bwien

You should be able to use the iFinder with any card reader, which could save you some money if you can get the CD's separately. There are a couple posts on here on how to do it, good luck.

I tried text too with the same results. Creating an image file with text pasted into it seems like a good workaround. I've found you can pan/scroll the image by repeatedly pressing the direction arrows, it's fairly slow though. Pressing enter returns to the original view of the image.

If you copy JPEG files onto your SD card you can view them on the Expedition C (and I would guess other color Lowrance units) through the memory card browser. It seems like the pictures appear actual size and you can pan across using the directional pad, I resized one to 240x320 and it looked great. To get there: Menu->Menu->Browse MMC Files->Select your picture file and press Enter ->View. It actually has a "view" button when you select the picture file so it seems engineered in, I wonder why it wasn't included in the incredible user guide? What a cool feature, I am liking this GPS more and more each day!

Any Lowrance owners want to chime in - do you see something similar to this on your units? If the maps are really that far off then they are worthless, in an area with many roads you can't tell which street you're on. I don't plan on using this for driving, but for hiking it shows me way off a fire road or river when I am right on them. Do maps on Garmin or Magellan units have this error at zoomed in levels?

I can't seem to find any topic where this has been discussed already. I am learning to use a Lowrance Expedition C with the Mapcreate 6.3 maps in the SF Bay Area. I took the unit in the car with me today, had good signal and traced my route as I went. I immediately noticed that the traced route was tracking anywhere from 50 - 200 feet away from the roads on the map, so I dropped some waypoints at specific locations (intersections, overpasses). When I got home I checked to coord's of these against Google Earth and they were dead on, so I know the GPS was accurately showing my location, the problem is, the map doesn't seem to be lining up. In one place the GPS traced a very nice smooth route parallel to the road on the map - but 250 feet away from the road (which is a major road that has not changed in 50 years). I'm really frustrated, any help?

Continuing the discussion from: http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=136543 I have succesfully written a map using MapCreate 6.3 to my SD card using a third party reader, the program asked to register the card, which I accepted and it worked no problem. I had formatted the card and created an ID file on it using the Explorer C, and then created the map using MapCreate and the usb reader. Game on!

I'm still waiting to get to the store to pick up a card reader to confirm it, Ill post when I do. As an aside- I was kind of ticked today because when I booted up the GPS for the first time outside it looked like it was showing my location to be about 1/4 mile away from where my house actually is. I haven't loaded up the detailed maps (no way to transfer, arrgh), so I checked out the coordinates compared to Google Earth - it was dead on. Needless to say, I can't wait to get going with it.

So I got my Expedition C over the weekend and it has been great, however, the card reader and power adapter in the PLUS package were both defective. I called Lowrance this morning and they were very helpful (after I waited on hold for :35 minutes), they are sending out a new power adapter and card reader, no questions asked. Frustrating, but with a good result in the end (we'll see when I get the replacements.) This is all well and good, but I wanted to share some news the support guy told me- you don't have to use the LEI card reader any more if you have a color GPS unit. I have to go out and pick up one to test this, but he showed me how to format and encode a MMC card in the GPS and said that you can then write to it using Mapcreate and any card reader you like. To create the ID file: Menu -> Menu -> Browse MMC Files -> MMC Card Info (at bottom of screen) -> Create ID File He said this is only available for the newer color GPS units, and that he uses this on his own. Anyone done this?

I saw this in campmor recently: http://www.campmor.com/webapp/wcs/stores/s...00226&langId=-1 But it looks like the battery pack takes AAA's, this is pricey but may help charging 4 AAA's: http://store.sundancesolar.com/flsobachfor4.html

I just ordered an Expedition C Plus from TigerGPS ($323 with free shipping). Thanks a lot for all of your help and advice on this, I'll be sure to report back how it works out.

I was hoping someone might have done that already, I'll have to pass on your offer... Thanks for sharing your Lowrance experience. I would like to have topo maps on the unit, but it seems like the H20c Plus packages do not include topo maps, can anyone confirm this? Do I have to buy it seperately or go for the Expedition C Plus package which clearly says it includes topos?

Thanks for all the feedback. It seems to me that the best value for me would be the Expedition C with the PLUS package, which includes topo maps (About $320), the H20 with the same package is only about $20 cheaper, so I can't see any reason not to go with the Expedition, I may want the extra features in the future. Is there any downside to the Expedition over the H20C? I know it's been debated quite a bit, but has there been any definitive word from Lowrance on whether the Expedition or H20c have the SIRF III chip? It seems like they'd come right out and advertise it if it did as that would give them a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

Thanks for your replies. Korpl, that's good info to know about it only recognizing 1.0 gig of space, I wonder if that is the limit for both the H20c and the Expedition C? I have liked everything I have read about Lowrance units, how are the topo maps that are available for them? It seems that available maps for all GPS is like looking the lesser of evils, but do the Lowrance maps compare well to others? Also (sorry for rambling on..) does anyone know if the only difference between the H20c and the Expedition C the lack of MP3, microphone barometer and compass? I think I can live without all of those without losing any sleep.

I am trying to choose between a Magellan Explorist XL, Lowrance Expedition C and a Garmin Legend cx for my first gps purchase to use primarily for hiking. My concerns are qualiity of topo maps available, reception (possibly under trees) and battery life. These three seem comparable in price and features to me, but some things can only be learned from experience, so I'd appreciate any advice. I am planning to use for navigation while hiking and also to track what trails I have been on and distances by linking up to the computer at home. I'd like to start geocaching too. I know the Legend has the other two beat cold on battery life, but I am concerned about some reception issues that I read here. I heard some negative reviews of the Lowrance's accuracy and I've not heard too many things about the XL. Thanks!