yea, I'm replying to myself,but.

1st, a thank you to the posters that replied, even the ones in jest

2nd, I gave up and purchased the 498 with the AirMar P66 Sounder,
water temp, and water speed sensors. Basicly, I'm pretty sure I fell
for the Marketing Ploy Garmin put into play! :-0

As far as I can tell the hardware is the same for the 298, 398, 498
series. The ONLY difference is the cartography included.

The 298 has the "Basemap" aka no detail
The 398 does fresh water lakes an drivers
The 498 does Sal****er coastal areas..

If you get the 298, you either purchase Garmin's Mapsource, and a
blank memory cartridge, and upload maps from your desktop. OR you buy
"MAP CHIPS" with the map areas you want.

In any event, I sure enjoyed having the 498 on the helm last night
after a great day of fishing. It was SOO nice to "Know" where we
were, even in unfamiliar territory.

One thing I can see as a problem, I have to train myself to do a
visual scan routine. It is real easy to become fixated on the moving
map while underway.

ALSO, what's up with freaking sail boats having anchor lights so dim,
they look like a candle flame?


Take Care,
James Lerch
http://lerch.no-ip.com/atm (My telescope construction, Testing, and Coating site)
http://lerch.no-ip.com/ChangFa_Gen (My 11.2Kw generator project)
Press on: nothing in the world can take the place of perseverance.
Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent.
Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.
Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.
Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.
Calvin Coolidge