MapCreate

[Whopper Stopper]

I want to check out lake maps on the PC. A day like today I could just scroll around the lakes and start marking humps, points, making routes and OK just plain keep out of the cold. Has anyone used Mapcreate? Is their a better method? I have a Lowrance 332c. At first I was going to just get another power cord and simply use the unit, but thought maybe there would be a better way to spend the $35 for the cable. Anyway just interested in what you guys do. Thanks as always for any help, tips or comments!

WS

[reddog]

Best way is to buy the chip for the area you will be fishing from either Navionics, or Lakemaster. Then, you can do what you want to with it. I just bought the Navionics north and a H20, and am doing exactly what you want to do. It works great. I'm putting waypoints in on areas that look interesting, and use the handheld to get me there. Then, when Im there in the boat, I will use the depthfinder to fine tune the loaction, before I put the waypoint on it.

I use Mapcreate for developing maps for my X15, but there is no detail on it. Only the outline of the lake.

[Whopper Stopper]

OK.......Please be patient. So you are using your hand held (which I have) to look at your maps (which I have). You are not looking at the maps on the computer right? I have looked at the maps on the hand held I just thought it would be easier if I could see the maps on a bigger monitor. If I mis-understood something I am sorry. This stuff comes hard for me. Thanks again!

WS

[sparcebag]

I have lakemaster Contour I got the CD for that reason,But also my older Magellan did'nt take the chip.I can download waypoints into my handheld,full screan color pic of lake I insert points off computer on map then printout a full color map with points I want to check,I also wait till I'm on the lake then enter exact waypoint I want.It works great for me.

[Matt C]

WS - I am interested in the same thing I believe. I did see a post on this last spring?

Using Mapcreate, and also connecting your hand held gps to your pc.

With the H2O, or any ifinder, there is a data cable you can buy from Lowrance. It is a serial cable that can connect to your PC. You can then use mapcreate $89.99 I think is the cost from Lowrance to create your own MMC/SC cards with waypoints and what not that you created on the PC to plug into your GPS unit.

[Tom7227]

WHOA.

First of all you use MapCreate on the computer. The version I have is a couple of years old and come with 6 CD's. The software has incredible detail on land but nothing for structure detail on lakes.

Word of caution - I bought the stuff when I was using Windows 2000. That computer died and now I have one that runs on VISTA. I had to get my kid over to follow the directions from LEI on how to get the software installed in the VISTA rig.

Once you have the MapCreate installed you can select areas to download onto the card. The size of the card controls the size of the map you can download. I have a 512 scandisc card and it works well for the 5 states of the Upper Midwest. Bigger cards are too slow.

You want to use the Scandisk card reader to download the stuff onto the card. It is dramatically faster than trying to download it directly only the GPS. MapCreate is going to take you through a step to "register" the cards. You can register 4 cards - it's their attempt to stop pirating.

Be sure to save the map you create onto the hard drive of your computer. I have done that and that allows me to move around to various areas if I'm going on a long trip and not spend a ton of time re-creating the maps.

About the best part of this is the ability to download waypoints and routes after a trip. I have done this for about 4 years for my pheasant trips and I am able to find the spots from 2 years ago and add the new spots I find each year. You can change the names a lot easier on the computer as well as delete the ones that you made when you pushed the wrong button.

If you start to go nuts doing this - and it will happen - walk away and start over in a few hours. Or, find a 12 year old to do it for you.

I also bought the Lakemaster chip for Minnesota. You can't do anything with that chip on your computer. It's locked somehow. But it's well worth the extra $$$ IMO.

[RedDB76]

Whopper - I know what you are trying to do....the exact same thing I'm looking to do.

I have heard that, with a Lakemaster Chip and an LEI card reader, that you can view lake maps using one of the Lowrance emulators that you can download from their website.

I just got my Lakemaster Chip and LEI reader yesterday, but my first attempt didn't work. I'll play around more with it tonight. Can anyone else offer help?

I hear that you can also use MapCreate to view the Lakemaster maps, again if you have the LEI reader.

However, for Navionics, you will need to buy Navionics' computer program.

This is all confusing - and I am hoping I will finally be able to view maps on my computer. I have had my Eagle FishElite 640c and Navionics chip for 2 years - and bought them with the intention of being able to view maps on the computer. Was I ever disappointed when I learned that wasn't possible.

[PierBridge]

LakeMaster Contour Pro software MN is the way to go now.

You won't be sorry its the best.

[JIM C]

You might want to look at Navionics NavPlanner...

With NavPlanner, you can look at your Navionics electronic charts on your PC. I do a lot of "prefishing" this way, identifying all the key structure I want to check out before I get to the lake.

You can easily load, edit, save, and transfer waypoints from the PC to the GPS unit and back again. Another neat feature is that you can import/transfer/translate/save GPS data from several different manufacturer's units, so if your buddy is using something other than Lowrance, you can take his waypoints and save them in Lowrance's format and transfer the waypoints to your unit or vice versa without having to punch in the individual coordinates. Good software that's easy to use.

Jim Carroll NPAA #13

[RedDB76]

I'm sure that both the Lakemaster and Navionics software are great. I'm still peeved though that I would have to buy a separate software package to view maps for around $100 a pop, after I have already bought map chips.

All I really want to do is to be able to view the maps at my computer, faster and easier than hunched over my Eagle, or looking at the little screen of the H20. So I can get a better feel for how the overall lake structure relates to a smaller piece of structure that I am zooming in. I guess the data management features would be nice, but I don't share a lot of waypoints with my buddies. One of the most rewarding things in fishing for me is to find a spot to be successful - not relying on my buddy's coordinates to put me on the hotspot.

Now after fishing several hours on my own and not catching much....then I would take a few coordinates of where the fish are biting

[Whopper Stopper]

Thanks for all the responses and tips. Now it appears my work starts trying to investigate all the great information you all supplied. Thanks again!

WS

[RedDB76]

Whopper-

I was able to get my Lakemaster up on the computer last night. I had to download the Lowrance LCX-26HD emulator (go to Lowrance's site under downloads), and was using my new LEI card reader.

See the thread below - I was attempting this last year with my Navionics chip, but I gave up on it. I just picked up a LM chip and the card reader, so now I'm in business!

There are definately some quirks on getting this to work. Seems that not all of the Lowrance emulators work quite the same - so go with the LCX-26. And for some crazy reason, you need the LEI card reader - not the typical reader that came with your computer or that you can buy at Best Buy.

Viewing Maps on PC

[PierBridge]

I thought you wanted manage and plan waypoints and routes.

Glad you found my thread!...lol.