Can recommend a Portable GPS with Downloadable Maps for Marine and Road use??

[fishingmad]

I want to get a portable GPS unit that also has a map function that will allow me to use on the lake and on the road. Any recommendations?

[chuckhays]

I have a garmin GPSmap 276C. It is one of the few that I found that had maps available for both roads and water.

The base unit comes with the road maps, and you purchase the water maps, based on region. With a 128MB memory card, I have roads for MN, IA, NE, WI, and all of the lakes in MN, some of Superior, and some lakes in IA.

[dockehr]

fishing mad,

The best (and I have both the Garmin GPSMAP 76cs and the Lowrance iFinder H20) black and white unit would be the Lowrance iFinderh20 or iFinderHunt. Either of these units will take Lakemaster or Navionics chips for on-the-water use as well as Lowrance topographical and freedom maps chips which will give you good roadside and travel maps.

Go the the Lowrance HSOforum as well as the Lakemaster and Navionics websites to see what's available. Then, go to a retailer that has these units on display to handle them.

Lowrance is due to introduce a COLOR handheld unit this July called the iFinderPHdc (color unit). If color is your thing WAIT until this unit comes out.

As I stated earlier, I have the above listed Garmin and Lowrance units plus many more. You can't come close to to the Lowrance units with regards the variety of pre-programmed chips out in the marketplace for water or land travel. Good luck and good fishing.

Dockehr

Dr. Roland E. Kehr, Jr.

Lindy Tackle

[Hemlock]

Dockehr, any guesses on the price of that iFinderPHdc? I'm very close to buying an h20 but will wait if color is coming and the price isn't too bad.

[Slyster]

I love my garmin GPS MAP 76CS combined with my PC Mapsource software. Bonus: It floats! Excellent in the sunlight. Color very nice even in full sun.

[dockehr]

hemlock,

The Lowrance 2005 catalog I have shows a suggested list price of 459.00 US dollars. FYI, they show a iFINDERH2O at 239.00 US dollars. I thoroughly enjoy my iFINDERH2O. The back lighting is very good on the iFINDERH2O. Where color does make a difference is that you can save tracks in different colors/styles. For instance, you might use a particular color for a track while checking out a new lake and a different color for another track that you would use to outline a newly-found piece of structure on that lake. . Another advantage of color is that some mapping chips color code the different depths.

By the way, the color Garmin GPSMAPcs handheld I have cost over 500.00 US dollars. So neither is cheap. The Garmin is a nice unit, the color is GREAT, but you have to download enhanced maps off of cd-roms thru your computer as the handheld doesn't take chips like the Lowrance unit. Lowrance puts out a series of chips called FreedomMaps. I have one for northern Ontario (which includes eastern Manitoba). I fish a small lake south of Sidney Lake called Fletcher Lake. The shoreline detail is quite good. Even more surprising is that most of the islands on this smallish lake are shown! Hope this helps. Good luck and good fishing.

dockehr

Dr. Roland E. Kehr, Jr.

Lindy Tackle