lowrance h2o i finder gps

[bnbrk94]

does anybody use one of these handheld gps? i bought one but have not recieved it yet. i read some good product reviews on it and was wondering if anyone had any input. thanks.

[Goosepimp]

I have the I Finder Pro and love it.

[Sportland_Bait]

It is great I just started using the H2O recently and so far I love it. It is very similar to all other Lowrance products. It is very user friendly. If available for the lakes you fish I highly recommend the Lakemaster Map Chips that are compatible. You will be very happy with it.

Jason Erlandson

[f1sh1nfool]

I am going to pick one up tomorrow! if I can find one. I have been having a hard time finding them since christmas wiped them out. I like that you can use navionics chips in it, the same ones that i can use in my graph on my boat. looks like a good unit, not color, but I don't need color.

[Bob_D]

I have one with and a Navonics chip for it. I like it a lot. It's very easy to use and I like the waterproof feature.

[bnbrk94]

thanks for the input. has anyone tried the lakemaps.com maps on this gps? just wondering if it is possible to download that on the unit? the navionics does not have many lakes in my area so it might be better to go with the lakemaps.....

[Gadgetman]

Fishinfool- I too was looking for a unit and ended up ordering it on line from Cabelas, will be here Friday for the weekend. bnbrk94- I am also curious as to what chips have the best info/detail on them. anybody have experience with the different Navionics chips or lakemaster? I dont want to buy them twice to get the right one as they are pretty spendy

[Captain Bob]

About the maps... I emailed the lakemaster guys and they told me they were coming out with a lakemaster chip for Lowrance around February. He said it will contain the ~51 promaps (1-3' countours), with the exception of LOW. He also expected it to sell for half the price of the current Navionics chip.

That's all I know about these chips, I also have the I-Finder H20 and will be waiting for that chip (better come out).

[f1sh1nfool]

From what i've seen the new navionics premium chips have some of the most detailed maps yet. it has several of the more popular lakes with 1 foot lines. most of the maps on the chip are less accurate. it goes from 1 foot to 3 feet to what ever the older maps are. I have only seen them a couple of times and like a lot of people am waiting to see what new maps come out before spending 200.

[John19]

About how much does this GPS cost? Being waterproof is a great feature .

[bnbrk94]

i paid 230.00$ through cabelas. i looked pretty hard before i bought this one and one thing it had that impressed me was a easy user mode for beginners. it also has pop up screens that will walk you through things that you might not understand. seems like a great unit for the $.

[John19]

Thanks, Anything that helps out us "beginners" is well worth alittle extra $.

[gvt]

My wife was kind enough to get me a Lowrance I-Finder H20 for Christmas, she also bought the Navionics premium chip. It's my first gps and I haven't had much time to figure it out, hopefully this weekend! My question is actually regarding the Navionics chip. Are the 1' increment lakes accurate? Are they based on actual mapping or just more lines on an old map? Thanks for the help!

[bnbrk94]

i am not sure about the navionics chip. you might give lowrance a call, i have heard they have very good customer support. i am a little dissapointed with the lakes that they have on the chip. there are only 2 lakes in the area that i live that are on the chip. i live in spicer, mn and there are some very good lakes around here that are not on the chip. i might contact them and see if they are coming out with these lakes soon. if not i might check into lakemaps.com. someone posted earlier they might be coming out with a chip for lowrance products....

[John19]

To piggyback off of another post, how is the accuracy with this unit, compared to others in the same price range?

[LocalGuide]

bnbrk94, which 2 lakes are on the Navionics chip for that area? I fish the Spicer area a lot and there are some really good lakes there.

I would guess Green Lake for one but whats the other one?

[bnbrk94]

surprisingly enough green lake is not one of them. the two lakes are calhoun and andrew. i think that lakemaps.com has all the area lakes but don't know if it works for the lowrance.

[LocalGuide]

Wow thats kind of weird. I would of thought Green Lake would of been one for sure, but I guess not.

The reason I asked was I just looking at the newer GPS's and the software. My dad has a Lowrance Global Map 100 and I just thought I'd learn some more about the newer GPS's on the market today.

[computerboy]

gvt,

The Region 10 Navionics Premium chip is actually a combination of Navionics HD, Lakemaster, and Fishing Hot Spot maps all on one card. The Region 10 chip covers Minnesota and a few lakes in Iowa. If you want to see all of the lakes on the card, check this out:

http://www.navionics.com/PremiumLakeList.asp?RegionID=18&Premium=1

As far as accuracy goes, I don't own or use the chip so I can't personally say. I have the LakeMaster ProMap mapping software and have found the 50+ high defintion maps to be quite accurate.

I was confused for a long time on the difference between GPS mapping software and Digital GPS maps. For those who are having the same problem, I'll try to explain the difference.

GPS mapping software

- Maps and data are installed on your PC

- Used to transfer waypoints to/from your GPS/PC

- Can be used to print high-def maps with marked waypoints

- Actual contour maps can NOT be loaded to your GPS

- Compatible with a wide range of GPS units

- Example would be LakeMaster ProMap series software

Digital GPS maps

- All maps reside on digital media cards (MMC, SD, etc) or CD ROM

- Card is inserted into a compatible GPS unit

or

- Maps are loaded into GPS unit from CD ROM

- Contour maps display on the GPS unit itself

- Compatible only with GPS units that have mapping capability

- Example would be Navionics Premium MMC chip

By the way gvt, what a great gift! From what I hear that's a great unit, and you also have arguably the best Nav chip for Minnesota on the market today. Sounds like you've got one thoughtful wife. Either that you gave her LOTS of not-so-subtle hints like I do with my girlfriend.

[f1sh1nfool]

I have been playing around with mine, and it seems to be a fairly easy unit to use. I was playing around with my old garmin gps 12. one thing I noticed was that the lowrance unit displayed its epe constantly around 28-35 feet, (inside my car.) when the garmin displayed its epe at 12-16 feet both units seemed to displaying my position the same, sometimes off by a second or two. waas was not locked. I wonder if the garmin's epe was really that low, or if the older technology had something to do with it.

[gvt]

computerboy,

Thanks for the input! I'm hoping to try it out on Mille Lacs or Minnetonka this weekend. Oh and the wifey...yep, she's a peach! I shot my buck this fall right before dark and it went down in some pretty heavy cedars. It took me an hour to find it. Then I got a little lost for about an hour trying to find my way back to my stand (compass left on stand ). So, needless to say she thinks I'm going to get lost for good if I don't have a gps. I should also thank the guys at Gander Mtn that helped her find just what I would "need" . Thanks again!

[Gadgetman]

Thanks for the help computerboy. Seems that you have a pretty good grip on the chip thing. Looks like the Region 10 chip is where you get the biggest bang for the buck. I have a couple of questions for you other guys that are using the ifinder. How do you find the power consuption to be? Is it a battery hog? Somebody told me that when you are running the unit with the chip booted up that it will drain your batteries in just a couple of hours. Also, for those that are currently running the unit with the chip, does the small screen size inhibit the use of the unit for following contours? And, how do you survey a new lake and determine where you would like to start since you can only see such a limited area on the screen. Is it just me or do you almost have to get the mapping stuff for your pc to be able to see the big picture? Any help is appreciated as i am a bit confused on these issues .