Anyone have anything to say about Garmin 188 combo units? - Striper Talk Striped Bass Fishing, Surfcasting, Boating

C-5 CC · 02-24-2006, 10:35 AM

I am thinking about picking one up today. Any info would be great. Thanks

capecodder · 02-24-2006, 10:44 AM

I have the 178C, its little brother, and am very happy with it. I got the internal antenna and have had no problems.

The screen refresh is fast, color and resolution very good. Its the first FF I have ever owned, so I cannot compare, but it tracks bottom at 35knts + and appears to be accurate from what I can tell.

Very user friendly. Easy to install.

zacs · 02-24-2006, 10:45 AM

I have the 188c.
No complaints whatsoever.
very good unit.
nice screen, easy to opperate, solid, accurate, etc....
nice unit for an 18-21 ft boat.

C-5 CC · 02-24-2006, 10:48 AM

I am looking at the B+W unit...it's on clearance for $400!!! plus the bluecharts. I am just wondering about the screen vis during daylight ops.

stiff tip · 02-24-2006, 12:35 PM

i picked a 172 garmin up this week .go on line @ garmin or try buyEretail bizrate 800-819-6661 . they have the best prices of everyone ,i;ve looked everwhere i paid 400.00 for mine .......stiff tip

Tuna Helper · 02-24-2006, 04:34 PM

I've used the 188 on my boat for 4 years now. Overall, I'm very happy with it. The chartplotting is great. The fishfinder could be better, but that may be a matter of me not having the unit adjusted correctly.
I signed up to have e-mails sent to me when there are software updates available.
I'm considering moving to a color unit now that the prices have come down (I paid $900 for the b/w unit).
I'd rate it an 8 out of 10.

gf2020 · 02-25-2006, 06:08 PM

I have the larger 238 unit, it's been great for 2 seasons. Now that these models have been discontinued, you can get them for a song at the marine stores or on-line.

B-assman · 02-25-2006, 07:07 PM

I have the 188 B&W - love it. It's bulletproof. Never had an issue reading the screen. 400 with the transducer is a good deal.

pmueller · 02-26-2006, 09:51 AM

The 188C is a good unit. If I had to compare the FFcapabilities to a Lowrance its my feeling that the Garmin does not have the sensitivity of the Lowrance, but the Garmin seems to be more reliable. In other words I have friends with Lowrance that are breaking down at least once per year. You will get some washout with the sun on the color screen. Once you get your settings down to were your comfortable, the FF is has been very reliable.
Hope no one takes this as a knock on Lowrance, I came very close to purchasing one.
The GPS is awesome.
Had a hard time convincing myself to go to a combo. The console on my boat unfortunately sceams for a combo.
Two years and still good.
I have had some issues with magnetic interfearence. Some ferrite filters on all the cables along with a Newmar noise filter has taken care of those issues.