Map chip

[skeeterjames]

I have 2 Hummingbird Helix 5 GPS and I would like to add the map chips to both units but have no idea how to tell the difference between all the options.

Can someone help me out with some info &/or recommendations?

Skeeter

[MrPike]

Do not bother buying the lakemaster chip unless the lake(s) you fish are listed as HD maps. If it does not say HD on the map list DO NOT waste your money because it will give you a worthless 40 foot contour spacing. Currently Kentucky Lake is the only HD map in KY on the southeast lakemaster chip (double check me on HB website)

Also, they mapped Green River lake last spring so it is HD but does not come with the standard chip. It must be purchased separately and added. So unless you fish Kentucky Lake only then don't bother with the Lakemaster and get Navionics.

[GeoFisher]

Do not bother buying the lakemaster chip unless the lake(s) you fish are listed as HD maps. If it does not say HD on the map list DO NOT waste your money because it will give you a worthless 40 foot contour spacing. Currently Kentucky Lake is the only HD map in KY on the southeast lakemaster chip (double check me on HB website)

Also, they mapped Green River lake last spring so it is HD but does not come with the standard chip. It must be purchased separately and added. So unless you fish Kentucky Lake only then don't bother with the Lakemaster and get Navionics.

Navionics..............Also, some of the units come with contour HD maps, and those maps are reasonably good on some of the lakes around here. Dale Hollow is on both of my units, Helix 7 , Helix 9, but KY and Barkley are not.

With regards to Navionics........I have 2 chips and just purchased the yearly subscription for both, and am very, very happy........If you can pick up an old Nav chip for 50 , it may be worth buying it and upgrading. BUT, anything more than 50, you are better off buying a new chip and immediately using the fresh update process (free for 1 year I think), to update the maps to latest /greatest.

the Freshest updates, bring some pretty significant change to the new chips, so whatever you do, I suggest you update the chip.

Later,

Geo.

[skeeterjames]

Navionics..............Also, some of the units come with contour HD maps, and those maps are reasonably good on some of the lakes around here. Dale Hollow is on both of my units, Helix 7 , Helix 9, but KY and Barkley are not.

With regards to Navionics........I have 2 chips and just purchased the yearly subscription for both, and am very, very happy........If you can pick up an old Nav chip for 50 , it may be worth buying it and upgrading. BUT, anything more than 50, you are better off buying a new chip and immediately using the fresh update process (free for 1 year I think), to update the maps to latest /greatest.

the Freshest updates, bring some pretty significant change to the new chips, so whatever you do, I suggest you update the chip.

Later,

Geo.

Where is this best place to find the chip for the most bang for my buck?

[Moveon]

I went to the www.humminbird.com web site the other day and was looking at the Lake master maps for Patoka Lake and some of the little pits that I fish in Warrick County just East of Evansville, IN. They were mapped by IDNR personnel as I watched the girl IDNR girl using a boat and computer with gps to do the mapping. So I saw how much of the lake she actually covered. IMHO she rushed the job as it was cold and it March a few years back and she missed wide areas of the lake and didn't capture the waypoints and depth details as I would have done. I would make much closer passes to each of the other passes across the lake and and then I would make more passes long ways up and down the lake to cover the areas that I missed. Chris crossing the lake is the only way to get a really good detailed contour map of the lake bottom in areas that have lots of different depth changes in the underwater structure. And she missed the areas that I fish. So that IDNR map data of my lakes was sold to Lakemaster and they advertise it as the BOLD map data but not HD Bold map date. Check out the key on the Lakemaster map list for your state. If the lake name is printed in bold text then it's been mapped by Lakemaster or they had someone else map it for them. If it's in HD and Bold Text then they mapped the lake in high definition what ever that means. They don't say.

But the lakes are listed on the web site. Just pick your region and choose the state lakes you are interested in. You will have to scroll though the list of lakes which are categorized by each state in alphabetical order. Get your reading glasses out as the text on my screen was pretty small in size. Your mileage may vary if your screen is smaller or your video output is less pixels. I run my 27" Asus Monitor on the highest resolution and the text is smaller than when I run the video output as a lower resolution.

I've got an older Navionic Map which I bought from Gander Mountain years ago when I first started fishing with my new (at the time) Humminbird 898C SI unit. It has two chip holder slots. One for the map chip and the other for the data chip. I wish I had one of the new 15" Sonex units with the newer map cards. They make a 2nd generation map for my lakes. Each Major Area may have new data and they may make a completely new map card for that area and call it a 3rd generation map. But I fear that may be more for marketing purposes to help them sell more map chip cards. They are not cheap. And as George said they are not selling add on ala cart. Which adds to the costs again.

You use to be able to see samples of some areas on their maps. So check that out if you can find it on their web site under the map area.

Where is this best place to find the chip for the most bang for my buck?

[GeoFisher]

If you can see your lake and what you're trying to find on this page, then it will be on the navionics + chip, if you get the freshest updates.

http://webapp.navionics.com/?lang=en...y=kcv_Fz%7BqxO

I LOVE the webapp and my Navionics chip.

Later,

Geo