Garmin GPS vs Lowrance GPS?

[ck85abc]

Ive been deciding what GPS unit to buy for the price since December. I finally bought one. What I don't get is how all these people say garmin GPS is better than lowrance GPS hands down. I have not used either and strickly by looking at specs and price. I don't see why garmin is any better than lowrance. Only thing I can think of is that mabey the garmin systems are acually more accurate?

Anyone have good reasons that garmin gps systems are better than lowrance gps systyems?

[PJM]

ck85abc

I have owned both and one as far a accurate they seem to be the same. I think this ia also a Chev & Ford issue with some guys and being I have had both a Ford and a Chev I can tell you the good and bad points, but for the most part they were good vehicles. REW a guy who knows his stuff on Walleye Central posted this responce to the same issue about Garmin

Lots more developers, maps, etc. for Garmin, than any other brand.
Easy to use, great screen, and good to go.

The guy seem to know what he is talking about so it's something to think about. Either way you won't go wrong.

[eyewall]

Just to put your mind at ease, there is no perceivable difference in accuracy between the 2 units, pending we are talking about units that do not have real time differential correction, that does have an effect on accuracy. Like the previous poster said, this is a personal preference thing. I have had and currently have both types, accuracy is extremely close. The only thing I would consider in something like this is what unit am I more comfortable using and meets my needs for add-on type features.

I have worked on satellites for quite a while and the main things that will affect the accuracy of the GPS system are as follows, in decreasing order:

Selective availability, currently this is off but the Dept. of defense can turn it on at any time.

Clock error, the relatively cheap units that we all use on our boats are not capable of precise clocks time. The Satellites and radar used to track them is based on atomic clocks, expensive but accurate. Lowrance and garmin don't have this kind of accuracy. Being off by a 100th of a second is a long ways when you are tracking a signal that travels at 186,000 miles per second.

Orbit coverage, There are times of the day that you do not have good overhead coverage of satellites. This affect is compounded by the following problem as well. If you only have 3 available satellites viewable in the sky then you are going to suffer from decreased accuracy in your measurements. This has become less of a concern with things like the WASS system and the fact that the satellites are lasting longer than the "expected" life. Currently there area actually about 3 more satellites in the sky than they planned on. Really accurate GPS systems have planning software that tracks the satellites and predicts when the most viewable satellites will be overhead for the most accurate measurements.

Atmospheric effect is the other relatively major problem. Near earth the particle in the atmosphere can slow, bounce, or reflect the weak radio signal produced by the satellite. Like previously said, this is minor, maybe hundredths of a second but when you are looking at the speed of light that is a long ways.

I realize this list does not exhaust the possible problems with the system, but it does illustrate the main flaws with our system.

[Jim Ordway]

One nice feature regarding the garmin unit is the built in antenae. If you have an open counsel boat, the built in antenae saves money and hassles, without sacrificing accuracy. Granted, the features and software you choose to use are likely the determining factors in your purchases.
Take care,

[Capt. Paul]

Both GPS systems are about the same, there is no way to make one more accurate than the other. However, the Garmin support is in my opinion much better, including lifetime FREE software upgrades for all of their units, available at the Garmin website. I have taught GPS classes for the past 5 years, have used almost every vendors products, and we have utilized Garmin exclusivly for the past 3 years