NEED A CHART PLOTTER GPS...ANY FOR SALE? I bought one 440 s...Garmin..may keep discussion open for others.

[LOLA]

OK Folks,

I'm in the market for a used Chart Plotter GPS....Any for Sale?

West marine says they think the GPSMAP 440...US COASTAL MARINE CHARTS...MODEL 8731754...$599.99 IN THEIR CATALOGUE PAGE 48 AT the bottom....would serve me.

Advice please.

Lola s/v Suvarov.

[Mac]

I just installed a Lowrange 5300c on my B-25. Works good but I added the more detailed charts for the Great Lakes. West Marine shows the Lowrange 5300c are out of stock due to it being a hot seller now but my local Bass Pro has them in stock for $499.99, same as West if they had them in stock, and I went all the way for the $199.99 Gold Navionics electronic charts. These may have more detail than I need. Happy with it, it comes with a good charts for the continental US and Hawaii. The Navionics charts show greater detail as to water depths and on Western Lake Erie I felt I needed this due to all the shallow water. The Lowrance unit has a 5" screen comparied to the 4" on the GPSMAP 440. Go to
http://www.lowrance.com/en/Products/Marine/Full-Size-GPS-Chartplott... for more detailed information on the Lowrange unit.

I mounted it to my stern rail with some SS brackets from West Marine, about $12 each, and added a 12 volf outlet under the teak rail on the starboard side. At presant I do not intend to use all the conections to other electronics that this unit has. I may add one of the outputs to a self stearing someday when I buy one.

Mac,
S/V "Real McCoy Too".

[LOLA]

Hey thanks Mac.......Lola

[keylimejay]

have you checked Ebay? Many Raymarine posted there

[LOLA]

Which brand is best?..Thanks for the reply...Lola

[Mac]

Hard to say this is the best as almost all have good features. I chose the Lowrance due to screen size and features for the price and so far it was a good choice. Raymarine equipment it very good but in price ranges higher than I wanted to pay. I have a Garmin GPS in one of my cars and I like it and the way it works. Garman has some nice chart plotters for marine use in the $700 up price range. They make some smaller units but I have found that I prefer the larger screen, 5" in my Lowrance. Raymarine has some 6" screens in the $850 price range but another thing is resolution and the one Raymarine I looked at only has 320 X 240 on the 6" screen. The Lowrance I have is 480 X 480 pixels on a 5" screen. The higher the pixel counts the clearer the image.

Garman has a GPSMAP 545 Color GPS Chart plotter with 680 X 480 pixels on a 5" screen in the $999 price range.

In my case I also wanted a built in GPS antenna and most of the GPS Chart plotter manufactures offer it with built-in or external. In my Bayfield having it built-in saved me from having to mount an antenna and run the antenna wire.

The best advice I can give is to keep all you hear on here in mind, look at the various units on line, I find I get better information from the manufacturers web sites, and then with all you have learned go and shop around. I use West Marine mostly but since the new Bass Pro opened here I found they carry many of the same things as West Marine and the same or slightly lower prices. Not as wide a stock as they are mainly looking at fisherman as their customers and carry what would be wanted by them and small boaters.

Mac

[LOLA]

Thanks Mac...lola

[CommodoreSwab]

Another option you may or may not be considering is that I am building computers for sailing use. The main computer is slightly older PIII but runs windows XP beautifully. A heavier model as it was originally built to military specs, i.e. able to withstand multiple drops on concrete as well as ability to be used in a rain equivilant to a monsoon. I install CMaps charts for the world on the computer and interface it with a wireless GPS receiver (recharged via 12V or USB) that can be attached to the computer or simply placed anywhere in a boat. The beauty of this setup is that it is mobile and can be carried ashore for email etc if you want without having to worry about the elements. The software works beautifully and can even be adjusted for day/dusk/night settings as well as being able to interface with an autopilot. Power supply for the computer is 12V so there is no need for an inverter aboard either. Price is $650 for the entire package ready to go.

[LOLA]

HMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmm...I may want to contact you more on that..Lola

[CommodoreSwab]

I seem to of forgotten that it is a 12 inch touch screen so you can move around on the chart using just your finger or a stylus

[Mike Brown]

I have a Raymarine R425 B/W with antenna and Mid Atlantic Region chip that's sitting in my garage. It came with my 02 Benny bu I replaced it with a Raymarine RC435 color, otherwise it works fine. Make me an offer.

[LOLA]

Think I want color...but thanks...Lola

[Peter Kafer]

If you plan to cruise the Bahamas, I would definitely go with Garmin. Navionics, which Raymarine uses are notoriously untrustworthy in the Bahamas. Garmin, on the other hand uses Explorer Chart data, arguably the best, most accurate and up to date charts for the Bahamas.