I'm shopping around for a portable GPS unit and have been reading various reviews. I like the price, portability and features of the Lowrance 600C but have read some reviews stating issues with the unit freezing/crashing. These reviews all seem to be from last year or early this year. I was wondering if anyone here has any recent experience with a newer revision of the model to determine if Lowrance has worked the bugs out or not. It's not worth saving a few bucks if the thing is a piece of crap, but it's also not worth two or three times the price (or more) for a Garmin that does essentially the same thing.

I used to work in a pilot shop (up untill a few months ago) and we had nothing but problems with Lowrance. The unit freezes, buttons just stop working but the biggest problem comes when you try to send it back or get help with the unit. The minimum wait time to speak to a Lowrance rep is 30 min. and the fastest turn around I have heard of is 6 weeks to recieve a new unit or more likely to recieve your own "fixed" unit. A few years back Lowrance moved its aviation plant to Mexico, since then nothing has been the same. Having said all this (you now no my dislike for Lowrance) the 600 has had less problems then the 1000 or 2000. The one thing I would think about with the 600 is if you do any night flying. If you do the 600 keys do NOT light up. The manual says they do, and most reps think they do but having handled hundreds of them and spoken (after about an hour on hold and using top secret numbers) to higher ups in Lowrance the 600 does not work for night flying. Sorry if that was more than what you wanted I just think people should know before they buy.

skycop wrote: It's not worth saving a few bucks if the thing is a piece of crap, but it's also not worth two or three times the price (or more) for a Garmin that does essentially the same thing.

I cut my GPS teeth on Garmin handhelds (model 89), and Apollo panel mount GPS driving the moving map MX-20 in the first generation of Capstone in Alaska, and the Flybuddy GPS in my own airplanes.

I gotta admit... I am spoiled with the Garmin equipment. It always works, it's tough, and for the basic "go here and don't get lost" functions it's easy for even a dummy like me. I've flown Lowrance equipped airplanes as my work airplane before, and have also ridden with friends who have the stuff. Most times I found myself pulling the GPS 89 out of the bag and not even turning on the Lowrance. Now, with the 396, it's the first thing I unpack and get plugged in.

In the little C172TD I have now the 396 is AirGizmo'd into the panel, and the XM hard wired into the intercom. VFR/IFR, NEXRAD, METARS, and most importantly, real time overlay of TFR's all for $1,800 street price. It does pretty much everything that high dollar Apollo equipment did, but for about $15,000 less.

Gump

skycop wrote:I'm shopping around for a portable GPS unit and have been reading various reviews. I like the price, portability and features of the Lowrance 600C but have read some reviews stating issues with the unit freezing/crashing. These reviews all seem to be from last year or early this year. I was wondering if anyone here has any recent experience with a newer revision of the model to determine if Lowrance has worked the bugs out or not. It's not worth saving a few bucks if the thing is a piece of crap, but it's also not worth two or three times the price (or more) for a Garmin that does essentially the same thing.

I never had the freezing issues. Actually, I never had any issues per se with my Lowrance 600C. I bought it when I got my license and it served me well for about 6 months until I saw the quality of the 496 screen. The Lowrance is just plain hard to read. Also, the mounts are quality mounts, but the form factor sucks.

Garmin really has this stuff figured out. The 600C is a fine unit for the money. Is the Garmin equipment worth the extra money - hard to say. I sold my 600C on ebay and only lost $100 and bought a 496. I have not been disappointed.

D.

When you are doing your comparison shopping it would be worth it to call some of the big avionics shops (Gulf Coast etc) to see if they have any reconditioned units in stock. They take these in on trade when folks upgrade - they then inspect and slap a short factory warranty on it. When I bought my 296 about 2 years ago I got my reconditioned unit (that was in new condition) with all accessories in the original box for about $400 less than a new one.

Not to stir the pot, or change up the discussion but... I have been looking for my (first) handheld...and have been leaning towards the Avmap Geopilot. Anyone have any experience with those? Good/ bad? Seems like alot for the money.

Overall the geopilot is a good unit. The screen quality is not as good as the avmap EKP IV. If you hold the unit in your right hand then all of the buttons are within thumbs reach, so that is nice. The unit does not come with a battery pack so if you do not have it plugged in to a cigarette lighter you can not use the unit. You can buy a battery pack separately for $100 that will last you about four hours. The pack is a separate box the size od a small fist that attaches to the unit by the cigarette lighter cord. For my money I would buy a garmin 296 (it ends up being about $100 more than the geopilot if you buy the battery pack). If you have specific questions I can probably answer them. Hope that helps.