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I Want FMT! What Would You Do?


soflah3

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On 1/7/2019 at 4:31 PM, soflah3 said:

...a 2018 Redfisher 18....

Our RF18 is a 2017, but unless they've changed something I'd sit in it and have a very hard look over the dash before adding a screen up there.  I'm 6'4" and sit pretty tall in the saddle. For an experiment I slapped a tackle box up there about the same size as a screen.  Nowayinhell do I want anything blocking that much of my vision. Yeah, our 7" dash mounted screen is a little small. But I'd rather be squinting at that than missing big stuff in front of me.

EDIT:  I give up. Not going to delete the automatic smilies any more.  You'll just have to live with them til the site is fixed.

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On 1/10/2019 at 8:06 PM, Skinny Running said:

I love supporting the start ups particularly when they are so much better.

I won't be surprised if a mega company like Garmin steps up and offers the FMT guyz an offer they can't resist to then mothball the system - meaning, it got to be costing them $$$$ in florida as a result of people changing from Garmin to companies like below....I had Garmin's for over 20 years until the he 741XS put me in the mangroves every time I ran Flamingo or Choko....in the work in which we fish, 50 feet can me the difference between grounded or floating :)

They are loosing a large number of new installs to Simrad and Lowrance due to their limited mapping....or, they figure out how to allow it to run on their system...which I just don't  understand why???

 

dc

 

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16 minutes ago, Beak Boater said:

Looking at trying a Ram Mount off the side of the console, that I could move out of the way when fishing, or walking around the side of the boat if it sticks out too far.

https://www.rammount.com/

RAMs are OK if you get the 2" ball (larger units) but not as nice as these:

BalzoutLLC.com

CicsoFishingSystems

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10 hours ago, Beak Boater said:

 

On ‎1‎/‎20‎/‎2019 at 3:42 PM, Wanaflatsfish said:

I won't be surprised if a mega company like Garmin steps up and offers the FMT guyz an offer they can't resist to then mothball the system - meaning, it got to be costing them $$$$ in florida as a result of people changing from Garmin to companies like below....I had Garmin's for over 20 years until the he 741XS put me in the mangroves every time I ran Flamingo or Choko....in the work in which we fish, 50 feet can me the difference between grounded or floating :)

They are loosing a large number of new installs to Simrad and Lowrance due to their limited mapping....or, they figure out how to allow it to run on their system...which I just don't  understand why???

 

dc

ISLA / FMT converted hundreds of Garmin Users in 2018 who were generally satisfied or very happy with their unit but found the maps that run in it useless.  Because of that, they switched platforms just so they could run an ISLA chart and finally see what they always hoped they would see.  Maps matter for GPS users and for many, maps are the most important factor of all.  For skiffs and bay boats looking for navigation insight, the machine is only as useful to the user as the chart running in it.  There is no question about that. Most of the converts were willing to spend a lot to remove all of their Garmin equipment and get different equipment and some of those had new Garmin systems that they sold.  To address this hassle, ISLA (an authorized reseller) does offer 20% off the cost of the charts to boaters who purchase a compatible current model 9” or 12" unit from ISLA (which sells all of the machines and accessories).

ISLA implemented a serious marketing push in 2019 with a national TV campaign and other efforts and projects to add more than a thousand additional Garmin converts this year who are totally disappointed in all of the Garmin controlled charts and that is sure to include the G3 Chart which is just going to incorporate some Navionics data and be similar to what Navionics was offering which is a tad better than G2 but not by a significant margin.  FMT customers are moving away from Garmin but just as many as moving away from Navionics for the same reasons.

 The ISLA charts were created for one reason only. Because, Navionics and the Garmin charts were not getting the job done for us or any of the inshore boaters we knew. We used to run it ourselves for a number of years and we complained directly to Garmin and Navionics many times about the problems we were having and it all fell on deaf ears.  To address the serious chart problems we found and all of the frustration we faced with that, ISLA became determined to create FMT after they refused to address the issue in any way and also further advised they had the very best charts available anywhere.  We disagreed and found their product to be “general reference” only with imagery processed at low resolution and in many areas so poorly conceived we felt it was even dangerous for the boaters and for the environment.  It could  potentially send boaters  into areas where they should not be going due to the severe lack of requisite detail on the chart. 

Like most users of these general reference maps, we knew exactly what the problems were.  It is totally obvious when you look at it and have no clear read of exactly what you should do, the markers are all off and/or missing and the photos are pretty much useless..  We endeavored to fix all it and fix it the right way.  It was several years in the making before the first maps were released in trial versions to some select boaters a few years ago.   It was an enormous endeavor to tackle but we knew boaters would thoroughly appreciate a chart that actually did fix all of these problems with no hype or marketing BS.  We did everything we could to create a map that actually works in every respect important to inshore boaters.  ISLA charts leave no question about exactly where you can run and clearly where you should not, the accuracy issues and missing features are all provided with to the foot detail, and the imagery is the best available running on a GPS anywhere in the world.   The ISLA charts have become what we think are the flagship inshore charts for Florida and Louisiana.  The exponential annual sales growth and numbers of Garmin converts is very telling about the differences in the charts and what boaters really do find important.   

To all of our customer fans including many here in this thread who are so positive about FMT, we really do appreciate your support and kind words and the authentic references you provide.  To date, our growth was fueled almost exclusively by you and your references and reviews and we will not forget it. 

 

 

 

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I havent seen FMT live yet, but based on the recs here I'm sure it's a great system. The idea of having to buy a new 9" or larger GPS for it to work effectively - on top of the $650 - is over the limit, at least for me. I've run the 10,000 many times from Choko and Goodland as well as several areas from Tampa up to PCB and I've only grounded in mud once. Seems that a good chart (not Garmin) and proper planning works fine, cost wise. I know I'm in the minority here so maybe I'll wait until someone buys it for a 5" machine, it doesn't work right and they sell it at a discount and I get a deal on a bigger screen.

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2 hours ago, Limitless said:

I havent seen FMT live yet, but based on the recs here I'm sure it's a great system. The idea of having to buy a new 9" or larger GPS for it to work effectively - on top of the $650 - is over the limit, at least for me. I've run the 10,000 many times from Choko and Goodland as well as several areas from Tampa up to PCB and I've only grounded in mud once. Seems that a good chart (not Garmin) and proper planning works fine, cost wise. I know I'm in the minority here so maybe I'll wait until someone buys it for a 5" machine, it doesn't work right and they sell it at a discount and I get a deal on a bigger screen.

For kicks I plugged mine into my dads 5 inch Lowrance and it worked. As Glenn has stated it works best with a 12 inch screen. There is a great deal of information on the screen so the 5 inch becomes cluttered.

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What is the best mapping unit for the money that is compatible with the FMT cards?  I may go ahead and purchase a unit just for the FMT.  I'm using a Hummingbird Helix 12 unit for sonar but the Bird doesn't handle the FMT.  I probably won't even hook up any sonar with the FMT compatible unit.  

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8 minutes ago, rubble said:

What is the best mapping unit for the money that is compatible with the FMT cards?  I may go ahead and purchase a unit just for the FMT.  I'm using a Hummingbird Helix 12 unit for sonar but the Bird doesn't handle the FMT.  I probably won't even hook up any sonar with the FMT compatible unit.

to just run the card...I'd go with anything that supports it within your budget...lowerance systems run it and you can find a 9-12" screen for a good price....

For the 10K's, I can tell you it's worth it....I've been running the front for 15 years, but, with the FMT, I spending more time in the back as I can run the Lopez with some assurance..maybe not on a negative low....but, on a normal low tide, I ran it in from Houston Bay without a problem,,,and the water was still dropping as I hit the docks at Outdoor Resorts...

DC

 

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