I've had all three major brands through the years and currently I'd be buying all Garmins if I was upgrading. (I currently have a Garmin 126 on the bow and an HDS12 at the console)
I've had all three major brands through the years and currently I'd be buying all Garmins if I was upgrading. (I currently have a Garmin 126 on the bow and an HDS12 at the console)
'13 Triton 19SE 225 Pro XS
'09 Chevy Silverado Z71
Select the "SonarCharts" option for it! Each Navionics card comes with what I think it just calls "Navionics" maps which has their own surveys, then has a different layer called "SonarCharts" which is the Navionics survey updated by user sonar logs. It's waaay more accurate and gets updated pretty consistently. It used to be a little all over the place from people uploading garbage logs, but they've done something to help with that. If you have the app on your phone, it's the difference between their "Nautical Chart" and "SonarChart" layers which can be changed by tapping the little circle in the bottom left corner.Originally Posted by Macsimus
I can't remember exactly how to change the setting in my Lowrance graphs as I've just left it on SonarCharts for so long, but I'm sure it's in the chart settings side menu (the one accessible when you have the map "page" active) and is fairly straightforward. On older graphs that layer was called "Fish N Chips." If you want the most up-to-date version you'll need to have an active subscription, but once you have it and update your cards you can update them as often as you like for a year and then it stays even if the subscription lapses. I think it's $100 per year. If your card is a few years old or less, you probably don't need to update it to get accurate maps. Of course there are a few out of the way lakes here and there that are inaccurate or aren't updated just due to people not fishing them enough to upload logs, but you can say the same about LakeMaster maps.
2011 Skeeter ZX225
225 Yamaha HPDI Series 2
Minn Kota Ultrex 112 52"
Console: HDS 16 Carbon
Bow: HDS 12 Carbon, Solix 12 G2, Mega 360, Garmin 106 SV, LVS 34
Navionics has survey teams all over the world. Current maps can be viewed on their website's Chart Viewer. You can compare what your map card shows to the Chart Viewer and if new stuff is available, you can update your card if it is suitable or purchase a new one and do an update to get the current data. They do about 5,000 additions/updates daily for their data.
Their maps are Nautical Charts.
They also have a program to process unit owner sonar logs into HD contour mapping, then that data can be loaded/updated to a Navionics map card. That program is called Sonar Charts.
You have to have an active Freshest Data Update subscription to do any updates==annual subscription.
Updates are done via a free software you install to your computer--Chart Installer. That is where you register your map card, create an account, so you can do updates.
Wayne Purdum
Charlottesville, Va.
Helix 12 MEGA SI+ G4N, Helix 15 MEGA SI+ GPS G4N
SOLIX 12 SI/G3, Helix 8 MEGA SI+ G4N, Ultrex 80/Advanced, MEGA360,
MEGA LIVE, LIVE TL, MEGA LIVE 2, Xplore 10
Andrew and Wayne: thank you
"There was a time I didn't fish, but I cannot remember it".
Have had them all, now both my boats are all Garmin. IMO the best bang for the buck, easiest to network and I like the fact that I'm just taking off the head unit and don't have to mess with 4/5 connectors every time I remove my graphs. Also, if you do have a second boat all you have to do is just buy some new cradles and swap them back and forth.
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