GPS Advice

[Whole in the Water]

Well I am pretty damn frustrated with the GPS on my Lowrance LCX 37c continuously crapping out intermittenly (even after replacing the LGC 3000 antenna and triple checking the wiring, fuses, power supply, etc).

I am thinking of replacing the Lowrance antenna (which from my research seem to have serious quality control problems) with a GPS antenna from either Maretron or Airmar. These are both NMEA 2000 compliant and should be compatible with my unit. Has anyone out there done anything like this to solve this problem?

Long live wild salmon!!!

 

[-smtw]

Check your antenna coax, even better if you can temporarily try a new piece.... water can wick down the braided shield and cause all kind of havoc with antennas, especially active types (where voltage is sent via coax to antenna)

 

[Bogman]

I have 8 of these units at the lodge I run and the biggest problem is the antenna. What happens is due to the power surge to the unit and antenna when you start your engine . Because the battery is usually low when starting in the morning it sends a voltage spike into the unit and antenna(even when they are off). We isolated the unit and antenna thru a separate switch and only turn it on after the engine is going . We had no failures after this was done. Hope this works for you.

"Who would have ever thought it would be this much fun catching them one at a time"

 

[Whole in the Water]

Thanks for the info guys. I have checked my cables and have a separate power switch for the unit and I still get the intermittment problem. It happened to me 3 times when I was out in the boat yesterday. So I am wanting to deep six the Lowrance antenna!

What I am wondering is has anyone had any experience on switching their Lowrance GPS puck/antenna for a different one (i.e. Airmar or Maretron)?

Long live wild salmon!!!

 

[jimbob]

I have had a similar problem with my LCX 18C. Solved it by resetting the unit. Here is a link for resets

http://www.lowrance.com/en/Support/Product-Support/Troubleshooting-Guide/Reset-Procedures/