Lake map/GPS?

[bfisherman11]

Looking for a bit of an education on marine electronics... I am pretty good at reading maps etc but I was wondering what is available as far as on the water GPS. I have a cheaper Hummingbird sonar and was wondering if you have to buy a real expensive combo unit to get GPS out on the water............

 

Does google maps on your phone work if you get reception?

 

I get pretty good Verizon coverage out on Kab but never thought to check that.

 

Thanks for your patience with my novice question........

 

Bill

 

 

[Northlander]

You can get really good navionics mapping on your verizon phone up there. I have the usa/canada ap on my droid and its great up there. Way cheaper than a unit and chip. Small screen but very detailed.

[bfisherman11]

Thanks, I just downloaded the App. and started checking it out. Pretty cool.

 

Much appreciated!

 

Bill

[QueticoTim]

The Navionics app works great and does help. I will add though the LakeMaster Chips have more detail. There are a few reefs and structure that LM has and the Navionics app does not. Is it worth the extra money---maybe not for everyone Depends on the area you fish.

[h8go4s]

The screen size on the phone is so small that I find it difficult to use. Plus, phones aren't sunlight visible and waterproof like marine electronics are. If you're a serious fisherman, invest in a good color sonar with GPS and a map card. I think the HB Helix can be had for around $250, plus another $150 or so for a map card. The built-in mapping on the HB units is of etch-a-sketch quality.

[Northlander]

For only being on a lake a couple times a year I find my phone ap very helpfull. I use both that and my bird 957c and when I get fish mark the spot on both phone and bird. I use the phone for greater detail than what my current chip has up there. Together I find they work great.

[bfisherman11]

Well I am back from Kab. I will be deleting that app. I got no service out on the lake when I checked it so it did not help me. I will be getting a depth finder/gps eventually. I do have a Garmin eTrek that I will use on my next trip just to get the coordinates of where I am at. That is better than nothing!

 

Bill

[papadarv]

Before you delete the app, make sure your GPS on your cell phone is turned on. Usually pull the top bar down to do this or go to settings on our phone. This app DOES NOT require 3g phone service or WiFi , it works off the GPS. Most cell phones do have GPS. I use both my LG39 android phone and a DataLand 7" tablet on the water. The Tablet does not have any type of phone service, just the GPS and WiFi, which I use at a location that has WiFi to download whatever I need. If you can follow a road on Google map, the Boating app will also give you your GPS location. Google map uses GPS not your phone service.

 

 

[bfisherman11]

I will check that... Thanks!

[aanderud]

papadarv is right, cell reception is not necessary for the navionics maps to work.  There's a caveat though -- Before you go to a new lake, be sure you have maps downloaded for the lake you're going to.  You can do this any time you have internet coverage (even at home on the couch) by simply going to the lake you want to fish and zooming in and panning around.  This forces the navionics app to download the chart data.  The really old version of the navionics app would download like a 900 megabyte file that had all the maps, right when you first installed it.  The new version downloads maps as it needs them.  So, make sure it's got the map prior to leaving for the lake.  

 

[papadarv]

One suggestion on loading maps. Just load the region of the lakes you need for your outing. On mine I load about 20 sq. Mile. (Coon to Center City E/W and Big Marine to Rush N/S) local lakes I fish frequently.  If you load all of MN for example the data file will be in excess of 850MB. My loaded region is about 60MB. Most Cell phones have about 2GB of internal storage and your system and apps take up about 1.1 GB with minimal apps. No games, music, video etc. unless you can put them on a SD Chip Drive. Navionics has configured to run the Boating app on internal storage.

One thing I did notice today, if your on WiFi or have a data package on your phone, adjust the view to the lake your are interested in, the app will automatically download a small area surrounding the lake. This thing is kind'a smart and cool.