Garmin 192C & 198C - The Hull Truth

SWFLNavigation · 04-17-2005, 08:55 PM

I met with a Regional Sales rep with Garmin on friday and learned a little bit about these units. The biggest surprise of all is the internal blue charting software. When you get this unit is comes with ALL OF THE BLUE CHARTS for ALL THE US...... I almost fell over... I said you must be kidding right???? Nope, I saw Miami and Maine with NO CHIP inserted. I cant believe they would do this with the 192 & 198 and not with the 3006 & 3010.... he said that Garmin needed to do this with the lower end units to compete with Lowrance... Just thought I'd drop some FYI...

totem · 04-17-2005, 09:45 PM

do you know if thatmeans large lakes like the great lakes.. new york canal systems, st lawrence seaway.. esp the great lakes

Terry

DougSea · 04-17-2005, 10:04 PM

SWFLNav, any word on expected retail pricing and availability? I've got a buddy who was about to pick up a 188c, I'm wondering if he should wait a bit and go for the 198c. Garmin's site says it available this quarter, just wondering when exactly.

Any info would be greatly appreciated.

SWFLNavigation · 04-17-2005, 10:17 PM

I will call my area rep tomorrow and find a more firm date for shipping, I think the 198 is worth waiting for. The screen is better than the 188C and not needing a chips is a $150 saving right there...

DougSea · 04-17-2005, 10:32 PM

Thanks for the quick reply Mike! I tell ya, the service here on THT can't be beat!

I'll check back tomorrow.

westf · 04-18-2005, 09:05 AM

Check out getfeetwet.com... great price on the 192C. $ 620 for the 192C and a 20 dollar discount for preordering = $600 ! The soft ship date is June and when I called them they said preorder discount will be available all the way up until they are shipping. I also was floored to find out it will include all bluecharts (except for inshore lakes- I think).

SWFLNavigation · 04-18-2005, 04:35 PM

Shipping is mid May.....

donald/tri-again · 04-18-2005, 10:02 PM

boaters world has them in stock and on display!

Afishinado · 04-19-2005, 08:39 AM

By the way, if you have a 188c, it's a 'unplug the old, plug in the new' thing. All the connectors, transducer, antenna are the same as the 188c. I called the factory on it. Looks like the Grady will get sold with a Garmin 185.

BrooklynJoe · 04-19-2005, 01:46 PM

Quote:

westf - 4/18/2005 9:05 AM

Check out getfeetwet.com... great price on the 192C. $ 620 for the 192C and a 20 dollar discount for preordering = $600 ! The soft ship date is June and when I called them they said preorder discount will be available all the way up until they are shipping. I also was floored to find out it will include all bluecharts (except for inshore lakes- I think).

How did you get the 600 price...When I checked their website it came up as 719.00....I would be interested in preordering at 600.

Thanks,
Joe

adam2s · 04-20-2005, 07:50 PM

Has anyone out there been to BW to actually see one of these? Any comments on the screen? From the Garmin website looks like the specs for the display are the same as the 182c. Is there any real difference?
It looks like there may shortly be some really good deals on the 182c & realistically I don't need more than one chip. Just trying to figure out if the 192 is worth the wait (can you tell I have some GPS money burning a hole in my pocket!?)

swamppro · 04-20-2005, 08:13 PM

The screen is brighter than the 182c and the bluechart for the states are built in. The redraw is pretty quick also. I would wait as you do not have to spend the $ on a chart.

BrooklynJoe · 04-21-2005, 08:38 AM

Stopped at BW last night and checked out the 192c...Man,,,it is sweet.

Since I dont have a 182 I can't compare,but, I liked everything I saw on this unit. The screen was sharp and bright compared to alot of the other units there. The redraw was super fast.

BW is selling the unit for 899. I think I will wait for BOE to get some at 699. Saving 200 is worth the wait for me.....

Joe

totem · 04-21-2005, 11:48 AM

Checked boe website and they have 192c listed and the 198c listed. Just would like to know are they shipping them? Must be as they are on the site!!

BrooklynJoe · 04-21-2005, 11:53 AM

Checked with Jim last week at BOE. They dont have them yet and he wasnt sure of when they would be getting them.

Hopefully Jim will read this post and update any expected arrival for these units.

Joe

yachtjim · 04-21-2005, 04:28 PM

Taking orders at this point, but I think BW is th eonly place to have them in stock. We have a BUNCH of customers anxiously awaiting theirs. It is going to be a HOT sellers!

jfdlaw · 04-21-2005, 05:28 PM

Does anyone know if the charts included in the 198C include the great lakes (specifically Lake Ontario)? The Garmin Site says:

"The unit boasts built-in, highly-detailed BlueChart cartography of the coastal United States . . . Boaters can also purchase pre-programmed data cards of other BlueChart regions—like Canada or the Bahamas—or charts of inland U.S. lakes"

Is Lake Ontario and its bays and rivers "inland lake", or is it part of the "coastal" region?

totem · 04-21-2005, 06:34 PM

JF
Good question as I was basicially asking the same question. I call Garmin and they responded with the Great Lakes were included in the hard drive. He also stated that it did not included Canada! He did not give me the feeling that he knew what he was talking about.... I still have some doubts in my mind !!!! Sooooo I will wait to I get another firm answer on that question, also emailed them about how they will be doing updates, if that is all possible , but have not recieved and answer back at this point.. I will follow up, when Garmin responds back or get some feedback on this site
Terry

cjd · 04-21-2005, 08:34 PM

so do i still need to buy the unlock codes for the regions, or is the entire US already unlocked?

cgrand · 04-21-2005, 10:03 PM

already unlocked...the whole thing
pretty cool