Car GPS units...

[Matt Breuer]

I have always had my H2o mounted in my vehicle, but got a new vehicle and am thinking of using a car GPS in it so it can double as a navigator and serve me on the lakes in the winter if possible...

Does anyone use their auto GPS for navigation on lakes? Also, can any units accept my coords. I have backed up on an SD card? Lowrance format...

[MN Mike]

Will you be adding any lake mapping data cards in the future? If that is a possiblity you're pretty much geared towards the Garmin Nuvi's.

I have a Garmin Nuvi 250 that has the Lakemaster chip in it, that pretty much spends the winter in Dad's pickup when he's bouncing around Lake of the Woods. The 250 doesn't have the biggest display ( 3.5" ) but it works just fine with the Lakemaster chip and also navigating the highway and cities.

Garmin has bigger display units with up to 5" dia. screens and those do take the Lakemaster chip as well, they are also packed with more features and worth a look.

You can transfer your waypoints to the Garmin from your chip ( convert those you saved from a .low or .usr format to a .gpx format ), EasyGPS or GPSTrackmaker work well for this, your waypoints are then called 'Favorites' in the Nuvi's. You can enter new waypoints maunally and also show your tracks.

The Nuvi 500 and 550 are geared more towards the outdoor user, they are waterproof and offer a marine mode, identical units execpt the 500 has a built in topo map and the 550 has more street data ( north america ) built in and does not have the topo data, both accept the Lakemaster chip among others. User replaceable batteries too, all be it a proprietary battery.

I have not played with the newer Nuvi's but I know in the past, only the 500 and 550's had this compass screen.

The 250 I have does not have this screen and when you approach your spot it rounds down 10 feet at a time, where as the Compass screen of the 500 and 550's will countdown to the last foot which is very helpful if you want to pinpoint your location.

When I want to use my 250 on the snowmobile, I rig up a flasher battery to power it with the cigarette lighter power cord and that runs it for a LONG time, the 500 and 550's have longer battery life than my 250.

That Garmin / Lakemaster chip will work in many other Garmin devices too, not just the Nuvi's.

Hope this helps.

Mike

[Ed Carlson]

Matt the Nuvi 500 and 550 (550 has Canadian mapping also) is the one you should look into.

You can do all the things you mentioned easily. You can convert Lowrance point and upload them to the Nuvi with a simple program like GPS EASY or other utility's like Contour ELITE.

I have one and rig it up on my Vex's and in the boat. I run Garmin/LakeMaster MN and LOTW, KTRAX, and the Garmin Inland Lakes on it.

You can also upload points from GoogleEarth to tweak spots you wish to refine latter that may not be on any maps.

The Nuvi 500 is 100% waterproof, highly durable, and very cost efficient to buy and to use.

[Matt Breuer]

Thanks for the replies, guys! Good stuff!

Ed, I should've just called you, as I know you're a GPS fanatic...

After reading here, and a lot of research last night, I've decided to try to locate a used XOG. I've heard terrible stuff about their battery life, but it will never leave the truck, so I'm not worried there. If I can't locate one, a Nuvi 500 it is. Ed, I may be calling you....

[kerryd15]

I like my garmin nuvi 500. last yr we went to an area that we have never been and was very nice to zoom into the lake find the landing, and click the go button. turn by turn direction to a lake you haven't been to plus the depths when you get there.

[Ed Carlson]

My worries about the XOG bud are many fold, but manly, they are a "Legacy Unit"....and if it fails on you or is in need of service....well...it's disposable.

I encourage you to look at the Nuvi 500 harder. Pull up a few of the Garmin and user based "You Tube" clips on it, they are good to see what you will get and how to roll with it.

FYI: I hooked up "Mr. Z" with a Nuvi 500, loaded with MNTRAX and NDTRAX maps. I think he has caught onto it by now you may wish to get his read on it. I'm not sure if he has ran his with LakeMaster/Garmin mapping yet. The detail is very very good with that mapping as well as it is with the Garmin Inland Lakes North. The Garmin Inland Lakes chip allows you a few more marine based whistles and bells than the KTRAX yet both have there place and lots of utility for the multi faceted sportsman in the field.

[jigglestick]

I have been making a living with my xog for three years now.

I know it's time will come. I think I've talked to you on this subject matt.

I broke the touch screen once and had to contact lowrance. I have to say their customer service was lacking. all I wanted was a screen. nope, they left me no choice but to buy a remanufactured unit for more than I bought the original unit for at cabella's. so I bought the unit from them.

unable to access the old uniot's data beyond the start up screen, I fired up the new one. I found that this unit was one with poor hook up. it would go hours without acquiring signal. some times when it was locked in, it would loose it's tracking and stale mate for hours. so I took the screen out and put it in the old xog and she worked like a charm. had all my old way points and data saved, once again and I couldn't be happier.

this year, the battery crapped out on me, so I took the battery out of the new unit and installed it in the old one and once again, I was back in buisness.

I love the touch screen and the ability to touch /drag the screen. I like the color contrast. it's a lot easier to differentiate between deep/shallow when plowing roads at 23 mph.

it's nice to know about these nuvi's because, I know my use is limited with this xog and I'm not going to fight with lowrance any more.

[walleye44]

XOG'S are junk.. I had one with no battery life. It was freezes all the time too. The new one after a month would not work at all. It would power up & then just sit there. The car gps part always took you the long way too. No matter which options were selected. I swapped it for a hunt c. Better unit, but not a car unit.

[Ed Carlson]

There is a new candidate out worth a look too, the new Garmin MONTANA. Really loaded with features, lithium ION battery pack for extended use, and now has turn by turn audio commands. Plus all the Birds Eye and Satellite imagery upgrades....and a camera..preaty kewl.