GPS/SONAR

[Clam Lake Mike]

Iam installing a Lowrance 102c and 3500c on dash of my boat. ON the bow can i git by with just sonar or should i add GPS with it? Any suggestions would be helpful. Thanks Mike.

Yeah, I'd be interested in some comments too. I'm thinking of putting either a 102C or 332C on the bow. I have a LMS19C on the console with GPS. Any real benefit in having GPS on the bow?

[Ristorapper]

Man oh man if you have the funds get GpS for the bow too. I fish out of the bow a lot and would find it a pain in the arse to run back and forth to the console to input data if need be. I am not set up that way yet but in the very near future I will be. Another reason for bow and console gps is that you have a back-up if needed.

[Wade@JollyAnnMarine]

Yes, if you do a lot of fishing from the bow you would want to be able to enter waypoints and to be able to stay on your spots when you're on at the bow. And, like ristorapper noted, it does offer you a backup GPS if the main unit goes down. A lot of folks are going with the LMS-332C on the bow. It's about $150 more than the X102C, so it's not too much extra to add GPS to the mix.

Wade Kuehl - Jolly Ann Marine
Jolly Ann Marine can be found in the Walleye Central Business Directory under Electronics/GPS
www.walleyecentral.com/phpyellow/

[EJ]

I put a 102C Sonar and 3500 GPS on dash and a 102C in the bow. I wish I had put a 332C with GPS in the bow. With the new contour mapping chips I am looking at the GPS more than ever to be prepared for depth changes coming up. I now fish more in back and use my copilot so I can watch the GPS.

EJ

[Ristorapper]

Put that 102 up for sale and then go get another 332, heck there are guys like me looking for a 102; new, like new or slightly used.

[Explorer]

I put a Johnny Ray swivel mount on my console mounted GPS. Just have to turn it when fishing in the bow. You still have to turn your neck but it sure beats running back behind the console.

[EJ]

Now that I am used to running the copilot and fishing in back it is not that big of deal. I don't like the sonar performance through the Minnekota universal sonar anyway, so I may as well continue to fish in back. There is NO comparison from the rear sonar image to the trolling motor image. ...but there still are times I would like to have a GPS up front... who knows we may see it on the block.

EJ

[walleyedrew]

I have a 332 on the bow and the stern,a 111 on the helm. It's a lot easer to tranfrer the way points to each unit after the fishing is done for the day,then run from one end of the boat to the other.With lowrance you can run all your units off one ant.

New Lowrance, similar to 332c except it has a built in antenna. Great for many uses: auto, motorcycle, boat or ice fishing.