GPS - WAAS Question?

[JAK]

I have been thinking about updating my GPS system (Lowrance 350-A) to a newer system. I would like a system that uses the WAAS format. From what I have read, they are suppossed to be a lot more accurate.

Now my question, I was at Cabella's the other day and the salesperson told me that the WAAS system would not be any more accurate than my current 12 channel 350-A. He stated that there are not WAAS satalites located that can be used in this part of the country. (Minnesota) He said that there is only two WAAS satalites, one on each coast. Can anyone confirm or refute this.

Also any information on a stand alone system, both pro's and con's would be appreciated!! I plan on using this in my boat and it does not need to be portable. Thanks!

[Brian_MN]

I am able to pick up the WAAS signal in Minnesota, but I'm not sure if it's the east or west bird that I'm receiving (or both). It definitely inproved the accuracy of my unit. I can turn it on and off and see the effect, so I know it's working.

Here's a link:

http://gps.faa.gov/Programs/WAAS/waas.htm

[SLS]

Has anyone heard if Lowrance is going to be utilizing WAAS? I think it will be a big mistake if they don't.

[iamwalleye1]

Lowrance will use wass in 2003!

[Sunshine]

I Emailed Lowrance just last week with the same question and their response was that they will have WAAS at the beginning of 2002.

I also still have a 350A in the boat and have decided to keep it. I have spent a lot of time fishing with others with the latest sonar units by various vendors before making that decision. However, I am also looking for a stand alone unit with the latest mapping technology and WAAS. Having seperate units that are not sharing the same screen like your 350A will be a real plus.Let us know what you decide. The more I research the more questions I get.

[JAK]

Thanks Brian, I checked out the link. Good information. I was still unable to determine for sure, but I believe that here in Minnesota it should work because of the ground station.

[Brian_MN]

You're right, it will work, but not because there's a ground station near us. Remember, the ground stations receive the GPS signal, calculate the error, and pass this info to the master control station in Calif. From there, the corrections are fed up to the geostationary satellites and those broadcast it down on the same frequency as the GPS sats, allowing us to receive the corrections on our WAAS-enabled GPS units.

Having a ground station nearby will certainly make us more accurate, but it doesn't influence whether or not we'll be able to get the info.

[FreeByrd]

I bought a standalone mapping GPS this fall. I also have a Lowrance 350A that kept for the sonar (and backup GPS). I went with the Garmin GPSMap 2010 monochrome. It has WAAS. Garmin makes several new units that utilize their new "Bluechart" mapping cartridges. These are the best I've seen. They are basically official NOAA charts scanned into your unit. They have just about everything you can imagine including depth contours and spot soundings, most all bouys/cans/channel markers, etc. I can zoom down to view my dock! I fish Lake Erie and Western Lake Ontario. One chip has all of this. The Bluechart chips are much better than the Navionics chips I saw and at least as good and I think better than the CMap chips that I saw. I originally wanted a mapping only Lowrance unit but ruled that out when no WAAS units were available. I didn't want old technology. My next thought was Raytheon. Raytheon makes very nice units and most people that have them like them. My experience was they were far from being easy to operate. Cost for a comparable unit was much more than the Garmins. Whatever you buy - take the time to go somewhere and "play" with the unit for a while to get familliar with it. Also insist on seeing and using the chips while evaluating. The one place I went didn't have the chips for the Raytheon units so it was impossible to evaluate the unit for me. A lot of your decision may depend on where you are fishing and what coverage is available in terms of the mapping detail for your area. Raytheon and Garmin websites have decent explanations of WAAS and coverage. At this point, I'd probably wait until the spring sport shows to buy a unit. There will be some new things out by then and your warranty usually starts when you buy a unit so you may as well start that when you can use it.
Good Luck,
Steve

[Northern Manitoban]

How long have these units had this WAAS out? does the Garmin 12 have this feature? and most other models? What does WAAS stand for? i believe with this your accuracy is withing 3 feet am i right? FISH ON.

[Northern Manitoban]

And don't tell me it stands for WAAS UP! FISH ON.

[Phil T.]

Wide Angle Augmentation System? There's an explanation of the system in www.garmin.com.