Super User cart7t Posted July 19, 2009 Super User Posted July 19, 2009 Yep, I've entered the 21st century finally & bought a GPS finder, Eagle 500C. It should tide me over till the SI Lowrances come out and then get de-bugged. Anyway. I have a question on the software available. First, what's Map create? What does it do? Is it useful? Second, between Navionics and Fishing Hotspots, which is the better software and why? Quote
Super User Wayne P. Posted July 19, 2009 Super User Posted July 19, 2009 I haven't used MapCreate. The difference between Navionics and Hotspots is some bodies of water are not on both, the same body of water may have inaccurate positions on one and correct positions on the other, Navionics has HD (high definition-1'contours) on bodies of water that they surveyed-(not completely accurate at some locations on a particular body of water), one may have more detail included on some bodies of water that the other doesn't such as flooded road beds, stumps, bottom hardness, etc. The best way to chose which is to check the bodies of water contained on both to see if it has the ones you are interested in and the detail included. Ask someone that has mapping software for the particular body of water you are interested in for their opinion. Generally, the Navionics software is the most used. Quote
Bud Posted July 19, 2009 Posted July 19, 2009 cart7t MapCreate is a computer program that lets you work with waypoints at home then load them to a SD card to load them into you GPS. It does away with a lot of hunting on the water. I don't like Mapcreate I rather use Hot Maps Explorer with PC Hummingbird in my Birds. I use the Navionics HD maps for Ky and Barkley. They are more accurate in my openion. Quote
Super User fishfordollars Posted July 19, 2009 Super User Posted July 19, 2009 cart7t, I have a FHSpro Elite chip I can send you to see how you like it. It is the south chip so it should have your lakes. Don't want to get rid of it, but if you would like to try it against a Navionics chip just let me know and I'll mail it to you. Also have Map Create 6.3 if you would like to try it. If you like it feel free to keep the disc for your area. Jack P.S., don't try to copy one or you will ruin them. They come with copy write protection built in. Quote
Al Wolbach Posted July 19, 2009 Posted July 19, 2009 I have an LMS332 and some chips have to be downloaded each time you turn the unit on and some chips do not require a download. I went to the local Bass Pro Shop and they showed me each chip in the unit I have and allowed me to play with them. I'm not sure what sporting goods stores are near you if any, but this may be an option. This really helped me decide which were better for me. The newer units may not require download each time the unit is turned on. Although 1' depth contours sounds great and would offer great detail it's not always the best. One of my local lakes (Cherokee) is large by most standards but it contains many islands. There were so many contour lines around these islands that navigation became difficult at speed. I should mention the channel is over 100' deep. Just plain information overload. I live in East Tennessee and the land is not flat nor is the lake bottom, which causes to many contour lines. For Florida lakes or fairly flat bottom lakes the 1' contours would be great. If there is a store near you that will allow you to play with the different chips it will help you decide. Plus these guys will help you learn the unit if they are not to busy. Good luck.........Al Quote
Super User Jig Man Posted July 19, 2009 Super User Posted July 19, 2009 Cart map create 7 is way better than the other models. It has maps in it while the others only show blue (water) white (land). I use it to keep wpt, icon, and trail files for the 6 lakes I fish. I have about 1000 wpts and like to keep them in seperate files. I can mark as many as I want in a day and then look at the location on the computer with mc7 and see if I want to keep them or not. It really has helped me organize my stuff. I have the shot spots cards but am thinking about Nav since I looked at a buds and all the contours on Stockton. Quote
Super User fishfordollars Posted July 19, 2009 Super User Posted July 19, 2009 cart7t your stuff going out in Monday's mail Quote
Super User cart7t Posted July 19, 2009 Author Super User Posted July 19, 2009 Thanks guys. I can't wait to try this out. Quote
Super User Jig Man Posted July 19, 2009 Super User Posted July 19, 2009 If you have Map Create questions, I'll do my best to help you out. Quote
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