Lowrance, a designer and manufacturer
of Sonar, GPS and Aviation instruments, got its start in Joplin,
Missouri in 1957. Carl Lowrance, an avid fisherman with an
inquisitive nature, shared his love of the sport with his two
sons, Darrell and Arlen. Darrell and Arlen were among the first
inland skin divers, and through this activity learned that most
fish in any given body of water were generally found in schools
and in specific areas.
It became obvious to the Lowrances that an instrument was needed
to show fishermen where to concentrate their fishing efforts.
They designed the world's first high frequency transistorized
sonar for sport fishing and
boating with several things in mind. It had to be portable,
compact, lightweight, contain its own batteries and be relatively
inexpensive. The advent of transistors into consumer electronics
products was very important to the unit's concept. In 1957
commercial sonar units were selling for more than $2000. The
first Lowrance unit sold for less than $150.
A small manufacturer was selected to produce the first 2,000
units. Unfortunately, the manufacturer's performance was less
than satisfactory. In July 1958, a second firm was selected, but
again the quality and quantity specified by Lowrance was never
achieved.
In 1959, the family decided the only way to produce
the instrument they wanted-with excellent quality and in
quantities to satisfy the demand-was to manufacture it
themselves. Their first move was to replace, at no charge, over
700 of the previously produced products. "We didn't have a lot of
money," Carl said. "We acquired an old warehouse and literally
built a factory from scratch." In November 1959 the company
introduced the first "Little Green Box" portable sonar unit. It
became the most popular sonar in the world. More than a million
were produced between 1959 and 1984.
In 1964 the operation moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, and
manufacturing started in a rented building in January of 1965. A
tremendous amount of work was done by the Lowrance's to promote,
sell and advance the technology of their products. Boats grew
larger and more powerful. Higher speeds meant new transducer
designs. In 1965 Lowrance introduced the first sonars and
transducers capable of high-speed performance.
A new building was completed in 1971 and a large addition was
added in 1974. As the company grew, it enhanced its reputation by
introducing new products to meet the changing marketplace. Gimbal
mount sonar units, especially the LFG-300, rapidly sold alongside
and eventually replaced the Little Green Box. More and more
effort went into research and development.
In 1974 the first graph recorder produced by the company, the
LRG-600, combined a flasher and a paper chart in one box. The
first straight-line graph recorder, the LRG-1510, came in 1977.
Soon, many boats had more than one sonar unit on board.
In 1979, Lowrance introduced the LDD-1800, the world's first
sonar unit guaranteed NOT to find fish. The LDD-1800 was one of
the first digital depth sounders to be controlled by a tiny
computer built inside. It would show only the bottom depth in
large digital numbers and required no controls. This was
Lowrance's first completely automatic depth sounder.
Lowrance introduced the System 2000® line of flashers in
1981. The X-15 was introduced in 1982. This computerized chart
used a ten-key keypad instead of a range knob. For the first time
fishermen could "dial-up" virtually any range. Another
astonishing feature was its capability to show separate targets
that were as little as one-inch apart! No other sonar unit of any
kind had these features.
In 1985, Lowrance unveiled its first Liquid Crystal Graph (LCG),
the X-3. Although it had only 83 vertical pixels (more than many
of its competitors), it took the market by storm and was the
beginning of a new era in Lowrance sonar. Also in 1985 the
ultimate paper graph recorder was introduced-the legendary X-16.
In 1987 the X-16 was select by a team of scientists and explorers
to be the sonar used in Operation Deepscan, an
expedition to explore Loch Ness in Scotland.
In 1988, Lowrance diversified into the navigation market and
introduced its first Loran-C products, the LMS-200 and LMS-300.
Boasting wide LCD screens, these dual-purpose units had both a
Loran-C receiver and sonar capabilities. These were also the
first units with menus, making it easy to select features and
make adjustments.
Lowrance again increased its technological advantage in 1991 with
the introduction of its first GPS receivers, incorporating
Rockwell GPS technology. In 1995 Lowrance introduced the
GlobalMap® 2000, the world's first LCD product to offer
integrated GPS, mapping and sonar capabilities.
In 1996 Lowrance introduced the industry's first 12 channel hand
held GPS sold for under $200. Also, in 1996, Lowrance introduced
the industry's first hand held aviation GPS with full mapping
capability. Concurrent with the introduction of the mapping
products, was the introduction of the innovative Lowrance Inland
Mapping System (IMS) cartridges, which offered detailed digitized
mapping of most U.S. inland lakes and waterways. The IMS
cartridge offering was expanded to include IMS SmartMap®, IMS
WorldMap™ and aviation cartridges.
In 1998 a new series of hand held GPS mapping products were
introduced, shipped with Lowrance's breakthrough IMS
MapCreate™CD-ROM which includes all of Lowrance's IMS
SmartMaps, IMS WorldMaps, rural roads, coastal navigation aids
and wrecks and obstructions data enabling the upload of
customizable maps into the units. In 2002 the Lowrance
LCX-16ci SONAR/GPS combo was presented the prestigious "Best of
Show" Award at ICAST 2000.
During 2001, the Company announced an entire new family of SONAR
and GPS-mapping products in totally new compact case
designs. Lowrance announced over 15 new models for
2003...from entry-level fishfinders to mega-screen color
combos.
Lowrance presently offers the most complete range of sonar and
GPS products available from any one manufacturer for nearly every
fishing, boating and outdoor need.