Navionics- First experience not good.

[rcouret]

Just installed new Lowrance 330c. Pop in my new (Jan 2004 rev.) Navionics Gold XL3 chip. Look up one of my favorite spots near Grand Isle Louisiana. Two islands (one a half mile long, the other a quarter mile seperated by a pass) that I fish around are shown as one island. A couple of mile's away the same thing. Also in the middle of the adjacent bay an island is shown that does not exist. Now I know that they probably looked that way years ago but not for the past 10 years I've fished there. Now this is not a problem for me since I know the area. But what about others who have not fished there. Or what about the main reason I purchased the Lowrance gps and Navionics chip? To explore and fish new area's. Will the spots I plan to fish be there? Can I count on the other info? This is scary! Anyone with similar problems? rcouret

[Jeff@Navionics]

Rcouret,

Do the official NOAA paper charts for that area show the information correctly? If they do, I will make sure the discrepancy gets fixed.

My guess is that all of the other electronic chart companies have information that looks exactly the same in that area. I am certain you can appreciate the logistical problems that would exist if we were to try to verify the accuracy of every land mass that is subject to erosion, shoaling, or tidal changes.

Our data is only as good as its source.

If you can suggest a paper of electronic chart source that has the correct info, I will do my best to to have it incorporated.

I think that you will find that your new chart is very accurate, and will be of great assistance when you try new areas. As always, an electronic chart does not replace experience, local knowledge, or prudent navigation.

Jeff@Navionics

[cgrand]

rcouret

i have both of garmin's cd maps of the area (us topo & bluechart)
what spots are you talking about? i'll look on my maps & see if they are any better

let me say this in agreement with chucknduck above...there are no paper maps of the wax lake delta area where we duck hunt that are any better than the elctronic ones...

[alstimeg]

The only problem I have w/ navonics is that the arrow (the boat) is too large. I understand that they designed it that way so it's easy to spot but after you realize that the craft is always in the middle of the screen, there's no reason to have the pointer that large. Make the pointer smaller and orange blinking so it stands out.

[Old Pirate]

Chuck...

I have a question. Are navionics chips and Lowrance units "hot swapable"? I don't see anything to the contrary in their manual and know many items using MMC or SD chips are, but some are not.

Your comments would be appreciated since from time to time I may wish to swap out a chip to record on the fly.

Thanks in advance.

[Sea_Dad]

It didnt zap mine when I did it without thinking the other night.


I just wish navionics would respond to discrepency reports. I dont like the empty feeling of not even a courtesy email response.

[rcouret]

chuckNduck and others,
Well first off the next time someone like myself make's a similar statement please ask a simple question. "Did you zoom in all the way or at least under a half mile?" Well when I went back and reviewed at a quarter mile or less sure enough it's pretty close to current conditions. I was to quick to criticize. An apology or in order and given... rcouret

[Old Pirate]

I noticed that too...it seems there is a minimum zoom in level before markers show up, but can't remember exactly which level it is. I think my unit is set up to display in a "medium" mode for detail. I don't know exactly what would happen if I set it to "high" other than clutter the screen during zoom out phases.

All in all I really like the Navionics charts after using them a bit more. Although visibly different to some degree they are as clear as Blue Chart in terms of telling you what you need to know.

The current and tide station information may actually be better.