Lowrance is undoubtedly one of the leaders when it comes to marine electronics. While they didn’t release a new unit at this year’s ICAST, they did show off some great new software updates, a fresh new color-shading feature, and they also announced a new merger.
C-MAP Merger
Navico, the parent company of Lowrance, Simrad, and B&G, has now added C-MAP which is one of the leaders in marine mapping. The two companies have worked closely together, and the new announcement makes them part of the family. Look for more integration between the two in the near future.
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C-MAP Color Shading
With the acquisition of C-MAP, it makes sense that Lowrance users can now experience some new features when using the units coupled with these maps.
One of the features they released is a color shading option to allow for different depth ranges to show up colored for easier identification.
Users can set their depth ranges to their own preferences and also set the opacity of the colors to make them easier to view. There are a host of different colors available and however, a user sets it up will clearly show defined changes in bottom contours. How you set it up is up to you.
C-MAP Mapping
Another new product is state-specific mapping available from C-MAP.
They are actively mapping different regions and will release mapping cards for each state starting with the release of Alabama later this month. Look for more states in the future as they continue to map and create detailed maps for the entire United States.
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2018 Software Update
Earlier this season, Lowrance added a new software update for the HDS Carbon, Gen3 and Elite-Ti units. Included in this enhancement were improvements for their mapping, color options, and the new FishReveal technology.
FishReveal was the biggest news in this new software update as it makes it much easier to see fish on with DownScan. It makes simple to view fish thanks to the bright colors and fish that pop out on the screen.
FishReveal combines CHIRP sonar images of fish with high-resolution views of the bottom. They do this by boosting sonar returns and minimizing weaker ones which show better separation of targets like larger fish and schools of baitfish.
For the mapping portion of the update, they added “Easy Routing” and the ability to use Navionics Dock-to-Dock Autorouting. The new C-MAP navigation palette also makes it easier to access the features of C-MAP.
Color Palettes
Another feature from the update was nine new High-Vis color palettes for the HDS Carbon series. These are bright and easy to see everything on your screen. Again, it is up to the user to set these to their preferences and situationally.
Lowrance has continued to add new features to their popular chartplotters and shows no signs of slowing down. This year their focus was on mapping and improving the products that they are already producing. The new software, as well as a commitment to mapping with C-MAP, are in line with their goal to make it easier for anglers to find more fish.