msp Posted January 29, 2016 Report Posted January 29, 2016 (edited) So, I am finally going to pull the trigger and purchase a GPS/fish finder combo unit. I am getting some conflicting information about the chips associated with the GPS. My questions are...... What is the best chip to purchase that will give me as much information possible. I would like to get as many inland Canadian lakes as possible as well as some of the Great lakes.( Ontario and Erie ) Do I need two chips or can I get all the info on one chip. Do I need to download additional information or is it just plug and play ? Also, does anyone have experience with the Lowrance chirp units ? Hopefully some experts can provide some direction Thanks, Edited January 29, 2016 by msp
porkpie Posted January 29, 2016 Report Posted January 29, 2016 They have a chip now that you can go online to navionics and download whatever areas you want up to I believe 4 gigs. It includes a year subscription so you can modify your choices to figure out what works best for you, as well as get current updates. That's the way I'd go if I was buying now. As it stands I have hotmaps and gold and carry 2 cards, but don't need everything that is on both cards. I have a raymarine with chirp. I'm pretty satisfied with it, but I don't really have much to compare it to other than my old lower end humminbird (which was still pretty good). I don't think the chirp hurts anything, but if your looking at new I'd wait for the new lowrance elite 7ti. It should retail around $1100 and have side and down imaging, GPS, touch screen and chirp sonar. If you don't want side imaging it will be a little less with just a standard chirp transducer. If I "find" a grand this summer somehow, I might get one just for side imaging. Good luck.
JoshS Posted January 29, 2016 Report Posted January 29, 2016 I think you want the navionics plus chip. You can download the areas you need.
G.mech Posted January 29, 2016 Report Posted January 29, 2016 x2 on the Navionics +. Once I got that I got rid of everything else. You can basically download all of Ontario and still have room left...
msp Posted January 29, 2016 Author Report Posted January 29, 2016 Is it a pain in the a$$ to download maps for a computer illiterate like me ?
porkpie Posted January 29, 2016 Report Posted January 29, 2016 My buddy got one last summer. He isn't what I'd call a tech wizard by any stretch and he seemed to have no problems. Your mileage may vary.
G.mech Posted January 29, 2016 Report Posted January 29, 2016 It's actually quite easy and there's lots of videos on You-Tube if you need help. Here's a link for a very good one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CEPmK0jmKM
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