Garmin echoMAP CHIRP 54cv with transducer, 010-01799-01

This is an awesome unit, with much value for the price paid, technology advances so quickly that only a few years ago a unit like this would easily be over 1000 dollars. Take heed with the additional items recommended by Amazon, if you boat is over 22 feet you will need an extension cable, however the cover IS NOT NEEDED!!!!!!!!!!!!! There is already one in the box, Amazon fails to tell you this and I am stuck with an extra cover and burned 20 bucks, don't make my mistake.

Very easy to install. Menu options are easy to navigate. Very intuitive. This does come with a cover as mentioned in other posts, so do not purchase one.The display is very clear and easy to read even in direct sunlight. It comes with an nice mounting bracket and a template for flush mount. Unit easily detaches from mount for storage.Mine already had the latest software update so i didn't need to download anything.Overall i would say this is a great unit for the price. It also has a NMWA 2000 comliant port and you can hook up a fuel management system directly to it, as well as a NMWA compliant vhf radio.

The performance of this unit is truely amazing. I think the sonar portion could show you a flounder's eyeballs protruding out of the bottom in a 100' of water. The clarity and resolution are really outstanding. It reads bottom well at speed and seems good at eliminating most interference. The GPS function seems to be as accurate as can be expected. Both the GPS and sonar function are more than adequate for the amount of time I have been using the units( I have another one on another boat). Now the bad points, both the GPS and sonar menus are needlessly complex and require navigation thru several menu items to get the function you want. The menu is just too long. The GPS screens are very limited as to the amount of useful data that can be displayed. he cursor is large clumsy and hides a lot of the area you wish to see. I had an older Garmin GPS that was far, far simpler to use and displayed bottom data in a much more useful manner. Navigation frequently is a matter of feeling your way out and retracing your GPS line on the return trip. This is important as this boat is being used in an area of gulf coast Fl that has little sandy bottom, mostly very shall and rocky. On the positive side the bottom hazards are very close to the screen's depiction. Synopsis: the sonar's function is superlative, The GPS is functional, but the operation of the unit is needlessly cumbersome.

The Garmin echoMAP CHIRP 54cv has a horrible user interface that was clearly designed by land lubbers that have never been out on a boat. My guess is that they had the user manuals written by someone overseas. When I'm at the helm I have 15 other things to do and can't spend 3 minutes messing around with the GPS to figure out how to go to the next waypoint.I have an old Garmin GPSMAP 498 that has a beautiful user interface that is easy to use but unfortunately it's not working properly some of the time. This is why I got the new unit. On the old unit there is a button on the front called "NAV". You just hit the NAV button, say go to point, and that's it. To do the same thing on the new one you have to go thru 10 menus!Over labor day weekend I took a group of people out on my boat for a 3 day trip. I had just installed the Garmin EcoMap Chirp 54cv a few days before going out to sea and I had a lot of other things to do so I didn't have time to play with it and figure it out. I did set a few waypoints on the day I installed it so I knew where I was going. Before we left the dock I assigned one recent college graduate (in engineering) to read the manual and tell me how to navigate and set an anchor drag alarm. He figured out the navigation but couldn't figure out how to set an anchor drag alarm. There is no reference to the anchor drag alarm anywhere in the user manual table of contents, index, appendix, or paragraph headings.After we got out to sea and anchored on 2 anchors, my old GPS was working properly so I set the anchor drag alarm on it but I still couldn't figure out how to set the anchor drag alarm on the new one. I have a second station for the old GPS but I was concerned that if I turned it off to take it down into the cabin that it wouldn't be able to find the satellites or be able to determine our position, thus rendering it worthless, and leaving us without any anchor drag alarm. I like to have it in the cabin so that I can actually hear the alarm while I'm in bed, as it will wake me up, but I can't hear it when it's up on the bridge. The new GPS doesn't have an option for a cigarette lighter plug, so there was no way to use it in the cabin.I played with the new GPS until I finally figure out the anchor drag alarm, but it took me a long time to find the alarms menu. It is not at all intuitive, nor does it tell you how to access it in the manuals. This is NOT acceptable! After getting the anchor drag alarm set fortunately there was a young man sleeping up on deck and he could hear the alarm on the new GPS if it went off, but that won't always be the case.On the second night he came and got me because the anchor drag alarm was going off. We looked around with some handheld lights but couldn't tell how far we were from the rocks on the island behind us. I laid awake that night afraid we were going to end up on the rocks, in part because I couldn't tell where we had been or where the waypoints were located that I had set while at anchor with the wind blowing different directions. I played with the new GPS for hours and eventually figured out how to change the color of the track so that it didn't wash out the waypoints that I had set. I also saw on the track the path we followed going into that anchorage and there was a spot where we lingered for a minute, so I guessed that was the actually spot where the anchor was set. I marked that point and measured the distances from that point to our location and the other waypoints I had set. After changing the color of the track I could finally see where we had been in relation to where the anchor was set and the other waypoints, but this was an exhausting night.Another problem with this unit is the Compass Safe Distance. I contacted customer support about this issue while I was installing it. This distance should be stated clearly in the installation instructions, instead of being buried in the product specs on page 5. This number is not repeated anywhere in the owners manual either, nor is it referenced in the table of contents, index, or appendix. I couldn't find it while going thru the installation, so I reached out via email. They never responded to the email so I got someone on a live chat the next day and got an answer. Initially the rep said the distance was 9.8 inches and then revised that to 27.6 inches. I can't put it 27.6 inches from the compass and still have it on my dash. The compass safe distance is much higher on the 50 series when the 40 series, which is only 9.8 inches. I was ready to return the unit on this issue alone before I actually used it, but I needed it for my trip, but now I am returning it and will be shopping around for a better unit, potentially from another manufacturer who keeps boaters in mind. We are their target market after all.

I do not want to write a negative review for a product i didnt even use. I had a garmin chart plotter/fish finder in my last boat and it was great. The interface was sometimes a bit cumbersome, but it was the reason i bought another for my new boat. I didnt do my research before purchase, so its my own fault, but i feel that people should know the size of the transducer. ITS BIG.Lets shape my reasoning for return. I will likely never use the fish finder other than for grins, Im not a fisherman. I really just want the charts and depth. I dont really need anything more than that. I was disappointed at the size of the transducer because i know i would have enjoyed the unit. I did not want to shell out another 120 for a glue thru-hull transducer when i could get a comparable or better unit for less than the combined price. If the size of the transducer doesnt bother you, then this unit will be great for you. But if you are worried someone might use it as a step to get into your boat, then think twice!

You can see their beety little fish eyes this contraption is so good. A good mapping device for the lake / river bottom. I have yet to try it in my truck though as I’m sure the upholstery would be ruined by the water. Oh well..

I think it might be a good unit, but it doesn't tell me what transducer came in the box and the transducer number is required for set-up. The water temperature does not show and the Garmin chat-line took an hour to tell me he did not know why there is no temperature.