GPS mapping for Lowrance, Garmin and HB.

Going to be upgrading electronics this year, the new birds just released do look nice so adding them to the mix again. So I am trying to understand the GPS mapping features on all the units and want to make sure I am not missing anything as a total cost of ownership. Don’t know too much about Raymarine to give them a look at the moment.

For Chips:
Lowrance: Navonics and Insight chips
HB – Lakemaster, Navonics(??)
Garmin – US LakeVu chips

Mapping:
Lowrance:
They have Insight Genesis which is a $99 a year subscription to be able to save your maps. Can store unlimited maps, can use any SD card or multiple cards to save maps. GoFree is the community where you can buy maps or get free maps for lakes.
Info here: http://support.lowrance.com/system/selfservice.controller?CONFIGURATION=1001&PARTITION_ID=1&secureFlag=false&TIMEZONE_OFFSET=&CMD=VIEW_ARTICLE&ARTICLE_ID=3007

Or You can use Navonics Sonarchart live, which also needs a $99 a year subscription.
Details located here:
Lowrance Live Mapping with SonarChart Live

HB:
Zeroline cards to store 8 hours of recording for Autochart Live. Would need multiple zeroline cards to store recordings. No yearly fee. Cards are $99
Info from here: http://www.humminbird.com/Category/Technology/AutoChart-Live/

Garmin:
They have Quickdraw Contours, data is captured to any SD card or your LakeVu card. Has free software to create your own maps. Has community to get free maps as well.

Info from here: https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/543340#overview

Raymarine

Can use the sonarchart live from navonics as well.

Am I missing anything?

FYI. Lowrance has some new map drawing technology that doesn’t require insight genesis. I think it partners with the Navionics card.

I think it makes the genesis and go free stuff irrelevant and is more like HB and Garmin.

Sorry I didn’t dig up any links for you but check out there site to se what you find.

Yes your right. I updated the above for Lowrance and added some info from Raymarine.

Insight Genesis is FREE to upload data and download as many maps as you want. I’ve done a lot of mapping and never paid anything. It eliminates the need for map cards.
IMHO the accuracy of the gofreeshop maps is much better than what I’ve seen on any map cards.

I just browsed through the go-free Genesis maps and there really is a lot of good stuff, especially for the BWCA.

In comparison, there is less Sonarchart community data that I see in that area. But, other areas do have what appears to be good info. Sag has a good part mapped in the Sonarcharts data.

The social mapping is interesting. I wonder how much actual data logging goes into many of them? I’d be all for aggregating navigation channels, but way hesitant to give up spots I’m honing with lead.

Insight is free now but wont get support in the years to come. The system was down for many months already. I have lowrance but will go to HB eventually. If your worried about autocharting go with the company thats been doing it a while not the last to the party…

Zeroline cards can be had for $69 on the Web. Not sure how much data they can hold. The 8 hr number is the free trial that is stored in the unit’s memory.

Also, if you buy Autochart or Autochart Pro (which comes with a zeroline card) you can record sonar to any SD card, import files to Autochart on your PC, and then export the maps to your zeroline card for use in the depth finder. This saves a ton of space on the zeroline card but isn’t a “Live” option.

Rumor has it, autochartlive saves all the route, depth, and sonar recordings to the zeroline card, as well as the map. Can fill up a card with useless data. If you want live data, that’s how it is.

Can you share zero line data, i.e. copy one zero line card to another to give to a friend? Is there a community component to aggregate data?

Specifications

32 GB SD card containing zero lines for with over 140,000 named water bodies and over 1.75 million unnamed water bodies in the United States and over 96,000 named water bodies and over 3.85 million unnamed water bodies in Canada. Plus there is 16 GB of free space to maintain your custom maps.
Card must be present to get the detailed zero line base map to display in AutoChart PC
All Humminbird units will require software update
Don’t want to wait for the retail package? Purchase the digital-only version and receive it today! Remember, you must have a 32GB (or higher) SD card.

The (or higher) is always good, right?

So you need the Auto chart software if you have a live? It sounds like there are some data type issues with maps generated with different Hturd units? Maybe this has been resolved?

http://www.crappie.com/crappie/fishing-electronics-and-photography/324351-humminbird-autochart-vs-autochart-live/

Yes you can share the map data.

The bit of research I did claims the 16gb is years worth of recordin.

______________ wrote:

The (or higher) is always good, right?

So you need the Auto chart software if you have a live? It sounds like there are some data type issues with maps generated with different Hturd units? Maybe this has been resolved?

http://www.crappie.com/crappie/fishing-electronics-and-photography/324351-humminbird-autochart-vs-autochart-live/

You don’t need anything other than autochartlive and a zeroline card.

The software can just help save space on expensive zeroline cards.

John Shear wrote:

Insight Genesis is FREE to upload data and download as many maps as you want. I’ve done a lot of mapping and never paid anything. It eliminates the need for map cards.
IMHO the accuracy of the gofreeshop maps is much better than what I’ve seen on any map cards.

I should have also noted a lesser known feature of using gofreeshop maps is you can set coloring of depth ranges. As many depth ranges as you want, though the color pallete is limited on my Gen2. For instance, I set
0-1 red
1-3 fade red to yellow
4-11 fade white to blue
12-20 fade pink to purple (primary crappie zone throughout the year except spawning time)
21-30 fade green to royal blue
30+ dark navy blue (since I rarely fish that deep)

Obviously I’m a huge fan of Insight Genesis and map a lot of lakes and look forward to having it for a long time. It’s disappointing Lowrance doesn’t market it better because a lot more average anglers would buy their units if they were educated on the amazing maps available for free.

Short Version/Basic Details
Here is what is coming out for Lowrance Live Mapping with SonarChart Live- What I know so far, subject to change…

¬ See below for effected units.
¬ Lowrance NOS 56 software update.
¬ Lowrance Units covered are-
⎫ HDS Gen 3 12, 9, 7 Version 4.5
⎫ Elite Ti version 2.5 
⎫ Lowrance Carbon
¬ SonarChart Live data recorded in Lowrance and displayed live on screen.
¬ LSDCache file on the Navionics card.
¬ Active SCL Subscription is REQUIRED to see SCL data on Navionics card.
¬ SonarChart data is not recorded to the hard drive of the sonar, it is recorded to the Navionics card and Navionics card is required. (See below for required cards).
¬ Create High Definition 1’ contours.
¬ Requires a Navionics mapping card with an active chart update subscription (Freshest Data).
¬ No tolerance, if it was 3 ft. yesterday and 1 ft. today, it will start correcting to 2 ft today where you run the boat.    Yes, as you can visualize that means it will draw a 1 ft. ledge in the middle of the 3 ft. flat.  Without adopting level adjustment, that’s the result.
¬ Tide adjustment is there which does this automatically (same for Raymarine), but for freshwater there is no level adjustment.  We can do it in the app but Lowrance and Ray opted not to implement.
¬ Plotter Sync requires an active Mobile subscription as well as card.
¬ Navionics Cards needed-
⎫ Hotmaps Platinum
⎫ Platinum + 
⎫ Navionics +
⎫ Navionics + Regions
⎫ Navionics Updates 
¬ Data recorded in Lowrance and stored on card is not shared to Navionics.
¬ Genesis/Lowrance nor Navionics gets NO LOGS or Data from Lowrance Plotter/Sonar.  Data not shared.
¬ Adjust SonarChart contour density. 
¬ Update Navionics Mapping card in Lowrance Plotter via WI fi connection between Mobile device and Plotter. 
¬ Download updated charts and transfer routes and markers/waypoints via the innovative Plotter Sync capability of Navionics Boating apps without having to remove the Navionics card.
¬ If you choose to do SonarChart Live and want to update your Navionics SonarChart data on card or mobile device app you have to connect affected Lowrance Units via Wi fi to Navionics Mobile app and do SonarChart Live in the mobile device, which is then uploaded to Navionics and processed into the community SonarChart layer. You then do a Freshest Data update to card or mobile device.
¬ Wi-Fi required in sonar.
¬ The SCL file (LSD Cache) Q.  How much recording can a user do with SCL on a plotter?
There is no limit other than the available space on the card.  SCL consumes 20 kb per hour.  The available time is the available free space on the card.  1000 KB in 1MB.  1000 mb in 1 GB.  So, 1 GB of space = 50,000 hours of recording.  Bottom line is, even a full card with a few MB of space remaining, say 5mb left, has 250 hours of recording space, more than enough for a couple years for most users.
¬ It will not record or overwrite present SCL Data if no changes are present.
¬ Plotter Sync requires an active Mobile subscription as well as card
¬ Plotter sync can not only transfer routes and markers but also update the card (download the chart updates in mobile before you sync using the “download map” function with rectangle).

¬ Added functions-
⎫ You can do plotter sync.
⎫ With Lowrance
⎫ Transfer Routes
⎫ Transfer Markers/Waypoints
⎫ Update Charts
⎫ Activate New Cards
⎫ Shallow Water Highlight.
⎫ Depth Highlight.
⎫ Easy View.
⎫ Transparency.
⎫ Navionics Dock-to-dock Auto-routing creates intelligent, detailed routes, even through narrow passages and channels. (Only available outside the US)

On the lowrance HDS gen 2 and newer models you can share one map card through your ethernet connection on the both locators. If I was buying new I’d go lowrance for locators, not sure about humminbird or garmin sharing maps, I know older models of humminbirds you could not share maps only way points. I am going to buy the navionics+ which is $200 but lets you download certain areas or even just certain lakes to your card.