Lowrance LMS-522c speed sensor

[imgoing2sleep]

Does anyone know if the units come with the speed sensor or do I need to order that separately? I was talking to the sales guy at Gander Mountain and he thought that the units came with the speed sensors but I am unable to verify that in the product description.

[PerchJerker]

The 522 - that's a sonar / gps combo. You should just use the gps SOG (speed over ground), that will be more accurate than any speed sensor (which I'm not even sure is available). You can go into the Overlay Data functions and display the speed on any screen, even the sonar only screens.

[imgoing2sleep]

Thanks for the info PerchJerker. I wasn't sure if I needed to purchase anything separately. This will be my first GPS unit so I am not really sure what to expect yet. I can't wait to get it installed and hit the river.

[LMITOUT]

You can use the GPS speed as mentioned or use a paddle wheel which the 522 doesn't come with.

[harvey lee]

like PerchJerker suggested, the GPS speed is much more accurate than any paddlewheel. The wheel can stick and slow or speed up and the GPS is constant.

[PerchJerker]

My experience with paddle wheels has not been very good. It seems like they're either on for trolling speeds but way off at higher speeds, or on at higher speeds and way off for trolling. Maybe they're better now than when I used them, but I don't trust them or have much confidence in them, so I just use my gps.

[LMITOUT]

They have their place and I think they're best for trolling at slower speeds. Yes, throw them out the window at high speeds but I don't believe that's what they're for. I believe they're more accurate than the GPS at slow speeds due to the fact that GPS calculates your speed on change in position and your position isn't that accurate. WAAS helps but there is still an error at slow speeds with the GPS position bouncing a bit, so it won't give you a perfect speed that a wheel might.

[delcecchi]

I had a wheel on my x65, or maybe it was a x75. You had to calibrate it when installed. So you had to use a GPS or something to set the speed anyway. And I also found that it was off at either fast or slow depending on how you calibrated it.

Use the GPS, paddle wheel not worth the money.

[PerchJerker]

I've looked at "trolling wheels" that only go up to 5 or 6 mph, they are designed just for trolling. I've looked at them all the way up to the high-end, top of the line, super-pricey models. I'm just not sold on them, either too pricey or too suspect, or both. I think the gps is close enough and is the best way to go.