GPS Chart Plotter Sonar. HELP

[Priority1]

I have an old LMS 350 Lowrance GPS Sonar Combo. I will probably keep this unit in play. I was thinking about adding a Lowance HD 5, or possibly a Garmin 535, both Combo Sonar GPS Chart Plotter. I can buy either for same price. If I get one of these, I will probably run it full screen sonar, or GPS. Does anyone use these models, or know anything about them.

Your thoughts and feedback: TY in advance.

[Rayman96]

Frank, I could use some help with my decision as well.

Currently running an older Garmin (GPSmap 178C Sounder). Thinking about possibly adding a Hummingbird with side-scan as full screen sonar.

Also TY for any feedback!

[Paulywood]

Frank, I would be leery of the Lowrance HD models. Everyone I talked to that bought one last year had problems. They had to be reworked and Lowrance isn't real speedy when it comes to customer service. Maybe they worked the bugs out but there were a lot of problems with them last year.

[usmcpaul]

Frank, I would be leery of the Lowrance HD models. Everyone I talked to that bought one last year had problems. They had to be reworked and Lowrance isn't real speedy when it comes to customer service. Maybe they worked the bugs out but there were a lot of problems with them last year.

As you know I have been researching all kinds of different units lately and I have heard the same thing, but have no actual experience. The salesman at Bethels told me they have had customers that have had the exact same problems from Lowrance. I am not against Lowrance, I am just going by the overwhelming reviews I have read.

[nickoftime]

My brother-in-law works for west marine and he also says that they have had software problems with the lawrance units if this helps

[Priority1]

Any feedback on the Garmin 535 combo??? TY This unit is last years model. Anyone have a good source for the Lake Master chips?

[1mainiac]

If it were my choice Frank I would get the Garmin I like my Lowrance but would likely not try another one too many horror stories. Garmin is a solid company as far as I can find out and will be around a while.

[Paulywood]

I don't have any experience with that model but I have a Garmin sonar and GPS. They are seperate units. About 3 months after I bought them I dropped the GPS on the ground and broke it. I shipped it to Garmin on monday and by friday had a brand new unit sitting at my door. That alone sold me on Garmin products.

[sjk984]

My HDS5 lasted 1 hour in a light rain and shut off. After finally getting a hold of CS they told me it was probably water intusion in the card slot. And they would have to see the unit to see if it was warranty or not. It was warrantied but it took them almost 8 weeks to get me a new one. That on lasted about 3 weekends and had a water intrusion problem. Same place. This time the CS rep told me the unit was not intended for a boat like mine. I was so POed I just hung up and sent the unit with a copy of my reciept and about a 4 page letter about my experiance and how i will never by another lowrance unit.

Steve

[Priority1]

The Lowrance LMS 350 that I have, came with the boat. It has to be close to 20 years old. I also have an old hand held Lowrance GPS that is 12-15 years old. I guess they don't make them like they used to.

I have been able to get by nicely without a chart plotter. The old Lowrance would get me to my way points, and back to the piers. In it's day it was the cats A$$. The sonar worked well also but by today's standards it's stone age. I will not take it off until it quits working.

There are a lot of instances where a new color unit will come in handy. Spring fishing puts me in shallow waters, and it's important to know ahead of time, when the depth changes significantly. There is some structure on the basically flat Saginaw Bay. I'm kinda looking forward to see what all I was missing. Us poor sighted old guys need all the help we can get.

Thanks for all the input.

[Priority1]

Frank, I could use some help with my decision as well.

Currently running an older Garmin (GPSmap 178C Sounder). Thinking about possibly adding a Hummingbird with side-scan as full screen sonar.

Also TY for any feedback!

I had a older Hummingbird Sonar on a 16.5 ft boat. It always performed flawlessly. I head a lot of guys talking about the newer birds. If you get one give us a report.

[DIRTY DOG]

Hey frank ive got one of the newer birds{787c2} and love it .

Very simple to yous and some what afordable ,i also have a 240 garmen on my 15 footer and like that very well and have never had any issues with it eather.

[Rayman96]

I had a older Hummingbird Sonar on a 16.5 ft boat. It always performed flawlessly. I head a lot of guys talking about the newer birds. If you get one give us a report.

Technology changes so quickly these days and that makes purchase decisions so difficult.

Almost made a purchase last spring but just didn't pull the trigger on the deal. Every unit at fishing shows runs flawlessly on demo mode!

If a deal presents itself, I'll have a new unit by the end of next month. Unfortunately I'll have to wait for soft water to do a full report.

Garmin 535

http://www.marine-electronics-reviews.com/garmin-545s.html

http://www.thehulltruth.com/marine-electronics-forum/262523-i-am-looking-garmin-540s-who-has-one-likes-theirs.html

Lowrance HD 5

http://www.walleyecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=151081

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/SiteSearchView?dispName=ELECTRONICS&jspStoreDir=wm51&catalogId=10001&Ntt=Combo+Fishfinder%2fGPS&N=377+710+1429&langId=-1&page=CategoryDisplayLevel1&omniTag=Category%3aCombo+Fishfinder%2fGPS&storeId=10001

Edited January 25, 2010 by Rayman96
add info

[Tad Pole]

Frank you have fished on the Tad Pole before so you know that we have lowrance on our dash the fish finder is awesome i havent seen any other work any better. the gps is a crap shoot it is the 5300 gpi with the lake master chip in it.about 80%of the time it works flawlessly then there are the other times.it keeps loosing position and sometimes it doesnt get it back for 30 min or so only to loose it again,we have taken it back twice and got new units(same performance)and also have added a external antenae.i hate to admit that we got took but if i was you i would look for a different brand of gps, fish finder is awesome

.

5

[Priority1]

Randy, do you still have the same problem with the external antenna?? I sat at your helm, and remember it doing that. At that time you were using the internal antenna. Thanks

[Priority1]

Instead of the combo unit, I'm leaning towards two stand alone units. I may end up with couple New but outdated color units. These are what I'm now considering after weighing all the useful data in this thread.

Garmin 172C GPS Chart plotter.

Garmin 340C Sonar fishfinder.

I can get both of these for the same price as the combo. Any info on these stand alone units would be welcome. With two units I can set it a forget it, because I'm not always @ the helm. I'm working a deal though a friend of a friend. I put them both on a limit of walleye in 08.

Someone told me that Garmin has a decent lake map loaded in. I think Garmin also has the Lakemaster SD available now. Just like PCs the software will eat your lunch.

Thanks again for the help. And let me know what you think about the above units.

[Paulywood]

Frank, I have the Garmin 292c plotter and the 340c sonar. I really like both units. I have the map chip in the plotter. The 292 has been great for me. It has a lot of usable features. I also like the 340 but I plan on upgrading from the dual beam transducer that came with it to an Airmar transducer to get a little better clarity. I should have ordered the dual frequency transducer to start with. Hope this helps.

[Priority1]

Frank, I have the Garmin 292c plotter and the 340c sonar. I really like both units. I have the map chip in the plotter. The 292 has been great for me. It has a lot of usable features. I also like the 340 but I plan on upgrading from the dual beam transducer that came with it to an Airmar transducer to get a little better clarity. I should have ordered the dual frequency transducer to start with. Hope this helps.

Nick, What chip are you running in the 292?? ty:)

[Paulywood]

I have the Garmin Bluechart for Lake Michigan. The detail on it is great. I plan on getting one for Saginaw Bay this year. However, they are pretty expensive. I think it was around $90. That is one of the negatives of the Garmin units, the maps are expensive.

[Priority1]

How much detail is on the Garmin Base Maps?? @#%* for $90 you would think they could cover the State. Maybe the base map will do me fine. I got by with a lot less for a long time.

[anthonyyost]

I bought a Hummingbird 900 series two summers ago, and did not buy the built in maps bundle for an extra 200. Instead I used the base maps and bought the great lakes chip that came with the second fish n chip that shows the depth details in all the great lakes by using depth lines. I cannot believe how accurate the depth lines are on the chip, they are almost always the same as the depth reading on the fishfinder.

[Paulywood]

The base maps are just bare Frank. They don't show anything, just a body of water. They are expensive but worth it IMO.

[Priority1]

The base maps are just bare Frank. They don't show anything, just a body of water. They are expensive but worth it IMO.

Nick, Apparently the older Garmins came with more detailed base maps. Tom aka talltails told me he had a choice between a Great Lakes version or an Inland Lake version. These were not chips, but loaded into the unit itself. Tom has an older chartplotter. Garmin must have made a change for the worst. Do the base maps show pier heads etc?? I think Garmin has a Lakemaster chip version now, but I'm not sure what it covers. MO Money.

Do any of the other brands of chartplotter GPS come with better maps.

[Paulywood]

My boat came with a Garmin 178 combo unit and that map is bare also. I'm not sure when they had a better base map but both of mine are older and they don't have it. I know that the other brands (Lowrance, Humminbird, Raymarine) have cheaper maps available. But I'm happy with my units. I like the seperate units because if I have to send one in I still have the other. And they can be tied together and the GPS can also display the sonar info. Very versatile. What it came down to for me was I bought both units plus the chip for the same amount I was planning on spending on a Furuno sonar. And I wouldn't trade the GPS for a slightly better sonar now that I have it.

[Priority1]

I found out that Garmin now has the Lakemaster chip also. I'm not sure if it will work in all their units. The Lakemaster MI version does cover Michigan's Great Lakes and then some. If all brands of chartplotters require additional software to do a decent job, I'll probably have to postpone the purchase. For anyone interested here is a couple of links for Garmin Lakemaster.

http://www.lakemap.com/digitalgpslakemaps-garminmichigan2009.aspx

http://cgi.ebay.com/Garmin-LakeMaster-Michigan_W0QQitemZ260543667750QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?has