entitled to a FREE Update to the current version that contains Bathymetric Data. Please return the Chart to us with the serial number of the corresponding Furuno unit. Freight cost will apply.

M-AU-D222.16   (About January 2015)
M-AU-D222.32
M-AU-D222.33

Update offer is valid until 25th Feb 2016.
Customers who have an earlier version (below .16) can update for a Special RRP of $149 including freight.

We will be closed for Labour day weekend this year, so if you need it done, do it this week!

Fathers Day is nearly here and to celebrate, Garmin are offering a FREE GPS WATCH worth a staggering $649 with every GPSMAP7400 series purchased before 13 September, or until the Quatix watches run out!

I mean testing, yes testing....

Recently Radio Spectrum Management announced the Marine VHF channels will be changing at the end of 2016 . So what does it mean for you and your existing VHF? So far we don't have all the information, but here is an overview of how we expect your radio to perform after the change:

Existing Channels 1-18 , 27-77:

NO CHANGE - You will be able to use your radio as you have been for any of these channels

Existing Channels 20-23:

You will still be able to recieve Now Casting weather by tuning to the correct frequency - New channels which start with "20", such as 2019 or 2079, can be recieved by tuning to old channels without the 20 - so in my example channel 19 or 79. Note your local weather channel may change, for instance Hokianga currently transmits on CH22 will transmit on 2079.

New Channels 1019,1020,1078, 1079

You will be able to transmit on these frequencies by selecting the channel without the "10", But you won't be able to recieve on these frequencies.

All other channels:

Will now be used for data purposes, you will still be able to select these frequencies but you should not transmit as you may be interupting data transmissions.

If you do have any more information, or would like to ask us some questions, please get in touch!

The managers at Furuno, Garmin and Lowrance mustn't be checking the exchange rate cause they keep on dropping the prices! Its a great time to take advantage of the fantastic prices before they figure out they're shafting themselves.

Finally had a chance to get some video shot of the new 7400 series from Garmin. Very impressive!

Well the Hutchwilco Boat Show is just around the corner and this year we have been invited aboard 2 stands! We will be at the Furuno stand on the Thursday and Friday - and at the Garmin stand for the Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Its a perfect oportunity to come down and check out the latest gear! More importantly we will have full access to Boat Show specials from both brands at our store in Tauranga!

The Furuno TZT 2 will be on show at the Furuno stand - its a great step up from the TZT 1 series so definately worth a look, and over at the Garmin stand the game changing Panoptix system is a must see - see whats around the boat in real time!

Well we've been "busy" going for joyrides around the harbour "testing' the new echomap range. It works great!

Its that time again! Tauranga Boat Expo Time! Come and see us for a fantastic range of awesome specials!

How would you like to win an AWESOME Garmin GPSMAP 1020xs? There's one up for grabs at the upcoming Top Catch Heavy Metal Jigging Tournament, November 15-`16, at the Tauranga Sport Fishing Club (Inc.). Its gonna be great!

Lowrance today announced the elite 3x, which is a 3.5 inch colour 180W sounder. Fairly standard so far, in fact it is exactly the same as the lowrance elite 4x, the noticable difference? the price - these units have a recommended retail price of less than $200. Crazy pricing!

 NMEA2000 is a common language which is used by a number of manufacturers to communicate various bits of data between units. You can do some amazing things with NMEA2000, and the best part is that putting together a system is as easy as playing with lego.

What is NMEA2000?

NMEA2000 is the marine version of CANBUS, the same system which is used in your car to control things like air-conditioning or the GPS. In marine format, it usually has standardised connectors, and generally uses standard sentences, allowing you to connect different brand name sensors and displays. For most of what we do, the display used is the boats chartplotter, which is well set up to co ordinate and display complex information, and the sensors are GPS, wind, tanks and engine information.

Why use NMEA2000?

Because NMEA2000 is a standardised system, expansion or changing the system is extremely easy. For example, if you have a wind sensor on the top of the mast with a display in the cockpit, previously if someone damaged the display, and the unit was a couple of years old, you would usually need to swap both the display and wind vane, including re running the cable down the mast. With a NMEA2000 system, you can swap or change either end, or add another display elsewhere if you wished, or add another sensor (eg depth or tank level). You could add a transmitter to receive the information on a watch, or send it over a cellular connection to a remote computer. The system is much more flexible, and will help futu...

We've just had an update from Ben Pokaia - Nomad Sportsfishing NZ - who has recently had a GPSMAP8015 and GSD26 Chirp unit installed on his boat. According to Ben "1k chirp is the best sounder I have used and seen" , A big call from arguably the best king fisherman in the country, but as you can see from the pictures below that's no exageration!

500M ON HIGH FREQUENCY!!! at 17kts! Imagine what it would be like on low frequency!

Stacks of Kingfish!

Furuno have come out with a cracking deal to keep the sales up over winter - A HUGE $600 off the GP1870F Chartplotter/Sounder Package when you trade in your old unit IN ANY CONDITION!! That brings the price down, including a P66 Depth/Temp Transducer and NZ Charts to an unbelieveable $1399! Thats a crazy price for a quality 7" unit - perfect for hunting in the deep water!

For more information click here

Come late November, gamefishers around the country suddenly start taking interest in the computers that they have neglected over the winter months.

They start thinking about packing away the winter snapper fishing equipment, sharpening game fishing hooks, and planning for the season ahead.

Banter around game fishing club tables turns to where to fish... its all hinging on the warm water, and likley they're following via satelite Sea Surface Temperature images (SST)

There are many factors that influence the arrival of the warm water. Ocean currents and wind being two of the most important.

We'll take the current game fishing season as an example. During October and Novmeber, we had unusually settled weather, with just a few moderate Northerlies. This allowed the warm water to push in close earlier than expected. As a General rule, the first billfish of the season is cought somewhere around New Years Day, give or take a week. This year, marlin were hooked and dropped during the middle of December, at the same time water temperatures of 21 degrees were recorded at Schooner Rocks.

Then the Sou Westerlies hit.

This pushed the warm water out and to the east. Sea surface temperature charts showed a warm finger of water down the Kermadec trench. but it was unable to overcome the strong offshore winds. On the 19th of January, the water was 18 degrees on the surface at Motitti island, and at 26m where I was spear fishing Terakihi, the temperature was a bone chilling 16.5 degrees.

Since then,...