Lowrance Ifinder Phd Mini-review

[+Team Lost N Found]

Ive been out of the caching scene for a couple months and during this time I sold my faithful eTrex Legend Cx, along with my Magellan xPlorist 300 and 210, with plans of buying a 60csx when I got back into the scene. Well yesterday was the day for the purchase. I ended up spending about $350 less and just as happy with the iFinder PhD.

 

This particular unit is the same as the iFinder Explorer(Electronic compass and altimiter) but adds MP3/Ogg playback. Now the MP3 feature, I will NEVER use and really dont care about. BUT the rest of the features and the performance are top notch and I have never been happier.

 

First off the unit picks up a lock fairly quick, within 1 or 2 seconds of the acclaimed 60CSX. It also holds a lock extremely well. Even under heavy tree cover. Me and a friend did some caches together(he owns a 60csx) and both our GPSr's were dead on under vine and bush. Now there is one thing to be said here. Lowrance calibrates the ETE MUCH differently than the likes of Garmin and Magellan. There were several times the CSX showed a 15foot ETE with 5 sats tracked, while the iFinder showed a 50foot ETE with 5-6 sats tracked. Ive never seen the iFinder's ETE get below 40feet. Even while tracking 8 sats out in the open. In other words you CANNOT compare accuracy numbers between this unit and other brands. You will get your feelings hurt. If you really must compare, compare the number of sats tracked and their respective signals. You will find the iFinder series to be ONE of the most sensitive receivers on the market today. Does it beat out the CSX? Nope. But I can tell you, as far as performance is concerned, its pretty much a dead on tie.

 

The screen is nice and big and is of fairly high resolution, with more than ample backlighting. The menu structures and navigation are pretty straightforward, however Lowrance believes in letting the user tweak every little setting and it shows(Theres even a battery voltage reading!). There is a small learning curve,but nothing too dramatic. All in all a very easy unit to operate with feature a plenty. The unit is physically bigger than most of the other current GPSr's on the market, but feels very good in the hand. The unit has to be somewhat big to accept the large screen.

 

CONS: I personally havent found any as of yet, but there may be a few things some would consider cons. The first is the lack of autorouting. This does not concern me in the least. I have a Garmin Nuvi for that. This unit is made for the outdoors and it shows. However, the screen and the shiny case finish are just asking for scratches. I have a feeling the unit will take a beating well, but will definitely show it. So if you are the kind that has to keep your unit looking new, I suggest some sort of case. Second, im not sure how long the battery life really is. The manufacturer claims 12 hours, but I used a set of 2500mah Duracell's in it and used it with backlighting half way(2 minute timeout setting) for about 2 hours and lost a little over a 1/4 of the battery during that time. However the manual states the battery guage is not always accurate. So take that with a grain of salt. Third the rubber keys make a squeaking sound and feel slightly musy. Again, this does not bother me but I just thought id mention it. Other than that I really have no complaints. The electonic compass and pressure sensors are always dead on (after calibration that is) and all the features work well. Inside a one story house, I was tracking 5 sats with one being WAAS. Not bad for only spending $150.

 

Hope this reivew helps those considering Lowrance products.

[+apphoto]

I agree 100%. Found mine on sale at Bass Pro Shops for $100. I am very happy with mine. Takes me right to the cache everytime.

[+jellis]

How do you upload waypoints on yours?

I have a H20 and you can't by cable. They say you can upload to a card but I haven't been able to figure that out.

[+Steel City Seekers]

How do you upload waypoints on yours?

I have a H20 and you can't by cable. They say you can upload to a card but I haven't been able to figure that out.

 

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=140024