What GPS should i look to buy?

[WTBskills]

I am looking to buy a GPS for my boat with all the lake stuff on it. i have a hummingbird 565. I am looking to go the cheapest i can i want it to be powered buy the boat(no battery's), make way points... and other cool things. I have never owned a GPS for my boat before. But very good with things like this. What do you guys think would work well. also i am willing to buy used and older too.

[solbes]

You could get a dedicated boat chart with a larger screen. A popular alternative is the Lowrance H20c. I think you can find these used and maybe with a chip for well under 200. I have one and like it a lot. I frequently get WAAS lock and have the esimated position error of less than 15 feet. Downsides are the battery life (but it hooks into cigarette lighter also), smaller screen, and no turn by turn car navigation. Upsides are cost, ease of use, portability, ability to use for other things.

With the Navionics chip, you can only zoom to 1/8 mile. I think the Lakemaster goes further, but has fewer lakes charted. I think there's a Lowrance XOG or something that does the waypoints, takes the chips, and does turn by turn. Hopefully someone else chimes in on that.

You will like having a GPS. Night fishing was impossible to find those structure spots, and I don't have to drive all over searching for them during the day either. Some of the better fishing spots on my lake have been marked out precisely with regards to the weedline.

[Sandmannd]

H20c is a decent option, but in the boat, I like having a larger screen. Not sure what's out there to use just as a GPS, but take a looking around. Look at what Perchjerker has, there is a lot on his site and he always has great prices.

[WTBskills]

Thanks for the tips. Who or what is Perchjerk?

[Sandmannd]

PerchJerker is a member here and runs Pro Fishing Supply. You can't go wrong dealing with him. Look him up and give him a buzz.

[MN Mike]

WTB,

Some good advice here and you have lots of options in GPS units.

One thing I would like to add is that color is nice but hard to see in direct sunlight, gray scale screens are much better for viewing in direct sunlight.

I'm kind of partial to Garmin units, simply because they are easy to use. One model you might want to look at is the GPSMap76 series, the base unit is a gray scale screen but probably one of it's best features it that it floats. You can upload map data to this unit too, the color units will take mapping chips.

You said you want to do some other cool things too, the Garmin Nuvi 500 will blow your mind, it's a waterproof navigation unit and it has a larger color screen, definetly deserves a look, mapping chips are compatible in this unit too. The price might be higher on this unit but it's more than just a on the water GPS unit.

Either way you cut it, ANY GPS is better than no GPS at all.

Mike

[scoutWBL]

I started with an H20C last winter and LOVED it. Bought a HDS-5 with Lake Insight (had some giftcards to burn) and it is great in thr boat. For me both units encouraged me to get out of the crowds and find my own spots.

The HDS was a life saver tuesday when poor planning landed me on the Croix at 1am durring a nasty storm.

I'll echo the other post and say you'll be happy with any GPS...Just make sure your unit can handle the lasted in mapping chips!

[S.D. Ice Angular]

H2Oc

[WTBskills]

does the H2O C have way points or whatever?

[WTBskills]

i am a little worried i have read that the H2O C isn't very accurate. What do you guys think?

[Sandmannd]

Yes, you can put waypoints on the H20c and it's about as accurate as you are going to get with a GPS. You will get withing a couple of feet of your waypoint on a good day.

[WTBskills]

what about Color vs black and white on the H2O c? also should i buy new or used? i have read that they start to go bad... not sure how or why.

[Sandmannd]

I've had my H20 for three years and was purchased used for $100 of Craig's List. Color is nice, I have a color graph in my boat and love it but I can also adjust the brightness on it to see better. If you have a way to plug it in the boat a color is a plus but it gobbles up batteries if you don't have a way to plug it in. I've heard they can be harder to see as well. You don't NEED color anything, but it's nice to have. On that note, some of the best fisherman I know still are all B&W on GPS and Graphs and they ain't hurtin'.

[TurnUpTheFishing]

H20 is an excellent option. We put a 12v adapter in the boat so our h20 units run off the deep cycle battery and not AAs. Ill also add if you do run AA batteries use lithium batteries and you will see a HUGE jump in battery life. They are definatley worth a few extra bucks.

[WTBskills]

I've had my H20 for three years and was purchased used for $100 of Craig's List. Color is nice, I have a color graph in my boat and love it but I can also adjust the brightness on it to see better. If you have a way to plug it in the boat a color is a plus but it gobbles up batteries if you don't have a way to plug it in. I've heard they can be harder to see as well. You don't NEED color anything, but it's nice to have. On that note, some of the best fisherman I know still are all B&W on GPS and Graphs and they ain't hurtin'.

color

B&W

now from what i read there it says the color one has 16 channels B&W only 12... does that mater?

[Muddog]

Quote:

I am looking to buy a GPS for my boat with all the lake stuff on it. i have a hummingbird 565. I am looking to go the cheapest i can i want it to be powered buy the boat(no battery's), make way points... and other cool things. I have never owned a GPS for my boat before. But very good with things like this. What do you guys think would work well. also i am willing to buy used and older too.

A I-Finder (H2O) will not start without batteries in it, even if you have it hooked up to the boat battery!

Just try it.

The older I-finders did not need batteries.

[mmclain6101]

What will happen to the h2o if I am on a lake that is not on the Lakemasters chip? Is the Lakemasters chip the best chip if I'm just looking for mn lakes?

[TurnUpTheFishing]

you will see a lake outline and but no contours.

I personally like the Lakemaster chips. I like how everything shows up at once (no need to change regions), the redraw time is almost instant, and you can zoom in farther. If you fish the whole midwest then navionics might be a good choice.

[WTBskills]

I just bought a H2O B&W with a 2008 lake master chip... about to go try it out!!!! only 150 bucks with a ram mount!

[TurnUpTheFishing]

very good buy.

[firefish_12]

I really like my color H20--when you're followoing your boat path--so much easier to see where you're at--the drawback is I would like a larger screen plus the whole battery life issue--I'm owrking on installing an adapter aswell--nice unit

[WTBskills]

well... now i feel a bit ripped... the lake master chip i got is from like 2005... plus i didn't get the charge for it.

[AaronM]

I'm a big fan of the Expedition C. Tough on batteries but it's nice running it off boat batteries.

[Wish-I-Were-Fishn]

Quote:

I am looking to buy a GPS for my boat with all the lake stuff on it. i have a hummingbird 565. I am looking to go the cheapest i can i want it to be powered buy the boat(no battery's), make way points... and other cool things. I have never owned a GPS for my boat before. But very good with things like this. What do you guys think would work well. also i am willing to buy used and older too.

A I-Finder (H2O) will not start without batteries in it, even if you have it hooked up to the boat battery!

Just try it.

The older I-finders did not need batteries.

My H2Oc works without batteries.

[fishermn]

Mine works without batteries too!