CHIRP upgrade

fpomilia · Post by **fpomilia** » Thu Apr 23, 2015 6:09 am

For those of you who may be interested in upgrading your HDS GEN 2 units to CHIRP let me save you some headache. It has been 7 days trying to get some answers to my questions. First call was to Lowrance tech support who stated all I needed was to download the 4.0 and would be good to go. Contacted a rep who stated I would need to purchase a sonarhub at $600.00 but would be better off trading my units in with the Lowrance upgrade program for the GEN 3. Contacted Lowrance and found there was no such program for the GEN 3 and the upgrade is ONLY for units that are not working properly. Then contacted numerous Lowrance certified dealers who had to call their reps to get answers to my questions and I am still waiting. The only question I did get answered was, YES, I would need to buy a sonarhub and it will ONLY work with HDS 8's and up, and my transducers are good. The questions that are still being looked into is, does the sonarhub take the place of the SS module that both units are plugged into? If not, does the sonarhub go through the module in use or is seperate? Checked Lowrance sonarhub installation and did not see anything for use with GEN 2. BEWARE of EASY and SIMPLE. I know this is a new product but one would think that Lowrance and Lowrance certified dealears would have the EASY and SIMPLE answers. 7 days and still going. Update to follow, I hope

Ken Sauret · Post by **Ken Sauret** » Thu Apr 23, 2015 2:16 pm

To add Chirp to any Gen 2 unit, you will need to purchase the Sonar Hub for Chirp to work on those units.

When I responded to your PM, I didn't mean to make it sound like Lowrance would upgrade your unit for you. I meant to say that if you wanted Chirp on your Sonar, instead of adding a Sonar Hub for $600.00, it might be best to sell your Gen 2 unit and upgrade to Gen 3 unit. With the money you get from your Gen 2 unit and the $600 you would spend for the Sonar Hub, you might be best served to upgrade to a Gen 3 unit. I thought you would be happier with the Gen 3 units because you get Chirp and the other advantages of the Gen 3 unit. I was just trying to give you another option to get Chirp Sonar.

Sorry for any confusion I may have caused. If anyone has any other questions, please don't hesitate to post a new topic and I will get the answers and clarification for you.

fpomilia · Post by **fpomilia** » Thu Apr 23, 2015 4:07 pm

Ken, I sincerely apologize if you took it the wrong way. I made it a point not mention any names or companies because it is not anyone's fault. You are a great resource for all of us and I appreciate everything you do. I misunderstood what you said and I could not agree more, However, The GEN 2s have dropped in price and I have 2 8s with SS and insight that would need to be replaced costing a lot more than just the sonarhub. Not really sure how much it is all worth.My units are only 3 years old and already outdated but that is the tech world. In addition, I would be out with the dog if I told my wife I was buying ne electronics. Still waiting on answers regarding the actual hook up and if it replaces the module that both my units are hooked into. I was just frustrated that Lowrance could not provide me with the information was looking for.

Ken Sauret · Post by **Ken Sauret** » Thu Apr 23, 2015 7:18 pm

I'm very glad we all have a forum like this to communicate and get information exchanged between us and companies like Lowrance. As long as we keep serving one another we will all enjoy our electronics, fishing and life to their fullest.

God Bless you all and thank you for this opportunity to help.