Advice on Best GPS

[Dave R]

Originally Posted by Grady223

I am in the same boat (ha, ha) trying to decide which chartplotter to install, my old hand held Garmin (circa 2001) is long outdated. I am looking at the SH CP500 because these old eyes need a big bright screen, anyone have any experience with them?

No experience, but plenty of lust. It would work perfectly on my helm due to its wide screen and low height. My helm limitations are vertical so I went with their smallest screen and opted for SH instead of Navman/Northstar, which are taller. Mine works perfectly fine, but it lacks the soft keys placed along the bottom of the 500. Those soft keys are really nice for quickly accessing often used features.

Edited to add:

My mistake, it's the CP300 I lust for. It's got a wide screen. The 500 is way too big for my helm.

[codeman671]

Overall quality is better on the Standard Horizon. I have a CP155C and have had the CP175C and loved both. My uncle is a manager at Boat/US and specializes in electronics. He has in the past informed me to stay away from the Navman products. They were more of a price-point unit and did not offer the higher end features found in other brands.

[Flotnjr]

If you are looking for just a straight GPS, (not a combo fishfinder) I have heard good things about the Standard Horizon. A basic unit with internal antenna (easy install!) runs for right around $500. The C-Map card is available for about $115, and is a great chip! Good Luck!!!

[codeman671]

Originally Posted by Flotnjr

If you are looking for just a straight GPS, (not a combo fishfinder) I have heard good things about the Standard Horizon. A basic unit with internal antenna (easy install!) runs for right around $500. The C-Map card is available for about $115, and is a great chip! Good Luck!!!

The FF520 black box can be added if you want fish finder capabilities.

Also, there is a CP180I (internal antenna, 5" color) on Ebay for $395.

[Webbsatwinni]

We bought a Garmin 376c last year and loaded the Bizer Garmin chart and it worked great. I liked the Garmin as it was portable, had really long battery life, and an integrated antenna. There was nothing to mount in the boat (unless you want to). But we chose to leave it portable and use it for day trips.

The 276c was cheaper and the only difference is the XM weather tracker. I don't use that function as it is a subscription service.
I found mine at West marine as an end of season deal, it looks like they are now going for around $600 for the 376c and $450 for the 276c.

The screen is small, but it offers various view options and the portability made this the perfect unit for us.

The Bizer chart was great and easy to load. It shows most of the hard copy information. Here is the link to the Bizer garmin page:

http://www.bizer.com/garmin/index.htm

[NHskier]

Similar to Webbsatwinni, I bought a Garmin 276C unit last year and used it with Bizer's Garmin chart and was quite happy with it.

You can also find more details on this at:

http://www.winnipesaukee.com/forums/...highlight=276c

[Lakepilot]

We have the Standard Horizon in our boat and love it. We use a Garmin Etrex Vista HCX in our Kayaks with the chip and it works good. I prefer the SH, but the Etrex is waterproof.