Lowrance I finder H2O

[Scrappy Scout]

Well I am sure people know that I have been having problems with my Garmin. So i bought a Lowrance I finder H2O. Now I am having a problem loading caches from Gsak. Can anyone help me load caches into the unit I have a card reader. So I need to learn how to get the information from my computer to the unit. I don’t want to have to enter the information in by hand. If anyone can teach me how to do it either by phone or meeting in person that would be outstanding. Please help because I would like to start using this for caching since it has street names and the such.

Thanks Kevin

[gotta run]

Is the problem that GSAK will not load, or is the problem that your PC will not recognize the card reader?

The USB card reader that comes with the Lowrance unit does have some “issues” with various operating systems, I believe. However, if you have an SD card reader elsewhere on your PC, you can simply use that instead. (However, this will NOT work if you are trying to load Lowrance Maps to the card, because the mapping program INSISTS on the Lowrance card reader.)

If the card reader is working fine but GSAK doesn’t seem to know how to get things to it, that is problably because GSAK has buried the Lowrance load option under File–>Export and NOT the GPS–>Send Waypoints screen.

Hopefully I haven’t overcompliacted that…it’s really not hard once you go through it once.

And by the way, I do highly recommend the unit that you’re using. The fact that you have to remove the SD card to load it is really stupid, but overall I feel it is a device that has a much better screen display, waypoint labelling, and overall user interface.

On the Left Side of the Road...

[Scrappy Scout]

my card reader sees the card i think because i can open it up to see what is on the card but how do i get the waypoints to the SD card i cant figure it out. i tried but i am afraid i might delete the mapping software or do something wrong that will hurt the gpsr. i would love to use this for caching but if i cant get the waypoints to it i don’t know what i am going to do.

[gotta run]

Are you using pre-loaded map cards that you purchased, or did you load your own custom map to a SD card using the “MapCreate” program? (I’m assuming you are not using just the base maps that came with the unit itself, becuase they’re not detailed enough to navigate from.)

Regardless, loading waypoints to your SD card won’t (or at least shouldn’t) mess with the map.

Within GSAK version 7.5.1.28, click “File–>Export–>Lowrance USR.” That will bring up an “Export Lowrance USR” dialog box. The top line of that box is labelled “File Name To Create.” Check this box to see where GSAK is planning to write the file to.

If it’s not planning on writing to your SD card, Click the little folder icon by that box and choose the location of your SD card in order to save the file name to that location.

In earlier version of GSAK, this export option is under the “GPS” menu.

Feel free to PM me with any additional questions.

On the Left Side of the Road...

[Scrappy Scout]

thanks i will try that and see what happens. The mapping program i have is one that is all on one sd card. I bought this unit from Seldomseen. there are no disks or anything so any help with this unit would be greatlty appriciated

[Scrappy Scout]

ok i did exactly what you said and nothing none of the caches showed up on the gps and there is a bunch of folders and other stuff on the SD card. so far what i did was file>lowrance usr> and changed the file path to show my removable sd card reader. everything showed up but when i put the card back into the gpsr and turn it on and go to my waypoints nothing shows up just the couple that i have put in myself.

[EnergySaver]

I know nothing about the unit … BUT here’s a link to download the owner’s manual, if you don’t have that:

http://www.lowrance.com/en/Products/Outdoors/iFINDER-H2O/Downloads/

[gotta run]

@Team Outdoorsman wrote:

ok i did exactly what you said and nothing none of the caches showed up on the gps and there is a bunch of folders and other stuff on the SD card.

Once you have them on the card, and the card in the GPS, you need to load the file into the GPS. In other words, just like a computer, the file doesn’t move from the storage media (the card) into the computer (the GPS) until you “open” the file.

To load them to the GPS, press:

Menu
Menu (i.e., press menu twice)
Use the arrow key to scroll up to “System Setup”
Enter
Use the arrow key to scroll to “Transfer my data”
Enter
Use the arrow key to select “Load”
Enter
Make sure the right .usr file is showing (i.e., if you’ve put more than one on the SD card, make sure it is the right one). If not, hit “enter” and use the arrow key to select the right file.
Use the arrow to select “load Data”
Enter

Now exit out of that menu system and your waypoints will be there. (On the lowrance, if all else fails, press exit.)

On the Left Side of the Road...

[-cheeto-]

I bought this unit from Seldomseen

that explains it… it’s a puzzle to get it working right 🙂

Seriously though, I’m following this thread with interest as my father-in-law has this type of GPS.

[Scrappy Scout]

Yes maybe thats it he made a puzzle cache out of it so i would have to work harder lol

[hogrod]

I only had a Lowrance H20 to play with for a few days, but I did get it working with GSAK. I send the waypoints to my SD card via a card reader, but when i put the card into the unit I still didn’t get any waypoints.

I found out after playing around a bit you need to tell the unit to load the waypoint file(some buried menu), the reason being is you can have dozens of waypoint files on the card for different areas.

[seldom|seen]

I don’t use GSAK since I am Mac only and have an older generation G5 that won’t run Parallels, so I can’t speak to that software.

What I did with that unit was pull PQ’s from GC.com and then copy that file up to the MC card. Put the card in the H2O unit and then go through the waypoint upload process that I explained to you when you got the unit.

Card in. Power up. Menu. Switch to Basic Mode. Upload Data. Select file you copied over. Upload. Switch back to Advanced Mode.

Let me know if you need any more help.

[Scrappy Scout]

Sorry Seldomseen I forgot the process so I had to ask someone if they new how. but I eventually got them loaded si it is all good.

[Cacher Masher]

You might want to try easygps.com. The easygps software works nicely with geocaching.com and there LOC files. I use it for my Lowrance ifinder explorer to convert the files to .usr format. this software is free.

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