CO-Zman

If you go to the Lowrance website, get into the unit descriptions, left side "software", you can download an emulator to check out the menu functions and displays. It is very true to form, and my using it before purchase made the menu usage a snap. Gotta say the things are top-shelf. I have the AirMap 600c (basically same as the Exp. C) and am very happy w/ it. Very accurate, even in the bowels of my 2 story house. WAAS lockon not a problem, and spot-on compared to the map. Compare the pixel resolution of the 2 units. The Lowrance's are 320x240, and sharp as a tack. Synergicity is a proud Exp. C owner and has many rave reviews and opinions posted on it here in the forums. Good luck w/ your choice. Z Hey Airmapper, you running the rotating Avitar of the day?

You have the latest firmware? (oops...a check of Lowrance website doesn't list the iWay revisions.) Might try a soft reset. For my AirMap 600c, start with the unit off. Then hold the pages and power key together on and continue to hold until the disclaimer screen comes up. My disclaimer : Not sure if this works for the iWay. A call to cust. supp. will answer that. I was only on hold about 5 minutes or so. Someone have the answer? Z

And now we know why the statistics say: Our members have made a total of 2,029,805 posts

OHMIKY, I just got my AirMap 600c (Aviation brother to Expedition C) and it is AWESOME! No MP3 capablilty, but has all the A/C use that I wanted along w/ landlubber functions. The color screen is the cats meyow. Incredible resolution. I have been getting 13' EPE's thru the car windshield w/o the active external antenna that came with it. I imagine you will see the same. They are power hungry, though. NiMH rechargeables are definitely a plus, and eco-friendly Synergicity has many posts here on his experiences w/ the Exp. C. Do a search on his name to find them. He has gotten good life w/ 2500 mAh NiMH's, so the battery life problem is probably more specific to my model. I'm sold on the things. I agree on the menu structure being intricate, but it didn't take that long to get comfortable with it. Good luck on your purchase. I noticed that Lake Powell Marine has good prices, and has gotten good reviews. Z

Lowrance AirMap 600c

HiLi, Here is a thread that will answer all your Lowrance questions: http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=115044 Read through it about I) running out of your 5 card limit, II) Maps allowed on each card, and III) Customer service issues replacing a bad reader Discussion is there on saving "maps not locked to a certain card". Run a "search" on these and other iWay100 posts that have been made recently...lots of info out there. Us "Lowrance junkies" now have a dedicated website/forum hosted by Airmapper: http://lowrancegeocachingguide.bravehost.com/index.html Post back if you have any more questions. Z

The latest Lowrance units have 240x160 (greyscale) and 320x240 (color) Lots of info displayed, and readable several feet away.

Dang, that speedometer function is gonna be like killer handy for me. I can't tell you how many times, I've been driving the bike, wondering exactly how fast I'm moving. Thanks! Regards, ---- Robb ---- Well, how's this for a bump. Just tried this on my AirMap 600c, and get the same thing. Nothing like buying a $500 bicycle speedometer Z Edit: Oh, the AirMap goes from 10-1500...guess those C-172's really move out

Yup, and that's what Lowrance tech support emailed me back. Then I started reading my new AirMap 600c's manual, and it refers to 2Gb cards as the max So....only the shadow knows....I played it safe and got a 1Gb SanDisk from Circuit City for $25. Z

Well, snoozing = loosing . 1255 Mountain time, and it's history. 10 minutes ago, she was still there. Oh well. Z

OK, Spent 20 minutes or so searching the forums with no luck... Can one load Lowrance MapCreate USA and Canada TOPO simultaneously on your PC? Getting ready for a Boundary Waters canoe trip in August, and we'll be venturing well into Quetico Park. I'm getting the USA plus+ version GPSr, and planning on buying the Canadian TOPO software. Will both versions play nice on my XP Pro computer? This is asuming the world basemap will be lacking too much detail for the lakes we will be crusiing around. Thanks, Z

Thrak, I bought one of mine on Ebay. Good prices, and good vendors can be found. The Prolific chipset versions seem to work well...mine is fine w/ my Palm III. Z

Fly..., I saw the MapCreate software bundle for sale at the local Gander Mountain here in the Denver area...same price ~$90 Z

Wild..., I have a Palm III, WinXP Pro, and am using the IR port to sync with. It's a little slower than serial, but nothing significant. So, if you have IR capability w/ the laptop, you could be back in business...for free Z

So I guess there's no use in us buying you one to try out now Z

Man, what a bummer. But, even USB1.1 isn't THAT slow. Z

Hey synergicity, I'm sure I read somewhere that you only need to initially "encode" your SD card w/ the LEI cardreader, but after that you can use whatever device to transfer the data. The reason I mention it is ~ 1hour for a 1Gb transfer to an SD card seems loooong. Am I mistaken about using other readers? Or is the ~1hour due to the software "crunching" the data and actually "making" the maps to upload? Gettting closer to swiping the card...wife actually warmed up to the idea ...still gotta decide on AirMap600C or Exped. C though Later, Z

Some more NiMH info that I have posted before: 1) NiMH 20-30% more capacity than NiCd 2) NiMH have a 3-4% self-discharge rate / day. NiCd 1% / day. 3) NiMH are much less tolerant to poor charging techniques (read=damage easily w/ overheating) 4) If you want to quick charge them (peak charge), the charger needs to specifically support NiMH. NiCd only peak chargers will most likely cook the batteries if not burn down the surrondings . This is due to NiMH having a much smaller peak voltage drop (5mV/cell) than NiCd (10 mV/cell). The charger just won't sense it. For those inclined, the R-C community (aircraft, cars, etc) really has tons of info on batteries. The short of it, plan on topping off the NiMH's during breakfast, and don't forget a spare set of alkalines and your rain-gear. Z

Guess no one bit off on the 2Gb SD card for him...he's back on the prowl again

Sagiru, I emailed Lowrance customer service a few weeks ago, and right now their official word is 1Gb is the largest supported. Synergicity volunteered to test one out for me...just need to send him a card...ball's in your court Z

tsk..., There is a Yahoo Groups "forum" that deals with "roll-your-own" maps and such. Need to join yahoo group "mapcreate_format". That's about all I can muster up for ya. Z

Gotta love those self-answering questions (edit - Now I need a spell-correcting keyboard)

k0rpl, I just posted this search on FotoFish's post: "+lowrance +upload +waypoints" http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php...ad+%2Bwaypoints Lots of answers of the diffferent programs available. Z

FotoFish, Welcome to the forums. You will find a number of diehard Lowrance fans here with a lot of expertise. I too have decided on either the Exped. C or AirMap 600C. I know for a fact that you can upload datapoints to the higher level Lowrance units, and there is a thread running on undocumented iFinder GO capability. Here was a search of "+lowrance +upload +waypoints" I just ran: http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php...ad+%2Bwaypoints I think you will find much more "expert" advice here than at the retailer that misinformed you. The difference in the Exped. C and H2OC that k0rpl just mentioned is the Exped. has compass, baro altimeter and Mp3 capability. I think it's ~ $30 premium. There are some other users like synergicity and Airmapper with lots of Lowrance time that can answer more of these questons, too. I don't think we will be unhappy with a Lowrance purchase. As you have read, they have a great feature set, excellent receiver and good map software. As for the RV, I think a $20 Gilsson amplified antenna will serve you well. Good luck in your quest. Try dropping a few keyword searches and you will be overloaded with info. (Not that anyone here likes to talk ) Another nice feature is Lowrance includes the MapCreate 6.3 software with the "plus" packages...significant savings over the Garmin units. Z (edit for add'l info)