I'm thinking of buying both. If I understand correctly, and I"m really
not sure I do but I hope so, I can get all the detailed marine info of
the NauticPath USA onto the iFinder's color screen, with NO OTHER
accessories...hoping this is what the product descriptions mean by
"plug and play".....no card reader, memory cards, USB cable or computer
connection, or MapCreate software necessary? I just pop the chip into
a slot on the unit? (Also from the screenshots on the NauticPath web
site, it looks like it gives water depth info which is very nice, but
not the #'s of navaids? Is this right also? I still like it but
that's a bit of a disappointment, still looks a lot better than my
lowly etrex Legend with mapsource cd loaded, and at not that much
higher a price point.)

Thanks very much,
richforman

richforman wrote:
I'm thinking of buying both. If I understand correctly, and I"m really
not sure I do but I hope so, I can get all the detailed marine info of
the NauticPath USA onto the iFinder's color screen, with NO OTHER
accessories...hoping this is what the product descriptions mean by
"plug and play".....no card reader, memory cards, USB cable or computer
connection, or MapCreate software necessary? I just pop the chip into
a slot on the unit? (Also from the screenshots on the NauticPath web
site, it looks like it gives water depth info which is very nice, but
not the #'s of navaids? Is this right also? I still like it but
that's a bit of a disappointment, still looks a lot better than my
lowly etrex Legend with mapsource cd loaded, and at not that much
higher a price point.)

Thanks very much,
richforman


I bought the Nauticpath USA card for my fixed mount Lowrance unit this
spring. It's all you need, at least for US coastal areas. I had to also
buy the Navionics 'Hotmaps' card for coverage of inland lakes and
waterways. If I pick up one of the handheld units too, I will likely
also purchase MapCreate to get better road/topography coverage. One
irritation is you can only have one enhanced map in effect at a time,
for example, you can have high res land maps from MapCreate in effect,
OR you can have Hotmaps charts in effect, but not both at the same time
(as each requires a separate memory card). So you do a lot of card
swapping if you want to see what roads/towns are nearby while you're
fishing an unfamiliar lake...

I'm not at the boat right now, but as I recall the navaid
names/numbers/details appear when you 'roll over' the aid with the
crosshairs. It would be nice if at least the aid numbers were displayed
without having to rollover them.

BTW, I've found the current velocity (water current, that is)
information is not very accurate at all for the Carolina coast, where 3+
knot currents are common, but the card rarely says it's more than 1.5 knots.

Good luck,

NSS

nss wrote:
richforman wrote:
I'm thinking of buying both. If I understand correctly, and I"m really
not sure I do but I hope so, I can get all the detailed marine info of
the NauticPath USA onto the iFinder's color screen, with NO OTHER
accessories...hoping this is what the product descriptions mean by
"plug and play".....no card reader, memory cards, USB cable or computer
connection, or MapCreate software necessary? I just pop the chip into
a slot on the unit? (Also from the screenshots on the NauticPath web
site, it looks like it gives water depth info which is very nice, but
not the #'s of navaids? Is this right also? I still like it but
that's a bit of a disappointment, still looks a lot better than my
lowly etrex Legend with mapsource cd loaded, and at not that much
higher a price point.)

Thanks very much,
richforman


I bought the Nauticpath USA card for my fixed mount Lowrance unit this
spring. It's all you need, at least for US coastal areas. I had to also
buy the Navionics 'Hotmaps' card for coverage of inland lakes and
waterways. If I pick up one of the handheld units too, I will likely
also purchase MapCreate to get better road/topography coverage. One
irritation is you can only have one enhanced map in effect at a time,
for example, you can have high res land maps from MapCreate in effect,
OR you can have Hotmaps charts in effect, but not both at the same time
(as each requires a separate memory card). So you do a lot of card
swapping if you want to see what roads/towns are nearby while you're
fishing an unfamiliar lake...

I'm not at the boat right now, but as I recall the navaid
names/numbers/details appear when you 'roll over' the aid with the
crosshairs. It would be nice if at least the aid numbers were displayed
without having to rollover them.

BTW, I've found the current velocity (water current, that is)
information is not very accurate at all for the Carolina coast, where 3+
knot currents are common, but the card rarely says it's more than 1.5 knots.

Good luck,

NSS

Thanks for the response, NSS. This sounds like a good solution to me.
I do almost all coastal boating (all on my 4-stroke Waverunner).
You're right, it'd be a lot better if the navaid #'s were always
displayed on the screen, but even without that, the color display will
be a big improvement over my previous setup on my b&w eTrex Legend. I
never thought about or realized that I would see the water current
displayed!...that's pretty cool, even if it's not accurate as far as
the velocity, I guess you could get a good view about its direction
which could be very helpful. Most important variable to me would be
the degree of shoreline detail (like, on the Legend, before you get the
MapSource cd loaded on, lots of little coves and side creeks don't show
up at all on the gps), but with the NauticPath seeming to be going for
about $65 "on the street," I should be all set.

Just ordered an H20 C from an online store for $214 with free shipping,
pretty good, hope it gets here before I leave for my memorial day
weekend at the Jersey shore.

richforman

richforman wrote:
nss wrote:
richforman wrote:
I'm thinking of buying both. If I understand correctly, and I"m really
not sure I do but I hope so, I can get all the detailed marine info of
the NauticPath USA onto the iFinder's color screen, with NO OTHER
accessories...hoping this is what the product descriptions mean by
"plug and play".....no card reader, memory cards, USB cable or computer
connection, or MapCreate software necessary? I just pop the chip into
a slot on the unit? (Also from the screenshots on the NauticPath web
site, it looks like it gives water depth info which is very nice, but
not the #'s of navaids? Is this right also? I still like it but
that's a bit of a disappointment, still looks a lot better than my
lowly etrex Legend with mapsource cd loaded, and at not that much
higher a price point.)

Thanks very much,
richforman


I bought the Nauticpath USA card for my fixed mount Lowrance unit this
spring. It's all you need, at least for US coastal areas. I had to also
buy the Navionics 'Hotmaps' card for coverage of inland lakes and
waterways. If I pick up one of the handheld units too, I will likely
also purchase MapCreate to get better road/topography coverage. One
irritation is you can only have one enhanced map in effect at a time,
for example, you can have high res land maps from MapCreate in effect,
OR you can have Hotmaps charts in effect, but not both at the same time
(as each requires a separate memory card). So you do a lot of card
swapping if you want to see what roads/towns are nearby while you're
fishing an unfamiliar lake...

I'm not at the boat right now, but as I recall the navaid
names/numbers/details appear when you 'roll over' the aid with the
crosshairs. It would be nice if at least the aid numbers were displayed
without having to rollover them.

BTW, I've found the current velocity (water current, that is)
information is not very accurate at all for the Carolina coast, where 3+
knot currents are common, but the card rarely says it's more than 1.5 knots.

Good luck,

NSS

Thanks for the response, NSS. This sounds like a good solution to me.
I do almost all coastal boating (all on my 4-stroke Waverunner).
You're right, it'd be a lot better if the navaid #'s were always
displayed on the screen, but even without that, the color display will
be a big improvement over my previous setup on my b&w eTrex Legend. I
never thought about or realized that I would see the water current
displayed!...that's pretty cool, even if it's not accurate as far as
the velocity, I guess you could get a good view about its direction
which could be very helpful. Most important variable to me would be
the degree of shoreline detail (like, on the Legend, before you get the
MapSource cd loaded on, lots of little coves and side creeks don't show
up at all on the gps), but with the NauticPath seeming to be going for
about $65 "on the street," I should be all set.

Just ordered an H20 C from an online store for $214 with free shipping,
pretty good, hope it gets here before I leave for my memorial day
weekend at the Jersey shore.

richforman

Now that I ordered it, I started perusing the pdf version of the manual
(this is for the ifinder, not the H20 I believe, certainly not the "C,"
so maybe it's missing some info).

I noticed one or two things that will bug me about my new unit if I'm
right, although the nice-looking color screen display will still
outweigh them.

This gps doesn't seem to have a "max speed" feature per trip, does it?
That stinks. (Or maybe it does, let me know!)

Does it pick up the time of day right from the satellites or do you
have to set it? I notice it has a "Set Local Time" feature; my eTrex
didn't have this because it just always knew the date and time.

Can you see set up the Map page to show your current speed and the time
of day, or do you have to switch to the Navigation (compass) page to
see your current speed?

Relatively minor stuff, just wondering, thanks,

richforman

I have the ifinder h2O C color unit. It will allow you to change the
information at the bottom of the map and navigation pages. I'm pretty sure
you can get max speed, and it will get the correct local time after you set
it up. It does not show the correct time until it gets the satelites. I
think it will show you the information you want. It's still new to me.

Mark


"richforman" wrote in message
ups.com...

richforman wrote:
richforman wrote:
nss wrote:
richforman wrote:
I'm thinking of buying both. If I understand correctly, and I"m
really
not sure I do but I hope so, I can get all the detailed marine info
of
the NauticPath USA onto the iFinder's color screen, with NO OTHER
accessories...hoping this is what the product descriptions mean by
"plug and play".....no card reader, memory cards, USB cable or
computer
connection, or MapCreate software necessary? I just pop the chip
into
a slot on the unit? (Also from the screenshots on the NauticPath
web
site, it looks like it gives water depth info which is very nice,
but
not the #'s of navaids? Is this right also? I still like it but
that's a bit of a disappointment, still looks a lot better than my
lowly etrex Legend with mapsource cd loaded, and at not that
much
higher a price point.)

Thanks very much,
richforman


I bought the Nauticpath USA card for my fixed mount Lowrance unit
this
spring. It's all you need, at least for US coastal areas. I had to
also
buy the Navionics 'Hotmaps' card for coverage of inland lakes and
waterways. If I pick up one of the handheld units too, I will likely
also purchase MapCreate to get better road/topography coverage. One
irritation is you can only have one enhanced map in effect at a time,
for example, you can have high res land maps from MapCreate in
effect,
OR you can have Hotmaps charts in effect, but not both at the same
time
(as each requires a separate memory card). So you do a lot of card
swapping if you want to see what roads/towns are nearby while you're
fishing an unfamiliar lake...

I'm not at the boat right now, but as I recall the navaid
names/numbers/details appear when you 'roll over' the aid with the
crosshairs. It would be nice if at least the aid numbers were
displayed
without having to rollover them.

BTW, I've found the current velocity (water current, that is)
information is not very accurate at all for the Carolina coast, where
3+
knot currents are common, but the card rarely says it's more than 1.5
knots.

Good luck,

NSS

Thanks for the response, NSS. This sounds like a good solution to me.
I do almost all coastal boating (all on my 4-stroke Waverunner).
You're right, it'd be a lot better if the navaid #'s were always
displayed on the screen, but even without that, the color display will
be a big improvement over my previous setup on my b&w eTrex Legend. I
never thought about or realized that I would see the water current
displayed!...that's pretty cool, even if it's not accurate as far as
the velocity, I guess you could get a good view about its direction
which could be very helpful. Most important variable to me would be
the degree of shoreline detail (like, on the Legend, before you get the
MapSource cd loaded on, lots of little coves and side creeks don't show
up at all on the gps), but with the NauticPath seeming to be going for
about $65 "on the street," I should be all set.

Just ordered an H20 C from an online store for $214 with free shipping,
pretty good, hope it gets here before I leave for my memorial day
weekend at the Jersey shore.

richforman

Now that I ordered it, I started perusing the pdf version of the manual
(this is for the ifinder, not the H20 I believe, certainly not the "C,"
so maybe it's missing some info).

I noticed one or two things that will bug me about my new unit if I'm
right, although the nice-looking color screen display will still
outweigh them.

This gps doesn't seem to have a "max speed" feature per trip, does it?
That stinks. (Or maybe it does, let me know!)

Does it pick up the time of day right from the satellites or do you
have to set it? I notice it has a "Set Local Time" feature; my eTrex
didn't have this because it just always knew the date and time.

Can you see set up the Map page to show your current speed and the time
of day, or do you have to switch to the Navigation (compass) page to
see your current speed?

Relatively minor stuff, just wondering, thanks,

richforman

How about miles covered since I started a particular trip? Is that a
data field I can show? That one I would really miss if it weren't
there. Max speed I can do without just by looking down at the screen
while I"m doing a flat-water "speed run" (did I mention that the gps is
for use on my wave runner?), but how many miles total I covered that
day, I'm very used to seeing on my Garmin, no other way I can really
know that. Hmmm, maybe these are some of the reasons I'm able to get
into the color screen, at such a reasonable price with my new Lowrance.

richforman

mososki wrote:
I have the ifinder h2O C color unit. It will allow you to change the
information at the bottom of the map and navigation pages. I'm pretty sure
you can get max speed, and it will get the correct local time after you set
it up. It does not show the correct time until it gets the satelites. I
think it will show you the information you want. It's still new to me.

Mark


Yup, once I got it and played with it for a day or two, I found it
gives me everything I need and more, I love the unit, much better than
my previous etrex Legends. The chart detail on the plug-and-play
NauticPath USA is fantastic, easily enough for my navigation needs.

richforman


"richforman" wrote in message
ups.com...

richforman wrote:
richforman wrote:
nss wrote:
richforman wrote:
I'm thinking of buying both. If I understand correctly, and I"m
really
not sure I do but I hope so, I can get all the detailed marine info
of
the NauticPath USA onto the iFinder's color screen, with NO OTHER
accessories...hoping this is what the product descriptions mean by
"plug and play".....no card reader, memory cards, USB cable or
computer
connection, or MapCreate software necessary? I just pop the chip
into
a slot on the unit? (Also from the screenshots on the NauticPath
web
site, it looks like it gives water depth info which is very nice,
but
not the #'s of navaids? Is this right also? I still like it but
that's a bit of a disappointment, still looks a lot better than my
lowly etrex Legend with mapsource cd loaded, and at not that
much
higher a price point.)

Thanks very much,
richforman


I bought the Nauticpath USA card for my fixed mount Lowrance unit
this
spring. It's all you need, at least for US coastal areas. I had to
also
buy the Navionics 'Hotmaps' card for coverage of inland lakes and
waterways. If I pick up one of the handheld units too, I will likely
also purchase MapCreate to get better road/topography coverage. One
irritation is you can only have one enhanced map in effect at a time,
for example, you can have high res land maps from MapCreate in
effect,
OR you can have Hotmaps charts in effect, but not both at the same
time
(as each requires a separate memory card). So you do a lot of card
swapping if you want to see what roads/towns are nearby while you're
fishing an unfamiliar lake...

I'm not at the boat right now, but as I recall the navaid
names/numbers/details appear when you 'roll over' the aid with the
crosshairs. It would be nice if at least the aid numbers were
displayed
without having to rollover them.

BTW, I've found the current velocity (water current, that is)
information is not very accurate at all for the Carolina coast, where
3+
knot currents are common, but the card rarely says it's more than 1.5
knots.

Good luck,

NSS

Thanks for the response, NSS. This sounds like a good solution to me.
I do almost all coastal boating (all on my 4-stroke Waverunner).
You're right, it'd be a lot better if the navaid #'s were always
displayed on the screen, but even without that, the color display will
be a big improvement over my previous setup on my b&w eTrex Legend. I
never thought about or realized that I would see the water current
displayed!...that's pretty cool, even if it's not accurate as far as
the velocity, I guess you could get a good view about its direction
which could be very helpful. Most important variable to me would be
the degree of shoreline detail (like, on the Legend, before you get the
MapSource cd loaded on, lots of little coves and side creeks don't show
up at all on the gps), but with the NauticPath seeming to be going for
about $65 "on the street," I should be all set.

Just ordered an H20 C from an online store for $214 with free shipping,
pretty good, hope it gets here before I leave for my memorial day
weekend at the Jersey shore.

richforman

Now that I ordered it, I started perusing the pdf version of the manual
(this is for the ifinder, not the H20 I believe, certainly not the "C,"
so maybe it's missing some info).

I noticed one or two things that will bug me about my new unit if I'm
right, although the nice-looking color screen display will still
outweigh them.

This gps doesn't seem to have a "max speed" feature per trip, does it?
That stinks. (Or maybe it does, let me know!)

Does it pick up the time of day right from the satellites or do you
have to set it? I notice it has a "Set Local Time" feature; my eTrex
didn't have this because it just always knew the date and time.

Can you see set up the Map page to show your current speed and the time
of day, or do you have to switch to the Navigation (compass) page to
see your current speed?

Relatively minor stuff, just wondering, thanks,

richforman

How about miles covered since I started a particular trip? Is that a
data field I can show? That one I would really miss if it weren't
there. Max speed I can do without just by looking down at the screen
while I"m doing a flat-water "speed run" (did I mention that the gps is
for use on my wave runner?), but how many miles total I covered that
day, I'm very used to seeing on my Garmin, no other way I can really
know that. Hmmm, maybe these are some of the reasons I'm able to get
into the color screen, at such a reasonable price with my new Lowrance.

richforman