|
|
Posts: 1936
Location: Eau Claire, WI | Was having a conversation with a friend the other night and he was telling me that he went to purchase a new Garmin GPS last week and was told by the clerk that within the last two weeks that Garmin is no longer supporting the Fishing Hot Spots Maps for their systems.
#1 Is this true?
#2 If so what are they replacing it with?
Can't imagine them selling many units if they aren't going to have map/navigation programs available. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 2515
Location: Waukesha & Land O Lakes, WI | The best answer I can give is...Kinda Yes, Kinda No
Yes.....There will no longer be a Fishing Hot Spots V4 Chip or Map Source CD, actually Garmin had V4 in the scrap yard for a while now.
No...The New Lakes and Recreation Chip/MapSource CD is Version 5 and it includes all or most of the lakes in V4, but it covers a wider area..example. V4 FHS made you unlock either one state (Wisconsin) or small groups (Minn and Iowa). V5 will cover the entire mid section of the country and Canada. You'll still have to unlock this area, but it's way bigger now. I believe Garmin calls it Lakes and Recreation with Fishing Hot Spots
Garmin is offering a $30.00 rebate for anybody who goes from V4 to V5. V5 is the same price as V4..$100.00.
www.garmin.com
Edited by Gander Mt Guide 7/28/2004 7:57 AM
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 699
Location: Hugo, MN | HotSpots is working with Navionics now calling them HotMaps.
http://www.navionics.com/HotMaps/Default.asp
I talked with a guy who was at the show in Vegas and he said Garmin is happy with what they have so they are not planning to change until they need to.
And from the Fishing Hot Spots Web site http://www.fishinghotspots.com/fhsinet/support.cfm
"This product and ongoing support for it has been discontinued."
Edited by marine_1 7/28/2004 9:04 AM
|
|
| |
|
| fear not!
i've got v5 and it's a very nice program.
it does cover a huge area - Ontario, MN, WI and right on down through the midwest down to the Gulf.
it basically does two things:
1) very detailed road map including backroads to get you to the lake you want to go fish - it was more up-to-date/accurate than the '02 Gazeteer i was using this weekend.
2) standard FHS maps of selected lakes, including contour lines, and the hot spot details
it allows you to selectively upload areas from the program on your computer into your GPS.
for example, my handheld eTrex Legend can take 8MB - i loaded all of northeast WI (Vilas, Iron, Oneida, etc.) plus selected parts of NW and S WI into it. some of the selectable areas are large, some are just a single lake if it's a big, detailed lake.
all in all, a great program. my only "complaint" is that the screen on my handheld is too small to make it very effective as a fishing tool. it'll keep me from getting lost, and get me to areas, but it's too small to see very much at once, especially if you're zoomed in very far. i'm sure a big screen GPS/Sounder would solve this problem easily.
i got my copy of the program for $85 on ebay...
this will let you see what the maps look like http://www.garmin.com/cartography/
Edited by lambeau 7/28/2004 9:14 AM
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 2515
Location: Waukesha & Land O Lakes, WI | The only thing that kinda sucks about it is that Garmin didn't add more lakes to it like Navonics did with their MMC chips.....LVD is not on either version...how the hell can't you have that lake on a chip??
Somebody has to wise up and make a chip that has as many lakes as Navonics(230), but with the detail of Map Source. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 1936
Location: Eau Claire, WI | OK...Thanks for the feedback.
I will let my friend know he can go buy his Garmin now...
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 4266
| What impact does this have on me and my 162 that I bought last year?
I only have the MN Hot Spots disc, should I get a WI disc for it now if they are still available?
Beav |
|
| |
|
Posts: 2515
Location: Waukesha & Land O Lakes, WI | Beave.....you'll upgrade to the same one I have. Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa.... all the way to Texas is covered in the Version 5 software. Garmin divided North America in to three parts...West ,Central and East....you'll be looking for the central software. They also make a seperate CD/Chip just for Minnesota...it's called Lake Master for Minnesota (the only state available as of now)
Edited by Gander Mt Guide 7/28/2004 4:22 PM
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 4266
| I already have the MN Hot Spots Map loaded, can I still get the old WI disc and load that
since those are the only 2 states that I mainly fish?
Beav |
|
| |
|
Posts: 2515
Location: Waukesha & Land O Lakes, WI | That's the problem....you wont be able to buy it anymore. I dont think Garmin is going to hand out Unlock Codes for Version 4 cd's any longer. All the lake maps are on the Version 4 Cd, but you unlock what you need, I dont know if you're going to be able to unlock Wisconsin.
I'd contact Garmin if I were you. If you trade up for the V5 software, you get a 30.00 rebate. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 4266
| I'm looking at a WI disc for sale right now.
I don't think that it would be legal
to sell me something and not allow me to unlock it.
Is there a lawyer in the house? |
|
| |
|
Posts: 4266
| I just got off of the phone with Garmin Tech Support.
He told me that the new version is way more accurate.
The regions are bigger......though I never will fish most of the areas on the map.
He'll sell me a new region map for $116 and give me $40 back when I send my MN disc back.
If I find an old Hot Spots Map disc, I will be able to unlock it, but he asked,
"Why buy and old version for as much as a new version would cost?"
Sounds like I'll be buying a new disc, even though it's more than I need.
I asked him about transferring the data that I have collected from one system to the other, and he said that I'd have to save all of my waypoints someplace, and then reinstall them once I put the newer version in.
Seems like there are no other options but to upgrade.
Beav |
|
| |
|
Location: Woodstock, IL | If they didn't add more lakes, I'm going to live with what I have. I have a Garmin 188 and purchased all regions for $179 or something like that. It doesn't sound like upgrading would do anything for me other than drain my wallet. Am I misinterpreting? |
|
| |
|
Posts: 1769
Location: Algonquin, ILL | It seems as though some lakes have been added but more importantly I noticed that the islands on Sabaskong bay are now shaded vs just outlined this will make navigating much easier and safer. Go to the right side of the page linked below to get a preview of the maps
http://www.garmin.com/cartography/mapSource/reclakes.jsp#
Edited by JohnMD 7/28/2004 6:58 PM
|
|
| |
|
Location: Woodstock, IL | I take my original response back. After checking out their website, it appears as though there are more maps, including the Manitowish Chain and Trout Lake which I fish regularly, that include contour lines. They may not all have all of the details of the FHS maps, but I usually don't pay much attention to the fishing tips anyway.
Maybe I will be opening my wallet.....
Edited by dpratt 7/28/2004 7:19 PM
|
|
| |
|
| it may or may not matter to the way you fish, but the maps of the roads around those lakes are much improved. good detail of small backroads - important for finding your way to/from... |
|
| |
|
Posts: 2515
Location: Waukesha & Land O Lakes, WI | You know something DPratt, I saw that too, but the Manitowish Chain is'nt on my V5 chip for my Map176! |
|
| |
|
Location: Woodstock, IL | Unfortunately the roads portion won't do me a bit of good. My Garmin 188 is mounted on the console of my boat.
Gander - Hmmm, that is concerning. Although if I remember correctly, the pre-programmed cards do not contain the "recreational lakes". They only have the FHS lakes on them. Since the Manitowish Chain isn't a FHS map, it would not be on your card.
Edited by dpratt 7/29/2004 9:14 AM
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 2515
Location: Waukesha & Land O Lakes, WI | So let me get this straight....the CD's will have the Recreational lakes, but the Chips dont? |
|
| |
|
Posts: 1769
Location: Algonquin, ILL | Gander, sound correct to me. based on what I have seen so far with the added lakes and the Sabaskong island shading I think I will bite
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 2515
Location: Waukesha & Land O Lakes, WI | Garmin is getting a Nasty Gram today. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 4266
| The guy that I talked to said that more lakes have been added.
However, the smaller lakes will not have any contour lines, only shorelines.
I asked about The Mississippi River, and was told that all they provide is the main channel
and whatever info they have now, because it's always changing.
It just seems like overkill to me. I'll be buying a disc that covers all the way to Texas,
way much more than I need. If they can give me that much for $116,
why not give me MN, WI, Southern Canada for $50?
Face it, they gotch ya!
Beaver |
|
| |
|
| Beaver,
You have mail
Fred |
|
| |
|
Posts: 4266
| I just had another lengthy conversation with a Garmin rep.
I told him that I was disappointed with the whole scenario,
and the lack of good Wisconsin lake maps.
Then he directed me to the "Recreational Lakes" list.
They aren't "Hot Spot" maps, but they are all mapped with detailed contour lines
and I think that there were about 200.
Guess it doesn't seem that bad now, I was under the impression that the only lakes with
contour lines were the lakes listed outside the recreational lakes.
Beav |
|
| |
|
| from USING mine, this is my experience.
every lake (ie. 1000s) is ON the map in shore outline form, along with very good detail on roads, etc.
there are a ton of recreational lakes (~200, check the list) which have contour line detail
there are many lakes with FHS detail, which means contour lines plus detail windows about the fishing spots
if you're depending on the FHS info, you're likely missing a ton of spots and fishing the same 6 spots on the lake that everyone else fishes/knows about. looking at the map and deciding for yourself where you think has potential will increase your success - and you only really need the "recreational" contour detail (along with bottom comp, vegetation, etc.) to do so. there's a ton of lakes included with this level of detail.
it's a good product, especially if you fish a lot of different areas outside your own backyard lakes.
|
|
| |
|
Posts: 4266
| I've never had to rely on FHS maps to find fishing spots. I agree with you that most spots are unmarked, and that's a good thing. I just wasn't aware of how many maps were actually included until I saw the recreational list.
I just ordered mine.
Who knows, maybe I'll go to Texas when I retire 
Beav |
|
| |
|
Location: Woodstock, IL | How do you get the $30 discount if you have v4.0? I didn't see any way of doing so on their website order form. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 2515
Location: Waukesha & Land O Lakes, WI | it's on thier web page.....you get the V5 and send in the serial # from your version 4, you send in a 30.00 rebate form. |
|
| |
|
Posts: 4266
| Got my Recreational Lakes v5 disc today......very cool.
Downloaded some areas, and was amazed just how many lakes have
contour lines. Well worth the money for the upgrade.
Beav |
|
| |
|
Location: Woodstock, IL | Ordered mine yesterday and can't wait to get it. |
|
| |
