Re: GPS and sounder combo
I would really compare the unit to the Lowrance LMS 525 C if you want a external GPS antenna or
Lowrance LMS 527 C if you want and internal gps anntenna.
Personaly I like the Lowrance 525 C the best.
Both the Garmin 540s and the Lowrance 525 C have 5 inch screens.
Garmin resoultion is 240 by 320 but Lowrance is 480 by 480 so lowrance has much higher resoultion.
This makes the screen more detailed and clear.
Both have the same power output.
One thing I do not like about the garmin 540s is it only has 20 routes which is fine if you go to the same places
all the time, but if you like me and fish all over the place it is not enough.
Lowrance 525 C has 100 routes.
Garmins biggest plus it it comes with preloaded maps.
Lowrance has better base maps than garmin but does not come with the detailed preloaded maps that Garmin has.
Lowrance does have a free card of your choice until July 2008 if you buy any of the 500 series units.
Comparing prices here at IBoats the Lowrance is $664 and the Garmin is $750
If you can find a store that has both units you should go to the store and compare.
One thing to do is zoom in and out and see how long it takes the screen to redraw.
All the Lowrance units I have seen were much faster than the same type garmin, they have a dual processor.
If you running in a stright line then speed does not make a big difference until you get close to your destination
and either auto zoom or manual zoom to get right on you spot.
If you running in track up mode or course up mode as I do most of the time then you may also find it takes a
really long time to redraw when you make a trun.
Lowrance resoultion is 480 by 480 so it you run in split screen mode the gps and the depthfinder will run in
240 wide by 480 high. The depth finder the vertical resoultion determins how much detail you can see.
In shallow water this does not make too much difference other that it looks nicer.
When you get in deep water then it makes a big difference in the size of fish you can see.
The Garmin resolution is 240 wide by 320 High and I belive when in split screen mode they split in the middle
of the screen. This would give you a Gps of 240 wide by 160 high and the same for the fish finder.
If this is the case then the lowrance would have 3 times the resoultion of the garmin.
That mean Lowrance could see a lot more fish in deep water.
If they split the other way then you would have a GPS screen size of 120 by 320 so would not have much
of the map displayed. The fishfinder would also be 120 wide by 320 high so could see more fish but
still only 2/3 of lowrance's resoultion. In this case the width or history is very small. So when looking at the
depth finder for structure, fish or weather the bottom is getting deeper or shallower your going to have to
watch closely as the returns will scroll off the screen very fast.
Garmin web site says it has NMEA 0183 which can be used to connect to your radio the enable the DSC fuction.
Lowrance Has NMEA 0183 also but also Has NMEA 2000, Eithernet, and RS232 so you can connect to
almost anything. This would be things like Fuel Flow sensor, Satellite Radio, Radar, Weather satellites, VHF radio.
Anyway looks at both Garmin and Lowrance before you buy.
