Another good reason to get a chartplotter

[Fasttr]

After installing the Garmin 431s I found it can automatically create a track of your movements. You can then convert that to a Google Earth format and create a tour of your activities. To see an example. Install Google Earth on your computer, download this file, Sunday Cruise and open it with Google Earth. In the Google Earth places pane, expand the place to reveal the path labeled 14-JUN-11 and click the play button. You'll get a bird's eye view of your travels...

 

[Friar]

"Fasttr" - That is pretty interesting, thanks for posting it. (although it took me about 30 seconds to find the "play" button in Google Earth!) The squiggly track at the end of the trip at your slip was interesting also

Now I have to something else to start telling people I want for the boat, so maybe someone else will spring for it as a gift, lol

What are the four readings it shows in the corners of your picture? I can make out:

GPS Speed

Water Temp

GPS Heading (I think)

and ??? (maybe it is Depth)

And how well does the depth reading (if that is it) work especially at various speeds? On the F95 that came with mine, it stops giving an accurate reading if I am going more than about 5 to 8mph, it just sticks with whatever the last reading was. I understand from reading other posts that this is caused by wake turbulence as higher speeds and that making placement adjustments to the transducer might make some improvement, but not guarantees; on the other hand, I understand higher-end Garmins like yours have resolved this problem.

 

[Fasttr]

What are the four readings it shows in the corners of your picture? I can make out:

GPS Speed

Water Temp

GPS Heading (I think)

and ??? (maybe it is Depth)

And how well does the depth reading (if that is it) work especially at various speeds? On the F95 that came with mine, it stops giving an accurate reading if I am going more than about 5 to 8mph, it just sticks with whatever the last reading was. I understand from reading other posts that this is caused by wake turbulence as higher speeds and that making placement adjustments to the transducer might make some improvement, but not guarantees; on the other hand, I understand higher-end Garmins like yours have resolved this problem.

The last one is battery voltage so you can monitor the condition/charging voltage. Most of the four items are configurable as to what and which corner it is displayed in. Depth always shows in the top left of the sonar window although you might be able to configure it in one of the corners also. I never had a problem with the 95 reporting the correct depth even at cruising speeds of 18 mph and bursts to 22 mph. Occasionally both units would/will lose contact for 15-20 seconds and then recover. Might happen twice during a day so maybe it is your transducer mounting isn't low enough. I'm thinking the squiggly at the end is because the gps signal went weak after pulling under the metal roof of the slip...

You can download the 431/431s manual to look over the configuration options.