Off Road Navigation Part 3
Editor’s Note: The first option I’ll discuss is the Lowrance Baja 840 navigation device. This unit is very unique in that it’s built for off-road navigation. It’s not an in-dash unit, and does not include multimedia features. This is the choice for virtually every off-road racing team, so we wanted to include it in our Off Road Navigation options.
The 540 features an 8.4” screen that produces great 16 bit color at a resolution of 600 X 800 pixels. It’s a TFT screen with SolarMax technology which means it can be seen clearly in direct sunlight. The built-in background map covers the continental US and Hawaii, and includes more detail than most GPS base maps. The unit also includes 2 MMC/SD slots for adding more detailed maps. The case of the 540, like all Lowrance Baja models, is ruggedized and shock resistant. The screen and keypad are also back-lit for easy day and night visibility.
The Baja 540’s GPS is a 12 channel parallel receiver, so you will have no trouble getting a great position lock even in narrow canyons or forested areas. The external antenna is also WAAS enabled which can provide even greater accuracy. You can store 1000 waypoints and another 1000 event markers. The unit also features an ethernet port that can be used to add other accessories (mostly for water navigation).
All Lowrance Baja units are compatible with MapCreate 7 software. This program allows you to create custom topo maps for the area you’ll be visiting and load them to a MMC or SD card.
MapCreate includes over 2 million points of interest, public hunting areas for 46 states, game management units for 22 states, and national forest / national park boundaries. All these points and features are fully searchable on the unit. It also includes all interstates and local/state level streets. The software itself is fairly easy to use, but only certain cards and card readers will work with it, which limits the area you’ll be able to add to the GPS.
None of the Baja units support auto-routing, so if you’re looking for turn-by-turn, this may not be for you. If, however, you’re looking for great off-road detail in a rugged system and plan on keeping your stock radio or going with an inexpensive non-navigation stereo, the Baja would be a great solution.