Furuno Fish Finder Review

Quick Overview

While an underwater fishing camera can help you find your catch, it does not provide accurate underwater fish finding readings.

Furthermore, underwater cameras such as the HANRICO cannot give you information about your fishing grounds’ bottom structure and composition.

These features are only available with fish finders that use a transducer, which scans underwater contours and movements.

In this Furuno FCV628 Color LCD Fish Finder Without Transducer review, we shall delineate underwater cameras from underwater sound navigation.

Additionally, we will discuss how the Furuno FCV628 can be an excellent addition to a fisherman’s navigational equipment.

About Furuno

Furuno began as a small company of two brothers, Kiyotaka and Kiyokata, who introduced the earliest onboard fish detectors in 1948 Nagasaki.

The 1948 Fish Finder was the world’s first commercialized practical fish-finding device.

Compared to modern options, though, it only used a pen recorder and a roll of recording paper.

It had a search range selector, a sensitivity adjustment, and a power switch.

Later on, they developed devices that transmitted ultrasonic waves and gathered various underwater information, including water depth, fish distribution, and seabed conditions.

Today, Furuno is a large multinational company specializing in marine, industrial, and systems solutions equipment.

Their products include navigational, communications, and fish-finding equipment for water vessels, medical equipment, and coastal monitoring systems.

The Furuno fish finders available today are nothing like underwater fishing cameras that only give you a view of what is under your boat.

Instead of using cameras, they all use SONAR to send and receive signals to and from moving and stationary objects.

Among Furuno’s best fish finders is the FCV628, a compact mountable device that requires the sounding capabilities of a compact narrowband transducer.

Furuno FCV628 Color LCD Fish Finder Without Transducer Review

This review will focus on the properties of the FCV628 Color LCD Fish Finder.

It does not include any transducers in the package, which means you should check for compatibility before any purchase.

We’ll also talk about the list of compatible products so that you can get the most out of the FCV628.

Who Is This Product For?

This fish finder is for people who own recreational fishing boats, vessels, or workboats.

It is also an excellent option for those who already have a compatible echo sounder and need to replace a pre-existing fish finder console.

If you have difficulty nitpicking images produced by underwater cameras, it may be high time to shift to something like the FCV628.

It is compatible with a wide array of marine equipment, which means you’ll have better chances of having a bountiful catch.

What’s Included?

If you get the FCV628, the standard equipment list includes a CV-628 display unit, a cable assembly, installation materials, and a set of spare parts.

It will also include some accessories, a flush mounting template, an Operator’s Manual, and an Operator’s Guide.

The included installation materials allow you to choose between a gimbal bracket mount or a flush mount.

Either way, you can easily detach the device from the mounts for safekeeping.

Aside from the box that it came in, the kit does not include a portable storage container.

As previously mentioned, this fish finder is only the display unit, which means it won’t work without a compatible echo sounder.

However, with the correct set of attachments, the FCV628 is a complete display unit that can provide an array of underwater information.

Overview of the Features

The FCV628 is a TFT color LCD console with a screen that measures 5.7 inches diagonally and carries 480 by 640 VGA pixels.

Its effective display area measures 3.43 inches wide and 4.57 inches tall. The entire display unit measures 6.69 by 6.69 by 2.13 inches.

With the gimbal bracket mount, the device weighs 2.9 pounds and occupies a swivel space that measures 8.14 by 12.99 by 8.82 inches.

However, with the flush mount, it will only weigh 2.0 pounds and occupy a space measuring 6.69 by 6.69 by 4.17 inches.

The FCV628 requires an input voltage of 12 to 24 volts DC at 0.5 to 1.1 amperes for power supply.

• IP56 Waterproof

The FCV628 boasts an IP65 rating, which means Furuno designed it with protection from dust ingress and high-pressure water jets from any direction.

Its optimal operating temperature ranges between five and 131 degrees Fahrenheit.

Plus, it requires a relative humidity of 93 percent or lower.

• Range Selection

With the correct transducer, the FCV628 has an effective range between seven and 4000 feet.

It even allows you to change the units for depth measurement, which include meters, feet, fathoms, Hiro, and pb.

• Automatic Range Phasing

While you can manually select the device’s range, it also has an auto mode that adjusts the settings to provide the best possible view.

In auto mode, the device continuously shifts range settings as your vessel moves between shallow and deep waters.

• Fish Identification and Size Estimation

Furuno equipped the FCV628 with RezBoost and ACCU-FISH, two technologies that simplify fish-finding.

With a conventional narrowband transducer, RezBoost significantly improves resolution and target separation.

However, the Enhanced mode of RezBoost requires a compatible transom-mount or thru-hull transducer.

On the other hand, ACCU-FISH is a unique fish analyzer that identifies individual fish sizes using the Fish Mark function of the FCV628.

This feature can identify fishes between four and 78.35 inches long, in depths between 6.56 and 328.08 feet.

• Bottom Discrimination Sounding

The FCV628 uses bottom discrimination sounding (BDS) to analyze bottom structures and provide an at-a-glance recognition of bottom composition.

It will deliver graphical representations of rocks, sand, gravel, and mud, as long as you pair it with a supported transducer.

Additionally, the BDS feature has a white line setting that defines the fish lying near the bottom.

The echo of the bottom surface displays as a white shade to help you identify the bottom structures.

• Alarm Features

The FCV628 features eight alarms that produce audio and visual signals from the device.

These alarms include the ACCU-FISH, fish school, bottom fish, water temperature, bottom type, and bottom alarms.

Additionally, you’ll also find two navigation alarms: the speed and arrival alarms.

You can only take advantage of the navigation alarms if you pair the FCV628 with a GPS navigator or an applicable sensor.

All in all, these alarms can drastically improve your fish finding capabilities and prevent the occurrence of dangerous situations.

While the audio alarms shut down by pressing any key, the alarm icon will keep flashing until the conditions have been resolved.

• Wayfinding

Another excellent feature of the FCV628 is wayfinding.

A destination waypoint feature lists the range, bearing, and estimated arrival time for up to 20 waypoints.

However, this feature only works with the connection of appropriate sensors or navigation devices.

• Tankenmaru System

Furuno’s Tankenmaru System refers to the FCV628’s capability to share underwater scans between similarly-equipped partner vessels.

With it, a partner vessel can output the video signal from your display via a radio transmitter.

How To Get the Most Out of It

You will need a complete set of compatible devices and accessories to get the most out of the FCV628.

The following is a list of items you need to get the fish finder in optimum performance:

Compatible Transducer

You can maximize the FCV628’s potential by pairing it with a 525STID-MSD or 525TID-PW 600-watt transducer.

That said, compatible Furuno transducers include the 520, SS60-SLTD, and other 525 variants.

Optional Devices

Of course, having a transducer does not complete the functionality of the FCV628.

You can also add speed and temperature sensors, a GPS navigator, and a Tankenmaru radio transmitter.

If you do, be sure to include all required cables, including sensor connector kits, NMEA cables, and power cables.

Moreover, check that you have enough power supply options for all your devices.

Alternative

If you are looking for a more portable fish finder, you should check out the Garmin Striker 4.

It is a mountable device that looks like a handheld smartphone, and it only measures 3.6 by 1.6 by 5.9 inches.

However, its small size reduces the display to a diagonal dimension of 3.5 inches, measuring 1.9 inches horizontally and 2.9 inches vertically.

Additionally, its absolute range is only 1600 feet in freshwater and 750 feet in saltwater.

It’s better than the FCV628 because it incorporates GPS capabilities and a traditional CHIRP transducer.

With these features, the Garmin Striker 4 enables you to navigate easily with waypoint mapping without purchasing a different set of devices.

Aside from being small and lightweight, Garmin also offers a portable kit that allows you to protect and carry the Striker 4 anywhere you want.

The portable kit includes a sealed rechargeable battery, a charger, a built-in cable management system, a transducer mount, and a transducer float.

These extra features make the Striker 4 perfect for kayak, canoe, or ice fishing.

If you need a fish finder that doesn’t require mounting onto a vessel, you should also check out the best portable fish finders.

Is the Furuno FCV628 Worth It?

This Furuno FCV628 Color LCD Fish Finder Without Transducer review emphasizes the advantages of actual sonar scanners over typical underwater fishing cameras.

The FCV628 is an excellent example, as it can scan fish and determine their sizes under favorable and optimal scanning conditions.

Furthermore, it can identify the fish from the bottom contours, even up to depths of 4000 feet.

If you need underwater readings to be more accurate, it would be best to invest in a sonar fish finder such as the FCV628.