Garmin Echo 501c Worldwide Review
Serious fisherman needs some tools to assist him whenever he’s on a fishing trip. For me, I use the Garmin Echo 501c Worldwide. It provides me with a clear idea of what’s happening underwater on my location.
I can get a clear picture of the abundance of fishes in an area. The sonar system tracks fishes residing 2300 feet deep from the surface.
Table of Contents
Garmin Echo 501c Worldwide Review
Let me discuss additional benefits Garmin Echo 501c Worldwide has to offer in the following review article.
The Easy-to-handle Design
The Garmin Echo 501c Worldwide is designed for the novice fishermen and professionals alike. You can install it really quickly. It is simple from the outset.
There are four directional buttons and one menu button that help fisherman providing multiple options.
Setting this up takes two minutes as you just need to select the language, the units you will use to measure things and finally, an optional setting for alarm (when there is shallow water).
One can easily watch the images of underwater with the help of 5-inch LCD monitor. It presents you a wide view of the area covering all the angles of your fishing kayak from a single position.
High-Quality Sonar Gives It The Edge
This Echo 501C has sonar that gives you 60/120-degree cone angle view. Thanks to the feature, you don’t have to stick my neck out to see what is beyond the two sides of my Kayak.
You just have to look at the QVGA monitor, and the clear LCD helps you find fishes all around my fishing area. You can record the findings and rewind to see an area through it again just to be sure that you didn’t miss anything.
Mount To Help You With The Device
If you are too tired of holding the device for a long time, you can mount Garmin Echo 501c Worldwide to a fixed location on your boat.
The mount comes with three screws that attach with the device. It has a theft deterrent design. With the mount, you will have sonar connections and powering facilities to keep the machine running.
It is easy to install Garmin 501C as it comes with a clasp that acts quickly when attaching or releasing the machine. You can even stick it to the dashboard (or on the trolling motor or the Transcom. You can check this awesome article to get more suggestion about trolling motor) of Kayaks thanks to the transducer.
Display Mechanism is a Huge Help
The 5-Inch QVGA works great when you need a detailed view of fishes and obstacles under water. The resolution is crisp and I also found that you can even adjust the depth vs. range to catch an unobstructed view of a certain area.
It sort of acts like a lens, when adjusted correctly, you will get a clear picture of the fish and any underwater structure the fishes might be around or under. It really helps by getting you around tricky spots.
Pros
- The machine is user-friendly and easy to install.
- Sonar scans the area and provides you a 60-120 degree of broad cone view.
- With this, you can rewind the scan history to see if you missed a spot.
- The display provides you the detailed view of the scenario underwater. You can fish with efficiency.
- You can even mount this device anywhere you like without losing power or Sonar Capacity.
Cons
- This can be called an “Entry Level” fish finder with no emphasis on details like Transducer Cables making the cable fragile.
- The GPS feature is missing from Garmin 501C.
- You won’t find any chart plotting here either.
- Cleaning this can be troublesome. It is too small for a brush, and most cleaning agents don’t work on it.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Q: Is it good especially being an “Entry Level Product”?
A: It performs fairly well. You will get “Fish ID Screens,” speed odometer that adjusts with the speed of your boat to provide updated info and the sonar of course.
All these at a convenient price are great since I am getting these in an entry level product.
Q: Does it alert you when it finds a fish?
A: Yes, it does. It has a fish alarm for that purpose. Furthermore, it is the cheapest model with the Transducer cable that is 20-feet long.
Final Verdict
Although Garmin Echo 501c Worldwide misses out on few of the features that modern fish finders offer, it is still the most affordable fishfinder with the necessary features available.
Garmin Echo 501c Worldwide doesn’t need any additional hardware to run, which is a big plus. I found it much better than a Hummingbird Fish Finder when it comes to saltwater. I’ll readily recommend this product for your long fishing trips.
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