Lowrance 1000 comments

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

"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

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.

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

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?