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Best handheld GPS? is there such a thing?

Dahitman44

By Dahitman44
in Ice Fishing

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eyedr Community Regular

eyedr

Posted
Posted

I just got a garmin oregon 450 with the upper midwest fishing guide lake chip. I have been really happy so far. I have only used it 6 or 7 times but it has been accurate so far and it finds satellites in seconds. I can use my touch screen with light gloves on, and I can hook my garmin up to the cig lighter in the car and boat so I'm not using batteries. I had heard good things about the upper midwest fishing guide chip and they were right, there are a lot of smaller lakes in my area that I fish that have contour lines on them. You can even go to the HSOforum and try it out.

The reason I don't use my iphone is because I don't want to have to transfer all my waypoints each year when i get a new phone, the battery life is terrible if you want your gps on all the time, gps units are much hardier in inclement weather, and have you checked how much it would cost to replace your phone if you were to drop it in the water, not to mention all the lost info on your phone? Until phones are waterproof, more durable, cheaper, and the batter life improves gps units will be around.

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Lund79 Collaborator

Lund79

Posted
Posted

I think you would be happy wih a Garmin 62S. I returned the 76 (floats) due to the positioning of the keypad and screen ooposite of what I like. I was going to pull the trigget on a H2OC but glad I waited 1 extra year for this one.

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ClownColor Mentor

ClownColor

Posted
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Any Garmin would be great. I have a Garmin Oregon and it works really nice. I feel that handhelds are better due to battery life and ruggedness of the units. to each their own.

Agreed. Garmin 100%!

Getting one that takes chips is a huge plus but alot of stuff you can just download to the unit itself.

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MN Mike Mentor

MN Mike

Posted
Posted

What do you think of this one?

Lowrance® Endura Safari Marine GPS

Garmins are going to be tough to beat, proven designs, very durable, excellent battery life and a easy to use software interface, team that up with the Upper Midwest Fishing Guide and you've got a great combo. The UMWFG has more than lake contour data too.

You can view your lake information on your PC when you download and install the free Basecamp program, Basecamp will also allow you to manage your waypoints.

Lots of States are building custom maps for Garmins too, MN has Snowmobile trails that can be downloaded.

Free topo maps, Satellite Imagery and the MNTrax chip can come in handy if you do a lot of hunting.

LOTS of options come with the Garmin handhelds, take a look at the GPSMap 62 or 78 series ( the 78 floats ), Oregon or Etrex 20 or 30. Reeds' has a couple of sweet deals right now with the Upper Midwest Fishing Guide already bundled with the device. Cabelas has the Oregon 550 on sale for about $250, it comes with a built in camera.

Mike

full-623-27953-umwfg.jpg

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MN Mike Mentor

MN Mike

Posted
Posted

If it was from your Lowrance, no, that was a Lakemaster ' thing ' GPS brand specific.

Another item you had to watch for, your Lakemaster card had to be Endura compatible in order to work in the new Lowrance GPS's. My ' hunch ' is that the chip you have is not Endura compatible.

You're probably looking at re chipping either way you cut it but you should be able to get a little $$ for the chip you have.

Mike

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schweady Experienced

schweady

Posted
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Endura? Run away fast. I think that a search on this site and others will provide some sorry evidence of owners' frustrations with these units.

Another happy Garmin user here. I used to use a Lowrance ExpeditionC with both LakeMaster and Navionics chips before it died a similar death. Now, am blown away by the superior level of performance of my Garmin 62st with the Upper Midwest Fishing Guide chip.

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dfeste Community Regular

dfeste

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No. The smartphone apps work off satelite signals just like the handhelds. I carry both (phone and handheld) and won't be replacing the handheld until I can get a 5" on my atv. For the op, I have a Garmin gpsmap 78 and am happy with it. The only thing I would do differently next time is to upgrade to the model with the electronic compass. Not a big deal since it tracks straight again by moving it a few inches but it would be nice to have the compass working when the unit is still.

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MN Mike Mentor

MN Mike

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For the op, I have a Garmin gpsmap 78 and am happy with it. The only thing I would do differently next time is to upgrade to the model with the electronic compass. Not a big deal since it tracks straight again by moving it a few inches but it would be nice to have the compass working when the unit is still.

That brings up a good point for those looking at a Garmin. On the GPSMap 62 and 78 series, you will see the S designation on some of those ( ie. GPSMap 62s ), that indicates it has the sensors for compass and altitude rather than relying on the GPS signal to provide that data, the GPS has its own independent sensors to get more accurate readings. Think of it as having an electronic version of the old mechanical compass we are all use to carrying, I agree with the others that it's not a 100% replacement to the tried and true mechanical but it sure comes in handy at times.

Garmins Oregon, Montana and Etrex 30 all have the 3 axis electronic compass as a standard feature, you do not have to be moving in order for the compass to tell you which way is north or your elevation.

Just an FYI on the 62 and 78, the T stands for topo map built in and the C stands for Digital Camera.

Mike

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