Hand-Held GPS Unit Recommendations

[Daze Off]

Thinking about getting a hand-held GPS unit for an upcoming fishing tournament and wonder if anyone has recommendations that would help narrow the field a bit. Would like to stay under $150 if possible.

Thanks,

Daze Off

[HaywardBound]

Do a search on this site. I did my research and bought a Lowance H2O, and I love it...But it is $229.

Anyone else have a unit you like that is portable?

[cliffy]

I also have the H2O and LOVE IT!!!! I purchased a lake chip (forgot which one) and its amazing!!! I know it is a little out of the price range your are looking for....but well worth the extra 60-70 dollars. Good luck in your search

[Daze Off]

Thanks guys! As luck would have it, I did more homework since posting and have found that the unit you both recommend was the most appealing to me - even though it was not in the price range....what the wife doesn't know won't hurt me....I want to get the lake map chip(s) too.

One criticism I heard of the handhelds was that they took a long time to acquire a signal when turned on so they had to be left on continuously in order to enter waypoints or mark spots...has this been your experience?

Daze Off

[burl]

Purchased the h-20 with the lakemaster chip and realy like this unit.It does seam to take longer to lock on the satalites than my old garmin 75 that only used 9 to aquire position.It also seams like it loses position and reaquires alot more than my old unit.Does any body know why this is?Burl.

[Marmot]

My parent's recently bought a Lowrance H20. My sister and I purchased the LakeMaster chip for them as a gift. It is a very nice unit.

The one con my Dad and I noticed is the display can be difficult to read in the sunlight. I believe Lowrance is supposed to release colored units at any time.

If I were to buy a unit, I would plop down the 3 bills for the Lowrance H20 and LakeMaster chip.

[burl]

I found if i messed around with the contrast and the lighting on the unit you could get it to show better in the direct sun.Burl.

[Marmot]

We did adjust the contrast as the factory default was way too low. Even after adjusting the contrast it was still difficult to read at times. The color units should be much easier to read when they are available.

[kunk]

Bought an H2O in June. Had an older Lowrance, and compared to that, this one is easy to read. Got the Lakemaster chip, and it works great. I didn't want to spend much either, but the display started going on my old one while I was on vacation, so I had this one aired up, and I love it.

[cliffy]

Daze:

I dont have that problem with mine. It probably takes 30 seconds..tops..for it to aquire a signal. Most of the time its quicker. When I am on a lake, it probably only takes 15 seconds..give or take.

I love mine, I bought a ram holder and placed it on the dash of my boat....I just leave it on, using the cig. outlet power source. I just let it mark all my trails on the particular lake I am on....great way to keep track of your drift locations...and comes in really handy trying to find your way back to the boat landing after dark. Its been the best purchase I have made for my boat.

[dockehr]

Daze Off (and others): when comparing GPS acquisition times keep in mind that many of the new Lowrance GPS units (not handhelds) have POWERED antennas. Even if the unit is turned off, the antenna is still acquiring satellite information. I noticed the effects of this feature on two recent fly-in trips to Canada. Last year my LCX-18c took a little time to acquire a good signal. This year with the LCX-25c left on the boat, but turned off, a useable signal is almost instantaneous upon powering on the unit.

If you review the Lowrance manual that comes with the new units there is a few paragraphs devoted to the fact that even though the GPS unit is powered off, the antenna is still drawing some current.

dockehr

Dr. Roland E. Kehr, Jr.

Lindy Tackle Company

[captkev]

Whats up Doc? Long time no hear, Been a busy summer, and the hunting season is fast a comming, I've been looking at buying the H20, Thanks to your commitment of Lowrance products, we'll have to compare waypoints sometime. I hope to hear from you before, but if not I'll give you a call as soon as I'm standing on HAM

[dockehr]

Hi Kev! Been fly fishing for sunnies with Mickey Johnson, a couple of fly-in trips to Canada, a week at the I-CAST Tackle Show in Vegas, making plans to visit grandchildren in Lawton,OK in a few weeks.

Pat will start an aggresive chemo attack on her lung cancer next week. It's been 8+ months since her last chemo regimen ended. We feel very fortunate that it's been 2 and a half years since she was diagnosed with non-smoking non-smallcell lung cancer. Five year survival rate is only 10% so we're aware of what the future holds.We're happy that we did all the things we did do over the past 36 years.

Not quite ready to fire up the ice auger!! Keep in touch and we'll cross paths when the ice forms.

dockehr

Dr. Roland E. Kehr, Jr.

Lindy Tackle Company

[wisconsinfish]

One thing you may want to check if you aren't going to use an external power source is the battery life of each unit. I believe garmin lists the estimated run time on the batteries on thier web site, I'm not sure about the other brands.