Lowrance Gps

[+bottlecap]

I am really new to geocaching, I bought a Lowrance I finder H2O from some surfing. I went the H2O route, just because you don't know where it will land if you drop it.

I am so far happy with the unit, it has taken me to a few cache's just fine, it is ok on my leg in the car, and picks up a signal in my house.

My interest is this. There are so many folks that talk about thier units, except Lowrance. While this unit serves me just fine for geocaching (why I bought it), am I missing out? What would I really gain by dropping another $200 (plus what I spent) on a better unit? Would a $400 or $500 unit really help me? I love bells and whistles, I just need good reasons to buy them.

[+NorthFaceHiker]

I've never had a Lowrance. I used to have a Magellan and now own a Garmin. I loved both units, but my Garmin is one of the top of the line for a hand-held ($499 retail for the Map 60CSx).

 

I love all the bells and whistles on here, the digital compass, the expandable memory (transflash), the turn-by-turn mapping capability is awesome. There are a ton more features, but the best thing of course is to research the units. Find what you can't live without, then add on the "extras" and see where you're at. As with anything else, it all depends on what you want to spend.

Edited March 14, 2006 by NorthFaceHiker

[+synergicity]

Think of Magellan like Pepsi and Garmin like Coke. You and I are like Redbull! Lowrance makes excellent GPSr units and has excellent topo software. If you need any pointers, I've spent a lot of time figuring out the ins and outs of my Expedition and am happy to share my experiences.

 

You bought a really nice GPS. Congrats!

 

I am really new to geocaching, I bought a Lowrance I finder H2O from some surfing. I went the H2O route, just because you don't know where it will land if you drop it.

I am so far happy with the unit, it has taken me to a few cache's just fine, it is ok on my leg in the car, and picks up a signal in my house.

My interest is this. There are so many folks that talk about thier units, except Lowrance. While this unit serves me just fine for geocaching (why I bought it), am I missing out? What would I really gain by dropping another $200 (plus what I spent) on a better unit? Would a $400 or $500 unit really help me? I love bells and whistles, I just need good reasons to buy them.

[+Indotguy]

I've owned an H20 for over a year and before it a Garmin and Magellan. While it's a subject matter which is the "Best", the bottom line is the H20 compares well to any of the other brands and for it's price is a better value.

Edited March 14, 2006 by Indotguy

[+HaLiJuSaPa]

I think the analogy to Pepsi and Coke vs. Red Bull is a good one, then there's the 2 "radar detector" maker brands, Cobra and Whistler, to continue the analogy they are the "store brands" (my avatar shows the Whistler unit, which I also have, extremely inexpensive for a unit with street maps and expandable memory, but a lack of a lot of features that a heavy geocacher would like)..

 

Nonetheless, Lowrance is an excellent brand, I just bought an IFinder GO. It is the "Kia Rio" of GPSr's in that it is the least expensive you can buy brand new, as little as $65 sometimes. But the low price is not due to quality, just due to lack of features like expandable memory and ability to download waypoints. But it has incredible satellite reception that almost (but not quite) approaches a SiRF unit and very very long battery life.

 

Good luck!

Edited March 14, 2006 by hairymon

[+miles58]

There are so many folks that talk about thier units, except Lowrance. While this unit serves me just fine for geocaching (why I bought it), am I missing out? What would I really gain by dropping another $200 (plus what I spent) on a better unit? Would a $400 or $500 unit really help me? I love bells and whistles, I just need good reasons to buy them.

 

Go look in the garage sale forum. No modern Lowrance units for sale are there? There are a whole lot of Lowrance users out there, but they don't have all ther bugs of the new Magellans, nor the quirks of the Garmins. So, the Lowrance users don't need to be "upgrading".

 

They just freaking work, the maps are better, and for frosting, the cost is a whole lot less.

 

If you have $200 burning a hole in your pocket, go buy an iWay 100, you'll get the mapping software, a chip, and have $50 or so left. You get full voice autorouting, the same ipx7 waterproofing as the H2O, better than a gargellan and money left over to boot. Can't beat that!

[rynd]

I'm a Garmin fan but I did own an IFinder for a while. The one I had had the interchangeable face on it so it wasn't moister proof at all, other than that it was a really nice unit with some really nice features. Like I said I'm a Garmin fan, but thats because my first GPSr was a Garmin and I got used to Garmin. Except for the IFinder that's all I've ever owned. I think the Coke vs Pepsi vs Red bull vs store brand analogy is a good one. Each brand has it's strengths and weaknesses and a lot of it comes down to personal taste and the way you use your Gpsr. For geocaching even the most basic unit will work fine. If I where you I would use what you have until you figure out what you want/need in a GPSr and then decide.

[+bottlecap]

Thanks for the replies, and easing my mind.

[+Airmapper]

Here is another Red Bull... I mean, Lowrance user. I'm very happy with it, and when it's time to upgrade to a solely Geocaching unit I already have another Lowrance picked out, The Hunt C.

 

You'll find some of the other companies have different and sometimes a better feature, but you cannot beat Lowrance for the amount of features for the money, and the quality of the product.

 

You have a good unit, you don't need to worry about not getting the best you could, because after using it, if you do get another brand, you'll find yourself missing the Lowrance.

[+HaLiJuSaPa]

Please ignore, accidentally reposted a modified version of my last post to this topic, sorry

Edited March 14, 2006 by hairymon

[kb9nvh]

I had a lowrance airmap 100 and it was great. The mapping was more detailed than my gps V as far as streams and land features. However, the 10yr lilthium battery inside the unit went bad and so when it was turned off it lost its configuration. This happened after one year. Lowrance said too bad so sad cause it was out of warranty.

 

Due to this I'm a Garmin guy today...my new 60csx is waiting for me at home (so says the UPS tracker).

 

Please ignore, accidentally reposted a modified version of my last post to this topic, sorry

[Simcoe]

I've been examining different GPSr too and came to a similar conundrum...Garmin Etrex Legend or Lowrence H2O.

 

I think in terms of features, the Lowrence H2O is the winner hands down over the Legend. Limitless storage of maps with the mmc/sd card slot vs. 8 MB Legend, plus H2O has a 16 level grey scale vs. 4 level grey scale on the Legend. Only the H2O allows for an external antenna to be connected. Plus they are the same price!

 

But from a picture I saw, the H2O doesn't look like the battery compartment is water proof, where it seems as though the Legend's is.

 

I'm not sure about the performance/durability of the H2O when compared to the Legend too. Garmin does have a lot of users and does have a very good reputation...

[+Airmapper]

I'm not sure about the performance/durability of the H2O when compared to the Legend too.

 

If you were to stand under a tree holding both units, the Lowrance would knock the Garmin's socks off, reception is excellent. Lowrance will fool you though with the EPE readings, the are very conservative compared to Garmin's. I've never seen it dip below 14, whereas I've seen a Garmin say 6, and be way off.

[+bottlecap]

Simcoe,

The battery cover of the H2O does press into a seal. While I believe the only thing "water proof" is water, it is certainly water resistant.

Edited March 17, 2006 by bottlecap

[+LadyBee4T]

Simcoe,

The battery cover of the H2O does press into a seal. While I believe the only thing "water proof" is water, it is certainly water resistant.

 

Simcoe, the battery cover of my H20 color does seal. In fact it is so tight it is sometimes hard to put back on.

[+BFPierce]

On to a new question on this topic. (I went through 10 pages of posts to look for answers to this before I posted so excuse me if the answer might be on page 13)

 

1) With Lowrance GPS units, are they compatible with the National Geographic Topo software. It says on the box of said software that it is compatible with Most major GPS units including Garmin, Magellan, and Lowrance. I'm looking at getting the H2O and already have this software available.

 

2) Is the Lei writer mandatory to initialize your SD card for the Lowrance unit, or just forthe initialization of the Mapcreate software. And other than the Plus package how doy ou get this writer.

 

3) I see a huge price difference between the H2o, the Explorer, and the Map & MP3 units, but lookign at fetures they all look very much similar. What are the differences, is the Map and Mp3 so much ceaper just because it is discontinued, or does it have waterproofing issues as well...

 

Thank you in advance to all for any answers you can providwe me. I've been researchuing units the past 3 days and some answers I just havent found....

[+MAG315]

I just bought a Lowrance Expedition a few weeks ago and I am still finding neat features that I didn't notice at first. The auto zoom feature on the map screen is great as is the ability to bring up a compass overlay on the map. I checked out the first cache I placed about 3 years ago and the Expedition read within 7 feet. That's pretty good accuracy. I have yet to see it loose satellite lock under tree cover and it will get a position lock usually in less than 30 seconds. As I've said before, Lowrance does things a little differently from the big two once you've used it for a while, you begin to realize that in most respects, it does things a lot better. Don't think that just because you don't hear as much about Lowrance's that they aren't just as good as Garmin and Magellan.

Edited June 10, 2006 by MAG315

[+demhackbardt]

I just got an expedition C today and I love it so far. It's alot bigger than my iFinder Go, but still fits in my hand.

 

The lei card reader/writer is just needed for the MapCreate software to initialize the card. You can use any card from any reader if you are just using it to load waypoints.

 

I picked up the expedition C plus package from tigergps.com for 323 which was the lowest I could find. That's 24 more than the h2oC+ package, but figured the compas/bar/alt might be worth the extra $$ and the expedition can play mp3s with an extra adapter, although I don't see a need for doing that really.

[+Big Max]

I bought an Ifinder Pro on clearance for about 40% off. That was my main reason for selecting it. Accuracy has been incredible. Sometimes it says it has a error of 60 or 70 feet but it has been right on top of every cache that I have found. I have been very impressed. Only thing I don't like is it isn't waterproof but it did come with a waterproof bag.

[+miles58]

On to a new question on this topic. (I went through 10 pages of posts to look for answers to this before I posted so excuse me if the answer might be on page 13)

 

1) With Lowrance GPS units, are they compatible with the National Geographic Topo software. It says on the box of said software that it is compatible with Most major GPS units including Garmin, Magellan, and Lowrance. I'm looking at getting the H2O and already have this software available.

 

2) Is the Lei writer mandatory to initialize your SD card for the Lowrance unit, or just forthe initialization of the Mapcreate software. And other than the Plus package how doy ou get this writer.

 

3) I see a huge price difference between the H2o, the Explorer, and the Map & MP3 units, but lookign at fetures they all look very much similar. What are the differences, is the Map and Mp3 so much ceaper just because it is discontinued, or does it have waterproofing issues as well...

 

Thank you in advance to all for any answers you can providwe me. I've been researchuing units the past 3 days and some answers I just havent found....

 

You cannot use the NG maps that I know of. You need MapCreate 6.0, 6.2, or 6.3. If you have 6.3 you must have the LEI Readr/Writer.

 

Perhaps the iWay 100m is the cheapest available full mapping iFinder now. I just this week bought a new one for $114. It provides everything you need, full voice autorouting,reader/maps/dash mount/GPSr/ power cord/mempry chip. The maps in my experience have better accuracy that Gargellans, the units are faster than Gargellans, they have better reception than Gargellans, they have virtually no bugs by comparison to Gargellans and they cost less.

 

I have one Garmin and four Lowrances. I got rid of two other Garmins and one Magellan. The Lowrances are better units, and not by a small margin by the way.

[senecaripple]

did you load the map onto your sd card yet? what size card are you using? and where did you get the 100m for $114.00, i got mine for $200.00 last sept. and i thought it was a great deal, if i could ever get it to work!

[cachecrusader]

You guys are a wealth of knowledge. You've been helpfull to this newbie.

[alizard]

I love my iFinder explorer...has more features than I'll probably ever use & it was very reasonable. Seems pretty tough, too....I dropped in Arkansas River while fly fishing & it never skipped a beat!!

[+miles58]

did you load the map onto your sd card yet? what size card are you using? and where did you get the 100m for $114.00, i got mine for $200.00 last sept. and i thought it was a great deal, if i could ever get it to work!

 

Yeah, I put a couple maps on a gigger chip. They cover from Idaho over to New York, and from Highway 17 in Canada down to Missouri. There's still about 500 meg left. I just searched on ebay for iWay 100m. There were several.

 

http://search.ebay.com/search/search.dll?f...title=iWay+100m

 

There are still a bunch less than 100 on auction and an bunch for ~$170, which is still a very good price for the unit

 

What doesn't work?

[+vesole]

I used a Lowrance map 100 for three years before swithing to garmin. Lowrance makes agreat unit and i always had good luck just wanted more features plus the map 100 weighed a ton and took 4 aaa batteries that did not last too long but that's an old unit. Good luck with caching it's very addictive

[+BFPierce]

Picked up a Map & Music for 100 bucks, seems like a great lil unit... Oh how I love ebay

[+IVxIV]

Picked up a Map & Music for 100 bucks, seems like a great lil unit... Oh how I love ebay

 

And that's another very cool "Lowrance only" Exclusive, that they can handle MP3's & record audio. Gargellans can't do that, at least none of the "outdoor rated" models, excluding the iQue's etc.

 

Playing MP3's to me is not a huge perk. But, to be able to record audio while in the field is awesome! Imagine while at a cache site you can quickly dictate some event details into your GPSr for later playback once you get home when you're logging your finds. Very cool.

[Centerfield]

Two weeks ago I bought a Lowrance H2O and the mapcreate 6.3 software to help my daughter on her first go-it-alone road trip from Buffalo to Baltimore. Today, at around noon, on a residential street in Baltimore, some drug addict broke the passenger side window to steal the unit - he unclipped it from the pda holder it was in and unhooked the external antenna and power cord. I'm guessing he thought it was some kind of ipod.

So I get on the net to see if I can get a replacement and I find (on overstocked.com) an iway 100m with the map create turn by turn software for about half of what I paid for my unit and software at Gander Mountain. Looks like a great find. Seems like it will be even better for driving than the H2O - now my questions if any one can help:

 

1. Can I turn off the direction features and use the iway for geo caching in the same way as the H2O or will it be limited to use for driving directions?

 

2. Will the map create 6.3 software work on the unit or should I sell it on EBay?

 

3. does the map create turn by turn software have the same 5-card limit as map create 6.3?

 

Thanks for your help.

 

3. Is the map create

Edited June 12, 2006 by Centerfield

[+miles58]

Two weeks ago I bought a Lowrance H2O and the mapcreate 6.3 software to help my daughter on her first go-it-alone road trip from Buffalo to Baltimore. Today, at around noon, on a residential street in Baltimore, some drug addict broke the passenger side window to steal the unit - he unclipped it from the pda holder it was in and unhooked the external antenna and power cord. I'm guessing he thought it was some kind of ipod.

So I get on the net to see if I can get a replacement and I find (on overstocked.com) an iway 100m with the map create turn by turn software for about half of what I paid for my unit and software at Gander Mountain. Looks like a great find. Seems like it will be even better for driving than the H2O - now my questions if any one can help:

 

1. Can I turn off the direction features and use the iway for geo caching in the same way as the H2O or will it be limited to use for driving directions?

 

2. Will the map create 6.3 software work on the unit or should I sell it on EBay?

 

3. does the map create turn by turn software have the same 5-card limit as map create 6.3?

 

Thanks for your help.

 

3. Is the map create

 

You can turn off the Autorouting or not. Makes no difference. The unit works fine for caching but mine seems to be a little hard on batteries compared to my other iFinders.

 

The map create software is the same for the two units. You don't need both.

 

The same 5 card limit applies to both.

[+HugoBear]

Hey miles58! I was going to ask this on a local/smaller scale, but with all these Lowrance folks crawling out of the woodwork...

 

You mentioned having a bunch of maps on one chip? Will my iFinder (basic) allow multiple maps on one chip? I'll try it soon, but in the meantime, do you know off the top of your head if it works?

[+miles58]

Hey miles58! I was going to ask this on a local/smaller scale, but with all these Lowrance folks crawling out of the woodwork...

 

You mentioned having a bunch of maps on one chip? Will my iFinder (basic) allow multiple maps on one chip? I'll try it soon, but in the meantime, do you know off the top of your head if it works?

 

It will allow multiple maps on a chip.

 

The iFinder basic has different memory limits than the pro and I think the pro is different than the Hunt/H20/iWay 100/Map & Music/Phd. which accept gigger chips.

 

I cannot tell you if the basic and pro will accept a big chip, but limit out on file size. I would not surprize me to see them accept a 512 meg chip but limit out at 128 meg for a given map size. I do know that MapCreate 6.3 has a hissy fit trying to make a >512 meg map. Try to create a map of say 7-900 meg and you might die of old age before it finishes. Make three maps of 300 meg each on the same chip and it might take half an hour for the lot. (About that on a 3.2 GHz laptop with a gig of RAM, and not a whole lot more on a 650 MHz laptop with 512 meg of RAM) The difference between USB 1 and 2 is more critical after overall file size.

[Centerfield]

Before my H20 was stolen I had a 1gb SD card with several maps - one as large as 400mb and it seemed to work fine. I did try making a map of the eastern US - it took all night to generate and save and was a little over 900mb, but it seemed to work ok.

 

All my research seems to show that the Iway 100m is an enhanced version of the Ifinder H20 with the mapcreate software thrown in. So I must have been a fool to purchase the h20 for 170 and the mapcreate 6.3 for 90 when I could have purchased the iway 100m and mapcreate software for just 160. I can't help thinking that there must be some catch.

Edited June 13, 2006 by Centerfield

[+miles58]

Before my H20 was stolen I had a 1gb SD card with several maps - one as large as 400mb and it seemed to work fine. I did try making a map of the eastern US - it took all night to generate and save and was a little over 900mb, but it seemed to work ok.

 

All my research seems to show that the Iway 100m is an enhanced version of the Ifinder H20 with the mapcreate software thrown in. So I must have been a fool to purchase the h20 for 170 and the mapcreate 6.3 for 90 when I could have purchased the iway 100m and mapcreate software for just 160. I can't help thinking that there must be some catch.

 

I have an H20 currently, 2 iWay 100ms and a Hunt. The H20 does not have audio capabilities that I know of. The Hunt does voice memos. The iways I refer to as "Talking Judys". The iWay will do everything the H20 does plus the full voice and text navigation. The menu system is a little different on the iWays but the keys are identical.

 

The update files for the Hunt, H20 and iWays have different extensions on them. I suspect that if you were to change the firmware you could turn an Iway into a Hunt or H2o and vice versa.

[Land Man]

If only the iWay100 came in a color version. I like the Expedition, but I really don't need an MP3 player. I'd rather have turn by turn directions instead of the MP3 player. BTW, is the iWay100 a discontinued product? I don't see it in Lowrance's web site.

[Centerfield]

I was told today by Lowrance tech support that the iway 100m is a discontinued product. But it stills seems like a great deal for $160 with mapcreate thrown in.