To upgrade or not, (What's this?) I upgraded from a 498s just three months ago embraced with the idea of new features like XM weather, better looking base maps and increased sensitivity.
Although 546s has better resolution in the 480x640 5" picture display, the "Garmin US Coastal base maps" show the same (cartoonish) level of detail as before, so nothing gained there and I feel the upgrade was unnecessary for this purpose.
Yes I understand the (getya) here is to buy the BlueChart g2 Vision SD card at $300 but think the unit was a bit pricy to get better mapping detail around the costal areas, say 1/8 of a mile. There are just about half a dozen docks and marinas missing or not shown on my new unit that where on my 498.
On the XM weather capability, get ready for sticker shock $600 for the antenna, YES THAT'S RIGHT THE XM/GPS ANTENNA COST 1/2 THE PRICE OF A 546S BRAND NEW. I would like the Weather but feel Garmin is being down greedy and ridicules with there pricing.
I did find the unit is more sensitive and remained accurate when zoomed in, if you navigate up and down the ICW and the zoom out you will see your boat on land not water.
In summery, I actually like my old 498s better and in hindsight would have not spent the money to upgrade as I feel it was not worth the price....Although I like the Garmin product next time I'm inclined to upgrade, Garmin may lose my business in view of the competitions offerings.
Garmin 546S Marine GPS, (What's this?) I have found this to be just what I need to both use as a navigation tool and to catch fish with here in South East Alaska. The addition of the Juneau to Wrangell card was also a great help. I highly recommend the 546s.
Works Fine, (What's this?) I have an older Garmin chartplotter with a black and white display that is used every day on a water taxi and tour boat in Alaska and it has worked flawlessly for the last eight years. I got this new one for a different boat and it works as advertised but I can't customize the display as well as I could the older one. The display is nice and bright and is readable in bright sunlight with dark glasses. The unit is mounted inside the cabin and the built in antenna has no problem tracking satellites. The standard charts already installed for North America seem to be adequate for my needs so I don't know how it would work with the BlueChart g2 Vision. Reading the tide tables are not as easy or convenient as on the older one. The depth/fish finder seems to work fine. It is nice having the duel frequency transducer. I would have rated it five stars but I really didn't see any mprovement in functionality in eight years.
Compact chartplotter with 5-inch VGA display, high-sensitivity GPS receiver, and included sounder.Powerful dual-frequency transom-mount transducer clearly illustrates depth contours, fish targets and structures.Accepts BlueChart g2 Vision cards for added features such as high-res satellite imagery, 3-D views, Auto Guidance.Preloaded worldwide marine basemap, maps of all U.S. coastal areas, detailed charts for the Bahamas.NMEA 2000 certified for seamless integration with the Garmin marine lineup; XM weather and radio compatible.The GPSMAP 546s is a compact chartplotter that features a high-resolution, super-bright 5-inch VGA color display along with an improved high-speed digital design for increased map drawing and panning speeds. It's ready to go with an easy-to-use interface and a built-in, satellite-enhanced basemap preloaded with all U.S. coastal areas, including Alaska and Hawaii as well as detailed charts for the Bahamas. The GPSMAP 546 also accepts BlueChart g2 Vision cards for added features and functionality such as high-resolution satellite imagery, 3-D views and Auto Guidance technology. A compact chartplotter with a 5-inch screen, preloaded U.S. coastal maps, a high-sensitivity GPS receiver, and included sounder.
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