HANDHELD GPS RECOMMENDATIONS?

Looking to buy a new handheld GPS which would have maps installed or would come with a chip or DVD for easy installation.

Any suggestions?

We have had great success with the Lowerance H2Oc.

Once you decide on a unit – check out James post about chips:

http://www.idofishing.com/forum/showflat.php/Number/860962/fpart/1/industry-update-gps-map-chips

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We have had great success with the Lowerance H2Oc.

Once you decide on a unit – check out James post about chips:

http://www.idofishing.com/forum/showflat.php/Number/860962/fpart/1/industry-update-gps-map-chips

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x2

I love mine

The H2O C is being discontinued, they are still out there, but I’m also looking for a new unit, was looking close at Garmin. Interested to hear some opinions on some of the newer units out there. For instance, do you have problems with the touch screens? I would think running a GPS with an active screen would eat up batteries faster, I know my sons cell phone needs to be recharged about twice as often at a non-touch screen.

If you need it in the short-term finding an Ifinder – H2O would be a coup. They’re getting scarce though since Lowrance discontinued them with the Endura’s release.

A reminder on the Enduras… they will be lake chip compatible some time this spring but at this time they cannot display mapping data stored on a chip. Major oversight on someone’s part. So if you want to use this unit in the short-term, Endura is not an option. The upgrade is expected to be out some time late this spring. People in the know are telling me we likely won’t see it until April. After that upgrade is in place the Endura line is back on the table.

Garmin has a diverse line of handhelds that work well and take GPS map chips. http://www.jollyannsales.com/GPS/garmin_gps.htm Most guys run the Etrex or the GPSMAP units.

Im looking at getting a new one also (mine was stolen ), and was thinking that the new Lowrance Endura Sierra Color units look nice and with the new mapping chips comming out its a good way to stay ahead of the game

The h20c is being upgraded basically – they have had a good amount of complaints about battery life – so look for the new one coming out that will have better battery life. However, any of these untis running on strickly AA batteries are going to act this way.

Battery Life Discussion

Also I have heard there is a way to turn down how quickly the unit updates. Out of the box it updates your location every 1 second, which really eats up the battery. I will check into this more.

Are handhelds a good option for the dash of the boat? I understand having a handheld for ice fishing, etc., but don’t know if they make a good gps alternative for boating vs a fixed gps or combo gps/locator unit. I don’t have either right now, so would be interested in poeple’s perspective.

Thanks

Pete

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Are handhelds a good option for the dash of the boat? I understand having a handheld for ice fishing, etc., but don’t know if they make a good gps alternative for boating vs a fixed gps or combo gps/locator unit. I don’t have either right now, so would be interested in poeple’s perspective.

Thanks

Pete

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A handheld on the dash of the boat is a heck of a lot better than no GPS device at all. I will tell you this though, it can be almost impossible to see the screen when you’re running in any kind of chop. Your head gets bouncing one way, the GPS screen in another and your eyes go out of focus trying to make sense of the tiny detail on such a small screen. Idling or trolling is not as much of an issue. The screen is still small and you’ll be sticking mighty close to the GPS unit to make use of the GPS data but again… its better than no GPS unit at all. If you’re limited by budget to a handheld you’ll be able to make serviceable “double duty” out of your handheld in the boat. When it comes times to mounting your handheld, go with the RAM mount and carrier designed for your unit. They really work slick.

What James said
I have an H2oC mounted with the RAM mount….Works decent ….
I found out when you mount the RAM…Get it as close as you can to the most solid part of the dash….otherwise the bouncing renders the screen unreadable.

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The H2O C is being discontinued, they are still out there, but I’m also looking for a new unit, was looking close at Garmin. Interested to hear some opinions on some of the newer units out there. For instance, do you have problems with the touch screens? I would think running a GPS with an active screen would eat up batteries faster, I know my sons cell phone needs to be recharged about twice as often at a non-touch screen.

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garmin gps 60 (or 76) csx…best accuracy i’ve found in consumer gps on the market…and touch screens generally slow down in cold weather…ie. ice fishing.

I was in a similar situation recently. I wanted one that I could use for fishing with maps in my boat or ice fishing, then take it inside my truck and use it for driving. I ended up getting a Garmin Nuvi 500. It takes lake master chips, is water proof, and works great for driving. It also has a base topo map (i never use it). The only down side is that like many 2-in-1 things, it doesn’t do them very well. In this case the city navigation is great, but using it in the boat is tough since the map is always oriented with North being “up”. It would be nice if the map rotated around so that up was always the direction your going…when I upgrade the boat I will be getting a dedicated GPS. Thats my two cents.

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I was in a similar situation recently. I wanted one that I could use for fishing with maps in my boat or ice fishing, then take it inside my truck and use it for driving. I ended up getting a Garmin Nuvi 500. It takes lake master chips, is water proof, and works great for driving. It also has a base topo map (i never use it). The only down side is that like many 2-in-1 things, it doesn’t do them very well. In this case the city navigation is great, but using it in the boat is tough since the map is always oriented with North being “up”. It would be nice if the map rotated around so that up was always the direction your going…when I upgrade the boat I will be getting a dedicated GPS. Thats my two cents.

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Joe:

Not sure about the Nuvi 500, but on the Nuvi we recently purchased for our vehicle, you can change map orientation settings in and out of fixed-north.

Joel