gps/sounder purchase advice

[ctanke]

Hi all,
I'm outfitting a 19' Starcraft for some Manistee King action this summer.
Having fun doing so - except for the gps/sounder process.
Yikes these are expensve!
Here are my limitations -
1. This is a '99 Superfisherman, space is very limited on the dash
2. I want color, and ample power to ID thermals
3. Funds force a $600 range (so I guess that means a 5" screen)
4. Garmin or Lowrance.
What are your experiences and opinions?
Will prices come down this winter when new models are introduced?

Thanks in advance,
Chris

[sfw1960]

Discounts.
Both good machines... myself I have an LMS332c and they are already gone AFAIK.... I have seen reports in the internal ant. not working good (334) but have no firsthand exp.
I love the LMS332c and I a know the Garmin guys sure like theirs!
:cool:
Don't discount the 787 H'bird - I have one also & it rocks......

No for the Garmin guys to come out of the woodwork....

:lol:


Thermoclines are gravy on any newer machines BTW.

Robert

[Oakley]

I'm running a Lowrance LMS-480M. It's monochrome but I have not had any issues. It's split screen (GPS/Sonar) works great for my limited space.

I also had an issue last year where we had a power surge at home and because my boat was hooked up to a charger at the time, all of my electronics blew. Lowrance service for me was excellent and they replaced both my FF and GPS antena right away with no charge. Just my experience to date. Other opinions may be different.

[One]

Last spring I purchaced the Lowrance 334ci @ the spring show in Birch Run. If you can wait till then, you can probably dicker between the guys selling them inside. There were 2 vendors next to each other that I went back and forth with. They both wanted $650.00 to start with and I bought it for $550.00. Love the unit but I got one of the first ones made and it had problems w/ internal antenna. Had to sent it back to Lowrance for a computer "upgrade". Not a problem sence, other than I need to sell my boat.

[SalmonBum]

Garmin.......

[tdejong302]

Purchased a garmin 178 last summer. Fish finder works great. For the chartplotting and lake contour maps to be accurate you will need to purchase a chip as an upgrade to your unit. Unit with upgraded chip should be around $600. Unit works great with a chip. Without a chip don't rely on gps/chartplotting abilities.

[sfw1960]

..... Without a chip don't rely on gps/chartplotting abilities.

That should state chartplotting ONLY as the GPS navigates fine to any coordinate!

:rolleyes:

I wish folks had to learn on a blank grid like some of us did years ago.....
:dizzy:

[Jason Adam]

That should state chartplotting ONLY as the GPS navigates fine to any coordinate!

:rolleyes:

I wish folks had to learn on a blank grid like some of us did years ago.....
:dizzy:

Ughhh... We're back to this.....

[Captnbobb]

I have been looking for a new GPS for a couple of years but have not been very happy with the quality of the offshore lake maps available for Lowrance or Garmin. None of the mapping software seemed to offer contour lines beyond 50 ft deep which does little for me when fishing deep dropoffs in Lake Michigan. Lakemaster Pro software is available which shows contours for the entire Great Lakes, out to all depths. Although they have Michigan versions for both Garmin and Lowrance, only the Lowrance version covers the Great Lakes. Garmin has some new models coming out in the next couple months which offers a 3D underwater "fisheye" view (based on mapping, not sonar) and sounds very interesting BUT according to Lakemaster, they still have not licensed the Great Lakes maps and I really don't know how good Garmin's coverage will be. All of the Lowrance models are changing also but they will work with the Lakemaster software. If anyone else has used any of the other maps available for the Great Lakes...please comment on whether they now include contours beyond 50 ft deep (its been maybe a year since I last looked).

[Captnbobb]

Received this from Garmin....

Robert,

Thank you for contacting Garmin Cartography. At this time we are not
planning on offering LakeMaster Michigan data that is compatible with the
new chartplotters. We will offer detailed marine chart data (based off NOAA
charts) for Lake Michigan with our new plotters. The new plotters also
support the 3D topside and fish eye views. In order to take advantage of
these features you will need to purchase a G2 Vision card for the region you
are interested in. One of the regions we offer on our G2 Vision cards will
cover Lake Michigan.

We are also offering a new unit that comes preloaded with Inland Lakes data
and some of those lakes will support the 3D top side and fish eye view. We
have coverage for Crystal Lake but I can't say right now whether it will be
one of the lakes that offers the 3D views. If you went with the preloaded
Inland Lakes unit (assuming it had the 3D views for Crystal Lake you could
then buy a G2 vision card for Lake Michigan and all of your needs should be
covered. The Inland Lakes units don't use LakeMaster data but it will be
comparable.

Please let me know if you have any other questions and thank you for your
interest in Garmin.

Regards,

Nathan

[Jason Adam]

The Garmin Blue Charts are the cat's pooty for the big lakes. I have them now for all Lake Michigan, Huron, St Clair, St Clair River, Detroit River, etc.... They are sweet..

I was in Ludington municipal marina in my slip and my chartplotter showed me floating in the center of my slip, between the docks and tie off posts perfectly on the chart. It was dead nuts..

[TimT]

Since you asked for advice.... and didn't specifically mention lake maps...

Take a look at some of the Humminbird combos.

[shakertaker]

The garmin blue charts are great! Very cheap insurance for not running boat on rock piles. I dont know about the garmin sonar, never used one. I use lowrance sonar and its very sensative, i have 3 models and no problems with them. My older lowrance x-85 will pick up a tear drop with a wax worm on it down 60 feet. with sensativity turned up. I wasnt expecting that. I like garmin gps because my opinion is they are easier and more self explanatory to use.

If you win the lotto between now and then i would go for the raymarine.
Im starting to drool on myself now.

[shakertaker]

I would get a garmin combo for $600 bluechart maps about $100. Because you will never regret spending top dollar for a nice gps and charts. If you dont like the sonar then upgrade later to something different.

This is just my opinion and what i would do in my area of fishing. You needs and area may be different.