Lowrance 1000 comments

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.