lms 360 vs globalmap160 or 1600

[mike]

Does anyone have experience on both units, I myself have used a lms 350 and really like the sonar/gps combo? With Lowrance now fazing out of the lms350 I wondered what people thought of the new globalmap product. Any thoughts or experiences with globalmap would be appreciated!!

Thanks.

[JWilson]

I have owned a LMS350A, Global Map 2000 and a Global Map1600. This is what my opinion is on these units, some people might not agree but this is what I have found. The 350 was a great graph and a useable GPS. It did not have the mapping capability. The Global Map 2000 was an outstanding GPS mapping unit that used c-maps which I loved. They showed great detail for the Great Lakes, you could almost troll structure with the GPS/c-map cartridge alone. The major reason I went to a GM1600 (which I totally regret) was the interface with a PC. The GM1600 is a step backwards. It uses Navionics e-charts that were at best adequate. The number of pixals on the 1600 are so limited it greatly limits detail. The interface to a PC is outstanding and with second party software it is unlimited to what you can do as far as uploading and downloading waypoints, routes etc. It makes for a fun time during the off season. The future does hold the possibility of Hot Spots maps and other software for the GM1600 that does appear to be promising. Each unit had it’s advantage, each had it’s limitation. You should decide what characteristics you use the most and go from there.

[Jerry Hein]

I have the new X15 color unit with the mmc cards for mapping. So far I have only used it on the Mississippi but I have already fallen in love with it. The sonar detail is very good and the custom mapping works great. You do have to be able to use a computer to load the cards. They provide 1 card that has a 8M memory and I have the entire state of MN on it and still have room for more. I know of a company called Lake Maps that is trying to work out a deal with lorance so they can interface their maps with the unit to get depths also.

[jerryr]

Have you had any issues with lack of memory in your 1600? I wanted to buy the Navionics map for the entire Lake of the Woods area, but it required more memory than my 1600 had, so I had to settle for a smaller map of just part of the lake which doesn't cover all the area I fish. I didn't have good luck talking to anyone at Lowrance about increasing the memory so I don't know if that's possible or not.