GPS in boat?

[traveler]

Time to bite the bullet and add GPS to the boat. My choices as I see 'em;

1. A new graph/GPS unit....my current graph is a decent Lowrance, and I'm not a big electronics guy anyway, so I'd rather spend less then this option.

2. A new handheld GPS (I lost my last one.lol) This is the way I thought I'd go, but I hear about chips w/maps built in and it sounds pretty good....which leads to;

3. Are the chips/software available for GPS-only units? Or do I have to go all out for a combo type of unit to get the newer technology?

Excuse my electronics ignorance, not really my bag:) But I have a bigger boat now and find myself getting out on Superior more, and do make frequent trips to Red, so the gPS thing keeps nagging at me...

[Eric Wettschreck]

I totally understand where you are coming from. I was recently down this road.

I got the Humminbird 785c chartplotter/gps. Awesome unit. User friendly and very easy to operate. Not too many buttons and the menus are simple to work through. This is important to me as I work with hammers and welding rods and not fancy electronic stuff every day.

I use the same Navonics chip in my 785 that I use in my H2O.

[Sandmannd]

I love the GPS/graph combo but I know guys that use the H20 in thier boat along with a graph. This is a decent option and the H20 can handle lake chips as well as being portable and can be used in the winter. I personally like my Lowrance 522c which can also be used in the winter with a kit.

Once you have a GPS in the boat, you won't want to fish without one.

[MuskieJunkie]

I went through this 2 years ago, I ended up with the Handheld H20c GPS (w/ Lakemaster chip), a graph on the console, and a graph on front.

It's a lot cheaper than buying 2 combo units and I wanted the handheld for ice fishing anyway, plus you have all your waypoints at the front and rear with the handheld. The downside is that the H20c screen is so small that you can't see it while fishing in the front, you have to bend down or keep it in you pocket.

If cost wasn't an issue I'd have the full size combo units front and rear, but you're talking $4k+ at that point.

[wplatehunter]

If you can get the gps/combo. The h20's work good, but are hard to read when your are moving with the small screen. The h20 works great in the winter. I started out with the h2o, but now have the gps/combos in both the front and back. The gps is a great tool for fishing.

[traveler]

thanks guys, I appreciate the input.

[Northlander]

Get a combo or a graph and gps seperate. At times you can get the 2 cheaper than a combo unit. I have tried the H2Oc in the boat and it is very hard to read and even worse when moving at much speed. I do like it in the boat to save ice fishing spots on though.

[herefish101]

get the combo unit you wont be sorry. i have a graph/h2o setup and it can be very hard to read especially when your on the move. my buddy has a lowrance unit with both sonar and gps and having the bigger brighter split screen or full screen (you can switch back and forth) that unit is awsome. if i could currently afford it i would bite the bullet too. COMBO UNIT ALL THE WAY.

[PerchJerker]

I like the H2Oc for ice fishing and hunting ..... but in a boat you'll get much better performance out of a full size color gps. Especially with the map cards available these days, they are much easier to read and you'll see more detail on a full size unit than you will with a handheld gps.

Personally I like having two units instead of 1 combo unit, so in my boat I have one permanent mount color unit for GPS only and one for depthfinder only. It costs a bit more than getting a combo unit but you get MUCH more screen area to view on. And depending on where you are and how you fish you could say that having a full size color gps is more important than having a full size color depthfinder.

I think that right now Eagle and Humminbird are the best options for a good color gps chartplotters that use map cards. Lowrance has good chartplotters too but they come preloaded with Insight Maps so they are more expensive. They pretty much all come with internal antennas now so more and more guys are using them as portable units for ice fishing, then putting them back on their boats in the summer.

If you want to check them out you can see all the gps chartplotters at Pro Fishing Supply.

[out_fisherman]

GPS-COMBO UNIT ??

I like a hand-held - good for open water, and then

for ice-fishing. If you don't live in ares which

become ice-bound, well, "your mileage may vary".

[solbes]

I have a H20c with Navionics and like it very much. It's easy to read when I'm at the console. The downside is if I'm roaming around in the boat I have to get within a few feet to see where I'm at. The plus is that I can get by with a smaller sonar screen, since I don't have to split to show both GPS/Sonar. I like having a longer depth history on the screen.

I am in a bit of a dilema for next year. 1) Go with an HDS 5x with side scan where I flip between the side scan and sonar. 2) sell the H20c and get an HDS 7 with split screen using two views alternately: sonar/GPS or S.I./GPS 3) Better yet keep the H20c and use HDS7 with split screen SI/sonar. So many decisions