Lowrance chartplotter/nauticpath charts

[Fishspearit]

For some reason Garmin and Raymarine seem to get all of the discussion when it comes to chartplotters. Is anybody out there using a Lowrance chartplotter with the much less expensive nauticpath charts? I used one on somebody elses boat recently on the intercoastal waterway and was really impressed with the unit, it's accuracy, and the charts. How are the charts outside of the U.S., in particular the Caribbean?

[Vasco]

Originally Posted by Fishspearit

How are the charts outside of the U.S., in particular the Caribbean?

Yes, this is the big question. Most of the US charts are fine because they're free and anyone can copy them. Not so with charts from other countries. There was a big flap in Canada recently because the government sold the rights to one company which wanted exorbitant prices for them. I think the Canadian government has now either canceled that arrangement or bought back the rights.

[Fishspearit]

Nobody out there with a Lowrance unit?

[David M]

I'm no expert on Lowrance but from what I have seen the charts are lacking in detail and the plotter has a poor refresh rate....otherwise I did not see any problems with the Lowrance plotter I got to play with.

[SailorBH]

This thread is a year old & I am a new member to this site. I am buying a boat with a Lowrance 8" Chart plotter (I don't know which model yet). The boat does not have a radar and I am going to add one. Is there anyone with current information about The Lowrance Radar & Chart Plotters?? Should I get a lowrance radar & stick with the chart plotter or dump the plotter & get another radar like Furuno and go from there. Of course cost is important, but performance is more important. I am used to using a Garmin 128 GPS in combination with a PC & the Capn. Nav program.

[LtBrett]

I am running a Lowrance chartplotter and love it. I can't comment on charts outside of the US. Depending on the age of the plotter, you may or may not be able to hook it up to radar. THe folks I konw with the Lowrance radar are happy with it.

I would recommend playing with your new boat for a little while before you specify what capabilities you want in a radar and/or chartplotter.

Brett

[SailorBH]

Thank you Brett,

That is what I would do, howeever the boat does not have any Radar and I would like to add one right away. I have to make the decision on a Lowrance Radar for or against soon.

Bruce

[LtBrett]

Bruce,

I think you need to figure out exactly which Lowrance plotter is aboard. Not all will work with the Lowrance radar. If you have a 2007 or newer model, it will run Navionics Platinum charts. I put a complete NEMA 2000 backbone in my boat with all Lowrance components. Once you have a compatible plotter, adding tank sensors and other sensors is really easy and rather inexpensive. I had a $15k budget for electronics and picked Lowrance based on features. The fact that it came in way under budget was a real plus.

Brett

[northerncat]

ive got one and am pretty happy with it
sean

[Frank, Southern Voyager]

Hi there,

I have a Lowrance unit and i found that for the Asian region the charts from Navionics were better than the ones from Nauticpath.

Kind regards, Frank

[Steve Pope]

I have 2 hand held Lowrance chart plotters that use navionics charts and find them excellent.

[Bradley]

I just installed a Lowrance chartplotter, fishfinder, gps combo. Really a lot of features for little more than $600. The color screen is really sharp even in bright sunlight. Just bought a Navionics card for the Caribbean, but have not had a chance to use. Add a radardome and it will also be a radar. I took out the tridata as this instrument does all of what the tridata did (depth, water temp, speed over water) and does it a whole lot better.

I also intend to install a NMEA 2000 backbone as time permits.

What I don't know is whether it can serve as an AIS reader for SR-161.

[drh1965]

Originally Posted by Bradley

What I don't know is whether it can serve as an AIS reader for SR-161.

I asked customer support that exact question a few weeks ago and they said it does not display AIS information.

Since the fimrware is upgradable, I'm hoping this could be a future upgrade.

[ixtlan22]

Afterdoing a cost analysis, study of function, campatibility, and practical application. I went with the Lowrance LMS 527c iGPS/DF plotter and depthfinder. I also purchased their new HD 1800 2KW Radar. So far... I am very happy with both.

Here's my illogical logic:

Garmin and other systems are just too darn expensive for my pocketbook.
Outside of the initial cost for equipment, to buy enough electronic charts to even get me out of Puget Sound would run anywhere from $400 to $2000 depending on needs and detail. Checking out the Garmin etc. electronc chart prices to go down the US West Coast, Mexico, Central America and the South Seas. I estimated my cost for electronic charts to be between $4000 and $6000 (and that was bare bones and would not get us beyond Fiji.

Right now I have 3 Navionics charts that cover all the regions mentioned above for about $500 (the US chart was included with the purchase of the LMS 527). Other Charts are all on MMC reader cards and upgradable. As far as detail...they cover what we need.

We also have a full set of paper back-up charts, plus two computers loaded with with the free copy of SEACLEAR II and a Pro Gin USB adapted GPS units that fits right over the SEACLEAR II. As an additional back up we have 2 hand held Megellan GPS units that are kept sealed in a homade ferrite cage below to protect against weather, water, and lightning strikes.

My other thought was that although Lowrance isn't that big of a name in the recreational world, it's an industry standard in the fishing world. It looks like Lowrance has just recently broken into the recreational field and have come up with what I think is a pretty competative product in this LMS 527c unit I bought. It costs about $700 and offers a shoot-thru-the hull-transducer or you can get a thru-hull mount. I went with the thru-hull dual frequency transducer. It is totally awesome...in that it gives all the fancy split-screen stuff, plus temp and speed etc., GPS, Bottom, with Radar we have overlays without having to purchase a seperate viewing unit. For 5 1/2 inches this really gives more information that I'll probably ever need or use.

The real kicker for me was the fact that the plotter/depthfinder is sun and waterproof and mounts right on my pedestal...hooked straight up to the new Lowrance Radar, I think he combination is great for the price. I don't work for Lowrance or know anyone who does...but so far this product is what I wanted at a price I was willing to pay.

Ray and Sandy
aboard S/V Pure Joy
an Islander Freeport 41

[The Mons]

I have the Lowrance Nautipath Caribbean chip. It is very low quality compared to any of the other chips such as CMAP or Navionics. I use it in a Lowrance H2O Color hand held unit which is of equally low quality.

A good indicator of the level of quality is the fact that when you call the technical support people up, they are not using the same version software that you are. They then act confused when they cannot duplicate the same problems that you are having. So far, they have refused to release the new version of the software even though they have had it for two years.

I would be happy to sell my H2O Color unit and Caribbean chip to anyone who has more tolerance to marine electronics that don't work properly and are not supported then me.