View Full Version : Garmin 2006 GPS
Reef
02-23-2002, 07:16 AM
I am thinking of buying a 2006 and would like to know what those of you have used it think. I fish Winnebago chain allot and am not sure if there is a map with contours for that lake. Does anyone know? What are the Pros and Cons of this unit. The reason I am looking at the garmin over the Lowrance is because it seems that lowrance isn't moving as fast with releasing new C-maps and it seems that Garmin is a little more agressive in this area. Also it seems that the Garmin is easier to use?? Thanks for any help!
Reef,
I bought one a couple of weeks ago. I haven't been able to use it on the boat yet but I have played with it like a kid at Christmas. I also bought one of the Large area coverage Blue charts for it so I've seen it for my fishing area (I acutally bought it along with a Regular area coverage Blue Chart but sent that one back and traded up to the Large area coverage). So if I can answer any specific questions just let 'em rip. I can tell you this though, my first impressions are very good. I say that as a person who had been using an older Garmin (GPSMap-210) that was connected to a differential unt for several years. So I'm no stranger to chartplotters.
Thom
Thom, Right now I have a Lowrance LMS-160 and has all the lakes and rivers(no contours) but it seemed that with the Garmin if you were out of the area that the blue map covered it didn't have the detail of the lakes (at least the outline), or am I wrong? My other concern is the the cartrige door. How waterproof are they. I don't want to have to cover it up in the rain?? I bought an interphase years back and it went wacko the first light mist I was in. When I took it back they tried to say it was my fault because I didn't have the rain cover on it. Couldn't bieleve they made a product for the boat that wansn't waterproof. Now thats in the back of my mind when looking at new units. Did you go with the color? I didn't think it seemed like it was worth the extra money. Thanks Again for the help
Reef,
Easy part first. The data cards load in from the front and they are protected by a door that has a rubber O-ring around the inside to seal it. I am sure it is mist and splash proof, in fact I think it would take some very serious splashing, though I wouldn't want to run a hose on it. As I said before, I used to have a 210, and with it the G-Chart loaded in through a door on its bottom. I just stuck the G-Chart in it and never opened the door again for about 3 years. With this one I suspect it will be much the same, just stick the chart(s) in there and forget about it. I'm not worried about it leaking and to tell the truth Garmin's reputation about fixing their own mistakes is so good that if one were to fail I suspect they would make it right.
As to the detail question, that's tough one to answer. If your area is on a Blue Chart it will be very good indeed, but if its not the built in map isn't going to do you any good at all. At least that's my take on it. There is a river about a mile from my house (I'm in West Virginia) which opens up to a lake (damed up for a hydro plant) that is about 20 miles long and maybe a mile wide at the most. That lake/river just shows up as a line labeled Cheat River on the built in mapping. That would be worthless to you. But there may be a savior in there for you. The 2006 accepts two data cards and the second one can be a blank on which you load your own choice of maps. If one of the Map Source CD's has the information and charts on it that you need then you're in business even if its not on Blue Chart yet. The reason is that you can pick up a blank data card (there are ususally about a dozen of them of different sizes for sale on E-Bay at about 2/3 the cost dealers ask) and simply load it up from Map Source. That would override the built in mapping and might provide what you want. Of course Garmin has been constantly upgrading their Blue Chart areas of coverage for freshwater and so if your area isn't covered already it may be soon. I think I'd simply shoot Garmin an E-mail and ask about your specific area of interest.
Thom