Quinte Fishing

I know it's still winter, but I got a Humminbird unit for my boat (788 combo) for Christmas and was just looking for opinions about the internal vs. external antenna for the GPS.

Thanks!!

_________________
There's something wrong with that rod.
It has a bend in it!!!

I don't have a lot of experience with humminbird, but I think you cant go wrong with an external antenna. Nothing is more annoying then losing GPS reception because of cloud cover.

Sorry I can't provide more specific experiences with humminbird.

Scott

_________________
West Lake Willows Resort, Picton Harbour Inn, and Bay of Quinte Charters
Bay of Quinte Charters offers a 26' Charter Boat operating out of Picton Harbour with a fully enclosed cabin.
Picton Harbour Inn offers 31 rooms, docking, and a restaurant on the sheltered waters of Picton Harbour.
West Lake Willows offers 8 cottages and camping at the doorstep of the famous Sandbanks on West Lake.

www.bayofquintecharters.com, www.pictonharbourinn.com, www.westlakewillows.com

Thanks Scott... I'm looking for info on the antenna, more than the unit itself anyway!!

Thanks again!!!

_________________
There's something wrong with that rod.
It has a bend in it!!!

What kind of boat Walleye9

_________________
U.S.C.G. Licensed Captain
Pure Fishing Ambassador

16' Princecraft with steering wheel (console)

_________________
There's something wrong with that rod.
It has a bend in it!!!

Hi Walleye 9,
I am putting a new hummingbird with side scan on this year and am going with the external antenna. I was told it was better but do not know any details of it. I hope you enjoy it. I have been using old electronics for the past years which works OK but really looking forward to the new technology. Now I just gotta figure out how to use it . Good luck buddy.
Hopefully someone else here can give you more detail on one versus the other.
Sheldon

_________________
Great Fishermen are not born, They have to spend a lifetime neglecting other things to get that way!!!!!

No expert by any means, but I believe from what I've read researching a unit for myself ( a Lowrance with structure scan ), that the external antenna is less prone to signal loss, and is more accurate at giving exact locations. for example instead of being 100 yards from what the GPS shows the external will have you within 100 feet of what the unit reads. There was also another item but I can't remember what it was, must be old age. lol

_________________
[b][color=#00BFFF]Radioworld[/color
Proud Member Of CLOSA
Proud Member of LOTSA
MC Rockets
Atommik Tournament Flies
ITO Flies


The World is all about ass, you either kick it or lick it

Thanks guys. My unit is external, but actually thought the internal was the way to go. Thought the extra cord and the "Puck" may be in the way. Haven't mounted it in the boat yet, so I guess I'll find out in the spring. Glad to hear some good reviews on the external though!!

Oh, by the way Sheldon, I'm pumped about the new technology too. I also heard you can hook it up to a 12 volt battery in the house if you want to play with it this winter. Get familiar with it before you hit the water!!!

_________________
There's something wrong with that rod.
It has a bend in it!!!

hey guys ,i,ve been using external pucks for about 10 years ,cant be beat,just install in a clear area,dgps pucks are the best,i,ve had lowrance,eagle and for the last 3 years new hummingbird units,right now using the 788c/sonar-dgps model with a nav platinum chip--works wonderfully,!!!!very accurate,takes a little bit to get to know all the various functions but worth the little extra time ...Ed

_________________
Ed MacKenzie
Chasineyes Charters-owner/operator
http://www.chasineyes.com
email:ed_mackenzie_2009@hotmail.com

Glad to hear it!!! Got Navionics Hot Maps (Lakes Canada) to go with it. Can't wait!!!!!!!!!

_________________
There's something wrong with that rod.
It has a bend in it!!!

I have a Global Map unit with built in antenna on the front of the boat and very difficult to get a signal with it on the angle that it is mounted. To solve the problem I have the unit networked with my LMS at the console and they share the external antenna with no loss of signal.

Will the antenna(Puck) pick up a signal through my windshield if I mount it on my dashboard??

_________________
There's something wrong with that rod.
It has a bend in it!!!

I would suggest not doing that, it may, but it may also be more prone to signal loss

_________________
U.S.C.G. Licensed Captain
Pure Fishing Ambassador

External GPS doesn't make a lot of sense to me. The gain in accuracy is nominal and in my experience with lowrance hds, signal loss (through 1/4" of fiberglass + windshield) is NEVER through two years of use.

If you had a large distance between transducer location and internal GPS......i can see the benefit .

Guys,

My boat previously had Lowrance LMS334ci units with internal GPS antenna's. Like I have said, on another post, I could lose the GPS signal if a Seagull flew over me. Although that may be an exaggeration, I'm glad I upgraded to Lowrance HDS units, last summer. They also have internal antenna's, but whatever Lowrance has done to eliminated losing GPS signals, they did an excellent job. Not only do they not lose signals, they pick up satellites quicker.

The comment about accuracy is a little off, in my opinion. A good quality GPS should be within 10 feet, not 100 feet, with either an external or internal antenna.

I think an external antenna would be recommended in any application that the GPS display is not open to the sky. Say in large covered Charter Boats. A windshield on a Bass Boat doesn't seem to be an issue.

When it comes to Lowrance, you can network an external GPS antenna into a Lowrance Net network. You can network one antenna into a number of displays. There is one problem with this setup though. It's the fact that the GPS antenna gets its 12VDC power from the network. You can turn your displays off, but you antenna will still be drawing power from your network. Over a few weeks on not using your boat, it could draw down your battery to low levels. Lowrance's solution to this, is installing an on off switch on the network power cable.

With internal GPS antenna's, when you turn off the displays, all power is off. The network is still powered, but nothing is drawing power.

Have fun with you new GPS,
BATMAN