Pinpoint Gps

[George1]

Anyone got one of the pinpoint GPS units or know anything about them?

I have a chance to pick up a couple of 7520 Graphs and heard that there is a GPS unit available for them.

If there is one, does anyone know if there are any additional maps available for them, like there are for other units like Garmin and Lowrance.

Thanks

George

[george1]

btt

[Grampa_Joe]

George,
I've installed a couple of them and I actually just got one myself. I haven't installed my own though. Playing with it in simulator it seems pretty cool.

Joe Carlson

[George1]

Thanks for the reply.

Last year there would have been a hundred replies on this subject. This year its hard to get anyone to talk about pinpoint products. What a difference a year makes.

I am still trying to find out if there is or will be any 3rd party mapping available.

thanks again

[MacLeslie]

Just installed my Pinpoint GPS this weekend. Against my better judgement I actually read the manual before installing the GPS server. My mistake. I saw the ability to network the GPS as transducers can be networked and I got excited that I would be able to use the GPS at both the console and the bow.

After searching several days for the "new"(Gray coupling nuts?) CBAY20 and SDPC01 cables required to network the GPS I finally got some help from a friend who reps Pinpoint. He directed me onto Thorne Brothers and they gave me the true skinny. The cables don't exist except on paper. True vaporware. This struck me as odd. Typically features are available on hardware but not documented in the manual. Not so here. The Pinpoint GPS manual states these cables are available and necessary to use the GPS with a dual sonar system. If only I never read the manual...

A few months back I picked up a spare 7520 graph and transducer. I took this opportunity to install it for the GPS so I can have a one full screen of map and one full screen of bottom from my trolling motor at the bow. Currently the GPS is working great, but I am worried the 7520 (200kHz) will compete with the 7820 (200kHz) on the console. They are not networked (yet) and don't know how they will react to each other. If I see interference I intend to disconnect the transducer until I can network the third graph into the system.

This raises the question of how I network the third graph into the system. Any clues out there?

Back to the GPS. I live between Stillwater and Marine on St. Croix. Big Marine lake and Big Carnellian lake are both in the lake database (lucky me). I would have expected Square lake (just north of Big Carnellian and across the road) to be listed but unfortunately it's not. There are only 844 (!!!) lakes in the database. A fraction of what we have here in Minnesota. The GPS still works even though the lake is not outlined at all. Mark your waypoints and get fish.

A nice feature is the "Show 10 closest lakes". This shows the 10 closest lakes to the current position shown on the screen, which can be helpful when in unfamiliar territory. I'm interested to see how this actually works.

To search for a specific lake you type the name and search. Hope your lake name is unique. Lake names are not given any geographic indicators so Long lake could be anywhere in the US. With only 844 lakes, this will rarely be a problem.

Typing the name of a lake is a little frustrating. On the 7500 series graphs, the 123 softkeys across the bottom represent: 1=ABC 2=DEF etc. This is cumbersome but unavoidable. I do prefer the intelligent TAP style that auto completes the names that match the partial strings entered. On the 7400 and 7300 series the soft keys appear to be the up and down arrows.

Be warned, this is not a navigation unit like others on the market. Lowrance and others are showing lake contours and bottom structure in addition to landmarks such as landings and hazards. The Pinpoint system appears to be a strong GPS engine with a weak map and database. No lake or bottom data can be added to the system, but trails, waypoints and routes can be added and stored. And although all the data is stored on a 64Mb SmartCard, none of the data can currently be manipulated on your PC. This means to add waypoints before a trip you must sit in the boat and program the waypoints by hand while swilling beer. Remember that accuracy may be inpaired with too much alcohol...

Overall I found the GPS to be intuitive and helpful but haven't yet gotten onto the water with bouys to see how accurate it is.

Bil MacLeslie

[george1]

Thanks for the reply. After reading it I'm not sure that the long wait is worth it. If you can't network it, maipulate data on the PC, or add additional mapping, in my opinion they have a long way to go.

It also sound like their built in map data base is shy on lakes.

We have waited a long time for this product to hit the streets and it doesn't sound like it is living up to my expectations.

I think I'm going to have to pass on this and get something else.

One question before I go was there any mention of support. Phone or otherwise?

Thanks George1

[MacLeslie]

I spent the day on Mille Lacs and after the first hour I ended up back trolling and didn't get to use the unit too much. I will say this; the lock and refresh seemed to be "lazy". The unit was tracking on 6 birds and kept having to reload the map and find itself. Not a good sign at all.

My comments on the existing support: ****ty. If you call the old 800 number, you are referred to call a toll number to Motorguide support. This number is re-directed to Mercury and when you FINALLY reach someone they haven't got a clue. To top this off, one of your options while holding is to leave a message with a call back number. This appears to go directly into the bit bucket. I've left messages on this system and with the staff directly and have even been promised a call back on the same day without ANY calls back. When I did have complaint about the lack of support, the customer care rep (apparently untrained on Pinpoint products whcih they have to support) actually put me on hold and found someone who did have a clue. However, I didn't get to talk to the cluefull person directly, just through the customer care rep.

All in all, I'm sorry I bought this unit. I too was expecting great things from Pinpoint. Go get a Garmin or Lowrance. You'll be happy you did.

Bil