Lowrance 1000 comments

[Wizard of Draws]

The plane I usually rent is probably going to be sold relatively soon. I
will miss the Garmin 430 since most of the planes left in the fleet
available to me do not have a GPS at all.

So I am looking at the Lowrance Airmap 1000 as a portable alternative, but
for the life of me, can't find a single negative comment about it. Does
anyone have a good reason *not* to buy one? I fly for a hobby and benign IFR
at most.
--
Jeff 'The Wizard of Draws' Bucchino

Cartoons with a Touch of Magic�
http://www.wizardofdraws.com

More Cartoons with a Touch of Magic�
http://www.cartoonclipart.com

[Jay Honeck]

> So I am looking at the Lowrance Airmap 1000 as a portable alternative, but
> for the life of me, can't find a single negative comment about it. Does
> anyone have a good reason *not* to buy one?

It's black and white?

Their model 2000c is a really, really nice color unit, for not a lot of
AMUs. IMHO, it's worth the extra buckos.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Chris G.]

Yes, I have a good reason...The Airmap 2000c. It's in color and that is
the primary difference between the two units. The display is VERY
readable in the sun and is not toooooo bright at night (on its dim
setting). Lowrance has great support, so I've found to this point.
I've had mine since the late July. I paid $749.00 and you *might* still
be able to get it for that price. I bought mine at Pacific Coast
Avionics. (http://www.pca.aero OR http://www.pacific-coast-avionics.com
[both are the same site] They've been good to me in the past.

No, I do not work for Lowrance or PCA, but I do live near PCA and am
happy with both companies' products/services.

Chris G.

Wizard of Draws wrote:
> The plane I usually rent is probably going to be sold relatively soon. I
> will miss the Garmin 430 since most of the planes left in the fleet
> available to me do not have a GPS at all.
>
> So I am looking at the Lowrance Airmap 1000 as a portable alternative, but
> for the life of me, can't find a single negative comment about it. Does
> anyone have a good reason *not* to buy one? I fly for a hobby and benign IFR
> at most.

[Chris Schmelzer]

In article s.net>,
"Chris G." <nospam@noemail> wrote:

> Yes, I have a good reason...The Airmap 2000c. It's in color and that is
> the primary difference between the two units. The display is VERY
> readable in the sun and is not toooooo bright at night (on its dim
> setting). Lowrance has great support, so I've found to this point.
> I've had mine since the late July. I paid $749.00 and you *might* still
> be able to get it for that price. I bought mine at Pacific Coast
> Avionics. (http://www.pca.aero OR http://www.pacific-coast-avionics.com
> [both are the same site] They've been good to me in the past.
>
> No, I do not work for Lowrance or PCA, but I do live near PCA and am
> happy with both companies' products/services.
>
> Chris G.


I disagree.. Color is nice, but the truth of the matter is color units
have crappy battery life. If you really want a unit that is a good
emergency backup unit I think the Airmap 500 or 1000 are good
alternatives. The 1000 is easy to read in any light and runs for over
10 hours on batteries alone....

It does airspace, extended runway centerlines and is very easy to carry
and use...

--
Chris Schmelzer, MD

[Jay Honeck]

> I disagree.. Color is nice, but the truth of the matter is color units
> have crappy battery life. If you really want a unit that is a good
> emergency backup unit I think the Airmap 500 or 1000 are good
> alternatives.

I've got the AvMap IIIc, and the Airmap 2000c. Only the Airmap has internal
batteries at all, and they will only last a few hours (maybe 3?) when on
internal power.

Of course, that's more than plenty of time to get down, if you really need
to.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

[Dan Luke]

"Wizard of Draws" wrote:

> So I am looking at the Lowrance Airmap 1000 ... Does
> anyone have a good reason *not* to buy one?

It doesn't do weather.

It's a new world for portable GPS since Garmin released the 396. If you
can't bring yourself to part with $2,500 now, just wait awhile: Lowrance
probably has a wx-capable unit in the works that will put some price pressure
on Garmin.

Flying xcountry down South without satellite wx is unthinkable for me now
that I've seen how much utility it adds to the airplane. IMO, you should
plan on getting a portable that will give you this wonderful capability. I
would not buy a new unit that won't show you where the boomers are; you can
always get a nice used unit if you want to wait for prices to come down.

--
Dan
C-172RG at BFM

[Dan Luke]

"Chris Schmelzer" wrote:

> I disagree.. Color is nice, but the truth of the matter is color units
> have crappy battery life.

I've tested my 396's battery life at half brightness. It worked for 5+
hours; hardly crappy. The screen was still quite viewable at that setting,
too.

--
Dan
C-172RG at BFM

[Barney Rubble]

Also the color 2000 display has a lower resolution than the 1000. I love my
1000, it does everything I need from a handheld, and the added accessories
such as the yoke mount, windshield mount, remote GPS antennae etc, did it
for me.

- Barney
"Chris Schmelzer" > wrote in message
...
> In article s.net>,
> "Chris G." <nospam@noemail> wrote:
>
>> Yes, I have a good reason...The Airmap 2000c. It's in color and that is
>> the primary difference between the two units. The display is VERY
>> readable in the sun and is not toooooo bright at night (on its dim
>> setting). Lowrance has great support, so I've found to this point.
>> I've had mine since the late July. I paid $749.00 and you *might* still
>> be able to get it for that price. I bought mine at Pacific Coast
>> Avionics. (http://www.pca.aero OR http://www.pacific-coast-avionics.com
>> [both are the same site] They've been good to me in the past.
>>
>> No, I do not work for Lowrance or PCA, but I do live near PCA and am
>> happy with both companies' products/services.
>>
>> Chris G.
>
>
> I disagree.. Color is nice, but the truth of the matter is color units
> have crappy battery life. If you really want a unit that is a good
> emergency backup unit I think the Airmap 500 or 1000 are good
> alternatives. The 1000 is easy to read in any light and runs for over
> 10 hours on batteries alone....
>
> It does airspace, extended runway centerlines and is very easy to carry
> and use...
>
> --
> Chris Schmelzer, MD
>

[Montblack]

("Dan Luke" wrote)
> Flying xcountry down South without satellite wx is unthinkable for me now
> that I've seen how much utility it adds to the airplane. IMO, you should
> plan on getting a portable that will give you this wonderful capability.
> I would not buy a new unit that won't show you where the boomers are; you
> can always get a nice used unit if you want to wait for prices to come
> down.


Will it show this?
<http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/refresh/graphics_at3+shtml/153924.shtml?3day>
Rita...

<http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/refresh/graphics_at3+shtml/153924.shtml?prob>
Rita...

Dan,
Send me your mailing address and I'll brown truck you a gift.
(Ok, I picked it up at a garage sale, but it works!)


Montblack
y's and 4's ...not!

[LWG]

It absolutely breaks my heart that I'm going to have to cough up $2500 plus
big bucks for monthly weather service when I had almost the same
functionality with my 295 and Palm Pilot running Cheap *******s weather. In
flight weather, email and automatic aircraft position reporting on the net.

"Dan Luke" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Wizard of Draws" wrote:
>
>> So I am looking at the Lowrance Airmap 1000 ... Does
>> anyone have a good reason *not* to buy one?
>
> It doesn't do weather.
>
> It's a new world for portable GPS since Garmin released the 396. If you
> can't bring yourself to part with $2,500 now, just wait awhile: Lowrance
> probably has a wx-capable unit in the works that will put some price
> pressure on Garmin.
>
> Flying xcountry down South without satellite wx is unthinkable for me now
> that I've seen how much utility it adds to the airplane. IMO, you should
> plan on getting a portable that will give you this wonderful capability.
> I would not buy a new unit that won't show you where the boomers are; you
> can always get a nice used unit if you want to wait for prices to come
> down.
>
> --
> Dan
> C-172RG at BFM
>
>
>

[Dan Luke]

"Montblack" wrote:

> Will it show this?
> <http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/refresh/graphics_at3+shtml/153924.shtml?3day>
> Rita...
>
> <http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/refresh/graphics_at3+shtml/153924.shtml?prob>
> Rita...

<groan>

At least it looks like Texas will get it this time. My buddies back in
Houston have been gleefully emailing me hurricane forecasts for the last
2 years. Get ready, suckers; it's your turn!

> Dan,
> Send me your mailing address and I'll brown truck you a gift.
> (Ok, I picked it up at a garage sale, but it works!)

ok

[Wizard of Draws]

On 9/19/05 9:00 AM, in article , "Dan
Luke" > wrote:

>
> "Wizard of Draws" wrote:
>
>> So I am looking at the Lowrance Airmap 1000 ... Does
>> anyone have a good reason *not* to buy one?
>
> It doesn't do weather.
>
> It's a new world for portable GPS since Garmin released the 396. If you
> can't bring yourself to part with $2,500 now, just wait awhile: Lowrance
> probably has a wx-capable unit in the works that will put some price pressure
> on Garmin.
>
> Flying xcountry down South without satellite wx is unthinkable for me now
> that I've seen how much utility it adds to the airplane. IMO, you should
> plan on getting a portable that will give you this wonderful capability. I
> would not buy a new unit that won't show you where the boomers are; you can
> always get a nice used unit if you want to wait for prices to come down.

The 1000 seems to be a unit that does what I need for the flights I
currently make. As I only fly for a hobby, utility isn't that much of a
concern. If I don't go, it's only a disappointment, not much else. As I
mentioned, benign IFR is the most I'll take on now and in the foreseeable
future because I can't justify taking any larger risks for a hobby. Heck, I
catch flak from the wife enough as it is when I ride the motorcycle, and she
bought if for me!
--
Jeff 'The Wizard of Draws' Bucchino

Cartoons with a Touch of Magic�
http://www.wizardofdraws.com

More Cartoons with a Touch of Magic�
http://www.cartoonclipart.com

[Dave]

Hi Jeff!

(apologies for copying most of this from my post to another
member below)

We comparison shopped 18 mos ago, and chose the AM 1000.
Bigger screen, excellent RAM mount and all those who had one
.....well, not one negative comment.

Al we heard about was Garmin, Garmin, etc....but when we ASKED
the owners, the pilots that we heard from were very satisfied with
the Lowrance and were , umm.... mostly quite happy with the Garmin
units.

So... we tried a 196 in a Cessna here, ...what a tiny screen!
(In comparison) and tiny buttons. If all the air around here was
smooth, the small screen and buttons would not be a problem.

The AM fastens to the yoke with that EXCELLENT RAM mount, and
I can operate it with my big thumbs while holding on to the yoke..

The AM, yoke and my thumbs move as a unit in rough air, and I
rarely "miss" a button ...

Sad note, our AM 1000 died completely at 16 months, out of
warranty.

Shipped back to Lowrance (Canada) on a Thursday, inspected on
Monday, could not be repaired at their depot, so they will send me a
new replacement for $299 (Cdn) I made a deal to trade up to the AM
2000 Colour for another $100.

(I thought this was a great deal,---- less than the difference
between selling the 1000 and buying the new 2000)

Well.... the colour unit is all I expected and more!

Screen a little smaller (same case) , and battery life is
about 3 hrs compared to the AM 1000's 5 hrs.

We use ours on the Aircraft 12 Volt supply, so this is not a
concern. We treat the internal batts as emergency supply ONLY, and
carry extra.

Lowarnce service and phone help/guidance has been superb,
they (on the phone) seem knowledgeable and helpful, the mapping
("MapCreate"), downloads and upgrades all work as advertised.

I am told there will be a software upgrade for the Sat
weather, but so far Lowrance cannot confirm this , so don't quote me
here...

We are really happy with the performance and support of the
Lowrance product...

Love the colour 2000, but the AM 1000 is a great value for
the $$$$$...

I would go for the colour one, it's worth the extra IMHO!

Dave

n Sun, 18 Sep 2005 22:32:47 -0400, Wizard of Draws
> wrote:

>The plane I usually rent is probably going to be sold relatively soon. I
>will miss the Garmin 430 since most of the planes left in the fleet
>available to me do not have a GPS at all.
>
>So I am looking at the Lowrance Airmap 1000 as a portable alternative, but
>for the life of me, can't find a single negative comment about it. Does
>anyone have a good reason *not* to buy one? I fly for a hobby and benign IFR
>at most.

[Dan Luke]

"Dave" wrote:

> We comparison shopped 18 mos ago, and chose the AM 1000.

> ....well, not one negative comment.

> Sad note, our AM 1000 died completely at 16 months, out of
> warranty.

Tee-hee!

Sorry, Dave, but that just tickled me.

--
Dan
C172RG at BFM

[Dave]

Hehe...

yup!

...I was counting on it!! :)

Chit happens..... and I have the "first" negative....

We happy with the result tho!

Cheers!

Dave



On Tue, 20 Sep 2005 06:36:09 -0500, "Dan Luke"
> wrote:

>
>"Dave" wrote:
>
>> We comparison shopped 18 mos ago, and chose the AM 1000.
>
>> ....well, not one negative comment.
>
>> Sad note, our AM 1000 died completely at 16 months, out of
>> warranty.
>
>Tee-hee!
>
>Sorry, Dave, but that just tickled me.

[Wizard of Draws]

On 9/19/05 9:48 PM, in article ,
"Dave" > wrote:

> Hi Jeff!
>
> (apologies for copying most of this from my post to another
> member below)
>
> We comparison shopped 18 mos ago, and chose the AM 1000.
> Bigger screen, excellent RAM mount and all those who had one
> ....well, not one negative comment.
>
> Al we heard about was Garmin, Garmin, etc....but when we ASKED
> the owners, the pilots that we heard from were very satisfied with
> the Lowrance and were , umm.... mostly quite happy with the Garmin
> units.
>
> So... we tried a 196 in a Cessna here, ...what a tiny screen!
> (In comparison) and tiny buttons. If all the air around here was
> smooth, the small screen and buttons would not be a problem.
>
> The AM fastens to the yoke with that EXCELLENT RAM mount, and
> I can operate it with my big thumbs while holding on to the yoke..
>
> The AM, yoke and my thumbs move as a unit in rough air, and I
> rarely "miss" a button ...
>
> Sad note, our AM 1000 died completely at 16 months, out of
> warranty.
>
> Shipped back to Lowrance (Canada) on a Thursday, inspected on
> Monday, could not be repaired at their depot, so they will send me a
> new replacement for $299 (Cdn) I made a deal to trade up to the AM
> 2000 Colour for another $100.
>
> (I thought this was a great deal,---- less than the difference
> between selling the 1000 and buying the new 2000)
>
> Well.... the colour unit is all I expected and more!
>
> Screen a little smaller (same case) , and battery life is
> about 3 hrs compared to the AM 1000's 5 hrs.
>
> We use ours on the Aircraft 12 Volt supply, so this is not a
> concern. We treat the internal batts as emergency supply ONLY, and
> carry extra.
>
> Lowarnce service and phone help/guidance has been superb,
> they (on the phone) seem knowledgeable and helpful, the mapping
> ("MapCreate"), downloads and upgrades all work as advertised.
>
> I am told there will be a software upgrade for the Sat
> weather, but so far Lowrance cannot confirm this , so don't quote me
> here...
>
> We are really happy with the performance and support of the
> Lowrance product...
>
> Love the colour 2000, but the AM 1000 is a great value for
> the $$$$$...
>
> I would go for the colour one, it's worth the extra IMHO!
>
> Dave
>
Thanks for the input folks. One person elsewhere mentioned that the
cigarette power cord had a habit of working loose and causing the unit to
switch to battery power. Any comment on that?
--
Jeff 'The Wizard of Draws' Bucchino

Cartoons with a Touch of Magic�
http://www.wizardofdraws.com

More Cartoons with a Touch of Magic�
http://www.cartoonclipart.com

[Dave]

Hmmmm...

No issues with the plug here. We had an issue with the
socket in our "just new to us" Warrior, but it was a socket issue.
Repaired, and the setup works fine, no ussues with the 12 V plug,
which has been in use since March 04.

The plug/cord accessory started life with the AM 1000....

Dave


On Tue, 20 Sep 2005 23:02:36 -0400, Wizard of Draws
> wrote:


>Thanks for the input folks. One person elsewhere mentioned that the
>cigarette power cord had a habit of working loose and causing the unit to
>switch to battery power. Any comment on that?

[Wizard of Draws]

On 9/21/05 8:22 PM, in article ,
"Dave" > wrote:

> Hmmmm...
>
> No issues with the plug here. We had an issue with the
> socket in our "just new to us" Warrior, but it was a socket issue.
> Repaired, and the setup works fine, no ussues with the 12 V plug,
> which has been in use since March 04.
>
> The plug/cord accessory started life with the AM 1000....
>
> Dave
>
>
> On Tue, 20 Sep 2005 23:02:36 -0400, Wizard of Draws
> > wrote:
>
>
>> Thanks for the input folks. One person elsewhere mentioned that the
>> cigarette power cord had a habit of working loose and causing the unit to
>> switch to battery power. Any comment on that?
>
Thanks Dave.
--
Jeff 'The Wizard of Draws' Bucchino

Cartoons with a Touch of Magic�
http://www.wizardofdraws.com

More Cartoons with a Touch of Magic�
http://www.cartoonclipart.com

[Thomas Borchert]

Wizard,

the terrain upgrade for the 2000c should be coming out real soon now.
The 1000 won't get that. if terrain is important to you, that might be
a reason for the 2000c.

--
Thomas Borchert (EDDH)

[[email protected]]

Just a word about their customer service... I flew into the Grand
Canyon this summer, after having criss crossed the country a bit on the
way out from the Northeast. When my wife and I left we had planned on
going north through one of the corridors over the canyon up to Bryce
but my Lowrance 1000 crapped out on takeoff, acted like it couldn't
lock on to anything.

We elected to go back to Alburqurque and went to a pilot shop in town
that carries Lowrance. Never did business with these people but they
spent an hour with me trying to reinitialize the unit. Then they
called Lowrance for me and handed me the phone. Bottom line - Lowrance
overnighted a replacement unit to me at the airport on my word that I
would return the old unit when I got back.

I love the 1000, and I'll buy another Lowrance product when the time
comes.

[xxx]

What I am getting from this is that Lowrance units do seem
to quit more often than Garmin.

Postings here may not be statistically signficant, but it does seem to
me that an awful lot of Lowrance owners have had their machines quit
after a short time of use.

They clearly offer more performance for a given amount of dollars,
though their top-end unit does not have as many features as the
top of the Garmin line. But are they too unreliable? My impression,
just from these postings, is yes.

> my Lowrance 1000 crapped out on takeoff, acted like it couldn't
> lock on to anything.
>

[Dave]

Ahhhhh...

However, there is not a product manufactured today that cannot fail in
sufficient numbers to keep many people employed fixing them.

It WILL happen, I am convinced of that.

To me, not very often, but when it does, I need a dealer/manufacturer
to stand behind the product.

Both Garmins and Magellans have required service around here, and one
Lowrance, (ours)

The response to our issue by Lowrance MORE than "met our
expectations"

So we are happy ....

IMHO, these postings are FAR too small a sample to draw any
reliability data from.....

YMMV :)

Dave



On 26 Sep 2005 16:02:14 -0700, "xxx" > wrote:

>What I am getting from this is that Lowrance units do seem
>to quit more often than Garmin.
>
>Postings here may not be statistically signficant, but it does seem to
>me that an awful lot of Lowrance owners have had their machines quit
>after a short time of use.
>
>They clearly offer more performance for a given amount of dollars,
>though their top-end unit does not have as many features as the
>top of the Garmin line. But are they too unreliable? My impression,
>just from these postings, is yes.

[Chris Schmelzer]

If anyone would like to buy a new (used once before I bought a plane
with both a PDA based WxWorks system and a Avmap-IIIc) Lowrance Airmap
1000, let me know. It still even has the warranty card!



--
Chris Schmelzer, MD

[xxx]

The terrain upgrade feature for the 2000c is available now. I just
wrote to Lowrance. Here is what they sent back:

"Thank you for your inquiry. The Terrain Awareness is now available for
purchase. It is $99.95 and
includes the Version 1.4 software update, the taxiway data, the most
current Jeppesen data, and
the Terrain Awareness file. It comes on a 512 MB SD card with approx.
80MB of free space left over
for adding custom maps. This is only compatible with the Airmap 2000.
You may purchase the Terrain
Awareness Update from your preferred Lowrance Aviation Retailer, or
from our parts department;
LEI-Extras. They may be contacted via the toll free number or web
address listed at the bottom of
this email reply. The part details and price is listed below."



Thomas Borchert wrote:
> Wizard,
>
> the terrain upgrade for the 2000c should be coming out real soon now.
> The 1000 won't get that. if terrain is important to you, that might be
> a reason for the 2000c.
>
> --
> Thomas Borchert (EDDH)

[Dave]

Oooooooo......Yummy!

Well..... At least they deliver...

They told me in June that it should be out in Sept/Oct...

Dave




....On 28 Sep 2005 21:55:54 -0700, "xxx" > wrote:

>The terrain upgrade feature for the 2000c is available now. I just
>wrote to Lowrance. Here is what they sent back:
>
>"Thank you for your inquiry. The Terrain Awareness is now available for
>purchase. It is $99.95 and
>includes the Version 1.4 software update, the taxiway data, the most
>current Jeppesen data, and
>the Terrain Awareness file. It comes on a 512 MB SD card with approx.
>80MB of free space left over
>for adding custom maps. This is only compatible with the Airmap 2000.
>You may purchase the Terrain
>Awareness Update from your preferred Lowrance Aviation Retailer, or
>from our parts department;
>LEI-Extras. They may be contacted via the toll free number or web
>address listed at the bottom of
>this email reply. The part details and price is listed below."
>
>
>
>Thomas Borchert wrote:
>> Wizard,
>>
>> the terrain upgrade for the 2000c should be coming out real soon now.
>> The 1000 won't get that. if terrain is important to you, that might be
>> a reason for the 2000c.
>>
>> --
>> Thomas Borchert (EDDH)