The Lowrance Elite-5 Gold shares the same sharp 5-inch display screen, 16-channel GPS sensor, easy-to-use software interface, and 500-watt internal sounder as the Elite-5.
This Lowrance chartplotter fishfinder adds another dimension to the Elite-5 series by shipping with a Navionics chart card in addition to the Elite-5 hardware package which consists of the display unit, quick-release mounting bracket, dual-frequency transom-mount transducer, an installation and operation manual.
Buy this Lowrance chartplotter fishfinder here.
Here are the waters just south of New London, CT. You can see lots of navigation and depth details evident here.
Both the hardware and software used in the Elite-5 Gold package is identical to the standard base map only equipped Elite-5.
You will find everything related to connectivity, screen size and viewability, operation, how the good the unit is at handling waypoints and routes, as well as a few other features and functions are clearly explained and evaluated on our Lowrance Elite-5 review.
You will also find a full review of the Elite-5 internal fishfinder that includes photo support of our conclusions.
Cartography
The including cartography card covers U.S. coastal waters of both the Atlantic and Pacific coast, Gulf of Mexico, and the Great Lakes. I looked the charts over for numerous areas and found them to contain lots of detail which included the usual navigation markers, depth soundings, and coastal shorelines.
You’ll also find impressively detailed bathymetric data for most areas. When place the cursor over a target like a navigation marker the light sequence and identification for the particular beacon will appear onscreen.
You will also find blue information dots scattered around the screen when viewing the chart page. Placing the cursor over one of these will yield more information about the area.
Hitting the enter with the cursor over a dot will get you the item position, bearing, and distance. You can also initiate navigation to any one of these points by selecting the Go To command from this page.
Final Thoughts
I found the cartography shipped with the Elite-5 Gold to be well worth the small added expense as it provides excellent mapping and significant added value for an U.S. based boater.