Fishfinder/GPS question?????

[Stinky_Hooker]

I am looking into (Eventualy) replacing my FF and GPS on my 18. I currently have and older but adequate Eagle FF and a handheld GPS. I am debating on getting a dual unit or separate ones. I am also not sure on color or not. You definitely save money on the dual purpose units, but I am worried I wont like having them split on one small screen. Anyone have a dual unit and like it ok? Is the screen really big enough so it doesnt matter? I am looking at the Eagle Seacharter 480DF. I like Eagle as they are made by Lowrance and I also like the Lowrance NauticalPath software. it seems to be the best bang for your buck...and plug and play to boot.

I dont have color on either one of my units now so I really want color, but boy they are proud of it. ::)



One thought I did have....if you are looking at the GPS and FF trying to locate an offshore wreck or something it seems it MAY be easier on one unit.....rather than glancing back and forth like I do now. Maybe this is one advantage of a dual??

[macojoe]

The problem is if something is not working you lose both!

I have seprate Garmins, and they are side by side so looking at 2 different ones is not a issue.

As for color I don't have it, I think it is fine with out, but I would love to own a color that you can see in the sun!!

Sometimes when the sun is out full its tuff to see that screen!! I have had to cup my hands over it to see, and that sucks!

I love Garmin and I won't by anything else.

I was not happy with Humingbird, or the small eagle. I did buy a Egale looked just like the Lowarnce my buddy had, and he loves it!!
But I hated the Eagle, showed fish were there was none, and no fish when we were on top of a school of Mackeral???


So I say pick your brand, get two sperate units, and go color if you can.

[Stinky_Hooker]

Thanks MJ. 8)

[reelapeelin]

Stink, I'm lookin' at a Lowrance LMS 332C for 650 bucks and there's a 337C that's got more power for 700...pixel count on both are 480 x 480 which is pretty good and certainly good enough for my needs...you can split the screen if you want , but w/ the touch of a button it goes from sonar to nav and I can't really do but one at a time anyway... ;D...

[Stinky_Hooker]

and I can't really do but one at a time anyway... ;D...


Exactly what i told my wife when we got married. :D

[msbhammer]

Stink,
So what happened with your V-20. Did it sell yet or maybe you decided to keep it and save it ??

[TheTinMan]

I've got a Garmin 165 monochrome combo... I don't use it in split screen, just page back and forth. IMO a 5" screen is too small for split screen. I like it, came with the boat. The refresh rate on the chart plotter is kind of slow. Fish finder gives a nice picture. Sure I'd like 2 seperate larger screens, but for the price you can't beat the combo units....unless it breaks!

[Stinky_Hooker]

Stink,
So what happened with your V-20. Did it sell yet or maybe you decided to keep it and save it ??


I still got it...trying to sell it. i dont have room for both.

[racerx]

i got the lowrance 337 last year and i love it. the split screen is fine by me. thats how i run when navigating, with the sonar side skinny. full screen sonar when trolling. i believe the color display makes a big difference when hunting fish. i can easily tell at a glance what type of bottom (mud, sand, grass,etc...) im over. as far as reading it in the sun, i have know problem. i am a grouchy old man and complain about most everything i buy. not my lowrance though. love it!

[Stinky_Hooker]

thanks racerx!!

[willy]

Stinky check my post about my Lowrance, left a message for you on this :-*

[reelapeelin]

racerx, glad to hear good review on 337...did you get internal or external antenna?...

[racerx]

it has an external antenna mr. reel. i also have the dual frequency transducer wich is pretty neat.i can switch it from a wide cone for a better 'field of view' in shallow water to a narrow cone for better performance in deep water. wich is great for me. i like to hunt the shallows for reds and specks in the early morn, and then move out to deeper water and fish for grooper, lemons, cobia,etc... when it starts to get hot.

[Mac_Attack]

RAP go to Byownerelectronics.com 337 0r 339 for $642. I BOUGHT THE 339C BECAUSE IT HAS AN INTERNAL ANTENNA. Bill Mc ;D

[racerx]

is that internal antenna WAAS capable? or is it DGPS?

[Mac_Attack]

Yes!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v130/Machockey/Untitled-2.jpg

[willy]

I have the 3500C version of that, just remember to get the Navionics gold+ or better if you want that nice display Mac. Mine is beautiful with the navionics ;D

[Mac_Attack]

Thanks Willy. *I plan to get the eastern Great Lakes navionics gold chip. *I'm saving up the $200. *I was wondering the detail the navionic shows for roads. *Being mine is internal I thought it might work in the truck. *Bill Mc *;D

[willy]

Don't know the answer to that yet, I use mine on the water only, have all the land stuff clicked off. I think mine needs some fine tuning, it is supposed to show depth contours but just shows the depths so I'm not sure what's up, going to call them on monday and get the skinny, the display on that 5 inch screen is fabulous you are going to like it. Since I switched to the navionics from the nautic path the colors are much better.

[Mac_Attack]

Willy do you have yours hooked up to a NMEA 200 network? Bill Mc ;D

[willy]

No when I get my new vhf next year then I will hook it up.
It's all about baby steps ;D

[reelapeelin]

"Baby steps"..."I'm SAILING, I'm SAILING!!" ;D ...

[Lead_Head]

I bought a Lowrance 330 C last year at Cabellas and feel it is the best value for the dollars spent. Has external Satalite unit and is both sonar and GPS. I looked at the Navionics chips and found they were $200 for each section I fish and would have easily had to buy at least 2 charts at $200 each. Instead bought the Lowrance $100 chart. Put it in the machine and it blew up... Checked the rev of my software, 1.0.0 and called Lowrance. There is an upgrade. They sent to me on a chip...Great Support.. with instructions and it worked perfectly. Now have East Coast, West Coast and all the countours and real time bouy info via satellite. My choice is Lowrance.

[racerx]

yeah head, yhat bouy info is awsome! dont have to guess where the water is moving or how much. just point and click! eheard a rumor that they will be gettin water temp and salinity data from the bouys soon. that might help track the reds. they love the brackish water. as far as mounting in the car i know my garmin handheld doesnt work very well in the car. but, it doesnt work very well anywhere. maybe within a hundred feet or so. i was a land surveyor for 14 years till katrina hit. when laying out wells (and gettin payed to fish) in venice, la my 337 was always within a few inches of my $30,000 trimble RTK unit. thats perty damn close

[Mac_Attack]

Lead_Head is the $100 Lowrance chip called Map Create? Bill Mc ;D

[captbent]

http://www.garmin.com/products/gpsmap178c/
this is what i have and it works great

[TheTinMan]

http://www.garmin.com/products/gpsmap178c/
this is what i have and it works great

I have the monochrome version of that. Works good but I'd like to upgrade to a larger screen.

[TheTinMan]

Here's the 7" version Lowrance, about a grand.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v206/Mnutz/low7.jpg

and the 10" version is really nice, but almost 2 grand! :o

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v206/Mnutz/low10.jpg

I'd love to extend the top of my console and flush mount the 10".

[willy]

I thought my 5" was nice, 10 inch screen :o
What is map create, and how does it compare to Nautic Path which is what I originally bought for my 3500 C. That I did not like because even with the software update to 1.7 ( most recent) it showed land and water as white when you zoomed in 30 miles or less. Very diificult to read for me. The navionics gold+ changed all that.

[Mac_Attack]

Here is the little bit I know about Map create. *Its a program you load on your computer and create an area map that you will frequently use. *This info is then downloaded onto one of five memory chips to be placed into you FF/GPS unit. *I was wondering how good is the nautical information. *I had read on Thehulltruth that it was more of a land map program. *Bill Mc *;D

[TheTinMan]

willy, is the 3500 a plotter only? Do you have a seperate sonar?

[willy]

Yea Tin I have the 3500 C, it is a gps waas only, same as the other 3 series out in '05. I wanted the color chart capability and I wanted the full screen.
The boat came with a matching set flush mounted with a Garmin sonar/fishfinder and a separate gps unit, both black and white. Fell in love with the arrangement (two screens) but the gps used older no longer made garmin chips, I could not find the one for my area and it had the delaware bay area on it. Sold it to Mulv and bought the new Lowrance. When or if the black and white sonar dies I will swap that out for a new color Lowrance unit.

[Skools Out]

does anyone else run an Icom brand GPS?

Here's the one i have Icom GP-360ML

http://www.dockyardelectrics.com/Icom/images/gp-360ml.jpg

GP-360ML Complete Features
LIGHTED KEYBOARD AND DISPLAY
English, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Spanish languages can be selected
Large 160x120 pixel display

COMPLETE NAVIGATION OUTPUTS
Complete Navionics® cartography: uses standard miniature Nav-Chart cartridges
Built-in world map
133 map datums, plus one user defined
Displays UTC and local time
Distance and speed can be displayed as nautical miles, knots, statute miles/mph, or kilometers/kph
Altitude and estimated accuracy can be displayed as feet or meters
Display responds accurately to changes in position and speed
Navigation outputs include range and bearing to a waypoint or between waypoints, speed and course over the ground, velocity made good, cross track error, time to go, estimated time of arrival, graphic course deviation indicator, course error, parallel route offset, specified course, and elapsed distance.
One second timing pulse synchronized to UTC

AUTOMATIC DATA LOGGING
Can be set to automatically log position and time at selected intervals
500 waypoints

SAVE SETTINGS AND MAN OVERBOARD FUNCTIONS
Present position and time can be saved by pressing the (SAVE) key
Man overboard function * press (SAVE) key twice

TWO MARINE DATABASES
Two marine databases are included, with approximately 22,000 lights and buoys (America's version)
International version available
Memory for 100 additional user defined points

ACCURATE TIDE PREDICTION
A 24-hour tide plot can be shown for several thousand tide stations
Times of high and low tide are displayed
Sunrise and sunset times are shown

PLOTTING
Present position and previous track can be plotted with waypoints, lights and buoys
Plot can be scaled from 0.25 to 4,000 nautical miles
Track is automatically recorded
Previously recorded tracks can be plotted and permanently stored as paths
Paths can be manually followed or automatically followed with autopilot

ALERTS
Audible and visual alerts for waypoint arrival, crosstrack error, border crossing, anchor watch, and avoid points

GP-360ML Specifications
PHYSICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Size: 9.8 W x 5.9 H x 3.1 D inches
25.1 W x 14.7 H x 7.9 D cm
Weight: 2 lb. (930 g.)
Power: 10 * 32 V DC, 6 Watts

LCD DISPLAY
Number of pixels: 160 W x 120 H
Size: 4.5 W x 3.4 H inches (11.5 x 8.6 cm)

WAYPOINTS
1000 Waypoints with entry by Lat/Lon, present position, range and bearing, UTM, MGRS or TDs
Waypoints can be given 7 character names and 16 character descriptions
50 Routes with 50 waypoints each
10 Avoid points

SERIAL DATA
Two input and two output ports are provided with many format selections
Waypoint upload and download are included for PC use
Compatible with all SC-104 DGPS messages

STANDARD EQUIPMENT
The GP-360ML comes complete with:
World map, tide predictor, external GPS antenna with 35 feet (10.7 meters) of cable, tilt stand, 10 foot (3 meter) power/data cable, operator's manual

OPTIONAL EQUIPMENT
Bulkhead mounting kit
Built-in DGPS receiver with magnetic antenna that can be mounted inside most boats. With this option installed, the unit provides SC-104 outputs for other GPS systems *

Link for them cheapest i'veseen them.

http://www.bethel-marine.com/Icom_GPS2A.htm

[reelapeelin]

Looks like a nice 'un!!... ;D...

[willy]

Never seen one before Skools, but it speaks German so it can't be all bad ;D ;D

[76GMC1500]

I've got an Eagle SeaCharter 480DF. *It's an identical unit to the Lowrance LMS-480DF (the black and white version of the LMs-337c), except for one thing. *The Eagle unit uses NMEA 0183 and the Lowrance uses the newer NMEA 2000. *If talking to other devices isn't of huge importance to you, a SeaCharter can be had for $350 while the LMS-480 is $500. *I don't have any charts for the unit yet. *The high resolution means they can cram a lot of data in a small space. *But, the screen is small and all of that data can be hard to see in the direct sun. *But, it's not impossible. *Can't tell you much about the fishfinder. *It's holds bottom in 150 feet of water at 30+mph. *I haven't spotted many fish with it yet, there aren't any in the entire Monterey bay at the moment. *I did pick up what I thought were a few flounders/halibut, but I was unable to drop a hook and find out because it was in an anchorage. *The unit seemed very capable of distinguishing fish from the bottom even though there was little seperation.

[Lead_Head]

Sorry!!! I have not been on the site for a while. Business and work have kept me busy. I posted about the Lowrance software chip. I have the Lowrance 330C combo GPS/Sonar, and bought the Nautic Path USA chip from Lowrance (LEI Accessories). Cost $99 at Cabellas. Gives me ALL East Coast & West Coast. One Chip. The problem I had when put the chip in was that my software op system was 1.0.0 and crapped out when I went to move the screen.. . Called Lowrance, they sent me the software update on a chip to 1.3.0 and I followed their directions and it was easy. Chip works like a charm, gives better graphics detail than the original unit, has bouy information, tidal phase, information icons for marinas and points of interest with detailed information on fuel, services, etc. And improved reilability on the GPS side. I really like the unit with the $99 investment. Beats Navionics or Blue Chart prices.... just my 2 cents worth.

[msbhammer]

Still looking for an affordable gps unit myself.
Question: Will gps units take old loran numbers as well and come out with gps numbers ??, if you follow what I mean.

[Airslot]

Hammer, for your purposes (diving) there is no machine that will work with both numbers accurately. They don't have a mathmatical algorithm that can change from td's to l/l's in an accurate fashion. Having said that, if you use a GPS that displays td's to mark a spot, you can return to that spot in td's.

Bottom line is, if you've got wreck #'s in TD's, you'll probably only find them with a Loran unit.

Airslot

[msbhammer]

Thanks Airslot. Hmm, looks like I'll be taking out the hangglider to find the wrecks from overhead. : ) ;D

[Airslot]

If you've got TD's, you can still get a working loran off of fleabay. Once you find your spot, save it on the GPS. Once all are converted sell the loran for more than you bought it.

Airslot