handheld gps

Looking to purchase a handheld gps, narrrowed down to garmin and magellan, any suggestions, good points bad points? thanks

Re: handheld gps

Garmin and Magellan "what"? Helps to know what models you are looking at. Both can tell you where you are, where you've been, and where you hope to go.

Re: handheld gps

Magellan Meridian Marine handheld

Garmin GPS12 Handheld

The two models I am considering, thanks

Re: handheld gps

Best unit i have ever seen is the Garmin 76CX
Color Unit.
Floats.
Takes Marine Charting Charts.
less then $300
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Thanks
www.sailboattalk.com

Re: handheld gps

I love the Garmins. I have had 2 of them and my buddy just bought one for his wife. She loves it.

I have a Garmin Quest. I like this unit because it's small, color and I can use it in my car, my wife's car, in the boat and while hiking. It is waterproof, you can upload some maps, but the screen is a bit small. I paid $250 for it about 2 1/2 years ago. You can find them on eBay for $100 or less sometimes.

I must say, though, the Lowrance H2O model looks nice. I've just never put my hands on it.

Re: handheld gps

sc_shane said:

I must say, though, the Lowrance H2O model looks nice. I've just never put my hands on it.

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I have, I own one. I love it. Thing is almost stupidly accurate and sensitive. I can walk around inside my house with it perfectly happy and tracking satellites.

Ramu1977 said:

Best unit i have ever seen is the Garmin 76CX
Color Unit.
Floats.
Takes Marine Charting Charts.
less then $300

Click to expand...

The Lowrance H2O c will do the exact same thing for way less. In fact, it's less than 300, I just found it for 208. The screen also looks bigger than the Garmin 76cx. But since he's ruled out all Lowrances (not sure why) I guess my suggestion is moot.

Re: handheld gps

Ditto. I've had a Lowrance H2O since Christmas (Santa was good to me this year) and have been extremely happy with it. The thing updates really fast and the map is accurate enough that I can bounce off a channel marker with it.

Re: handheld gps

I have the Magellan Meridian (Gold) Handheld. It is about 5 years old and it does a very good job on land, but I can't find water maps that are compatible. I feel that Magellan has dropped the ball as far as marine and lake mapping.
If I was to purchase a new gps for boating, I would be looking more to Garmin or Lowrance.

Re: handheld gps

I have the Garmin GPSMAP 76 mono unit and just bought last year the Lowrance IFinder H2O C color unit. The only thing I like better on the Garmin is the batteries are eaiser to change and a little more waterproof.

The Lowrance screen is a little bit bigger and the screen is twice as bright. The Garmin unit is so dim driving in the car most of the time I can not use it. If you can get where the sun hits the screen then it not bad. Both units very accurate and operation almost identical.

The older garmin unit has a decent base map with all the navigation bouys but when shopping in June of 2007 the Garmin GPSMAP 76 C color unit did not have the buoys and map so poor could hardly see San Francisco bay. I ask at two different West Marine Stores how do you turn on the buoys and both said you have to buy the upgraded map.

The Lowrance Ifinder H2O C is twice as bright. The Screen redraws at least twice as fast. The Base map has all the bouy Navigation aids. It has 16 gps channels instead of 12 for the garmin. It is more sensitivy than the Garmin. When I bought it in the store I put batteries in it and turned it on and to my supprise it found a 3D postion inside the store. Big windows in the store so did not think much about it. When I got home got both units and joined the wife on the couch to show her the new unit. Turned both on to show her the two units and again if found a postion inside the house. Garmin unit did not see any satelites at all.

The Lowrance H2O C comes with a free lighter power plug the garmin wants $35.

The garmin unit has buttons above the screen so when changing screen to zoom in or out can not see the screen. Lowrance unit the buttons are below the screen so when zoom in or out can still see the screen and tell if need to zoom more or got it where you want it.

Lowrance is also cheaper.

Compare both if want a unit of this size.

Too me even in a handheld unit I would still like a bigger screen but then I now need glasses to read close up.

Re: handheld gps

Just found the Lowrance H20 for 130.99 and placed an order for it. I like the looks of the control buttons on the bottom of the unit and also the color.

Re: handheld gps

RetNav said:

Just found the Lowrance H20 for 130.99 and placed an order for it. I like the looks of the control buttons on the bottom of the unit and also the color.

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This must be for the non color version correct?

Re: handheld gps

I think I need to get my glasses checked. Went back and looked and it is the non-color version. Still think it is a pretty good deal and I can find one of my seven boats to put it on.

Re: handheld gps

wavrider said:

Magellan Meridian Marine handheld

Garmin GPS12 Handheld

The two models I am considering, thanks

Click to expand...

Of the two I'd pick Magellan but if buying today I buy neither. Both units are discountinued and are very old technology. Garmin 12s were new in the mid 1990s and had poor reception unless you were out in the wide open. The meridian is newer but I don't know the date...at least early 2000s.

bp

Re: handheld gps

Ok sounds like I like the H2O C, BUT, I can't find any lake maps for VIRGINIA. I don't live near the Great Lakes. Is there any lake maps for mid Atlantic region? Does this model come with any marine maps (lakes) already included? How detailed are they?

I need more info before buying H2O C.
( Sorry, didn't mean to steal thread)

Re: handheld gps

It comes with a medium detail map of the entire world. You can order high detail maps from Lowrance on SD memory cards. Here is a package deal with mapmaker software so you can make your own custom high detail maps. The maps of the lakes are not very detailed, but considering it gives highways, interstates, stopovers, and all the contact information for those sites, not bad for the base map.

Fix the link so it works yourself, that way it won't be clickable from this site.

htp://www.amazon.com/Lowrance-iFinder-H20-Plus-Blue/dp/B000BFNOUC

Re: handheld gps

gregmsr said:

Ok sounds like I like the H2O C, BUT, I can't find any lake maps for VIRGINIA. I don't live near the Great Lakes. Is there any lake maps for mid Atlantic region? Does this model come with any marine maps (lakes) already included? How detailed are they?

I need more info before buying H2O C.
( Sorry, didn't mean to steal thread)

Click to expand...

I personally don't care much for Garmin handhelds but they CAN be loaded with Garmin Bluecharts...which are superior in detail and info when compared against ANY nav chart that Lowrance is compatible with. Also, if you want to load additional charts be aware that highly detailed charting is a memory hog. And...detailed charting on a small handheld screen is "busy" and difficult to read so you may want to consider a handheld with simple base map and use a paper chart on the side for best detail.

bp

Re: handheld gps

Ended up going with the Garmin 76map, part of a auction with vhf equipment also, so it will be the start of the gps journey.

Only plan on using it for fishing the gulf and East coast of Florida in the Bayliner CC. Not to far off shore as it is a Marlin trophy model, so deep water runs.

Thanks for all the info and advice.

Re: handheld gps

I have had the GPSMap 76 since it first came out and it has all the Buoy navigation aids but if it is a later model it may not have the navigation aid or bouys.

One thing I would do right away after you get it and before you start loading waypoints on it, is to go to Garmin Site and check what the latest Firmware is for the unit. Do the free upgrade to the latest firmware before you start loading waypoints because when you upgrade the first updates wipe out all your waypoints and you would have to reload all again.

You can check on Garmins site and see what each upgrade does. Some of the very latest upgrades only affected problems in Europe and had no effect in the USA.