Lowrance h20c??

[walleyvoyager]

Talking to the guy at fleet farm. He mentioned something about a new version on the hand held coming out soon, anyone one have any information on what they changed with the new unit?

[CAMAN]

They are the Endura series, main difference is they are all touch screen.

[DTro]

and the other big difference is that they only accept micro SD cards.

No LakeMaster or Navionics on that chip......yet.

[bucksnort64]

I have expedition C and when power cord is plugged in it tells me running on external power BUT IT STILL KILLS THE BATTERIES.

AND IF BATTERIES ARE IN DEAD OR NOT IN UNIT IT WILL NOT POWER UP EVEN WITH POWER CORD PLUGGED IN

[Northlander]

Take it back if its still in warrenty or call Lowrance. There have been these type issues with some of them.

[firedew]

Yea the Scheels salesmen was pushing the Endura and said forget about the H20c.Didn't have time to check them out.Anyone w/ feedback LMK

[bucksnort64]

yes, I know but I have to come up with an extra 170.00 bucks

out of warranty .

[CAMAN]

yes, I know but I have to come up with an extra 170.00 bucks

out of warranty .

Why? It just needs a new power cord, $30 I believe.

[bucksnort64]

where did you get the cord .

[CAMAN]

Some places like Cabelas may stock it or you can order it through Lowrance.

Do a search for "Lowrance H2O power cord CA-7" alot of online stores carry them.

[PerchJerker]

Yea the Scheels salesmen was pushing the Endura and said forget about the H20c.

That is REALLY bad advice if you're using it for fishing. There's no good lake map options for the Endura series yet, but there's some outstanding lake map options for the H2Oc.

We sell both units and the Endura series has definately NOT caught on with the fishing crowd yet .....

[deaceye]

I have the exact same thing wrong with my H20c...power cord no longer works, and suck the life out of batteries in less than 15 minutes....same situation, out of warranty. Not really happy with the product, especially since it cost $269.

[MNice]

Don't forget to check the inline fuse in the powercord. An easy & cheap fix.

[Ed Carlson]

LakeMaster does Micro SD chips for Garmin, on the converter chips. So they must be able to do the Lowrance readable data on a converter ship so you can also use it in a SD slot as well as a Micro SD slot.

NDTRAX and MNTRAX has data available now in the converter chips, and the cards include Lake map topo data, PLOTS MAPS, BLM, Forest, WNA's, Grasslands, State Lands, WPA, ACOE and Conservancy, NWR, Parks, Sanctuaries, BIA Trust Lands, and up to date city streets and township roads. For the rounded hunter & fisherman, and outdoors person, this is a hugely useful set of tools on a GPS.

And..get this...for $20, you can get the newest updates when they come out...no need to buy a new chip all the time....SWEET!

TRAX hit a home run with there newly updated 2009 cards. I just picked up a NDTRAX and a MNTRAX, awesome data.

[DTro]

This is the information I received from LakeMaster about Lowrance handhelds.

1. Currently, we do offer products on microSD for Garmin GPS units.

2. If you were wondering about the Lowrance Endura Series GPS units,

those GPS units do not currently accept any type of marine data. Lowrance

will be providing a software update late this year. At that time, our products

should be made available on microSD.

So the short answer I guess is that if you buy an Endura now, you will have to wait for an update, and then purchase a new card/chip when it’s available.

Not too bad if you are new to the market, but kind of spendy to upgrade unit and chip for essentially the same features. Plus it's not available yet, so Garmin might be the way to go.

[NorthernFarmer]

Has anyone tried out the Garmin Dakota? I was just wondering if they also take Lakemaster chips or if it would even be a good handheld for fishing.

[jimmyjames76]

Before you buy an H20 or an Endura, you should check out the difference between the lakemaster chip for Garmin and the lakemaster chip for Lowrance:

Lowarance: The new MN chip is loaded with an amazing 770 total lakes with contours, of which 180 are high definition LAKEMASTER PROMAP lakes.

Garmin: The 2009 LakeMaster® ProMap Minnesota product contains 180 High-Definiton maps, many with one-foot contours PLUS Great Lakes chart for Western Lake Superior (Apostle Islands to Duluth Harbor) and over 3,300 enhanced lake maps with detailed shoreline, depth contours, islands, boat ramps, and more.

Both are 2009 chips, but the Garmin chip has 2500+ more non-HD maps that are not included on the Lowrance chip. The Garmin chips also work in most Garmin GPS units that accept chips including the NUVI automotive models.

[jimmyjames76]

Has anyone tried out the Garmin Dakota? I was just wondering if they also take Lakemaster chips or if it would even be a good handheld for fishing.

I think it depends on the model, but all of that information can be found on the Garmin HSOforum. The 60CSx and 76CSx are nice hand held units too, and the Nuvi 500/550 seem to be nice crossover units similar to the Lowrance XOG.

[fishinJohn]

I actually kind of wish Apple would get into making these. I have the Expedition C and while it is functional for ice fishing it is not very user friendly. There have been several times when I went to save a waypoint and did not realize I had the curser away from the current location and saved garbage. Then try to delete it, still not sure how. And to name a waypoint the only option is to scroll through the alphabet one letter at a time plus symbols. The list of aggravations goes on and on. But I take it every time.... But it would not surprise me to see it blown out of the water by a better product. Most potential for improvemnt out of any piece of ice fishing equiptment.

[Bearcat]

When my power cord shot craps. I of course came here to see if others had he same problem. They sure did and seem to still be . I sure don't understand about whats so hard in defining a problem with design and fixing it.

anyway I emailed lowrance and told them I was experiencing a known and yet still uncorrectd problem. please send me a new one and at leasat save me the 100 mile round trip to get it replaced I ordered one online anyway because I needed it quick, but got a free in the mail in days and now have two with one as a spare.

I also drove 800 miles with my h20c in the ram mount on my sled. under cover but still bitterly cold, broke the antenae connection. Sent it back and they replaced it at no charge.

[Ed Carlson]

This is the information I received from LakeMaster about Lowrance handhelds.

1. Currently, we do offer products on microSD for Garmin GPS units.

2. If you were wondering about the Lowrance Endura Series GPS units,

those GPS units do not currently accept any type of marine data. Lowrance

will be providing a software update late this year. At that time, our products

should be made available on microSD.

So the short answer I guess is that if you buy an Endura now, you will have to wait for an update, and then purchase a new card/chip when it’s available.

Not too bad if you are new to the market, but kind of spendy to upgrade unit and chip for essentially the same features. Plus it's not available yet, so Garmin might be the way to go.

Is that the same deal with all 3 of the new Lowrance Endura™ models..no maps yet?

If so...man...that's crazy?

They discontinue the H2O line...and make a new line...but it can't run lake maps...Waz-up-wid-dat?

Yet another reason why I like my Garmin units, lots of mapping options, and easy to use PC friendly tools to work with.

[CAMAN]

Is that the same deal with all 3 of the new Lowrance Endura™ models..no maps yet?

If so...man...that's crazy?

They discontinue the H2O line...and make a new line...but it can't run lake maps...Waz-up-wid-dat?

Yet another reason why I like my Garmin units, lots of mapping options, and easy to use PC friendly tools to work with.

They come preprogrammed with topographic maps, so yes, there are maps for it, just no aftermarket ones quite yet.

Like alot of new electronic devices when they are released to the general public its also the first time aftermarket software companies are able to get there hands on them also, aside from Beta testing, and alot of times you can't build your software around Beta because there is a very good chance it will change.

Most likely its a brand new operating system so Lakemaster and Navionics can't just copy/paste averything onto a MicroSD card, they have to reprogram everything, do Beta testing, then release it. It takes time and everyone needs to be patient. I'm sure the same thing has happened with Garmin and will continue happening for as long as new innovations in electonics keep being made.

[jimmyjames76]

Is that the same deal with all 3 of the new Lowrance Endura™ models..no maps yet?

If so...man...that's crazy?

They discontinue the H2O line...and make a new line...but it can't run lake maps...Waz-up-wid-dat?

Yet another reason why I like my Garmin units, lots of mapping options, and easy to use PC friendly tools to work with.

I'm with Ed. I sold my old H20 and lake mapping software, and went with Garmin. Integration with the PC is seamless, endless mapping options, better performance, and a more user friendly interface. Plus those 2500+ addtional lake maps on the lakemaster chip will come in handy too. Also, Garmin is always expanding and improving on its automotive and outdoor handheld units that work with the chip, while Lowrance seems to be making it's line up smaller and less diverse. The only real advantage for Lowrance I can see is that they seem to have better options for open water fish finders with GPS which is obviously big for fisherman. I just hope when they get done reprogramming everything the new chips still work with the old fish finders.

[shizzy]

so..... have the h20 and h20C been discontinued? I had the H20 on my Xmas list for this year but now I don't know.

[LMITOUT]

I thought I had read that there will be a replacement line to the H2O series coming soon. I can't imagine that they would abandon the hunting/fishing market as the new Endura line seems to be directed more at the hiking crowd.