buying a gps

[shakey head]

i'm looking to buy a gps unit not looking to spend all that much i have around 400 to spend on one... i would like it to show me my route, and be able to put in points... found a few cheap lowrance and humminbird units that were new, but i thought i would see if anyone out there would have a unit for sale or could point me in the right direction of a unit to look for...

thanks!

[Carter1]

When it comes to GPS I prefer Garmin over the other brands. But I am guessing you are looking for a GPS/Depthfinder not just a plain GPS unit.

[kygorski]

I just bought an eagle 350S map. less than 200 bucks, but havn.t used it yet, its a combo sonar GPS,Have a sonar GPS but it is an older eagle and does not have the lake maps, it is good for finding your way, but supposedly the 350S has better features

[fishincreek]

Take a peak at www.thegpsstore.com I have bought 2 from them. I have the older Lowrance iFinder Hunt series thjat I use for both on the water and in the woods. I wouldn't leave the ramp without one.

[mkmsports41]

Lowrance LMS520c. You can find some used ones on Bassboat Central for $350-$450. Great Units.

[peter]

i'm looking to buy a gps unit not looking to spend all that much i have around 400 to spend on one... i would like it to show me my route, and be able to put in points... found a few cheap lowrance and humminbird units that were new, but i thought i would see if anyone out there would have a unit for sale or could point me in the right direction of a unit to look for...

thanks!

A seemingly knowledgeable sales person at Bass Pro in Clarksville told me that Garmin uses proprietary maps. That might not be good.

I have been using a lowrance Elite 5 for the last few trips out. The gps is very easy to use and you can put third party maps in it. I think it is about 450 without the sonar and 550 with the sonar. If you get one with a sonar make sure manual mode is off or you will get a digital depth reading of 2.2" frequently. Then when you change depth settings it may turn on manual mode again so you have to turn it off again. Manual mode on this unit only controls how far down the sound waves are sent. It is not real clear in the manual and tech support may not know what they are talking about.

You can down load a demo program on the lowrance website and operate the settings and buttons on your computer screen. Pretty close to the real thing.

[Les Young]

bbgmarine.com If your a bass boat central member you get a discount. If you don't mind a black & white unit it's hard to beat a Humminbird 581 I. Has an internal gps antenna & can use Navionics map cards in it as well. Will be under your budget a little, but a very good dependable unit. I really like mine.

[coombro]

I bought the humming bird 300 series combo gps depth finder. $299 for black and white. $399 for color. I chose color it only costs a little more to go first class. Does more things than I have figured out and I've had it around 4 years now. Have over 800 points marked on it. Taken me back up river many a time in the dark. Totally self contained there is no up loading or up grades to unit. Defiantly go color as your routes will be easier to follow as you mark them different colors. I have seen the eagle unit yet the transducers on those units break easily. I've had two humming bird units and never had a problem with transducers breaking. And I run a lot of shallow waters.

[shakey head]

thank you all that has answered about any question i have had!