I need a fish finder/depth sounder and / chartplotter

[booyagasha]

like the title reads, i need a fishfinder/depth finder. My old lowrance has taken a poop....it intermittently turns on,reads and all, just flashes once every...5 minutes...My chartplotter works fine, although a little old, and lacking some color on the screen, works as it should.

?Now my question is this, should I just play frugal and get a bang for the buck fish finder, and just use the current chartplotter.?

or do i buy a combo like the Lowrance HDS5/7 or something cheaper like the hummingbird?(or cheaper brands like humminbird and eagle even worth it)? and use my current chartplotter as backup?

thanks in advance for any help...keep in mind, im a baller on a budget..so lets try to keep prices minimal


ALSO, is my old lowrance trash? how about the transducer?i know it's probably a long shot, but, can i use the old transducer to save the hassle from running the wires?