Best offroad GPS? Lowrance Elite 5M or HDS 7 or other?

[pat'sRAPTOR]

You sir are correct no need for the external antenna. I don't run it because the internal antenna works perfectly fine.

 

[MrGreen33]

Hell ya' thanks Pat!!

 

[pat'sRAPTOR]

No problem man! Glad I can help

 

[Icecobra]

I have the elite 5m, and the good is its easy to use,a nd you can make trail maps from it. The bad where I mounted it is great for seeing it while driving taking your eyes off the road can be a bad thing. I would position it for my navigator but she is lost before were completely out of the driveway. Has map software so you can buy city street maps. I have yet to get it totally accurate to show exactly where I am its always off about 30 to 100 feet. Something I am doing wrong I am sure. I played with the external antenna and internal only same results either way. So internal antenna works great. ... I will post more as I think of it...

 

[Bigg50]

I have a couple of iPADs in our family. I will be going out on my first desert run (half day) in a week or so. I think I'm going to try this Bluetooth external GPS antenna from Amazon for $94. It's well rated and improves the iPAD GPS accuracy. It gives 10 hours of wireless GPS via Bluetooth the iPAD.

Amazon.com: Dual Electronics XGPS150A Universal Bluetooth GPS Receiver for Portable Devices: Electronics


I just bought MotionX HD GPS for the iPAD for $1.99. Crazy nice display. It's hard to think about dropping $600-1200 for a Lowrance until I ride with someone who has one. In the mean time I'll try the iPAD and external antenna.

The equivalent Lowrance setup looks to be like $2500.

I recently had great success using MotionX on my iPad. Purchased this mount Amazon.com: HD Zone's New IBRA® Range Windscreen In Car Suction Mount Holder with FULL 360 Degrees Rotation For Apple ipad 1,Ipad 2 and iPad 3 (Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + 3G) 16GB 32GB 64GB also suitable for All e-pads Like Blackberry,Samsung Etc...(Very and mounted it in the center. I made sure to have it resting on the dash and then tightened everything up. Resting on the dash helps to support it and keep it from bouncing around. Not to say the suction cup mount isn't very strong. It's actually difficult to remove it. The other added benefit by placing it on the dash is better GPS reception.

I'll see if this continues to meet my needs. But as of right now it does. I was able to plot my course for my scouting run using Google maps and then convert it to a GPX file using GPS Visualizer: Convert GPS files to plain text or GPX
Then just email it to yourself and open it with your iPad.

Just make sure to download a map of the area ahead of time otherwise your course will be laid out over a blank grid once you loose data service.

 

[SVTBuckeye]

Thanks Bigg50 for the tip on the iPad mount. Do you have any pics of it mounted in your truck?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[Bigg50]

Thanks Bigg50 for the tip on the iPad mount. Do you have any pics of it mounted in your truck?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

I'll try and get you a shot. Nosbusa has my truck for the next day or two.

 

[shooterAMG]

So I'm looking around at Lowrance products and I have a question. It looks like the Gen 2 HDS-5m comes with a built in antenna now, so its' major downside seems to be resolved. My question is, what map set comes with the HDS-5m? I don't need it for urban navigation, just for plotting and following a route. Does the map set include anything, or is it just a plane background on which you do all the work, like in the pic in the link below? Reason I'm asking is I want to understand what my total cash outlay will be for the unit, mount and software.


Elite-5m Baja - LOWRANCE | Marine Electronics



HDS-5m Gen 2 for reference.
HDS-5m Gen2 - LOWRANCE | Marine Electronics

 

[Tinleg]

Those of you with iPads may want to check out this app:

GPS Kit & GPS Kit HD: The ultimate apps for getting outdoors

I use if for all my off-road Nav on backroads and trails in Colorado.


FWIW - after seriously considering a lowrance, and using this app - I am convinced this app is the better deal for the money, even including the cost of a 3g enabled iPad.

 

[Aaron]

I recently had great success using MotionX on my iPad. Purchased this mount Amazon.com: HD Zone's New IBRA® Range Windscreen In Car Suction Mount Holder with FULL 360 Degrees Rotation For Apple ipad 1,Ipad 2 and iPad 3 (Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi + 3G) 16GB 32GB 64GB also suitable for All e-pads Like Blackberry,Samsung Etc...(Very and mounted it in the center. I made sure to have it resting on the dash and then tightened everything up. Resting on the dash helps to support it and keep it from bouncing around. Not to say the suction cup mount isn't very strong. It's actually difficult to remove it. The other added benefit by placing it on the dash is better GPS reception.

I'll see if this continues to meet my needs. But as of right now it does. I was able to plot my course for my scouting run using Google maps and then convert it to a GPX file using GPS Visualizer: Convert GPS files to plain text or GPX
Then just email it to yourself and open it with your iPad.

Just make sure to download a map of the area ahead of time otherwise your course will be laid out over a blank grid once you loose data service.

I just bought this one and will use motionX on my IPad. I've had good luck with MX on my IPhone.

RAM Mounting Systems RAM-B-166-AP8U Ram Mount Suction Cup Base for the Apple iPad Car Windshield Mount:Amazon:Electronics