Lowrance Ifinder Go.

[Flightnineteen]

I just recently picked this up as my first GPS, and i have been pleasantly surprised. That being said I orginally went to get the Garmin etrex Legend and was convinced to buy this by a local Gander Mountain employee. Taking this out for a few local caches with my mothers Magellan explorist 100 i without a doubt prefer the Lowrance. I realize these are very basic GPS's and dont include PC connectvity, but right now uploading maps is something i am not interested in and while upload coordinates is handy i dont mind entering them in or taking a printed cache page with me. the basemap on the device is quite impressive after using my the explorist 100 which doesnt include anything.

 

Basically, while i am happy with my purchase, i want to run it by some of you more intelligent GPS users. I realize ill want to upgrade in the future and thats fine, but so far the Lowrance ifinder Go seems to be equal to the Etrex Legend but lacking the PC Connectivity and 8 megs for uploadable mapspace.

 

What are your thoughts on this little GPS...it seems to be the unit to get for the cheap and/or new geocacher who simply wants to enter some coords, and hunt down the locaction.

[+IVxIV]

The iFinder GO is an excellent choice for a starter GPS, and there is nothing else on the market even close to it's price that can match it's performance.

 

16 channels + WAAS + nearly 2 continuous days of battery life are major pluses. Also the reception performance of the little iFinder is outstanding, IMO much better than the Legend especially under tree cover. No PC hookup however, but as you have found out, manually entering coordinates isn't too tough..

 

Later if you feel the need to upgrade, you've at least had some good exposure to GPSr technology, and will be much more knowledgable on what features you fine you really need and what is just fluff. Stuff like color screens & autorouting would be sweet in future, but not important in the entry level market. The builtin base map is pretty good, eh?

[+miles58]

The builtin base map is pretty good, eh?

 

IV x IV,

 

The built in base map sucks when compared to the maps you get with the full featured iFinders. Giving up the speed from the dual processors of the full featured iFinders also sucked for me. Compare the unit to base mapping units like the Magellans and Garmin models and it looks a lot better because it *is* a lot better.

 

OP,

 

Look at the iFinder Pro and above units. You can't beat their maps, you can't beat heir speed. They have an external port so you can run a powered antenna which can make all the difference in the world in some situations. Their screen is large enough that you can mount it on the dash with velcro and use it all the time. The more I use my iFinder pro around water, the more I appreciate my iFinder Hunt. My last Garmin does paperweight duty now.

[+Tahoe Skier5000]

i totally agree with 4x4. ive been through my share of garmin gps's and still cant believe how much better lowrance units are. as he also said, the antennas on the ifinders are incredible. it has never dropped my position for the 2 years ive had it (and i live where the trees are seriously thick).

 

if waypoint transfer is a problem, have you considered the regular ifinder? with that one you can transfer waypoints and even upload maps. $119 too.

 

youll have to decide what you need, but lowrance is definitely the way to go in my opinion

[+treasure_hunter]

The iFinder GO is an excellent choice for a starter GPS, and there is nothing else on the market even close to it's price that can match it's performance.

 

Enough said, I was thinking about purchasing one for a spare.

[Pinon]

I too was thinking of buying one as a spare..BUT my wife would just kill me. I recently bought a Merigold about 4-5 months ago. I do love my Merigold.

[+briansnat]

I evaluated a Go2 for Todays Cacher. For those who aren't members, the bottom line in my opinion was that a unit without PC connectivity is nearly worthless for anybody who is even semi serious about geocaching. So the Go holds 1,000 waypoints. Pretty impressive until you realize you have to enter every one by hand . So it has maps. The the maps are so bare bones that they are virtually useless. Major highways and that's it. They're little more than a gimmick. So it has all that memory. You can't load maps to it so it wouldn't matter if it had a million gigs.

 

On the plus side, reception is excellent, battery life is incrededible and the unit is cheap, but there are so many negatives that they're hard to ignore. If you want a cheap, second unit get an eTrex or a Geko 201.

Edited July 20, 2005 by briansnat

[+IVxIV]

Well, yes of course the basemap in the iFinder GO isn't as detailed as is found on more expensive "mapping" GPSr's. But heck, for $69 the whole iFinder GO is CHEAPER than what just the software those more expensive GPSr's use, and is important to keep that in perspective..

 

At least it HAS a basemap. And the detail isn't that bad for basic:

 

 

Compare that to most other entry level GPSr's that have no map at all, and the GO really shines. Units like the Garmin Etrex Yellow & Geko(s), GPS 60, or the Magellan Explorist 100 & base Sportrack.. none of those machines has any basemap whatsoever, yet they all cost more!

 

About the only conceivable limitation of the GO is it doesn't have a computer hookup. But again, it's only $69, gimme a break I think it's a good thing for beginning GPSr users to learn how to manually key in co-ords. Once they decide to upgrade (if they feel the need) to a more expensive machine, they can be pampered & auto spoon-feed coords via a cable & PC.

[+briansnat]

At least it HAS a basemap. And the detail isn't that bad for basic

 

Note you had to zoom out to 150 mi to show any detail whatsoever.

 

Here it is zoomed into 4 miles from my front porch. Its missing a major highway and 2 major county roads. Those 3 roads do show on my Garmin's basemaps, so its not even as detailed as they are.

 

Edited July 20, 2005 by briansnat

[+IVxIV]

Sigh

 

As I've stated (broken record) the maps on the iFinder GO series ROCKS in comparison to GPSr's that have NO MAPS AT ALL

 

I don't know your neck of the woods brian, so can't comment on the existence/ommision of a certain specific roadway you claim is appearing missing on an entrylevel GPSr.. if a user feels it is urgent that all roads/trails be recognized by their GPSr then they need to be spending more than $69

[+BJRamone]

I LOVE MINE!!! while in another city that I did not know the layout of...the map feature helped me find my motel.....the 16 channel feature, I was told, stops the basic E trex cold.