entry level gps

[martib]

hey all i might be able to get my hands on about $400-500.what is a good gps that i can spend my money on that is going to give me value for money.
your thoughts??
cheers marty

[tunaticer]

Hand held or mounted?

In all honesty, there is not a whole lot of difference between brands and models of stand along GPS mounted units. They are mostly around the dollars you are looking at for the 5" versions, so it will come down to the charts you prefer and the user menu you prefer.

[martib]

mounted, and charts of gulf and northern east coast as im in cairns,what do you mean by user menu

cheers marty

[shy guys]

Anything lowrance is your best bet it is the easiest to use and read. navionics is good. but it all comes down to personal preference but I've found lowrance to be the best

[martib]

ok i agree is there a model that i can research

[buhfee]

HDS-5m is the 5' Chartplotter from Lowrance I believe. I have the combo and Its has a very easy to control user menu!

[bluefin59]

Have a look at a garmin with built in maps they Are good value and reliable ....matt

[tunaticer]

Are we reading the same page?? are you after GPS only or a GPS and sounder combo?

GPS only models I would consider are:
Garmin GPSMAP 451
Garmin GPSMAP 551
Lowrance Elite-5m
Lowrance Elite-4m
Eagle Intellimap 642c iGPS
These are stand alone basic chart plotters, you may find other brands around like JRC, or Northstar that will be in the same category and similar pricing.

Go and have a play with them at your nearest boat shop / BCF / chandlery and see what you like.......It will come down to your preference as specs are fairly even between them apart from screen res or size. IMO a stand alone chart plotter does not need as high a res as a decent sounder does.

[martib]

not a combo just gps

[FishHunter]

GPS normally refers to a hand held or car device without marine charts, Units mounted in boats loaded with marine charts are normally called chart plotters.

Garmin use their own charts there are a few other companies that produce charts of which Navionics is a popular one used by a few manufacturers of Chart Plotters.

Tunaticer gave you a good list above. A point to note is that the Lowrance units have a higher screen resolution than the Garmin units, they also seem to update their firmware fairly often.
I am pretty happy with my Lowrance Elite combo.

[Mad one.]

http://www.ausfish.com.au/vforum/cla...tem&itemid=644

If you like a Garmin, you can buy this one from me