H2O & LAKEMASTER MAPS

[Guest]

Looking at buying some maps for my gps.They dont have most of the maps I want on the mmc cards, so Iam looking at the cd-rom maps.What all do I need to buy to transfer the data to the gps,and is there a better route to go? Thanks for the help.

[andy j]

If you are going the Lowrance route then you would need the Map Create 6 software and the MMC card port and a blank MMC for downloading. You can buy a package deal with all 3 for I believe for around $150. If you are going the Garmin route then all you need is the Software, runs $100, all their maping units come with PC cords to hook up to your computer for downloading. The Garmin's are fixed memory and the Lowrance's are expandable memory with the MMC cards which is nice. They are both good quality GPS's. Hope this helps. AJ

[Captain B.R.K]

A little variation from AJ's post on the Garmin Software.

If you have a garmin, Lake Master's has a product for maps in Minnesota. The maps are called high definition maps and they allow a user to zoom into 3 foot contours on a lake. 51 lakes were surveyed and included on the CD. Check out the link I've listed.

The cost is a little higher than $100, I believe it is around $199.

[note from admin: Andy J's posts is a little confusing, the mapping software he's talking about is not accurate with respect to lake contours.]

I've seen both the Lowrance unit w/ a ProMaps navionic's chip and Garmin unit's w/LakeMaster ProMaps software. Definately worth the money - saves time!

WHAT WILL YOU NEED?- IF you have bought a mapping GPS (GARMIN), it should have come with a cable to run from your PC to the GPS unit. That's all you'll need- plain and simple.

[Catfish John]

You don't necessarily need MapCreate, MMC Cards, or a reader to enter waypoints from a CD-Rom. As long as you know the coordinates, you can set your pro/h2o on "Use indoors" and use the crosshairs to move the curosr to the desired point (the coordinates are visible on the bottom of the screen). "Create a Waypoint". The advantage that you have on MapCreate is that you can give you waypoints labels other than numbers. It can get confusing if all you see is a lot of numbers near a spot; Unless you've got photographic memory, you keep asking yourself, "Is that the drop off or the long narrow point?"

[Guest]

You cannot download info from a Lakemaster CD into a Lowrance unit or onto a MMC chip that will go into a Lowrance unit. Nor can you transfer Lakemaster data to Map Create software.

The two are not compatible at all.

Navioncs does make a chip with some of the lakemaster lakes on it, but it is not the same as using the actual Lakemaster software.

Garmin is the only product that will accept Lakemaster data directly from a Lakemaster disk.

[Catfish John]

I never said you could, perhaps you misunderstood. (but I'm pretty sure you can import data sets from lake master into Mapcreate -- it may take an extra step through a surrogate program). I said it was possible to bypass mapcreate and enter waypoints directly into the pro/h2O by hand. Look at the PC, see the waypoint data, move the cursor on the gps screen to the desired spot and "Create a Waypoint". The interface is human not electronic, but its quick and works quite well.

[Guest]

My post was not directed towards anyone. I'm just stating the facts. I have both programs and believe you me, if there was any way to do it I'd tell ya. But there is not. And that is from both Lowrance AND Lakemaster.

I hope I didn't offend you.

[Guest]

So, what is best to buy for the H2O, the MMC chip or is there something else.Is it right that I could buy the Mapcreate 6 software and a MMC card and blank? Thanks

[Rick]

You either want the ProMap Series CD-ROM or you want the MMC Chips if you are looking for accurate lake maps.

The PrMap Series yu will e bale to download waypoints and routes to your GPS. The MMC chip will carry the entire lakemap on it - assuming your GPS unit uses MMC chips.

[Guest]

Rick,

If he has the H2O, for the best value, he will need to buy the Navionics MMC. I would reccomend the Navionics Premium Maps North Region. 3,000 lakes including Navionics HD maps of MN, WI, IA and MI.

Although very good, the Lakemaster MMC chips newly out for the Lowrance units do not offer this many lakes on one complete chip.

[Rick]

Depends on what lakes he fishes and if he wants highly accurate lakemaps or not.

Lee-Tom is right you will have to make the decision based on quality or quantity.

[Catfish John]

No offense taken TH. I just thought my post may have been misunderstood, it can be hard to explain semi-technical proceses in two sentences or less and I thought I needed to clarify my earlier post.

Anyhooo, as I was saying, while it is impossible to transfer most cartographic data (i.e contour lines), if you converted the waypoint coordinates from the Lakemaster "Log" feature into an ASCII Text file (.txt) - copy and paste into Word if necessary - you could then load the data into Mapcreate. See command reference topics "Export Data" and "Import Data" in the Mapcreate manual.

No trade off between quanity and quality, the Navionics Premium includes 30+ MN lakes with LakeMaster ProMaps, another dozen or so with Navionics HD (Navionics High-Definition Lake Surveys) and many lakes with FHS (Fishing Hot Spots) data plus hundreds of other lakes in MN, IA, MI, and WI.

[andy j]

I think there is a recall on the Premiem Navionics chips. Not 100% sure but I have heard that from a few sources. Also I heard that there are going to be some new Really nice Navionics coming out this spring.

[andy j]

Lee Harvey,

I would look at it this way, (Lowrance mapping GPS's only) if you want more detail on your map page of a certain area, back roads, camping, fishing, hunting, topo, etc. then go with the Mapcreate 6 (lowrance software)you will need the card port and a blank MMC card. If you are looking for depth contours on lakes then go with the Navionics Chips for the area that you want. There are only certain lakes that you get with the Navionics mostly the larger more popular lakes. Good Luck

[andy j]

Rick,

What is there about my first post that is not acurate? I work with GPS's on a daily basis. And for Lowrance GPS's, if you want to use their software (mapcreat 6) then you need a Memory card port and a blank memory card which are not included when you buy a lowrance mapping GPS. Lowrances don't come with a PC cable like the Garmins do. I don't understand why this seems confusing?

[Rick]

The topic is about Lakemaster and the map contours you refer to are not lakemaster and not very accurate with respect to lake contours.

[andy j]

OK, I get ya now, I thought you meant my information was not acurate. I thought that Lee Harveys original post was relating to all forms of mapping not just depth contours maps. Maybe I miss read his original post.

[walleyehawk]

I have heard that Lowrance is going to release their version of the Lakemaster maps within weeks for $99 that will include a significant number of Minnesota lakes. I forgot to ask if it will be a MMC card or a CD that would allow you to go from your computer to the MMC, and then import it into the unit.

Before you do anything, I would call Lowrance or talk to them at the next sports show. I am not in any rush until opener, but I hope this is true as these will be plug and play with a computer, much like the Garmin units. Cabelas is selling a Lowrance Lakemaster map for $99 that they say is plug and play, but it on backorder for 2-3 weeks, so maybe this is the same thing but has just not been released yet.

If this is true, it would save money over the $199 Navionics MMC.

I have looked at the H20 and it is a great unit. I was not happy with my Ifinder at first but once you do the software updates, it improves it significantly.

[Minnetonka]

I want to buy the map create 6 from Lowrance. Where is the best place to buy this? I live in the twincities. I see they have several differnt versions of this. (6.0, 6.2, 6.3) Which one do you remomend.

PS: I also have the Navionics chip and love it. I travel and want more detailed road information.

[dockehr]

Minnetonka, From your post I'm not sure if you have gone to the Lowrance HSOforum. If not, do the following: Access the Lowrance HSOforum (not sure if I can list it on this site). On their home page click the "Outdoor" option. When that page opens, look along the left side of the page and click on the "Mapping" label. The mapping page will let you get information on the various MapCreate versions. Hope this helps.

dockehr

Dr. Roland E. Kehr, Jr.

[Catfish John]

This may be of interest to both experienced and inexperienced Lowrance Sonar, GPS, and Mapcreate users:

Doc, I just ordered a copy of your WI grouse hunting book. I'm looking forward to reading it.

[dockehr]

Catfish John, Thanks for the book purchase. I consider it a shadow of our Minnesota book. There was a year plus delay from when we finished our research before the book was published and a lot of things had changed. Still, lots of pertinent public access information. The two books co-authored by Mickey and I were a "labor of love" and we really enjoyed working together on the projects. We manage anywhere from four to eight trips each fall to hunt upland birds in eastern Montana. Kind of unusual, for a person who's been one of the owners on LIndy Tackle for 26 years and has quite a number of the fishing personalities seen on television and in print as patients, to co-author two hunting books.

Over the years I've developed some simple modifications that enable one to take high-end GPS/sonar units on fly-in trips. Maybe I'll get an article covering these modifications in a well-known fishing magazine based out of Brainerd!!

dockehr

Dr. Roland E. Kehr, Jr.

[Mykal]

Leeharvey, I have the H20 and the new Lowrance/Lakemaster LOW MMC chip. It is the real deal. I am waiting for the release of the Lowrance/Lakemaster If you truly want plug and play with out the hassles of downloading and mapping programs, get the MMC chip. My 2 cents.

[iowaboy]

Try jollyannsales here in Iowa for you needs. Wade has all the latest gadgets. it will save you Minnesota folks a couple bucks not having to pay sales tax!