Looking for best place to buy GPS/Sonar combo that doesnt break bank???

[B52]

Here is a link for a category breakdown of the ACCURACY ON CURRENT GPS UNITS.
http://science.opposingviews.com/difference-between-handheld-gps-receivers-surveying-grade-gps-receivers-17869.html

RECREATIONAL grade gps has a radius of 50 feet. (which is what I find with my Garmin handheld and a standard auto navigation unit
COMMERCIAL grade gps is 10 feet and the price goes up to $900.00 for a hand held unit
DIFFERENTIAL grade gps is three feet and the price goes up ten fold ( a.k.a. thousands of dollars)
SURVEY grade gps, accurate to a centimeter, (you actually need two seperate units apart from each other) the cost I do not know.

Keep in mind that 50 feet accuracy in a radius could take you up to 100 feet away from your marked spot when you return on a different day or a different time of the day.
I SEE THAT THERE ARE SOME RECREATIONAL UNITS WHERE THEY HAVE ENHANCED SOFTWARE AND PROGRAM MEMORY CHIPS THAT CAN BE BOUGHT AND INSTALLED ETC.  
That leads me to believe that they are not very accurate in the first place (REC GRADE)or they would not need the bolt ons that may or may not work.
I guess it falls into the category, ya git wat u pay 4.  not what you wish it would be.

aGAIN 50 TO 100 FEET ACCURACY WORKS FOR ME IN THE OCEAN OR ON THE GREAT LAKES. but on evern larger inland freshwater lakes I can't get it to beat following the bottom depth trail and cross referencing multiple shore land marks.
The problem with the above is it is time consuming and spooks the fish.  Recreational gps is better than nothing for night fishing.  

Here is another link  exposing how the manufacturers disguise their accuracy testing and stating that the enhancement chips , no matter what they claim do not work etc etc
http://www.brighthub.com/electronics/gps/articles/43189.aspx

If anyone out there checks these site s  out then please let me know what you think.

[B52]

Where have all the GPS experts gone now?? The above has been up for about a week now with,  now comments within  week.  Where are all the self claimed gps experts an now.

[stripernut]

That are you looking for to be said? I stand by everything I posted...

[filetandrelease]

here are a few places to look, boaters land, fishfinder factory outlet store , the digital oasis ,the gps store, of course e-bay ,[just goggle fish finders and it is endless or brand names]   I personally like Lowrance and own several and a hand held unit  and 1 hummingbird fish finder and they all perform very well

[B52]

Stripernut.
I am only trying to get an opinion poll. going.   I will put you down as 1 for saying that the standard (not too expensive)  gps for fishing is very accurate.  I guess you are saying to within a foot..  You can clear tha up if you want to. 

[B52]

here is a current link where he is researching why his lowrance elite shows him on land when he is 1/2 mile out in the lake.
http://www.gpscity.ca/questions?qid=41454

[B52]

Here is lowrances statement of maximum accuracy
 

*  Expectations:  The GPS and WAAS technologies are excellent aids to navigation.  However, consumer products do not have the pinpoint accuracy found in military and surveying devices.  Typically, GPS accuracy without WAAS will be around 10-20 meters (30-60ft) or less.  With the addition of WAAS, accuracy can be as high as 5meters (15ft) or less.  There are still variables that will effect accuracy such as atmospheric interference, location and combination of satellites in use, and frequency in which the unit is updating your position.

[stripernut]

B52, first most of the statements, like that one from Lowrance are written with Lawyers (and by lawyers) in mind and are the worst case scenario (for when and if the Government "Dails up" the inaccuracy)...  I have been teaching anglers how to use GPS for well over a decade and it is rare to see that much inaccuracy. I personally use a Garmin hand held that is very accurst and when I use the Averaging feature it does bring me into about a foot of the spot that I have found in the past... I have had great luck with the charts in Garmin and RayMarine units. I often am fishing in big surf against cliffs and the units accurately show individual rocks that I could catch fish on and avoid loosing a prop on... Once, I was giving lessons on how to navigate using a chart plotter and we brought a 30ft Pro Line in to a slip with the Captain only using the chart plotter (it showed the dock/slips on the chartplotter), we had people ready to fend if needed, but they weren't. the GPS/Chart Plotter were right on the money. All that being said, they are a Navigational Aid and not a replacement for what use to be called common sense...
If you want to start a "Survey", perhaps it would be best to start a new thread...

[B52]

OK good idea start a new thread, will do

[B52]

Stripernut.
first: I have to do a blind test before I start a thread. (me and two other guys).
Second:  If they are that accurate then why do they have to have an averaging function, that can be turned on when needed?
    Does that function take you to as an example from 10  feet to 3, or from  3 to 1? 

[stripernut]

If they are that accurate then why do they have to have an averaging function,

Because as stated they are not always as accurate as we would want.

Does that function take you to as an example from 10  feet to 3, or from  3 to 1?

It would depend on the accuracy that day, but for me it has been the 3' to less than a foot...

that can be turned on when needed

Too use the function the GPS should be stationary... I use it most often to get back to the exact hole I have cut in the ice, and it has always brought me to the hole I was looking for.

[B52]

Stripernut;
Great answers,  I can live with that.
I will keep you posted on when I start the new thread.
One thing to mention is I realize that some gps issues have been discussed in different places in here and elsewhere, but I think that the technology has evolved over the years to a point and then stagnated.  The manufacturers are now relying on misleading false advertizing to sell their products.  I am not talking about the fishfinder part of the combo, just referencing the gps function.  I will give you a quick example. current automobile advertisement on television,   they gloss over the piece of junk car and then emphasize and re-emphasize it has a 5.3 touch screen in the dash.  meanwhile the thing is a piece of junk and unsafe and is currently being exposed due to fatalaties and injuries to the point of congressional investigations (who is making them recall only some of the issues, of the companies improprieties and disregard for the actual function of the vehicles)
 But it has a 5.3 touch screen,  not a 5.2 or a 5.4 etc. "Really'".... And the techno types buy the car cause that irrelevant gizmo sells them. 
Summary
we highlight the good points and the reality of these fishfinder gps combos in relation to their bad points.. etc and the fisherman will listen and be aware.  Fisherman buying one of these units are for the most part serious fisherman, and a serious fisherman don't have time nor a need for irrelavent gizmos ar features that do not work and are only partially/rarely functional ,,  just to pick the customers pocket.
Not to mention that it could create a little competitionwhereas their R & D department can get a new sense of urgency to make a better product rather than spending our money and their time out on the golfcourse.  (I hope they at least fish on the weekends, and they probably have the best equipment that is not sold to the public.

[stripernut]

B52, what are you looking for that is not already available in a GPS? Just more accuracy, or is there something else that you are unhappy about with them?

[TunkTroller]

Some thing you need to consider while contemplating GPS accuracy: While a GPS may have some degree of error in reference to coordinates those errors are nullified when using a plotting function.  For example you find a rock on bottom you want to mark with a way point. Your unit will mark it and while it may be off somewhat from a coordinate standpoint it will be darn close as far as coming back to it each time. The 2 units I own at the moment for fishing are always so close that any error is unnoticeable.  Especially when you figure in the wind, tide, currents etc at play while trying to maneuver a boat over a small plotted object. The error or discrepancy will only be real noticeable if you attempt to find the same coordinates on a different unit. Assuming that unit is more or less accurate. In other words the use of the same GPS unit daily nullifies any discrepancies. Particularly for any uses involving fishing or plotting in way points. I've recorded and produced a number of contour charts using lowrances networking feature and they are always spot on. My friends with fishfinders that take sdcards have used them a lot also and say they are spot on for them also.

From what I can see GPS plotters as a whole are pretty darn accurate. Lobster fisherman find other fishermen's gear all the time that has been parted off or gear that gets moved a long way from storms. When this happens they write down the GPS (in some cases loran) numbers and radio them to the other fishermen.  Happens everyday and they are all using varying quality and brands of GPSs. Rarely does the retrieving boat have issues coming right up on his missing gear. That's with $6000 hondex or furuno units down to cheap raymarine or standard horizon units.

From a handheld standpoint the accuracy seems great also. I supply all the raw product that Whitney wreath and LL Bean uses in their product. I spend days and days a in the late winter riding around recording coordinates on areas I want harvested in the fall. I then give a list of the numbers to the different guys working for me and they go about working the areas. 1 guy uses a Delorme unit identical to mine. Another uses a garmin. Another with a garmin of lower quality than the other and while I can't recall what everyone else uses I know they vary and nobody ever has trouble finding the target.  So between the woods and water the accuracy test of hitting coordinates across units proves them to be all very close.

[unreel]

I've had good luck with BOE Marine........very knowledgeable sales people

http://www.boemarine.com/categories/marine-navigation-equipment/gps-fishfinder-combos.html?sort=priceasc