I have a very basic question. New to this. Do I need a Navionics Card / Subscription if I want to do basic navigation on a lowrance HD Gen 2 Touch? I just purchased a used boat and the navionics is no longer working ( I presume previous owner cancelled subscription?). Thank in advance!
Do I need a Navionics Card / Subscription if I want to do basic navigation on a lowrance HD Gen 2 Touch?
The unit should have pre-loaded base maps. They won’t show precise contours on the map though. You will need a chip for that (Navionics, Lake Insight, etc).
Do you have the chart source as Navionics in the setup screen? You shouldnt have to have an active subscription you just will not be able to update the charts from the Navionics website without one. The chips generally come without the most detail and you use the subscription to download detailed charts from their website for the area you check. I did this one time and havent done anything since and the chips have worked for several years since.
Yes! I selected Navionics in Chart Source. That worked fine for a couple of days and then it went black, which is why I wondered if the previous owner cancelled the subscription. Now it sounds more like the SD card might be broken. I presume I will have to get my own subscription? Is it safe to navigate off the Lowrance output only?
Yes! I selected Navionics in Chart Source. That worked fine for a couple of days and then it went black, which is why I wondered if the previous owner cancelled the subscription. Now it sounds more like the SD card might be broken. I presume I will have to get my own subscription? Is it safe to navigate off the Lowrance output only?
Makes sense. I think the SD card might have a defect…..
I wouldnt trust the preloaded maps too much. Even the more detailed ones regardless of brand can be suspect.
If you buy a new Navionics card, you will automatically get a free 1 year subscription. Then download onto the chip and you should be set. Lowrance has their own line of chips and those are very good. You may want to make sure they are compatible with your GPS however. That one is at least 4 or 5 years old and the newer chips may not work in it. This info should all be on the respective chip company’s website.
Thank you CaptainMusky!This is very helpful
Check compatibility with your unit to see what chips will work with it.
I would take a look at both Navionics and CMAP if you are going to buy new. I bought new Elite TI2’s and it came with a CMAP chip. I already had an older Navionics chip so I tried them both out and I ended up selling the Navionics. The CMAP gave me the ability to do depth shading (which you can’t do in Navionics), the lakes around me it went down to 1′ depths and it covered all the lakes that I fish along with Lake of the Woods.
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