On The Water
reprinted from THE FISHERMAN, March 19, 1998
 By Captain John N. Raguso

As many Fisherman readers learned from reading our Annual Electronics Review a few weeks ago, 1998 is the year of the color LCD fishfinder. There are a trio of manufacturers (as of this writing) that have introduced a waterproof, small-footprint alternative to those venerable yet cumbersome CRT color sets that have been popular for the past two decades. The first of these to hit the market back in the fall of 1997 was the SI-TEX PROFISH II.

GETTING TO KNOW YOU. Like the old Broadway tune from "The King and I", my "getting to know you" process spanned about an hour each session on three different occasions. And true to the song's message, the better I got to know this new SI-TEX color LCD fishfinder/trackplotter, the more I recognized the machine's real-world qualities and better I got to like it. SI-TEX marketing manager Dave Church was an excellent instructor, and his infectious enthusiasm for the PROFISH II was evident each time we explored the unit's capabilities at the Chicago, New York and Miami Boat Shows.

As we've mentioned in past electronics reviews, in this day of supercharged microchip technology, fish finders and navigation machines are becoming more user friendly. One way that I initially judge a new piece of electronics is to try to operate it without the benefit of referring to the operator's manual. If it passes this test for its primary user functionality, then it gets a big plus on my rating sheet. Obviously, to use some of each machine's more esoteric qualities, there's no substitute for reading the manual.

The PROFISH II passes this initial litmus test, in that it is very easy to start-up right out of the box, with no special training classes needed, courtesy of SI-TEX USA's design engineering staff. Numerous dedicated "one-touch" keys enable the user to get to the desired function fast, without having to scroll through endless pages of menus first, in direct contrast to some competitive machines.

EASY OPERATING SYSTEM. I was pleased to learn that the PROFISH 11 had a simulator program for both the fishfinder and trackplotter functions, a feature that will allow you to spend some quality time learning all of the ins and outs of this machine on those quiet weekend mornings as you await the upcoming fishing season. One of the most interesting functions on the PROFISH II is the "Strike" key, which is appropriately shaped like a small fish. It's really like a "man-overboard" feature, since energizing the dedicated key will provide steering information.

The five basic screens (Plot, Nav, Sonar, Zoom, Menu) can all be accessed via dedicated waterproof soft-touch keys, as can the depth range and backline adjustment (eight levels of control). The Plot function offers two screens, with one a split plot/depth and the other a dedicated plot display. Shifting to the Nav mode, there are a trio of screens, ranging from an automotive-like analog speed and triplog display, to a digital information page with various speed and steering data' to a large-numbered display for those who need to see what's happening from across the cockpit. The Sonar function offers one basic display, while the Zoom feature offers both a full or split screen zoom, bottom lock zoom, and more. Another neat feature is the unit's depth cone display, combined with its proprietary 120 kHz beam frequency, 15 and 40 degree dual beam widths and 1,500 foot range will enable you to use its full arsenal of tricks.

A UNIQUE COLOR DISPLAY.' The transflective, bi-refringent, backlit color LCD screen on the PROFISH II is unique in that unlike the TFT Active Matrix panels found on competitive color LCD fishfinders, which can look great in some light conditions but will still wash out in direct sunlight, the SI-TEX fishfinder actually gets brighter as ol'sol shines down upon it. It's really a trade-off, in that the backlit TFT screens will provide more contrast at night or in low light conditions, but the SI-TEX colors really shine through when direct
sunlight are at their worst. These qualities are very similar to the way that a monochrome LCD performs in similar conditions' We're planning to do a "shoot out" later @ this season in the Fisherman magazine between the three current LCD fishfinders in a real life, "colors under the sun" environment, so stay tuned for more sometime this summer.  It's good to know that you won't need a king's ransom to purchase one of the new  SI-TEX PROFISH II fishfinder/trackplotters. Although the MSRP is $1,379 with a transom mount speed/temp transducer, one of the national catalog retailers has it listed for $799 with a transom transducer and $899 with the bronze throughhull. 'Competitive dealer over-the-counter prices at last month's Miami Boat Show were even more reasonable. If you're in the market for a color fishfinder and need a compact, durable,  waterproof unit that will be required to produce "viewable" pictures of the undersea world on an open bridge helm,  exposed center console, or in direct sunlight, then run, don't walk to your nearest electronics dealer to check out the affordable SI-TEX PROFISH II. .