# Raymarine Dragonfly chart plotter



## mcraft173 (Apr 21, 2014)

I have the dragonfly 7. I am happy with it. Screen is bright enough for day time use. You have the ability to run full screen GPS, full screen fish finder or split screen with both. Honestly, I dont really use the dropped pins or save my tracks. It was extremely helpful when I took a trip down to flamingo, and found the unit and the chip it came with to be accurate enough. My unit is a couple years old, but it does not have satellite overlay and the chip it came with shows some backcountry areas in sufficient detail, but other areas show me as being on land.

All in all, I wanted a depth sounder, speedometer & water temp gauge and have occasional use for the GPS when I fish new places. Given that I have a tiller, buying this unit was actually the most economical and elegant solution - rather than buying a hand held gps, and rigging up a bunch of sensors and gauges with ram mounts/starboard. Even though the unit has more features than I need or use, I decided to get the 7 rather than the 5 because of the screen size.

Also - with the quality of the graphics and the current technology on phones/ipads/etc, I found myself wanting to use the unit as a touch screen at first. Control of this unit is with a turn knob/button. It was clunky for me at first, but I got used to it. It works fine, but I would say its somewhat difficult to change settings if you are operating the boat simultaneously.

As for longevity, it has held up fine. I have mine mounted on the gunnel of my boat. It takes occasional spray. I do remove the unit when I wash the boat. The only thing that has needed replacement is the o-ring for the cap on the male terminal. Also I will say - the mount holds tightly, but if you plan on taking the unit off frequently, understand that getting the unit back on the mount takes some finesse and profanity until you learn how to hold your mouth right.

Hope this helps.


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## K3anderson (Jan 23, 2013)

Yes, I would recommend against the dragonfly. If you take it on and off a lot the pins in the connector will break off. I had mine under a year and this happened twice. Warranty cost to fix is as much as buying a new one so it essentially useless. The screen on my 7 was great other than that. Wish it had touchscreen. I ended up just getting a Lowrance HDS9 after the POS Dragonfly connectors went bye-bye


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## topnative2 (Feb 22, 2009)

I have the 7" pro on my SUV using a RAM mount.It is a quality unit and works well but "complicated" to use.
My number one concern regards the combining the power cord w/ the transducer cord and a expensive fix in the future.Dummy here was not aware of the setup. I think this setup is just waiting for trouble..


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## Icroc (Feb 23, 2013)

Thanks for all the info. It sounds like this unit does not have a satellite image. I'm going to look for something else.

Thanks to all!


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## Egrets Landing (Feb 11, 2016)

Icroc said:


> Thanks for all the info. It sounds like this unit does not have a satellite image. I'm going to look for something else.
> 
> Thanks to all!


You want a GPS that has full imagery loaded right on the unit's hard drive? I don't think that exists. They all can run maps that have imagery but you have to have a chip that contains the data first to read. But they don't all run the same maps. If you get a Lowrance, or Simrad or B&G GPS unit you will have the most choices for different map options. Beware however, that the software running some of the lower end of the Navico line is less capable or running maps with full functionality precluding you from turning map layers on and off. For instance the Elite and Hook model units would be poor choices if you have a map focus and want the best capability. The Dragonfly should run aerial imagery fine but you have to buy a chip with the data and I think they only have one choice for that.


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## Icroc (Feb 23, 2013)

Thanks for the info! I ended up deciding on a dragonfly 5. The primary reason was price. The unit is also the only one I have found that will fit in the ball and socket of my ram mount. It came with Navionics + chip. 

The only problem I have found is I cannot figure out what version of navionics has a good satellite overlay. Does any one know which version has the overlay? Or if the Navionics + has a satellite overlay and I just don think know how to turn it on.


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## Egrets Landing (Feb 11, 2016)

"Good" is all relative when it comes to maps and chart plotters just like it is relative in anything else. One person's "good" is another's disaster. Navionics imagery is overall poor in my opinion and most of the people I speak with every week about their maps and chart plotters. It's dark, very dated and lower res and in some cases black and white. Some areas are a better than others but most remote areas including big bend and S. FL are really bad. It is OK as a general guide at best in deeper areas but you are not going to be using it to navigate any shallow areas you are unfamiliar as you just can't tell what you are looking at in the image. Its useless for those areas. If you want imagery where you can tell what is what and you can use it to successfully navigate and find fishing spots, you should rethink your choice of that mfg. 

That said, never purchase any GPS until you find the map you want first and have seen it first hand running on the units you are interested in. Any unit is only as useful to you as what you see on the screen. If you don't like the map, it doesn't matter at all how capable the unit is. So, in your case, if you find the Navionics does not work for you, you will not be particularly happy as you will be staring at a map all day that you dislike. It happens all of the time to lots of consumers who shop the units and just assume all maps are about the same and then find out the reality of this after it's too late. Similarly priced units are all about the same in terms of their capabilities and the differences are minor. The same definitely cannot be said regarding the maps that run in them and it's heavily dependent on the areas you need it to cover.


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## Icroc (Feb 23, 2013)

Thanks Egrets Landing! I just returned that GPS today! I tried the best Navionics chip, but no satellite view. What GPS would you recommend? I am at a loss. I'm thinking about just using my phone. It's got the only decent satellite map.


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## Egrets Landing (Feb 11, 2016)

I would recommend a Lowrance HDS or Simrad NSS EVO 12". It will run most any map on the market so you have options. I don't recommend the GO series simrad as the chips load from the back and its a pain to deal with. The evo has the zoom knob which is totally worth it and its fast. Don't flush mount. Use a versatile mount on a skiff. 
If you need a FL map with excellent imagery like what you see on Google or better and lots of navigation insight inshore in crazy areas all over the State this is and has been the best for the last few years>>> FLoridaMarineTracks.com. Check out the videos on Facebook/youtube to get an idea of what its all about.


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## Icroc (Feb 23, 2013)

Does the Lowrance Elite or hook have the ability to show a satellite overlay?


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## Egrets Landing (Feb 11, 2016)

The Hook will not run imagery. It has no horsepower as the cheapest Navico unit.
Unfortunately, there isn’t any update for Elite units that allow the users to turn on-off the map categories. This is a feature that you will only see on HDS and Elite-Ti units. So if you get a basic Elite, you will be looking at every map layer all of the time which would be real trouble as any capable map would appear far too cluttered with all kinds of data you did not prefer to see. You can run imagery on an Elite but I would not consider one unless it was a Ti unit for this reason. The Elite lacks sufficient horsepower to run larger more capable data sets quickly and smoothly. It would likely run Navionics as that is not a large data set as maps go due to the lower res imagery they use.

Elite and Hook units are basically both are the same kind of system with the most remarkable difference being Hook units don’t have NMEA network connection, so you have to work with the _built-in_ antenna. You can review the full list of features from the following links:

http://www.lowrance.com/en-US/Products/Elite/

http://www.lowrance.com/en-US/Products/HOOK/

You get what you pay for in GPS like anything else. If funds are short, consider, a second hand HDS or Simrad or a GO series Simrad unit. I would stay away from the Elite if you want imagery. Dont make the mistake of going cheap and hoping for the best. It probably wont work out the way you like and it will cost more in the long run.


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## FSUDrew99 (Feb 3, 2015)

Icroc said:


> Thanks for the info! I ended up deciding on a dragonfly 5. The primary reason was price. The unit is also the only one I have found that will fit in the ball and socket of my ram mount. It came with Navionics + chip.
> 
> The only problem I have found is I cannot figure out what version of navionics has a good satellite overlay. Does any one know which version has the overlay? Or if the Navionics + has a satellite overlay and I just don think know how to turn it on.


Navionic Platinum Plus Chip has the overlay, not the standard Plus. Learned that after buying my Simrad GO7 that came with the plus chip.


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## FSUDrew99 (Feb 3, 2015)

Then be prepared to spend around $200 per chip for your regional area. They break up FL into like 4 sections so they can get their money out of you or buy all of FL down to the Bahamas for $400. Gotta love it.


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