Map card help Lowrance HDS Gen II

[Mac Daddy]

Ok, every time I try to figure out which map card to purchase for my new HDS Gen II unit, after a while my brain goes numb. There is so much information out there, yet a lot of it is old and no longer relevant, but then again some people like the old cards better than the new ones. I want one that definitely shows the channel or channels in most lakes. My base map on my Elite 5 DSI does that pretty well, and for the most part I've been happy with just using that. But the base map on my new HDS unit doesn't even show that anymore. I fish mainly AR and MS, but with some of the newer cards, you have to have 2 cards to get both states. It appears some cards are for Humminbird and some are for Lowrance. Like I said, I can't figure out which way I need to go, but I know if I get a card that doesn't even have the channels clearly shown, I probably will be disappointed, and feel I wasted my money. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

[BigRiverMarine]

Navionics is for Lowrance. If you have a unit with base maps only, you can buy the Lowrance Insight card. The HDS units can show Navionics and Insight side by side at the same time. Navionics shows the contours better and Insight shows the creeks and other original structure of the lake better. Insight also covers where the Navionics doesn't. Navionics doesn't show up the rivers as well because the lakes that I use were at low winter pool when they were surveyed, and they couldn't get all that info then.

I run the Navionics and the Insight at the same time for the best of both worlds. You find the creeks and old home site etc with Insight and you can tell what kind of contours they were in with the Navionics. Most of the new HDS units have Insight built in.

[Mac Daddy]

Hey Bill that helps clear up some of my observations, I thought that the map on my unit looked like the Insight examples on Lowrance's web site. If that's correct then I need to look for Navionics maps, which I thought was replaced by Insight but I guess not. Is there's navionics map that covers both AR and MS?

[arkansasbowhunter]

South hot maps

[BigRiverMarine]

Hey Bill that helps clear up some of my observations, I thought that the map on my unit looked like the Insight examples on Lowrance's web site. If that's correct then I need to look for Navionics maps, which I thought was replaced by Insight but I guess not. Is there's navionics map that covers both AR and MS?

Premium South or the Platinum South cards both have AR and Sippi. The Platinum has 3-D and aerial photo overlays. I run the Navionics Platinum with my Insight.

Call me and I can tell you how to see if your unit has Insight built in.

Which units do you have?

[Mac Daddy]

OK, I have a HDS 9 Gen II. Just bought it a couple of months ago.

[BigRiverMarine]

OK, I have a HDS 9 Gen II. Just bought it a couple of months ago.

It should have insight built in. Do you see blue creek channels, old home sites, bridges, etc. when you use it or do you just see where the lake is with no detail at all?

[faithfularcher]

There are a couple different views you can set up on your unit ( I found that out on my new touch) one seems useless to me but the other view has the topo and channels easily identified , so it may be something as simple as that .