installing Lowrance 1600 GPS

[Lindyrig]

I am installing a Lowrance 1600 GPS in my Lund 1800 Pro V. Some questions I have.

1. Should it be hot wired direct to the battery or can I run it through my fuse box?

2. Can the antenna be place right on the gunwale or should it be elevated on the riser that is supplied with the unit?

3. The unit comes with a full map installed, however there is a CD with 64 reional maps that can be downloaded. Do the downloads just give you more detail? What are the other advantages of these downloads and how many will my unit hold?

Any help would be appreciated.

[Trapper]

We just installed the Eagle version of the 1600 on my buddy's Lund. We ran the power through the fuse box and the voltage "meter" on the unit runs a a steady 11.8 to 12.4 volts depending on whether the motor is running and there is no drop in voltage when the starter is turned. We mounted the antenna in front on the windshield on a flat surface and didn't use the stand-off. We get very good reception so far and we're very pleased with the unit. Of course, we could have done everything wrong ;-)

As far as the CD Map deal is concerned, I'm not sure. He doesn't have the mapping software, just what's already in the unit. I'd like to know how useful it is too.

[Jay]

The downloaded maps have much better detail on them. The unit's memory will hold one or two (depends on which maps your loading) detailed maps at a time. The CD comes with the unit so I would recommend using it - they are much better maps.

[wkndbum]

Install maps from the CD using the MapCreate program. If you just want the lakes & surrounding area, use the Create Border function to draw around the lake & you'll be able to store quite a few on 1 MB. Give me a shout if you have any ?

Terry