Hot Maps / MapCreate / GPS Questions

[DeerHunter01]

If you have questions about the following or you would like to furnish information about these items then please make a post.


Thanks
BOC Staff

[JDWILLIS39]

Deerhunter,

How about some basics about GPS. What can you get into simplely and not to expensive. Do you have to have a service provider to use GPS units. IE like cell phone.
Thanks

[ShilohRed]

Navionics HotMaps® Premium lake maps Anyone use them? I may try to pick up both for the east Coast this winter. Sure suck to have to buy both for one lake. As Pickwick lake is split between the 2 maps.
Tn side on the north maps. And Al and Ms part on the South maps.
Anyone have these maps? And do you think there worth it?
I have the hot spots maps for my Garmin 76C .

Also you guys with Lowrance With Built in GPS here is some free maps for your units.
http://www.lowrance.com/Mapping/LakeMaps/index.asp Sure wish Humminbird would come out with some for use to try. Or figure out if this will work on our units.
Pete

[jdstraka]

Hi. Eric. You helped me with a Manual for my Eagle Optima Thank You. I am planning on upgrading the optima and either buying a lowrance X 135 plus with speed and temp. sensor or a lorance ms 480 with gps and a card that has the maps for my area. My question is there is only $200 dollars differance in price which one would you purchase? They both have 480x480 pixles and 4000 wats of power but the MS 480 has a 20 degree transom mount is that the same as the 60 degree cone I wasen't quite sure. thank you. Bigcatman0816

[jsharper]

John W
Go to the web sight on mapping and then to Lowrance tutortorial for a basic explaination of gps. It is free, if you have a unit to pick it up. No cell phone type charge, the Gov't gives it to us believe it or not. You can buy a small gps unit for around a $100 that will plot tracks, backtrack. give you longitude and latitude, speed traveling etc. Lots of sonar units now have gps built in and can chart and show routes to and from a spot.

Hope this helps, there is lots of info on them on the web.

Jim

[ShilohRed]

Deerhunter,

How about some basics about GPS. What can you get into simplely and not to expensive. Do you have to have a service provider to use GPS units. IE like cell phone.
Thanks

JDWILLIS39 I will try to help out here.
Theres no service to provider. Just turn it on and allow it to lock on to the satellites.
A GPS works off satellites . IT takes so many to lock on to where your at.
IT depends on what model you have. on the price and how well they work.
But I think even the $100. dollar units will work about as good as the high priced units.
Take the eTrex - WAAS Handheld Most places there around $100 and with WAAS they give you good coverage. And if in a clear and can find all the satellites will get around 12ft from where your at. I think it has to have a lock on 4 to work. And for the WAAS it has to have 5 or more. And my Gamin 76C shows 7 satellites and when it locks on all. It will get down to a 6ft spot
AS for price the lower units don't come with maps. but with all it stored in the unit.

Wish i could help more. But I'm just a dumb fisherman.

Pete

[SFISHER]

Have you looked at (fishing hot spots elite)? I would call whoever makes the maps and ask them if the split the lake up. It doesnt make any sense that they they would split a lake up, even if it is in two different regions.

[SFISHER]

I looked those two units up on Lowrances website, it says they both come with a 200khz 60 degree transducer. Have you looked at any Eagles? They are both made by Lowrance. Lowrance is made in the USA and Eagle is made overseas. You can usually find the same exact model in the Eagle for less money$

[Greg Walters]

Pete,

Are you sure that you need two Navionics HotMap cards for Pickwick? I just looked at my 2006 Premium South card and it shows Pickwick all the way to and a little past the dam. E-mail me and I could send you some screen snapshots from my 987c Si unit to show you how far.


Greg Walters at Humminbird
gwalters@johnsonoutdoors.com

[ShilohRed]

Pete,

Are you sure that you need two Navionics HotMap cards for Pickwick? I just looked at my 2006 Premium South card and it shows Pickwick all the way to and a little past the dam. E-mail me and I could send you some screen snapshots from my 987c Si unit to show you how far.


Greg Walters at Humminbird
gwalters@johnsonoutdoors.com

Thanks Greg I was just going by the way it spits the states. It shows tn. Then Al and ms are on a different map.
But you have mail Also you have my address.
Pete

[Deltalover]

I dont have a gps unit yet, but plan on getting one soon. I know I will find this thread handy. I noticed that there were no articles in the Library about gps, fish finders, ect. that I could see! Be a great topic for one of you guy's that know the in's and out's of these things!

[JDWILLIS39]

Thanks guys for all the info. I will get on net and study some more. I been thinking about getting one but you know upgrade the sonar or just get hand held GPS. Need to do some figuring. Also count my money.
Thanks again.

[Whistler]

You can download and install an emulator of any lowrance unit they currently make. Just install it and you have a working simulator right on your desktop. A great little tool for comparing these units. Here is a link to the emulator page at lowrance.com:

http://www.lowrance.com/Software/PCSoftware/demos.asp

Here's the page for Eagle Electronics:

http://www.eaglegps.com/Downloads/Emulators/default.htm

Take a look before you buy.

[ShilohRed]

Navionics HotMaps® Premium lake maps
I got one this week. And I think I will for sure like it. Shows so much detail on Pickwick lake that some spots look like a black line. Until you zoom in close. With the 1' detail its goo.
Will post more after running it for a few weeks.
Pete

[blackwaterkatz]

Navionics HotMaps® Premium lake maps
I got one this week. And I think I will for sure like it. Shows so much detail on Pickwick lake that some spots look like a black line. Until you zoom in close. With the 1' detail its goo.
Will post more after running it for a few weeks.
Pete

Pete, have you had a chance to use those maps? If so, how about a report. I'm getting ready to go that route, too. Thanks.

[ShilohRed]

Pete, have you had a chance to use those maps? If so, how about a report. I'm getting ready to go that route, too. Thanks.


Yes I have used it some. And it is nice.
Even shows some detail on our section of the Tn here .
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/ShilohRed/Sidescan/Octblues09046.jpg
But this is the premium. But they have it where theres a $50 rebate on it. So that drops the price from $149. Down to $99.
But the catch is you have to buy it at the $149 price. Not any cut rate prices.
On the lake here at Pickwick it shows detail down to 1 ft lines.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v693/ShilohRed/Crappie%20fishing/NavionicsPremiummap.jpg
Its right on when on Pickwick lake. If the depth finder shows a channel its there on the map.
Pete

[blackwaterkatz]

That is impressive, Pete. Thanks for the reply. I'd like to see it in operation before I spend that kind of money, though. I used Fishing Hot Spots in my older garmin gpsmap162 and I think it was a better program than the Navionics HotMaps classic that I have in my lowrance lms-337.

[ShilohRed]

That is impressive, Pete. Thanks for the reply. I'd like to see it in operation before I spend that kind of money, though. I used Fishing Hot Spots in my older garmin gpsmap162 and I think it was a better program than the Navionics HotMaps classic that I have in my lowrance lms-337.

I have the Fishing hot spots in my hand held. And its had about 40% of what the navionics Premium had on it.
And when I was in the lake over the weekend. If the map showed 20ft I was there or at least close enough.
Pete

[blackwaterkatz]

Pete, my navionics is the "classic" version. The premium version does indeed seem to have a lot more stuff on it. I'm going to follow up on that, or either the mapcreat program and combine some things.
The contours seem to be about the same whether on 'Fishing Hot Spots', or navionics 'Hot Maps Classic', but on the santee cooper lakes the channel marker locations are not accurate on either one. The Nautech coastal charts have the navigation aids right on the money, as far as I can tell. I found the same to be true when I was using "US Recreational Lakes with Fishing Hot Spots" with my Garmin unit, so it must be that the info they use to make the lake charts is wrong.

[ShilohRed]

Pete, my navionics is the "classic" version. The premium version does indeed seem to have a lot more stuff on it. I'm going to follow up on that, or either the mapcreat program and combine some things.
The contours seem to be about the same whether on 'Fishing Hot Spots', or navionics 'Hot Maps Classic', but on the santee cooper lakes the channel marker locations are not accurate on either one. The Nautech coastal charts have the navigation aids right on the money, as far as I can tell. I found the same to be true when I was using "US Recreational Lakes with Fishing Hot Spots" with my Garmin unit, so it must be that the info they use to make the lake charts is wrong.

On Pickwick. If it shows a Marker on the Premium its there or within a few feet.
Pete

[blackwaterkatz]

:0a21:
I purchased the MapCreate software and installed. I am wanting to have the topo and road maps when I need them. I already have the following mapping chips for my LMS-337c df combo unit:
"Fishing Hot Spots Elite, East"
"Navionics HotMaps Classic, East"
"NauticPath USA"
but they only show lake or marine details, and that's fine for fishing, but I like to use the maps to locate nearby POI, and the land map isn't detailed enough to suit me.
My problem is that when I open up, say "Fishing Hot Spots Elite" in MapCreate, I can see all the land details, but I can't see any more lake details that I can otherwise. Even when I zoom in close, there are no contours, buoys, nothing, even though the menu bar shows that "Fishing Hot Spots Elite" is open.
Am I doing something wrong? I've tried different settings for the map category options to no avail. :0a35:

[gilmafam]

I have the Nautic Path, and Fishing Hot spot elite. I was planning on getting the Map create for Lowrance.... I understand that they will be comming out with something new after jan 07 for map create. i have the western section of the USA, so I cant say anything about Pickwick.

I do know, that I got to up date to a newer program for the receiver dome, and then up dated other information very easily.

As mentioned.. their web site is easy to work with and I called and spoke 1:1 with customer service

bayrunner ray

[blackwaterkatz]

Ray, I was hoping to use Fishing Hot Spots Elite or similar programs, open them in Mapcreate 6, and make a map that would include lake detail as well as the standard topo stuff, but it apparently doesn't work that way. I can open the FHSE but it won't show any of the features of that map, only the topo features of Mapcreate.
If anyone knows how to make it work, pm or post something....:tounge_out:

[Catter]

Great info in here for sure, thanks guys.

Has anyone use the Navionics maps for the Lower Mississippi river? Just wondering if I can get an idea on how good they are.


Joe