Garmin 440s or 520s?

[JaxBoater]

I am trying to decide which one to get. Anyone have any experience with either unit? Biggest difference I see is screen size. The cost difference is $80.00 at the online shop I found. Also, how is the screen visibility on the Garmin units in the bright sun?

Thanks for your input!

 

[JaxBoater]

Ah, I just realized the 520s does not come pre-loaded with the coastal maps. So now it looks like it is between the 440s and the 540s. $569.00 vs. $729.00

 

[CH-47 fe]

440s

i got 440s and love it, gps is awesome, real easy to see in sunlight, i,m not the sharpest knife in the drawer and i figured it out in the store, super easy to use, actually my wife can even use it, i recommend it, for and extra 150$ you and buy 545 and the only difference is a 1" bigger screen. good luck.

 

[HighTechRedneck]

I have the 430s and there is no problem reading it in the daylight. If I had a bit more money at the time I would have gone with the bigger screen. Otherwise it seems to be a great unit. I have not used it in anything deeper than 130fow but it seems to work great at that depth.

the only thing i hate is when in the sonar/chart mode they are stacked on top of one another and the chart takes up most of the screen . I think it would be much better if they where side by side. it really cuts down on the readability of the sonar when in that mode. this is the main reason I would opt for the bigger screen.

and for the 3d stuff like the fish eye view and mariner eye view it is useless unless you are fishing cliffs that drop off more than 100 foot.

one other thing I would add is the ability to hook the gps up to your motor via nmea 2000 connection. the garmin 400 series and 500 series only support the nmea 0183 connection and I havent been able to find any cables took hook my yamaha to the gps to get engine data like MPG, motor temp, and more on the unit. this would be a really cool feature to have.

Just my $0.04
HTR

 

[fridaysoff]

HTR,
I've got the 545S and love it on my 195CC. I can read the sonar at WOT and like you the screen is bright enough for sunlight. I looked online at the GPS store.com and found the nmea connection for fuel flow. Are you saying that that connection will not give MPG,etc. I was hoping it would. I think it gives the fuel flow,amount you've used and amount left.Is that correct. I wanted to install it this winter.Thanks,
John D.

 

[HighTechRedneck]

FridaysOff

the Garmin fuel sensor does work with the garmin but what i am talking about is a plug that goes from your garmin directly to your engine and the engines computer will feed you all the information. The garmin fuel in line sensor is only good if you are burning more than 2 gallons per hour.I do a lot of trolling and when I troll around I gerally use less than a gallon a hour so the sensor would not be able to read it.

here is a link where WPSCHAEF installed the motor sensor to his lowrance.
http://www.performanceoutdoors.net/forums/triumph-215-210-chaos/4315-gas-gauge-issue.html


HTR