Built-In Bluechart G2 vs Nauticpath?

[JoLin]

After what seems like months of reading, headscratching and visits to West and Boater's World... I THINK I've finally decided to buy a dedicated 5" color screen GPS w/o sonar. I've narrowed the field to a couple:

Lowrance Globalmap 5200/5300
Garmin 492c

The Garmin is discontinued as of last year, but is still available on closeout. Bluechart G2 is pre-loaded, and the best price I've found makes it more than $150 less than the cost of the Lowrance with Nauticpath. For electronics such as a GPS, I generally figure there's about a 5-year life expectancy before a given unit is no longer compatible with the newest software anyway, so for me, it's a compelling argument for the Garmin. It's like buying a new PC. I can use it for a few years, then look around again.

Is the Garmin built-in chart software, as good (detailed) as what's on a Nauticpath card?

 

[tommays]

Re: Built-In Bluechart G2 vs Nauticpath?

I find the Lowrance card to be good on the great south bay AND the east end of LI from the from Riverhead area out to Block Island

I prefer the Lowrance unit because of the low cost of adding NEMA 2000 fuel flow and other inputs

 

[dingbat]

Re: Built-In Bluechart G2 vs Nauticpath?

Garimn G2 is arguably the best out there right now. You have to get into the Navionics Gold or Platinum cards for the equivalent on a Lowrance machine.

 

[Boatist]

Re: Built-In Bluechart G2 vs Nauticpath?

First off I think the 5 years your expect to get should be more like 25 years.
How much does the body of water really change over time?
Differences in units Garmin has 3000 waypoints and 50 routes and that should be plenty.
Lowrance has 1000 waypoints and 100 routes and that should also be plenty.

Lowrance has a higher resoultion screen 480 by 480 so higher definition than Garmin
Garmin is 234 by 320 so the lowrance will be a little clearer.

Lowrance has many ways to connect to other units, NMEA 2000, NMEA 0183, 5 pin ethrenet, 2 RS232 ports. So it will support Radar or Fuel Flow sensors, DCS VHF radios both ways.

Garmin has only NMEA 0183 and will Support DSC VHF radio. That OK if you do not plan to add on anything Later.

Garmin looks likes it comes with 3d chart. Personaly I do not care for that but to be honest but many do. I came from the use of Loran C and still use it most of the time for basic navigation. I do also have a Garmin GPSMAP 76 and a Lowrance IFinder H2O C on board as well.

I have not seen either unit in the stores but I would suggest one thing. Go someplace that has both units. Zoom in to an area you know very well with both units and see the difference in details and brightness.

Also on both units zoom out several steps and see how long it takes to redraw.
At this years boat shows I went and checked out the top of the line Garmin units and Lowrance units. Zooming out on the Garmin it took forever to redraw the screen. Sales rep was there I ask whats wrong and he replied it has a lot to redraw and said it was normal.

I went down to the Lowrance site and did the same thing and it would redraw allmost instantly. Big Difference. If you run is auto zoom mode or zoom in when get close to a waypoint you want to hit perfectly the speed makes a big diffenence.

On the Lowrance units the base map is much better than the Garmin of course on the two units you are looking at the garmin will be much better.

Compare the screen britness and resolution and redraw speed. Then if you do not plan to attach to other units and all else is equal get the lower cost unit.
The Naticpath path card is about the same as the garmin built in but does not have the 3D mode. If you want that on the Lowrance I think it is $150 and must get the Navionics Glod card to be equal.

Happy shopping and come back and tell us what you bought and why so other can learn what you liked best.

 

[eastern27]

Re: Built-In Bluechart G2 vs Nauticpath?

First off I think the 5 years your expect to get should be more like 25 years.
How much does the body of water really change over time?
Differences in units Garmin has 3000 waypoints and 50 routes and that should be plenty.
Lowrance has 1000 waypoints and 100 routes and that should also be plenty.

Lowrance has a higher resoultion screen 480 by 480 so higher definition than Garmin
Garmin is 234 by 320 so the lowrance will be a little clearer.

Lowrance has many ways to connect to other units, NMEA 2000, NMEA 0183, 5 pin ethrenet, 2 RS232 ports. So it will support Radar or Fuel Flow sensors, DCS VHF radios both ways.

Garmin has only NMEA 0183 and will Support DSC VHF radio. That OK if you do not plan to add on anything Later.

Garmin looks likes it comes with 3d chart. Personaly I do not care for that but to be honest but many do. I came from the use of Loran C and still use it most of the time for basic navigation. I do also have a Garmin GPSMAP 76 and a Lowrance IFinder H2O C on board as well.

I have not seen either unit in the stores but I would suggest one thing. Go someplace that has both units. Zoom in to an area you know very well with both units and see the difference in details and brightness.

Also on both units zoom out several steps and see how long it takes to redraw.
At this years boat shows I went and checked out the top of the line Garmin units and Lowrance units. Zooming out on the Garmin it took forever to redraw the screen. Sales rep was there I ask whats wrong and he replied it has a lot to redraw and said it was normal.

I went down to the Lowrance site and did the same thing and it would redraw allmost instantly. Big Difference. If you run is auto zoom mode or zoom in when get close to a waypoint you want to hit perfectly the speed makes a big diffenence.

On the Lowrance units the base map is much better than the Garmin of course on the two units you are looking at the garmin will be much better.

Compare the screen britness and resolution and redraw speed. Then if you do not plan to attach to other units and all else is equal get the lower cost unit.
The Naticpath path card is about the same as the garmin built in but does not have the 3D mode. If you want that on the Lowrance I think it is $150 and must get the Navionics Glod card to be equal.

Happy shopping and come back and tell us what you bought and why so other can learn what you liked best.

If you go with Lowrance and Navionics Gold, Navioincs will send you a free "Fishing Chip" This is the electronic version of the Baythymetric chart (10ft contours) for the region you purchased. Best if seen for fishing .You have to buy the Garmin baythymetric chats seperate if that unit supports them.

 

[JoLin]

Re: Built-In Bluechart G2 vs Nauticpath?

Good stuff there, boatist. Thanks!

Okay, here's how it went, and some of the factors I took into consideration. Bear in mind that since the Garmin 492 was officially discontinued last year (replaced by the 5xx series), there are no units on display in retail stores to make a full side-by-side comparison.

One of the things I was concerned about was screen resolution and, as you noted, the Lowrance's is higher. What I DID find on display at Boater's World, was the Lowrance 5300, and an Eagle 502-series gps, which has the same screen size (5"), resolution (240x320) and display type (256-color TFT) as the Garmin. To my eyes the Eagle looked good and perfectly readable. The Lowrance was a little better, but not a great difference IMO. I decided that the lower screen resolution was acceptable.

Interface-ability? I was also aware of the Garmin's limitations, but it wasn't a big factor in my decision. I don't foresee radar in my future, and while a fuel flow meter is a possibility, I can get everything I need in a standalone unit that can replace my non-working speedometer.

2D vs 3D charting is user selectable on the Garmin.

So, what did I buy? At the last minute, I found a Garmin 498 for only $45.00 more than the best price I had found on the 492. The 498 (also discontinued just last year) is a 492 with an added fishfinder/sounder and dual frequency transponder. That was at Boatersland.com, and I called to make sure that the transponder was in fact included in the deal (sometimes they aren't - you hafta be careful). The rep. assured me it was, and that if for any reason the package wasn't what I expected when it showed up, I had 10 days to ship it back. So, now I'm awaiting delivery. I'll post again when it shows up.

If it all works out, I essentially got a free fishfinder and free cartography (and full factory warranty) by choosing the Garmin this time. I also want to make clear that I wouldn't have gone this route except that the timing just happened to work out very well- the Garmin was only recently discontinued, but it isn't obsolete.

In case anybody else is interested, here are the prices I found on these Garmin units, assuming they're still in stock:

Garmin 492 GPS - $420 + shipping at Iboats.com and Tigergps.com

Garmin 498 GPS/Sounder Combo- $465.00 + shipping (internal antenna... what I bought) at boatersland.com. Add $32.00 for the external antenna model.

The Lowrance 5200/5300 (GPS-only) typically runs $450-475 plus the cost of cartography.

Wish me luck!