I am going to Bass Pro to get the 520 with the navtronics 08 chip. Is there an advantage to getting the external antenna vs the internal. I am not going to flush mount it so I would rather get the internal unless the external has has better reception, In addition is there another chip that is better vs the navtronics?

You could get the 07 if you want it its 50 bucks cheaper thats what I did. The external gps is on mine has been fine and its behind the drivers seat, same way they mount em in the toons.

The 520 only comes with external. The 522 is the one with internal. Tilting the 522 can interrupt reception.

I just ordered the 520c yesterday from turtlemarine.com ($586 SHIPPED!)

Can't wait for it to get here. Is anyone using the piece that lets you mount the gps antennae directly behind the head unit? I know they say to keep it away, but I've seen this set up on the shows and it looks nice and compact and easier than running wires all over.

As far as the internal vs. external, I would want to know what happens if the internal antennae gets damaged somehow. Are you totally without or can you easily replace the antennae and not the entire unit?

Everything I've heard says to mount the external antenna 2'-3' away from the unit for best reception, any closer and there are interferrence problems evidently. After watching my external being installed it's not that big of a deal, drill a hole, mount the antenna, run the coax and you're done.

I have both. I bought the internal and did not have any luck with it. I had it on the bow. It would cut in and out on the GPS postioning. I called the BPS guys and they have heard the same thing. They said they more it is tilted back the less reception it will get. it need to be upright as much a possible. Well that is not happening on the bow, you couldn't read it then. Well I tried everything and had no luck so I went and exchanged it for an external. Good Luck

I've had a 520c for almost a year. The maps and gps is good. Connecting and disconnecting the unit is a pain and as a fish finder it sucks. They need to be connected directly to the battery to eliminate noise on the sonar when the engine is running.

You can do a real world test before you mount the antenna to see how the antenna position will effect the signal.

- Mount the head unit and transducer in their permanent positions. Don't mount the antenna at this time.
- Connect everything up as instructed.
- Position the boat to get a clear view of the sky.
- Turn the unit on and select Pages --> Status. You will see the satelite signal strength bars at the bottom of the screen and the position error box at the top left of the screen.
- Now as you move the antenna around to different locations take note of the signal strength and position error.
- Mount the antenna at a location where you get the least amount of interference and a good signal strength.

When mounting the antennae, does it screw into the boat or is it just adhesive holding it or what? If I put it on the rear of hte boat like I was originally figuring, There's not any room to get hands or tools in if I had to try and screw it from underneath.

Thanks for that tip Pivo! I'll definitely give that a shot!

I used only the top part and stuck it down with clear silicone.

Lowrance makes a quick connect base that the antennae snaps into - the base is screwed down on the boat - the antennae can be unplugged and removed. Makes for a clean installation.

The quick connect base should be in the box with the antenna. You should not have to purchase it separately.

Tracking shows it will be here tomorrow!! Can't wait to get it on and try it out.

when installing it, the diagrams show putting switches in the line for the GPS to turn it off. Anyone have any good sources other than Radio Shack or does the unit come with the switch already? Anyone have one of these on a Tracker with a good idea on where to put the switch? My console doesn't have a lot of extra space on it.

Any good marine grade on/off switch will work fine. I ordered several from my boat manufacturer when I bought my rig so they would match but that's not necessary. Don't forget to fuse the power wires between the switch and the unit.

Does you boat have a accessory "Acc" switch on the control pannel. If so hook your GPS power to that. Or even a Power switch will do fine on your control pannel. Just something that has an on/off on you control pannel.

unfortunately not. I'll see what I can find. Do I just need one or will I need more than that?

The reason you want the bus power on a switch is that the antenna draws power all the time. I have not confirmed this, but a buddy of mine said that as long as you disconnect the plugs from your graph, it won't draw power.

I have my unit power ran directly to the battery (fused) and the bus power connected to my acc switch on my console.

thanks for all the advise guys! It got here on Friday and I'm heading out now to work on installing it.

Dad and I just installed the 520c on my Skeeter. We put the antenna at the rear of the boat and ran the wires down the side. The antenna screws onto the boat. The base does anyways. All you need to do is drill a hole. The hardest part for us was getting the transducer glued on correctly in the hull. Very stressful but well worth it. It works great. A great upgrade from the X85 I did have. Now I just need something better up front and I'll be set.

I hear ya Louie! I got mine installed on Sunday and just finished it up tonight by adding the RAM mount at the console for it. I have to silicone up the screw holes from the previous unit I had and I'm planning to silicone up around the wires coming out of the console to try and waterproof it a bit better.

I used the existing transponder mount at the rear of the hull.

I can't wait to get it on the water to try it out!!

I bought the 520 C with internal GPS. Love it.

Ok, got to use my 520 for the first time yesterday. Man! I love it!!!

Only disappointment was at speed, the sonar wigs out more than my old one. Now it's just a matter of learning what I'm looking at in it. If I were to go strictly by arches, I saw millions of fish. I had a rough time figuring out what was fish vs. brush vs. trees.