Lowrance 334c Opener Frustrations

[78cj5]

Ugh. All weekend my Lowrance 334 kept losing and reaquiring communication almost continously. No matter what orientation or setting...it was lost.

Looks like I will be going back to the dealer for an exchange for a 332 on Monday.

Man that was frustrating and embarassing.

[gofishingtom]

334c is a nice idea to have a unit have an internal antenna..but i have found that if this unit is even slighty tilted to look at that you will lose satelites..if it is kept in an vertical position it seems to work pretty good..but problem is most guys like to tilt to look at especially if your standing in the boat and jigging.. could that be ur problem you have it tilted to much when fishing..

[TSCTSC]

Or if u have a suntop, the top blocks out the GPS signal.

[burl]

I must have found a good one.I did not have any problems at all.It lost the signal at times but the h20 unit will do the same.What i dont like is how the contour lines are hard to see.I think i need to mess around with the contrast settings.Burl.

[CodyDawg]

just to rub it in a little...I have a 332c and it locks in perfectly when in my garage with the doors shut. Thanks Thorne Bros for recommending that one!

[LetThemGo]

I was going to put a 334c on the bow of my boat, but was warned by sales reps at Cabelas and Throne Bros. that these units have some issues with dropping satellite connection when the screen is tipped skyward. One of the reps at Cabelas even mentioned something about a recall on the 334c.

I would call Lowrance and see what they say; I'd be very unhappy in your situation. You'd think Lowrance would do a little better job field testing the unit before sending it out dealers working like that.

[burl]

I noticed my 334 would lock on the satelites even when it was in the garage.I must be just the earlier units that had the problems or i am very lucky.Burl.

[Matt Johnson]

I've run the 334 on the dash of my boat all season so far without any problems. It takes no longer than a minute and I'm locked in on a signal, and I haven't had an issue with it losing signal at all. It's a sweet unit and so far I see the advantage of having the internal antenea, especially come this winter when I install it on the dash of my truck

[KJSnider]

My 334 has its days. I have had it out 6 times so far. I have noticed that some days it works good, and some days you just want to try to figure out if you can turn the GPS off so you don't have to listen to the "signal lost", and "signal acquired" every 5 seconds. I have even tried keeping it completely vertical. I'm going to have to get a hold of Lowrance also. I have my I-Finder H20 a foot away from the 334, also under the windshield, and keeps signal lock at all times.

KJ

[tafadzwa]

I was at Gander in Minnetonka yesterday and they had pulled the 334 from the shelves. I picked up the 332c instead.

Any recommendations for where to mount the GPS antenna/receiver module? Obviously in the open, but does anyone have info on what has worked best? Also, is the NMEA 2000 Network something I can just utilize in the future when I have sensors/accessories to plug into it or is it necessary for the unit to function?

[mamohr686]

It really depends on the setup of your boat. I mounted my 332C on a ram mount next to my dash and left extra cable under the counsel so I can spin it around when I'm fishing from the bow. Place the gps module in the open in an area where it won't be bumped or kicked when getting in and out of the boat. I also mounted my module on a straight mount (do a websearch on Shakespeare Straight Mount model 4365) When I placed my module next to my dash I my accuracy was very low (average was about 400 feet standing still and I couldn't get a waas tower). You can check the accuracy on the navagation menu on the unit. When I raised up the gps by putting it on the straight mount my accuracy went up to 40 ft. Yay! A nylon ratchet mount will do the same thing but will be a little bulkier and allow you to change the angle of the module if you can't mount it on a level surface.

[78cj5]

Update: I have an appointment at the dealer to have my 334C replaced with a 332C next Monday.

Not a day too soon.

[delcecchi]

Just a note. WAAS comes from some satellites, not a tower. The WAAS satellites are low in the sky, I heard, so can be hard to pick up where something blocks to the horizon. And they aren't always visible

[walleyewild]

WAAS sat's are in a synchronous orbit at the equator, so the farther north you are the less likley you are to recieve a signal from them.

I have my puck gps antenna for my 337 on a 8" ram style mount in the rear starbord corner, works great as long as I turn the WAAS requirement off. 10-20' accuracy with it off.

Good enough for me.

[rollin]

just bought a new boat last week and researched locators quit a bit. the 334 has had problems especially if mounted in console with walk threw windshield. dealer said it might be ok with single console unit because of smaller windshield and no side panel and unit should be ok if mounted in the bow.had a friend of the family who is a dealer in wisconsin say that he was informed that they also are having problems with the color and he was told that the new models will have a different chip in them. i heard that there haven't been any problems with the external antennas at all.i heard the same thing - the internal antennas have a hard time finding a signal and are losing the signal quite often.

[mamohr686]

I found the following information off of the FAA HSOforum. I recall our GPS reps explaining the use of towers. As it turns out the information is relayed from towers to the sats to calculate error:

WAAS and its Relation to Enabled Hand-Held GPS Receivers

(26 Feb. 2006)

For a discussion of DGPS and Technical WAAS issues, see (HERE)

Statement from the FAA

WAAS is based on a network of approximately 25 ground reference stations

that covers a very large service area. Signals from GPS satellites are received by

wide area ground reference stations (WRSs). Each of these precisely surveyed

reference stations receive GPS signals and determine if any errors exist. These

WRSs are linked to form the U.S. WAAS network. Each WRS in the network

relays the data to the wide area master station (WMS) where correction

information is computed. The WMS calculates correction algorithms and assesses

the integrity of the system. A correction message is prepared and uplinked to a

geosynchronous satellite via a ground uplink system (GUS). The message is then

broadcast from the satellite on the same frequency as GPS (L1, 1575.42MHz) to

receivers on board aircraft (or hand-held receivers) which are within the broadcast

coverage area of the WAAS. These communications satellites also act as additional

navigation satellites for the aircraft, thus, providing additional navigation signals for

position determination.

The WAAS will improve basic GPS accuracy to approximately 7 meters vertically

and horizontally, improve system availability through the use of geostationary

communication satellites (GEOs) carrying navigation payloads, and to provide

important integrity information about the entire GPS constellation.

[Corey Bechtold]

I was at Cabelas tonight and talked with someone in the electronics dept. They told me that Lowrance has apparently fixed the problem and they will gladly exchange any malfunctioning units. I'm sure Gander and other stores would do the same. If you don't mind the GPS puck on your rig I would recommend getting the 332 though.

Good luck,

Corey Bechtold

[Cliff Wagenbach]

I have the Lowrance 3200.

I first mounted my antenna on the gunnel in front of my steering console and had a lot of problems with the extension cable connections. I finally moved the antenna to the top of the dash behind the windshield and close enough to the GPS to plug in the antenna without using the extension cable and I have had zero problems with reception or connections since!

Cliff

[Matt Johnson]

I run a 1750 FishHawk and I have the 334 mounted on my dash. I have the short windshield counsel and I haven't had any problems with the 334 picking up signal. I've had it out it various different weather conditions and in various different areas across the state.

Are those who are having problems running the unit behind a walk-through windshield type dash?

[Matt Johnson]

I talked with the people at Thorne Bros today and they put the 334 through a pretty hardcore test to see what it could handle. When all was said and done, the 334 perform very well and worked great through a variety of conditions where it's been said that it fails. They mounted it inside a truck, and virtually upside-down to see if it would lose signal, and it did not.

It's said that some of the first 334's produced had bad anteneas, but the problem has been fixed and if your 334 is working well then you're good to go.

A lot of the hype has been caused by rumors, and Thorne Bros has not received any returns on malfunctioning units, only those that have been returned because people heard the rumors and wanted to trade up for the 332.

If you're having problems with your 334, then chances are you received one from the bad batch. Contact the place you purchased it from and they should be able to exchange it, or else contact Lowrance. Thorne Bros said they are willing to exchange if you bought it there, and it sounds like other places are willing to do the same...

I'm personally very pleased with the 334, and I think it's an outstanding unit. It's full of features and it's very user friendly. Once the open water season is done it will not get a chance to rest... it will be going inside my truck

[78cj5]

My 334 was located on a RAM mount on the console on my Lund Mr. Pike. i talk to Lowrance about the problem. They said that I had two options, send it in for repair (expect 10-15 working days plus shipping) or return it to the dealer. My marine is going to replace it. It ws uspposed to happen this week, but thay didn't have one in stock. They are going to take care of it next week.

[Fish Head]

I have a 332 and occasionally I have the same problem. Not always, but once in a while it will loose its signal, than find it again, than loose it again. I just purchased mine with the boat last year. The unit is located on the bow along with the puck and the minn-kota.

[78cj5]

The boat goes in tomorrow to swap out the 334 with a 332 and then I am off to my cabin in Wisconsin for the holiday weekend. I'll be fishing Yellow Lake and Lake X most of the weekend. I'll send an update next week and let you know how the 332C worked in comparison to the 334C.

The 334's GPS was useless Sunday on Minnetonka and last night on White Bear.

Have a safe holiday.

[robbro]

Switch to the night mode> I find it much easier to in bright days

[deacon]

Is there anyone other than Matt that thinks you should get a 334 vs a 332? I am thinking the 332 considering all the problems with the 334.

[Springerguy1]

I picked up a replacement 334 at Cabela's last weekend and will be calling them today to see if I can trade and get a 332- still won't hold a signal. Although the unit held the GPS signal most of the time on Mille Lacs yesteday I don't think "most of the time" is good enough. I would think that Lowrance has some liability issues with this unit- yeah, fishing on the local lakes isn't a big deal but if you're navigating in an ocean or large lake (Lake Michigan)and the unit keeps losing the GPS signal? I spent a number of years flying in the military and couldn't imagine using something this unreliable in a bad weather situation. By the way- I have a dual console Lund- sounds like the dual console is part of the problem.