suggestions for a handheld GPS for lakemaster

  • servicce
    Waterloo, Ia
    Posts: 72
    December 17, 2011 at 10:27 pm #1303149

    Hello,
    I am looking for suggestions on a good hand held GPS unit that I can use with a lake master chip or whatever else may be available. Looking to hear the good and the bad.
    Thanks folks!!

    icenutz
    Aniwa, WI
    Posts: 2540
    December 18, 2011 at 12:38 am #1018733

    New GPS will not take the older SD cards if that is what you have? Also depends on which chip you have, they are manufacturer specific, Lowrance chips will not work in Garmin.

    Best one out there is the Lowrance H2O or H2O Color or Lowrance Hunt or Hunt Color. They are getting harder to find since they are no longer made.

    I have a H2O Color that I have thought about selling since I have the Navionics app on my iPhone and iPad but just cannot pull the trigger on doing it. It still has detail with a 2005 chip that the iPhone app does not, like cribs and vegitation, I know that changes but it gives you a good idea of what was there and might be there.

    They can be found on Ebay but beware of China stuff, never sure what your getting.

    servicce
    Waterloo, Ia
    Posts: 72
    December 18, 2011 at 12:48 am #1018738

    Sorry for a little confusion. I currently don’t have anything. I am thinking of getting something that I can also get the lake master maps for. Just not sure what is the best. I have an andriod phone and I was told that the battery will only last for 2 hours running an app like navionics. Therefore, I am thinking of getting something that I can also get the lakemaster maps for. Thanks!!!

    icenutz
    Aniwa, WI
    Posts: 2540
    December 18, 2011 at 2:27 am #1018752

    I find it hard to believe only 2 hours. You are not going to have it running constantly anyway. Heck it’s cheap to try only $9.99.

    washburn
    Aitkin Mn
    Posts: 185
    December 18, 2011 at 2:35 am #1018753

    I have a garmin oregon with a lm chip, works well for me, a cheaper route that might work for you is a car type gps and a chip. I have the nuvi 1450 also which works with my chip. just beware that to find the micro sd for garmin you will have to look around because they arent being made as of now.

    glenn-d
    N C Illinois
    Posts: 760
    December 18, 2011 at 11:47 am #995209

    Servicce I just purchased a Garmin 76csx for 209.00 from Amazon. A great price and also you can go to the Garmin web site and they have Lakemaster map cards for sale while they last. Also purchased 2 from Reed’s web site for the unit also. These cards for Lakemaster/Garmin are still out there but they won’t be for long.

    Don Miller
    Onamia, MN
    Posts: 378
    December 18, 2011 at 12:22 pm #1018776

    I have the Lowrance H2O and overall I like it. I run a Lowrance in my boat so the controls are familar. One problem when I mounted the monochrome unit on my ATV handlebars it does not work in cold weather. Somewhere between 15 to 25 deg. the screen goes blank. When it’s cold I have to keep it in my pocket and just take quick looks. I am told the color version does not have that problem.

    servicce
    Waterloo, Ia
    Posts: 72
    December 19, 2011 at 1:03 am #1018948

    thanks for the feedback. I did spend the $10 to install the app on my Android. IT DOES drain the battery pretty dang fast. I can see where a couple of hours wouldn’t be hard to drain the battery if a person were constantly using it. I did find today that if you leave the app running in the background, your battery does drain in 3-4 hrs on my HTC Desire. I am going to look into all of your suggestions as the app isn’t real freindly in making notes that don’t post to the world to see. I don’t want to share ALL my fishing spots

    mf73
    Fountain City, WI
    Posts: 80
    December 19, 2011 at 2:28 pm #1019097

    I have an H2O with a MN lakemaster chip that I am trying to get rid of. Great shape and works well. I bought a Garmin 450 and do not need to units. Not sure if i like the garmin more but since i sank the money into it i need to use it.

    icenutz
    Aniwa, WI
    Posts: 2540
    December 19, 2011 at 2:34 pm #1019105

    Quote:

    I have the Lowrance H2O and overall I like it. I run a Lowrance in my boat so the controls are familar. One problem when I mounted the monochrome unit on my ATV handlebars it does not work in cold weather. Somewhere between 15 to 25 deg. the screen goes blank. When it’s cold I have to keep it in my pocket and just take quick looks. I am told the color version does not have that problem.

    My H2Oc Color has no problem in the cold so it must be specific to the B&W model.

    chomps
    Sioux City IA
    Posts: 3974
    December 19, 2011 at 4:24 pm #1019157

    had so many problems with the H2O color, mainly power cord issues and it chews batteries like candy. Went to a Garmin GPS Map 76csx and love it. My brother leaves his H2O in his pocket and also prefers the Garmin

    Randy Wieland
    Lebanon. WI
    Posts: 13651
    December 19, 2011 at 9:35 pm #1019264

    West Marine has the Garmin 76 on sale for $149.00. FYI – Thye model 76 is discontinued and replaced by model 78 series. Still a good piece of technology for the price.

    spgdwo
    Posts: 2
    December 21, 2011 at 12:14 am #1019725

    I got the Garmin GPSMAP 78S last year and really like it. It is expensive but you can find good deals every now and then. One nice thing is that it floats which can be very nice if you are using it around water. If you are using it in the winter you want to be sure to use lithium batteries as they work much better than alkaline batteries in cold weather.

    loren_keizer
    Posts: 113
    December 22, 2011 at 4:36 am #1020240

    Quote:

    I have a garmin oregon with a lm chip, works well for me, a cheaper route that might work for you is a car type gps and a chip. I have the nuvi 1450 also which works with my chip. just beware that to find the micro sd for garmin you will have to look around because they arent being made as of now.

    I basically am doing the same thing. As stated you could go with a Nuvi and have it serve dual purposes. I did notice though that you cannot zoom in as close with the Nuvi as you can with the Oregon and other Garmin models.

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