Fishfinder Features
Navigation Features

Fishfinder Features

Overview: The Garmin Striker Plus 4 is a compact fishfinder/GPS navigator designed for small boats. It features a bright 4.3" QSVGA color display and a 200-watt dual-beam sonar transducer with CHIRP to help you locate fish. The Striker Plus 4 also has an integrated GPS to help you locate and navigate to your favorite fishing holes, docks, and boat ramps.

CHIRP Sonar: The Striker Plus 4 is equipped with CHIRP sonar, one of the most sophisticated sonar technologies available for boaters and fishermen. Compared to standard sonar, which sends one frequency at a time, CHIRP (Compressed High-Intensity Radiated Pulse) sends a continuous sweep of frequencies within a range from low to high. As a result, CHIRP sonar creates much greater target separation and crisper fish arches.

Display: The Striker Plus 4 features a 4.3" (diagonal) QSVGA color display with a resolution of 272 x 480 pixels. The display has a vertical orientation with 10-level backlighting (0% to 100%). The sunlight-readable display has selectable color modes (day, night, auto) with colors to represent the strength of the sonar returns. The unit comes with a 3" diameter 360° swiveling base with 10 tilt positions.

Keypad: The Striker Plus 4 features a convenient keypad for operating the device, located just below the display. The keypad consists of five buttons and a 4-way control for navigating the menu options.

Transducer: The dual-frequency CHIRP transducer provides a higher level of clarity and detail than traditional 77kHz/200kHz transducers. The transducer transmits sound waves through the water and receives them to relay information to the display. The 200 kHz frequency shows better detail, has a narrower beam (60°) and is typically used in shallower waters. The 77 kHz frequency penetrates deep water more effectively, and has a wider beam (120°), so it can be used to cover a larger area. The transducer has an attached 20' cable to accommodate large or small boats. The transducer can be mounted either to the transom of the boat, or to the bottom of your trolling motor. Mounting hardware for both locations is included.

Flasher: The Striker Plus 4 also includes a Flasher, which shows sonar information on a circular depth scale to indicate what is directly beneath your boat. The Flasher display page shows the depth and device voltage.

Viewing Pages: The Striker Plus 4's display scrolls from right to left to show the sonar readings from the transducer. The bottom depth is displayed in large numerals, along with the water speed, device voltage, and the current time. The unit has an adjustable depth range (Auto or Manual), and the depth scale is shown at the bottom of the screen, along with the transducer frequency. You can choose from a full screen page or split pages:

• Full Screen Page: The Full Screen page shows a full-view graph of the sonar readings from the transducer.
• Split Zoom Page: The Split Zoom page shows a full-view graph of the sonar readings on the right side of the screen, and a magnified portion of that graph on the left side.
• Split Frequency Page: The Split Frequency page shows the 77 kHz frequency sonar data on one side, while the other side shows the 200 kHz frequency sonar data.

A-Scope: The A-Scope is a vertical flasher along the right side of the Full Screen page that shows the range to targets in real time along a scale. This view expands the most recently received sonar data so that it is easier to see. It can also be helpful in detecting fish that are located close to the bottom.

Beeper/Alarms: The Striker Plus 4 has a beeper that will sound to confirm each button press, or can be set to sound only for alarms, or turned off completely. There are several audible alarms that can be independently set in the menu:

• Navigation:
  • Arrival: The unit's alarm will sound when you are within a specified distance or time from a turn or destination.
  • Anchor Drag: Sets an alarm to sound when you exceed a specified drift distance while anchored.
  • Off Course: When you are off course by a specified distance, the alarm will sound.
• System:
  • Alarm Clock: You can set an alarm clock to sound at a specific time.
  • Device Voltage: The alarm will sound when the battery voltage reaches a specified low voltage.
  • GPS Accuracy: The alarm will sound when the GPS location accuracy falls outside a user-defined value.
• Sonar:
  • Shallow: The unit will alarm when the water depth is shallower that the set value.
  • Deep: The unit will alarm when the water depth is deeper than the set value.
  • Fish: The unit will alarm when the device detects a suspended target. You can set the alarm for all fish, medium and large fish, or large fish only.
  • Water Temperature: The unit will alarm when the water temperature varies more than +/- 2°F. (Temperature-capable transducer required)

Quickdraw Contours Mapping: The Striker Plus 4 contains Quickdraw Contours software that will create maps of places you navigate. As you troll along the shorelines and the depths, the device is recording data about the body of water you're traveling. The software draws a map of the area as you pass, recording the contours and depth labels. The device's memory lets you store maps with 1' contours for up to 2-million acres. You can share your Quickdraw Contours maps with others, or download maps from other users on the online Garmin Quickdraw Community.

Navigation Features

Built-in GPS: The Garmin Striker Plus 4 has a built-in GPS receiver in the display unit that collects satellite data to establish your current location. The display unit should be mounted in a location that has a clear view of the sky for the best and most accurate results. A 5-bar signal strength meter indicates the quality of the satellite signal being received.

Waypoints: Waypoints are locations that you record and store in the device's memory. Waypoints can be marked at your present locations, or you can enter the coordinates to a waypoint at a different location. Each waypoint can be saved with a name, symbol, depth, water temperature, and comments. Once a waypoint has been saved, you can select and navigate to its location. You can also measure the distance to the waypoint on the Waypoint Map.

Man Overboard: From any screen, you can press the Waypoint button to mark your present location, and designate it as a Man Overboard (MOB) location. The Striker Plus 4 will then provide a direct route back to the location. MOBs and other waypoints can be deleted one at a time, or all at once, in the menu.

Routes: A route is a sequence of waypoints or locations that leads you to your final destination. To create a route, you can pick a starting point, add additional waypoints or locations, add turns, and save. Saved routes can be edited by changing the name, waypoints, or turns. Routes can be deleted one at a time, or all at once, in the menu.

Tracks: A track is a recording of the current path of your boat. You can designate a color for each track to differentiate them from each other. Tracks are created by automatically marking the current location at a set interval. The interval can be adjusted--recording more frequent plots increases accuracy, but fills up the track log quicker. You can also record tracks by the distance between points, or the variance from your course.