i just installed my new 334 but, was not as happy as i thought i would be will the internal gps. had a hard time keeping sats and the waas would kick in and out every minute or two. will give it a few more chances before i pull it and get the 332c. anybody else had simular experiences?
fish2live,
Were these trial runs on open water? What is your set-up?
Dash mounted under windshield or completely unobstructed view? Based on what i’ve read on IDA these units are not to be flush mounted.
Just curious as I am in the market and want to know all I can before purchasing.
Thanks,
dandorn
I have a new 334 sitting in the garage. I hope this is not true.
Where were you when the signal was kicking in and out? Were you on the water? In the garage? On the north side of a big hill?
it is not flush mouted just on the concoul by the windshield but, i would say mounted unobstructed. i will post again after today i will be using it again on the river. hey eron if i were you i think i would return the 334 if you haven’t already installed and get the 332. the only reason i am giving it another shot before return is i don’t want to unistall and reinstall kind of a pain.
ERon I’m the same way. I’m gonna go ahead an install mine today. Just hope it works ok i guess. Thats alot of work to go thru if it dont.
ditto here..installed it last week, but havent had it out of the garage yet. gonna do that today, and see how she locks in. Mine also is on a console, with a full windshield….let’s keep our fingers crossed…I have to believe that its gonna be fine.
ok …you guys are farther along then me. What is the nmea 2000 buss power cable and is it something i need to connect. It did say that not all wire may be used. I’m all cornfused 
OK fellas…now take it from a guy who’s very far from being a rocket scientist on this stuff…IT IS USER FRIENDLY. I just installed the 334 C a couple weeks ago. First the wiring question. I only connected the power wires (red and black) and clipped the associated white wire (speaker, according to manual) and the sonar and gps seem to work fine. Even got the Lakemaster chip fronm Wade and played with that some, and it works fine, too. (Havent had it in the water yet). so I think I’ve established that you’re safe to clip and seal the other sets of wires (as stated in the manual)if all you’re after is the sonar and gps. I think the NMEA wiring is for a network/interface type application, which i’m not doing…so can’t tell you more about that now. I got a little concerned after reading previous posts on limitations of the built in antennae. So I went and pulled my boat out of the garage, under open sky, and went thru the basic GPS operation steps that section 6 in the manual takes you thru, and it went fine. It took a minute or so to lock in on the satellites in the STATUS mode and showed me signal strength. I pulled out my 4 year old Garmin 12 hand-held, and it showed the same satellite numbers locked in, at similar strength indicators. As I mentioned in earlier post, I have a full windshield on the boat, and this unit is mounted on the dash, partially obstructed by the glass toward the bow, but partially unblocked from the sky between it and me in the drivers seat. I stuck the handheld even closer to the windshield than the 334C, and using the RAM mount, slid the 334C closer to the window, and neither showd any noticeable loss of signal strength. So I think all you guys with windshields should be ok. The WAAS stayed activated thru these various excercises. So not sure why some of you may be experiencing some problems with reception 
, but I can tell you that neither my handheld nor the 334C picked up any satellites while in the garage. The hardest part for me was to sit my butt down and force myself to follow the manual thru these stages. Looking ahead a bit, i played with some of the basic functions they lead you thru, and can attest that it is user friendly if you take the time to go step by step, and get used to the idea that for old dogs to learn some new tricks, we might just have to read instructions… 
Good luck, and maybe Wade can shed some light on these things, if you have continued troubles.
Fish2live, if you only tried it in the garage then it is of course not going to work good.
no i had it on the river both times but today, it didn’t loose signal at all. i really don’t know why sat it had problems and today it worked great. i guess i will take back what i said about returning it for now 
Z-Man, Thanks for the detailed info! 
When you guys install you can just tape off the extra wires with electrical tape.
Everyone should take note that some of the problems with GPS reception and WAAS happed with extrenal antenna units sometimes too. Also, when you get a new unit, it tends to take longer to lock on at first.
It’s nice to hear some on-the-water reports on the 334C. Thanks guys! 
Well, put the 334C to the test on the water today, and its a good news/bad news story. first the good news…the unit performed like a charm. No hindrance to satellite reception by the windshield, and the navigation, map, and sonar modes functioned as advertised. But now the bad news… today was supposed to be the first of 4 at pool 4/Everts, but that trip fell apart last nite (and probably a good thing, in view of the snow). so my buddy and I hit Lake Michigan for the day, and boated about a dozen Brown Trout, and lost a few more. 
The Map mode made it a cinch to follow our trolling trail, and the unit’s map showed many of the Nav features in and around the harbor, such as entrances, off-shore bouys, and other items useful in these water. so looking forward to getting out again, and using the map chip on some favorite lakes. In the meantime, gonna have to hope for another chance to get over to Pool 4.
I had a LMS 332c put in last fall. This is the first sonar and GPS unit I’ve ever had. That owner’s manual is a bit much to read, I’ll have to get the boat out now and try it. If it doesn’t work, then I’ll have to read the manual.
Yup, I hear you on the volume of reading…but as I looked ahead in the manual about various bits and pieces of what the unit can do, I became convinced that this unit will do all that I expect plus all that I might care to learn..pretty powerful device. Good luck with it.
If you’d like some practice off the water with your unit Lowrance has some free product emulators on there website. to downlaod onto your computer. Lowrance Emulators Also a good way to test out products before you buy them.
I am very seriousely considering the 334c.. I dont want the hassle of external antenna.. Ill be mounting it in the front of my boat, by my trolling motor foot pedal… shouldnt have any issues there i wouldnt guess? any ideas?
also, could those extra wires be for use with a trolling motor? arent there newer trollers out there that can work with gps to follow plots? thats my goal anyway 
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I am very seriousely considering the 334c.. I dont want the hassle of external antenna.. Ill be mounting it in the front of my boat, by my trolling motor foot pedal… shouldnt have any issues there i wouldnt guess? any ideas?
The 334C can work on the bow but it has to be in an upright position to work properly (at least the GPS portion). The internal antenna does not function properly if the unit is laid back (with screen facing upward). Just a note of caution.
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also, could those extra wires be for use with a trolling motor? arent there newer trollers out there that can work with gps to follow plots? thats my goal anyway
Nope. Not yet. There is a Motor Guide that follows depth contours based on sonar soundings. They are just a little spendy. Now that Humminbird and Minn Kota have the same parents, I expect to see a super hybrid GPS/Sonar/trolling motor, but not for years to come. Trolling motors tracking waypoint to waypoint – now that’s either the greatest thing since color sonar or an accident waiting to happen. 
no reason that shouldnt be available in the next couple years, if not sooner… im not a friggin genius but it seems like the next logical step, the head of the motor should know the direction its facing, and be able to take instructions from a gps to tell it where to go next…
seems not too far fetched to me.
well, looks like ill have to go with some other one, the 332c is the same thing, just external antenna right? what are the drawbacks to that wade? mind doing a quick rundown of the pros and cons? nothing in depth oooh in depth
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The 334C can work on the bow but it has to be in an upright position to work properly (at least the GPS portion). The internal antenna does not function properly if the unit is laid back (with screen facing upward). Just a note of caution.
Exellent note!
I was talking to the folks at Lowrance yesterday in Milwaukee getting the rundown on quick operations on my LMS 332c. They failed to mention that the LMS 334c doesn’t work the best GPS wise with the screen tilted. My friend is in the market for a new locator, will need to inform him on the disadvantage of the internal antennae. Thanks again.
I also see you can get a RAAM mount that holds the puck antenna so you don’t have to drill holes in the boat. So why not get a LMS332c?
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I also see you can get a RAAM mount that holds the puck antenna so you don’t have to drill holes in the boat. So why not get a LMS332c?
Kevin, While those plates seem handy, many are finding that they get poor GPS reception that way. I think it’s because the unit is partially blocking the puck, while others think it is too close to the unit and that is causing the problem. Eather way, it does not seem to be the best way to locate the GPS puck.
I’m learning Wade. Thanks for the input. What you said would make sense.
How does this unit perform when used with the US equipped MinnKotas?Looking at sonar performance,any interferance issues to worry about?I do wish that MarCum had the US cable for the LX-3,but could not find one.
I fish mostly this time of the year from the back of boat,so I did not install the LMS334c yet.Probably will have to soon to start draggin’ ringies/grubs.
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any interferance issues to worry about
I believe you mean GPS interference? If so, I would think there would be no problem. The only issue on the bow is noted earlier, the unit must remain verticle for the GPS to function properly.
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I’m learning Wade. Thanks for the input. What you said would make sense.
Wade,what I was wondering about was trolling motor/sonar interferance.I plan on using this in full sonar mode for fishing from the bow.Will running the troll motor goof up the sonar reading?Some units seem touchier than others.Does the MinnKota Universal sonar have built-in noise rejection?
No, it doesn’t. Some units have had a little interference from US. I haven’t heard anything specific on this one though. Anyone else?
Thanks Wade .I will go ahead and install it.I really like the US concept,no more messy wiring.
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Anyone else?
On a MinnKota powerdrive with universal sonar, hooked up to a Lowrance that is capable of water temp readings. Will that sonar from MinnKota also pick up the temp?
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On a MinnKota powerdrive with universal sonar, hooked up to a Lowrance that is capable of water temp readings. Will that sonar from MinnKota also pick up the temp?
No. No temp. on Universal Sonar.
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