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Hello fellow fisherman,I'm thinking of purchasing a Garmin Gpsmap78s handheld Marine Navigator unit. The question I have has anyone used one on our end of the lake ? Used offshore? Were you happy with using it? Was it user friendly ? Any input is appreciated.Thank you.

I have one I used thats 20 years old and still works not a garmin. Had no problems with it inshore or offshore. So it should work if my old one does. Don’t know how much it cost but most all new fish finder have gps with the option built in and you don’t have to break the bank to upgrade. But to answer your question yes a hand held unit will work and you will not lose signal.

My first GPS was a hand held. Don't remember if it was rechargeable or if it used regular batteries, but I do remember it ran the batteries down very quickly. If it was rechargeable, back then the NiCad rechargers didn't have much umph to them. If they were regular batts, it probably took 4 AAs and back then, I could buy a new spoon or Thinfin for the price of four Bunny-Batteries so I didn't really like it. Plus, it had a tiny screen, plus the "chart" part of it really sucked, plus when i needed it it was either off (and took about 5 minutes to lock on - fewer satellites then) or the batteries were dead or died during use. I don't know how many of these problems are still there, but the GPS in your smart phone is probably better. Don't know if it needs a signal to work or not.
I bought an Eagle "Cuda 300 eight or 10 years ago for about $80 and it still works just fine. It's a back up unit and I have it set so the display is large and easily visible from the back of the boat. I use it to see the GPS speed I'm trolling.
Everyone's needs are different, but if you plan to primarily use one on your boat, there are entry level hard wired units which will likely serve you better than a hand held.
Cudas are no longer available new, but used ones on eBay are 20 to 40 bucks.