GPS questions again

Lakewinniboater · 06-04-2007, 09:09 AM

Hi there,

I am thinking of getting a new GPS for my husband for fathers day......... I had a standard horizon and loved it on the last boat. HOWEVER, I was hoping to buy one similar to the one i have in my car. It is portable BUT not handheld.

I have the TomTom. It is great in the car..... but doesn't have a spot for the winni chip like Standard Horizon.

I really don't want to have to install it. We don't keep boats and cars long enough to have them installed.... PLUS it would be nice to have one that he could take in and out of the car and boat.

ANY IDEA'S??????

Wendy

Knot Droolin' · 06-04-2007, 08:33 PM

I just did quite a bit of shopping for a GPS that supports CMAP maps, the format the Winni chip usues. I settled on the Northstar 657, but I did not come accross any brand that are portable and support CMAP.

My friend has a Garmin, likes it, and he says it does what he needs out on the water but the map is not as complete as Bizer's CMAP.

codeman671 · 06-04-2007, 09:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Knot Droolin'

I just did quite a bit of shopping for a GPS that supports CMAP maps, the format the Winni chip usues. I settled on the Northstar 657, but I did not come accross any brand that are portable and support CMAP.

My friend has a Garmin, likes it, and he says it does what he needs out on the water but the map is not as complete as Bizer's CMAP.

Do you need complete portability or are you trying to use it on multiple boats? If you own a few boats and want to use it on each you can go with a Standard Horizon and buy extra mounts/harnesses direct from SH.

I recently bought the Lowrance Ifinder H20C portable but have not gotten the Navionics chip to use in it yet. I have one that is CF format from my old Raymarine but not mini-sd to fit the Lowrance. I copied the data onto a mini-sd chip but it did not work so I need to pick up the correct one. I do not like the Navionics chip as much as my CMAP/Bizer but it worked fairly well in my Raymarine portable. The Raymarine portable itself was crap, thus they took them off the market. I hope that the Lowrance will work out well with the right chip.

A friend of mine prefers the Navionics hotmaps chip for Winni as he is an avid fisherman/guide and states that is more detailed in regards to bottom contours.

I have not found a unit that is good at both road and water in my travels that uses cartography for Winni as well as detailed road maps.

Knot Droolin' · 06-04-2007, 10:10 PM

The problem I found with Standard Horizon is the quality of the display is not up to what the other brands are now offering for the price. They seem to have a lower resolution screen for the money with no better feature set.

NHskier · 06-05-2007, 09:38 PM

I've just started using a Garmin 276C with Bizer's "beta test" map. This is the same unit shown in the screen shot photos on the website.

While this version of chart does not have all the details of the Cmap version I'm finding it's still quite useful. (We do use it in conjunction with a paper map, just to be sure.) And hopefully before too long Bizer will have a full-blown version available.

I really like the unit for it's portability as it can be used in the boat, car, motorcycle, etc. The screen is very readable in bright sunlight. And since it has an internal rechargeable battery it can be mounted just about anywhere. I'm using it with a RAM windshield mount in the boat.

The Garmin automotive kit includes a couple of mounting bases plus a speaker for audio directions, 12v power cord and detailed US map.

NHskier

Lakewinniboater · 06-07-2007, 08:41 AM

THANK YOU..... I really appreciate the input!

06-04-2007, 09:09 AM	#1
Lakewinniboater Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Westford, MA and Alton Bay, NH Posts: 225 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	GPS questions again Hi there, I am thinking of getting a new GPS for my husband for fathers day......... I had a standard horizon and loved it on the last boat. HOWEVER, I was hoping to buy one similar to the one i have in my car. It is portable BUT not handheld. I have the TomTom. It is great in the car..... but doesn't have a spot for the winni chip like Standard Horizon. I really don't want to have to install it. We don't keep boats and cars long enough to have them installed.... PLUS it would be nice to have one that he could take in and out of the car and boat. ANY IDEA'S?????? Wendy __________________ Wendy "Wasn't Me!"

06-04-2007, 08:33 PM	#2
Knot Droolin' Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 31 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Portable with Winni chip I just did quite a bit of shopping for a GPS that supports CMAP maps, the format the Winni chip usues. I settled on the Northstar 657, but I did not come accross any brand that are portable and support CMAP. My friend has a Garmin, likes it, and he says it does what he needs out on the water but the map is not as complete as Bizer's CMAP.

06-04-2007, 10:10 PM	#4
Knot Droolin' Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 31 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Sh The problem I found with Standard Horizon is the quality of the display is not up to what the other brands are now offering for the price. They seem to have a lower resolution screen for the money with no better feature set.

06-07-2007, 08:41 AM	#6
Lakewinniboater Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Westford, MA and Alton Bay, NH Posts: 225 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Thank you everyone THANK YOU..... I really appreciate the input! __________________ Wendy "Wasn't Me!"

06-05-2007, 09:38 PM	#5
NHskier Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Posts: 284 Thanks: 40 Thanked 33 Times in 30 Posts	I've just started using a Garmin 276C with Bizer's "beta test" map. This is the same unit shown in the screen shot photos on the website. While this version of chart does not have all the details of the Cmap version I'm finding it's still quite useful. (We do use it in conjunction with a paper map, just to be sure.) And hopefully before too long Bizer will have a full-blown version available. I really like the unit for it's portability as it can be used in the boat, car, motorcycle, etc. The screen is very readable in bright sunlight. And since it has an internal rechargeable battery it can be mounted just about anywhere. I'm using it with a RAM windshield mount in the boat. The Garmin automotive kit includes a couple of mounting bases plus a speaker for audio directions, 12v power cord and detailed US map. NHskier