GPS Issues: was Driving Doglegs
Tom,Have been comparing Lowrance LMS-337CDF vs Garmin 198C. Results have been
interesting, Many swear by Garmin, any Garmin, while a small minority seem to prefer
Lowrance. Probably depends on where you started given the reliability of
both brands. I currently have a Lowrance LMS-160 purchased in 1999 with
which I've been pretty happy overall. I've never had any issues until last
Spring when I started getting vertical lines on the display. The unit was
remains useful but I needed an excuse to upgrade to a WAAS unit and now I
have one. I down loaded the virtual 337 and owner's manual and have been playing with
it for about a week. I also compared both units side by side at my local
Boater's World store. The display on the Lowrance is superior with a
480X480 display but a map chip must be purchased at around $100 for a
Navionics Gold. The Garmin has a complete coastal Blue Map installed but
who needs all the extra mapping? Lawrance also has a chip for about $80
(???) which has good coastal coverage for a wide area and even covers our
Mobile Bay Delta very well. The Garmin is more expensive but by the time a
couple of chips for the Lowrance have been purchased the prices are similar.
The Lowrance includes a dual freq transducer with temp and water speed
included. The Garmin xducer must be added and if dual freq, temp and speed
are included it gets pretty expensive. On balance the Lowrance is a little
less expensive and has a better display, IMO. The downloadable virtual 337 is a great teaching device. It also has a
couple of Navionics maps included to give the user an idea of the detail
possible on the unit. I'm not in love with either owner's manual but the Lowrance manual seems
slightly easier to understand. Both companies could take lessons from the
military on how to write manuals. I believe I'll be buying the 337 from Lowrance. The display quality and the
fine detail of the Navionics Gold maps are the major discriminators but the
lower price is also attractive. |
