Which chip/program for my H2O?

[Bobb-o]

Trying to figure out which software package to get to go with my new Lowrance iFinder H2O. I have it narrowed down to the Lakemaster Chip and the Mapcreate 6.3 program. Anybody on here have any experience with either of these? does the Lakemaster chip or mapcreate have all the county roads? does Mapcreate have topo maps available? can you download new data into the mapcreate program?

[Paul Waldowski]

Bob,

Depends on what you are looking for. If it's just lake contours I would highly recommend the Navionics Hotmaps Premium North. It's an unbelievable chip...over the past couple of weeks, I have been on West Rush Lake Mn, Winnebago in WI, and Lake Michigan in Sheboygan WI. All of these lakes have been on that chip. I cannot say enough good things about it. I will also be using it on Lake of the Woods next week. What more needs to be said if you are looking for a chip for fishing.

[LMITOUT]

Just like Paul mentioned, it all depends on where you plan on using the chip. The decision was easy for me to choose the MN Lakemaster because it also is compatible with my Lowrance X-15 in the boat while the Navionics are not (except for the Gold package which is limited in quality of included lakes and not even close to comparable with the MN Lakemaster at this level as the Lakemaster wins hands down).

If you have a newer GPS in your boat, then I'd consider the Navionics. Determine which lakes you plan on fishing most and narrow it down from there by comparing the two offerings.

No, you cannot copy the information off either of these chips to your PC. Mapcreate does not have contours included....just streets, highways, etc, etc.

[eurolarva]

I agree with the navonics. I have fished about 15 lakes now in Mn and Wisconsin and all the lakes have been on the chip. Minnesota is a bit confusing because it is broken down in south, north east and north west. I was up by Fergus Falls fishing 10 mile lake and Navonics had that lake in South Minnesota. Go Figure. Awsome chip and well worth the 120 bucks

[hanson]

Bobb-o

I really like my Lakemaster MN chip. If you fish primarily Minnesota lakes, its awesome. Navionics of course covers MN as well as the surrounding states. Lake information on both chips is great! Lakemaster MN chip has a complete MN highway atlas built into it (highways, cty roads, city streets, interstates, etc) where Navionics does not. I use my H20C in my truck A LOT running the Lakemaster chip.

[archer59]

I like the Lakemaster Pro that I have in my H2O. I have the Minnesota chip, and will pick up the Wisconnie chip soon. The thing I like about this chip is the fact it can be used in other Lowrance / Eagle gps/finder units.

Nick

[satnu]

Sorry to bring this thread back from the dead but I have a few question.

There are two Lakemaster "chips" correct?

One is called LakeMaster Pro by Lowrance.

The other is called Minnesota LakeMaster by Garmin.

Will the Garmin product run on the H2O?

What are the major differences between these two products?

Are the "big" lakes on separate chips? Didn't see Winnie, Lacs or LOW.

Thanks for the help all!

[PierBridge]

The chip/program are not compatible with one another.

Lowrance's version is on a SD/mmc card, Garmin is software I believe.

Should be the same info if i'm not mistaken.

[TurnUpTheFishing]

Garmin units take a completely different model chip(much smaller) than the lowrance units.

Lakemaster makes different chips for each state and one for Lake of the Woods (1' depth contours) but Navionics has much of the midwest on one chip called the 'Hotmaps Premium North' chip, along with the US portion of lake of the woods (5' depth contours).

Both chips Will have the big lakes in MN like Winni, Mille Lacs, Leech, and Red (again, only Navionics has LOTW). Navionics has more lakes on it in MN than Lakemaster but they are the standard 5' depth contours. Both chips have the same high definition lakes.

Some things lakemaster offers that Navionics does not are, the ability to zoom in much further than navionics which makes it easier to view and follow the contours on the big lakes like Mille Lacs. Also, Lakemaster gives you a complete road map of MN including address finding capabilities where as when running the Navionics chip the roads/highways are removed completely from view as well as the outline of lakes that are not surveyed. One annoying thing about the Navionics software is the time it takes to load the screens when switching and zooming, Lakemaster does not have the delay.

Both products will cost you about $100. The lakemaster is $100. The Navionics Hotmaps Premium is $150 with a $50 mail in rebate.

I have both chips but If I had to give one up I would get rid of the Navionics chip.

[Ralph Wiggum]

TurnUpTheFishing,

Excellent post! Thank you very much!

[schweady]

Quote:

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I have both chips but If I had to give one up I would get rid of the Navionics chip.

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Great post, TurnUp. I also have both chips and agree with your assessment of the Lakemaster as the better of the two. However, I love the Navionics when it comes to fishing the border lakes -- it displays data well beyond the US/Canada border where Lakemaster goes blank right at the line. Also, the Navionics chip has contours for many of my favorite BWCA lakes and the LM does not.

[Northlander]

If your going to fish up North by me or farther north you will want the Navionics chip. If you want roads go with the Lakemaster. Both are good but Lakemaster doesnt cover many Northern bodies of water so I had no choice but to go Navionics. One thing I didnt like was the newer Navionics chips dont work in my X-15.

[schweady]

Did they ever come out with the newer Lakemaster chip that was promised and then delayed so many times in the past year?

[PierBridge]

Not yet...

[Northlander]

Not that I have seen. I was going to get it for my X-15 but oh well.

[TurnUpTheFishing]

I talked with a Lakemaster rep about the infamous "new" chip the other day. He said its not lakemaster that determines when the chip comes out it is Lowrance that is doing the manufacturing and Lakemaster just provides the data. I was told that the packaging is being produced right now. What to make of that, I dont know...

[satnu]

OK! Got the H2O and the LakeMaster pro chip. Are there any decent tutorials out there on using the unit and chip? Sorry for the newb question but my last GPS had none of these features and I'm a lil lost. NO PUN INTENDED!

[schweady]

satnu:

You will love it. Mostly, it just takes some playing around with. Get in the car, plug it into the cig. lighter and take a spin, setting some waypoints. (Keep one eye on the road!) That way you can practice on some trails before those times that it really matters. It's super easy to use, but has a LOT of features to explore. Even after 10 months, I usually find something neat every time out, mostly about trails and routes. I'll admit, I'm a manual reader. Tonight, I just spent a couple of hours reading it in the easy chair with the unit plugged into an AC adapter and renamed my trails, learned about navigating them, making them different colors, etc. I'll just toy around with it to try to answer problems, too, but I try to scour the pages for things really puzzling me. Have fun!

[satnu]

Quote:

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satnu:

You will love it. Mostly, it just takes some playing around with. Get in the car, plug it into the cig. lighter and take a spin, setting some waypoints. (Keep one eye on the road!) That way you can practice on some trails before those times that it really matters. It's super easy to use, but has a LOT of features to explore. Even after 10 months, I usually find something neat every time out, mostly about trails and routes. I'll admit, I'm a manual reader. Tonight, I just spent a couple of hours reading it in the easy chair with the unit plugged into an AC adapter and renamed my trails, learned about navigating them, making them different colors, etc. I'll just toy around with it to try to answer problems, too, but I try to scour the pages for things really puzzling me. Have fun!

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Well figured out how to activate the LakeMaster data. Had to change map to "high" scale. Navigated to Bald Eagle and viewed the contour map. COOL! Can't wait to use it on the ice and sledding. Guess I'll take your advice, read and play! Now for ALL the add-ons.LOL.

[RobertELee]

Quote:

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I talked with a Lakemaster rep about the infamous "new" chip the other day. He said its not lakemaster that determines when the chip comes out it is Lowrance that is doing the manufacturing and Lakemaster just provides the data. I was told that the packaging is being produced right now. What to make of that, I dont know...

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Just checked the Press Release section of the Lowrance HSOforum and as of July they will be unveiling the new chip 4th quarter of '06 so it most likely will be here for the new year

[TurnUpTheFishing]

Good to hear!

[TurnUpTheFishing]

The new Lakemaster chip will most likely be out by the Ice Show.

[Ralph Wiggum]

It's out now!

Well, I can't post the link, but if you go to the Lakemaster site, the new chip is out.

[LMITOUT]

Yep, I found it on their site a few nights ago too and I was excited to see all of the new lakes they've added. I suppose I'll have to buy this one too....considering it has every lake around Hutchinson what choice do I have!

[Augusta]

Yes, you guys are right. The 2007 chip is available, got mine in the mail today, its awesome!!!!

[schweady]

I finally found the info at lakemap dot (youknow).

Wow!:

79 ProMap Lakes (744 Total Lakes With Contours) Includes 595 Minnesota Inland Lakes, 89 Wisconsin Lakes, 17 Michigan Lakes, 14 Iowa Lakes, 17 South Dakota Lakes, 2 North Dakota Lakes, 4 Minnesota/Iowa Lakes, 3 Minnesota/South Dakota Lakes, 3 Minnesota/Wisconsin Lakes

But I still don't see Lake of the Woods on the list posted. I thought that was the reason for the long wait.

Augusta: Where did you get yours? Still $99? and do any MN-Canada border lakes have data beyond the border, or do the contours end right at the line? I'm really interested in Sand Point Lake and Namakan.