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GPS


Fish_Off

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I'm planning on getting a GPS for mille lacs and duck hunting, but i don't know what style would be best. I'm looking at $250 as the cap. I do like the lowrance ifinder H20, but i have no idea if it is the one i should get. Any feed back on ones you have that work well or don't work well would be greatly appriciated.

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I have a garmin gps72 and for around 160 I think it works great. I have the lakemaster pro software and the pc cables to xfer waypoints from my computer. it is accurate to 3 meters I believe. really eats the batteries if not hooked up to a 12v power source though.

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Make sure you get one that takes the new lakemaster mmc card. You can't believe how accurate and amazing it is to see your boat as the icon working down the edge of the flat to the tip or turn or whatever.

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I posted a similar question in the general section a couple of months ago. Garmin was mentioned as good but the Lowrance H20 was raved over. I have seen them on ebay for around $300 but I don't know what retail is. If I get a new handheld it will be the lowrance at this point. I have a Garmin III plus right now. grin.gif

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I had the garmin gpsmap 76 for four years and I just got the Lowrance H20. If you want to use it for open water fishing, ice fishing, etc. the Lowrance is waaaaaay ahead of the Garmin. The ability to use the chips makes this one a no-brainer.

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I second the H2O recommendation! I've only had mine for 2 months, but on Winnie, Mille Lacs & Mtka. to name a few, 1 Ft contour lines and seeing where your boat is in relation to them is unbeatable. As far as batteries go, it comes with the cigarette lighter adapter so you can have it on all the time. Or with Lithium batteries they last a long time , and because they're lighter than alkalines, they will make the H2O float. You do need the Lowrance/ Lakemaster chip for this performance.

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I have a Garmin Map76 that I like. I have the older Lakemaster CD and can transfer waypoints to the GPS unit. Garmin does make a newer CD with the Lakemaster ProMaps on it. LakeMaseter is selling the Map76 for $299 and the newest Garmin CD for $175. If I was buying new, I think I'd go Lowrance with the card instead. Lakemaster is selling the Lowrance I-finder H2O for $229 and the card for $70. A fine GPS and card for the cost of the Garmin GPS alone.

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I have the Garmin Etreks hand held GPS. I bought the Lakemaster CD with 52 Minnesota lakes. Over the fourth of July I visited Lake Vermilion. Prior to heading up I was able to sit at my desk and using the computer mark 20 reef I thought would hold fish. I set-up one route that went 14 miles from the wakemup narrows through the Oak narrows and around numerous rock and islands. Down load this info to the GPS. Every reef was right on. It gave me the confidence to get up at 3 am and travel the 14 mile route in the darkness. Route was right on and we managed 7 walleyes before sunrise.

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Thanks for the input, I've ordered a Lowrance iFinder H2O from planetGPS.net. Got a great price too, only 192 dollars with shipping (40 dollars less than most I saw). They seemed to have great prices on their other GPS's as well.

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$192 shipped is a great price. I mounted mine on my dash with a RAM mount and it works great. Gander Mountain has the mounts.

I would recommend the Lakemaster chip also! Great to pick out a flat, and drive right to it. I have a Hot Spots paper for the big pond, but my GPS shows much more detail, and more flats that are not on my paper map.

It also shows the resorts on there! Do the find feature for a resort or store and it will even give you the phone number!

I've also used it in the truck for finding boat ramps, and some navigation.

If you have it plugged in with the cig plug, the light stays on...Nice to have at night. Its a great unit.

Just my $.02 worth.

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The diff between the most expensive GPS unit and the least is the amount of memory it holds not accuracy. Anybody that tells you any different does not know anything about GPS. Dont count on accuracy anything more than 49 feet.

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