GPS Mapping

[Stinger WI]

My 350a that I used for GPS just went out last weekend and know its time to upgrade. Reeds has the Globalmap 1600 and the 2400 for $399.00. That price seems cheap for either unit. Can anyone share some insight on this matter. I like to use one unit for sonar and one for GPS. I still have one 350a on the counsole.

Thanks,

Craig A
#663

[TJ]

Craig:

I have the Global Map 1600 and have been very pleased with it. It locks onto the satellites quickly and has mapping capabilities beyond the Map Create CD included with the unit. During the past two years I have purchased and used a Navionics E-Charts (N. Lake Michigan/Green Bay) and several FHS Hot Maps (by Navionics). They have been instrumental in my success and safety on the water. I don't think you would be unhappy with the 1600.

Now, since fishing electronics are advancing as rapidly as other types of electronics, you might look at other units and brands. Examine the space availability on your boat, give youself a budget and see what's out there. The older 1600 has a 160 x 160 pixel screen. The newer 2400 is 240 x 240. This will give you a much clearer, better defined map, especially when you zoom out. To load a map into the 1600 you use a PC and a serial cable. The 1600 has, I believe, 2 MB of internal memory. The new 2400 uses MMC cards capable of holding up to 128 MB of mapping info and the unit is WAAS enabled. More memory means greater map detail and WAAS means greater locational accuracy. Who can argue with that? If I was buying new electronics today, I would opt for the 2400 over the 1600.

Now there are other brands out there. I was looking at some Garmin units at the RCL the other day and the color ones capable of taking Blue Charts were looking pretty sweet.

If you're fishing mostly inland waters, the 1600 or 2400 should work fine. If you have dash space for a larger unit (screen), consider one of them. If you want pretty colors, be prepared to dig deeper into your wallet. If you can get the 2400 for $399, I think that's a steal!

TJ

[RoyC]

I am not familiar at all with your unit, but I did quite a bit of shopping this year for a handheld unit and ended up buying a Garmin GPSMAP 76. So far it looks good, especially with the new MapSource Fishing Hot Spots 4.0 software which now includes a detailed LOTW map.

Part of the reason I chose the 76 was that it was WAAS capable which means that it should be noticeably more accurate (6 ft?). Because of all of the new units with WAAS capability that came out this year, it looks like a lot of older models without WAAS are now being discounted. I have played with my new unit in the car a little bit so far, and I haven't really noticed it being any more accurate, at least the built in accuracy indicator doesn't claim 6 ft accuracy (more like 40 ft under most conditions). So I am not convinced yet that WAAS was worth anything extra in terms of cost. I intend to do a more detailed comparison with my old unit as soon as the weather gets better.

[Ed]

There are only two WAAS satelites, one on the East coast and one on the West coast. From northern MN they are low to the horizon and may not be accessible without a clear view. May be intermittent. Also, the further north the less accurate.

[RoyC]

Yea, I read up on WAAS a little recently, and those two satellites are actually over the equator above the Atlantic and Pacific oceans in geosynchronous orbit and are there primarily to serve the east and west coasts. I believe that there are plans to add a more central satellite sometime in the future. According to my GPS, it is getting the WAAS signals OK, but the accuracy still doesn't seem to be quite as good as it should be. Although the WAAS correction signals are tranmitted via these equatorial satellites, they actually come from ground stations at various locations around the U.S. It is my understanding that the nearest ground station for the north-central U.S. and Canada is in Brainierd, MN. But I don't know if that one is active yet.