splitscreen sonar/gps or stand alone units

[backlash 1]

I will be upgrading my old X65 unit and garmin 12 handheld. I could use some advice on which is the best way to go, splitscreen sonar/gps, or 2 seperate units. A salesman told me it was critical that I get a color unit/s, especially for the gps, as the non color mapping units are hard to read in bright daylight. Do you guys find this is true?

[Cliff Wagenbach]

I also upgraded this spring from a handheld GPS.

I opted for the gray scale model/ full screen and have had no problems reading it at all.

Cliff

[backlash 1]

Cliff,

Which one did you get, and did you even consider getting a splitscreen combo?

[Northlander]

Color is very nice but not Criticle! I have a x-15 thats a great unit and just got a X-18 for my neighbor and its very nice. It is easier to read in the sun but again not criticle. If you have the $ then get the X-18. If not you will like the X15 just as much unless you have run a 18 before.

[SteveWilson]

I was in that quandary too and IMHO unless you go for a large screen combo unit (19c, 104) having separates is better at the console. I purchased 2 X-125 (console and bow) finders and a GlobalMap 3300C GPS unit for my Lund. If I was doing it again I might consider a small combo for the bow instead of one of the X-125's. It could be usefull to navigate to your spot on the main GPS and then while working from the bow use another GPS to plot your drift or help you maintain position. If I were going this route then I would make sure that both were NEMA2000 capable so that they can share the output of one GPS antenna.

[FullTilt]

Steve,

What is NEMA2000 capable? I'm in the market for a GPS for my boat but I want to mount it on the dash for navigating and then unplug the head and move it to the rear of the boat for back trolling. I haven't been able to get a straight answer from a salesperson. I'd like to have one GPS antenna that has pigtails that I could run to the dash and to the rear of the boat. They don't give those antennas away so I'd rather not buy two of them. Have you figured out a way to do this? It shouldn't be that hard if I can find the right antenna, I'd just need a RAM mount on the dash and a RAM mount in the rear of the boat. I guess I'd need two power cords too. I can't imagine I'm the first person that hasn't had the cash to buy two GPS units for one boat.

[Deitz Dittrich]

I Run a Lowrance LMS 480 on my bass boat. It is the split screen. I can see the advantages of having 2 seperate units.. You would get much better detail.. I know many of the boats on the pro walleye circut run 2 units instead of the split. For me it was a matter of space, I dont have enough room for 2 units. I do like my lms480!.. I also have the mapping softwear for it as well..

[andy j]

backlash,

I think the LMS combo units are great units, they dont take up a ton of room, and you can resize your window on the split screen. When it comes to color it is nice especially in the sunlight, I think it all depends on how you are going to use your GPS, if you are going to use it to navigate at full speed on sunny days on unfamilar water alot go for the color. if you are just going to use it to mark waypoints and use it for once in a while for navigation you can get by with the black and white.

[SteveWilson]

Quote:

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What is NEMA2000 capable? I'm in the market for a GPS for my boat but I want to mount it on the dash for navigating and then unplug the head and move it to the rear of the boat for back trolling.

---

Think of NEMA2000 as a definition for a Network buss. A LAN for boats. Anyhow, go to the lowrance site http://www.lowrance.com/Manuals/default.asp and download some of the product manuals. Take a look at the GlobalMap 3300C manual and NEMA 2000 General Information pamphlet. When I installed my GlobalMap 3300 and the included antena I wired it so the GPS antena receives juice all the time the master electrical switch on the boat is on. Once powered the GPS antena is collecting satellite information and feeding it down the NEMA2000 buss. The GlobalMap 3300 acts as a listening device on the buss. It senses the GPS antena signals and then turns it into usefull information that we see as map data. The normal configuration is to have one end of the buss terminate into the GlobalMap 3300 and then have the extension terminated with a 60 Ohm terminating resistor. To connect more units you basically remove the terminating resitor, run more cable to another unit and terminate with a 120 Ohm resistor (over simplified). The upside is that you could have many GPS and other units (VHF radio) connected to your antena (think bridge, flying bridge, engine room, galley, etc on a bigger boat). Call Lowrance technical support if you need help with a specific configuration.

[ccarlson]

I would go with two separate units. I like the color gps and chip compatibility of the 3300c. Fair price too.

Having two units makes making switches in settings much easier.

ccarlson

[FullTilt]

Thanks Steve, the 3300C is the unit I'm planning to get. It sounds like my best bet is to get a well paid Lowrance egg-head on the phone to walk me through the item numbers of the products I'll need to get it done. It's good to hear that it can be done with one antenna. That'll be a great project for this spring when I'm itching to get the boat out, thanks again.

[kwkfsh]

Just as an FYI to people following this thread. You cannot use the same antenna for both a GPS and a VHF radio. You can run 2 GPS's off of one, but not one of each.

Also the term NEMA should actually be NMEA. This stands for National Marine Electronics Association.

[backlash 1]

Thanks for the great info guys. I already got the nod from my best fishing partner, so I better start on my christmas list now. Gotta go.

backlash

[lawman]

Go with two units definitely. I have a Lowrance 3300c. This mapping unit is extremely reliable. I used a Magellan 315 for years and it still is great for small waters but for the larger lakes, Vermilion, Mille Lacs and others this unit combimed with a good media card is invaluable.

[backlash 1]

I guess one more plus don't think anyone has mentioned so far is, down the road, if you want to upgrade one or the other unit, or if one broke and was too spendy to fix, you wouldn't be stuck.