www.lowrance.com 
Pub. 988-0156-081 
 
® 
GlobalMap  3500C 
Mapping GPS Receiver 
Operation Instructions 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Copyright © 2004 Lowrance Electronics, Inc. 
 
All rights reserved. 
 
No  part  of  this  manual  may  be  copied,  reproduced,  republished, 
transmitted  or  distributed  for  any  purpose,  without  prior  written 
consent  of  Lowrance  Electronics.  Any  unauthorized  commercial 
distribution of this manual is strictly prohibited. 
 
Lowrance®  and  GlobalMap
  3500C  are  registered  trademarks  of 
Lowrance  Electronics,  Inc.  MapCreate,  FreedomMaps,  IMS  and 
NauticPaths  are  trademarks  of  LEI.  Fishing  Hot  Spots
  is  a 
registered  trademark  of  Fishing  Hot  Spots  Inc.  Navionics
  is  a 
registered trademark of Navionics, Inc. 
eXitSource Database, copyright  2001-2003 Zenrin Co. 
Ltd. Exit Authority and eXitSource are trademarks of 
Zenrin Co. Ltd. 
 
 
Lowrance  Electronics  may  find  it  necessary  to  change  or  end  our 
policies, regulations and special offers at any time. We reserve the right 
to do so without notice. All features and specifications subject to change 
without notice. All screens in this manual are simulated.  
 
 
For free owner's manuals and the most current information on 
this product, its operation and accessories, 
 
visit our web site: 
www.lowrance.com 
Lowrance Electronics Inc. 
12000 E. Skelly Dr. 
Tulsa, OK USA 74128-2486 
Printed in USA. 
 
Table of Contents 
Section 1: Read Me First!............................................................... 1 
 3500C ........................ 2 
Capabilities and Specifications: GlobalMap
How Lowrance GPS Works ................................................................ 4 
Introduction to GPS and WAAS......................................................... 6 
How to use this manual: typographical conventions ........................ 8 
Section 2: Installation & Accessories........................................ 11 
Preparations...................................................................................... 11 
GPS Antenna/Receiver Module........................................................ 11 
Power Connections ........................................................................... 12 
NMEA 0183 Cable Connections ....................................................... 15 
NMEA Wiring................................................................................ 16 
Mounting the Unit: Bracket, In-Dash or Portable .......................... 16 
MMC or SD Card Memory Card Installation.................................. 20 
Other Accessories ............................................................................. 21 
Face Cover......................................................................................... 21 
Section 3: Basic GPS Operations ............................................... 23 
Keyboard ........................................................................................... 23 
Power/lights on and off ..................................................................... 24 
Main Menu ........................................................................................ 24 
Pages ................................................................................................. 26 
Satellite Status Page .................................................................... 26 
Navigation Page ............................................................................ 28 
Map Page ....................................................................................... 30 
Background map vs. MapCreate map content............................. 31 
Resize Window command ............................................................. 33 
Basic GPS Quick Reference ........................................................ 36 
Find Your Current Position ............................................................. 37 
Moving Around the Map: Zoom & Cursor Arrow Keys................... 37 
Selecting Any Map Item With the Cursor ....................................... 38 
Searching .......................................................................................... 38 
Set a Waypoint.................................................................................. 40 
To create and save a Waypoint:.................................................... 40 
Navigate to a Waypoint.................................................................... 42 
Set Man Overboard (MOB) Waypoint ............................................. 43 
Navigate Back to MOB Waypoint.................................................... 43 
Navigate to Cursor Position on Map................................................ 44 
Navigate to a Point of Interest......................................................... 45 
Creating and Saving a Trail............................................................. 46 
Displaying a Saved Trail .................................................................. 48 
Navigating Trails.............................................................................. 48 
Visual Trailing .............................................................................. 49 
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Navigate a Trail (forward)............................................................ 49 
Navigate a Back Trail (backtrack, or reverse)............................. 51 
Transfer Custom Maps and GPS Data Files ................................... 52 
Custom Maps:................................................................................ 52 
GPS Data files: .............................................................................. 52 
Cancel Navigation ............................................................................ 54 
Section 4: Advanced GPS Operations....................................... 55 
Find Distance From Current Position to Another Location ........... 55 
Find Distance From Point to Point .................................................. 55 
Icons .................................................................................................. 56 
Create Icon on Map ....................................................................... 56 
Create Icon at Current Position ................................................... 56 
Delete an Icon................................................................................ 56 
Navigate to an Icon ....................................................................... 57 
Routes................................................................................................ 57 
Create and Save a Route .............................................................. 58 
Delete a Route ............................................................................... 61 
Edit a Route Name........................................................................ 61 
Edit Route Waypoints ................................................................... 61 
Navigate a Route........................................................................... 62 
Navigate a Route in Reverse ........................................................ 62 
Trails ................................................................................................. 63 
Delete a Trail................................................................................. 63 
Edit a Trail Name ......................................................................... 64 
Edit a Trail Color .......................................................................... 64 
Edit a Trail Pattern ...................................................................... 64 
Utilities ............................................................................................. 65 
Alarm Clock................................................................................... 65 
Sun/Moon Rise & Set Calculator.................................................. 65 
Trip Calculator .............................................................................. 65 
Trip Down Timer........................................................................... 65 
Trip Up Timer ............................................................................... 65 
Waypoints ......................................................................................... 65 
Delete a Waypoint......................................................................... 65 
Edit a Waypoint ............................................................................ 66 
Selecting a Waypoint .................................................................... 66 
Set a Waypoint by Average Position ............................................ 66 
Set a Waypoint by Projecting a Position...................................... 67 
Section 5: System & GPS Setup Options .................................. 69 
Alarms ............................................................................................... 69 
Auto Satellite Search........................................................................ 70 
Check MMC Files and Storage Space.............................................. 70 
Communications Port Configuration ............................................... 71 
ii 
Configure NMEA .............................................................................. 71 
Coordinate System Selection ........................................................... 72 
To setup Loran TD: ....................................................................... 73 
Map Fix ............................................................................................. 73 
To configure a map fix: ................................................................. 74 
Customize Page Displays ................................................................. 75 
GPS Simulator .................................................................................. 76 
To get to the GPS Simulator:........................................................ 76 
Simulating Trail or Route Navigation ......................................... 77 
Initialize GPS.................................................................................... 77 
Map Auto Zoom................................................................................. 78 
Map Data .......................................................................................... 78 
Show Map Data ............................................................................. 78 
Pop-up Map Information .............................................................. 79 
Map Boundaries ............................................................................ 79 
Fill Water With White .................................................................. 79 
Map Overlays (Range Rings; Lat/Long Grid) .............................. 79 
Map Datum Selection ....................................................................... 80 
Map Detail Category Selection ........................................................ 80 
Map Orientation ............................................................................... 81 
 Charts............................................................................. 82 
Navionics
To display a Navionics chart: ....................................................... 83 
Port Information ........................................................................... 83 
To view Port Services information: .............................................. 83 
Tidal Current Information............................................................ 85 
To view Tidal Current information: ............................................. 85 
Tide Information ........................................................................... 87 
To view tide information:.............................................................. 87 
Overlay Data..................................................................................... 88 
Pop-up Help ...................................................................................... 91 
Reset Options .................................................................................... 92 
Screen Contrast and Brightness ...................................................... 92 
Set Language .................................................................................... 93 
Set Local Time .................................................................................. 94 
Show WAAS Alarm........................................................................... 94 
Software Version Information.......................................................... 95 
Sounds and Alarm Sound Styles...................................................... 96 
Track Smoothing............................................................................... 96 
Trail Options ..................................................................................... 97 
Delete All Trails ............................................................................ 97 
Update Trail Option...................................................................... 97 
Delete Trail.................................................................................... 99 
New Trail....................................................................................... 99 
iii 
Trail Visible/Invisible and Other Trail Options .......................... 99
Transparency .................................................................................... 99
Units of Measure ............................................................................ 100
Section 6: Searching ................................................................... 101
Find Addresses ............................................................................... 101
Find Any Item Selected by Map Cursor ........................................ 104
Find Interstate Highway Exits ...................................................... 105
Find Map Places or Points of Interest (POI) ................................. 107
Find Streets or Intersections ......................................................... 109
Find a Street ............................................................................... 109
Find an Intersection.................................................................... 111
Find Waypoints............................................................................... 113
Section 7: Supplemental Material ........................................... 117
FCC Compliance.......................................................................... 121
A  CAREFUL  NAVIGATOR  NEVER  RELIES  ON  ONLY  ONE  METHOD
TO OBTAIN POSITION INFORMATION.
WARNING!
CAUTION
When  showing  navigation  data  to  a  position  (waypoint),  a  GPS  unit  will  show
the shortest, most direct path to the waypoint. It provides navigation data to the
waypoint  regardless  of  obstructions.  Therefore,  the  prudent  navigator  will  not
only  take  advantage  of  all  available  navigation  tools  when  traveling  to  a  way-
point, but will also visually check to make sure a clear, safe path to the waypoint
is always available.
WARNING!
When a GPS unit is used in a vehicle, the vehicle operator is solely re-
sponsible for operating the vehicle in a safe manner. Vehicle operators
must maintain full surveillance of all pertinent driving, boating or fly-
ing conditions at all times. An accident or collision resulting in damage
to property, personal injury or death could occur if the operator of a
GPS-equipped vehicle fails to pay full attention to travel conditions and
vehicle operation while the vehicle is in motion.
iv
Section 1: Read Me First! 
How this manual can get you out on the road, fast! 
Welcome to the exciting world of digital GPS! We know you're anxious 
to  begin  navigating,  but  we  have  a  favor  to  ask.  Before  you  grab  the 
GlobalMap
 3500C and begin installing it, please give us a moment or 
two to explain how our manual can help you get the best performance 
from your compact, wide-screen, mapping GPS receiver. 
First, we want to thank you for buying a Lowrance GPS unit. Whether 
you're a first time user or a professional fisherman, you'll discover that 
your GlobalMap 3500C is easy to use, yet capable of handling demand-
ing  navigation  tasks.  When  you  team  your  unit  with  our  custom  map-
ping software MapCreate 6, you have an incredible combination. You 
won't find another GPS unit with this much power and this many fea-
tures for this price! 
Our goal for this book is to get you on the road fast, with a minimum of 
fuss.  Like  you,  we'd  rather  spend  more  time  navigating  and  less  time 
reading the manual! 
So, we designed our book so that you don't have to read the whole thing 
from front to back for the information you want. At the start (or end) of 
each  segment,  we'll  tell  you  what  content  is  coming  up  next.  If  it's  a 
concept you're already familiar with, we'll show you how and where to 
skip ahead for the next important topic. We've also made it easy to look 
up any tips you may need from time to time. Here's how: 
The  manual  is  organized  into  7  sections.  This  first  section  is  an  intro-
duction to Lowrance GPS. It tells you the basics you need to know be-
fore you can make the unit look around and tell you where you are. 
Section 2 will help you install your unit and the GPS antenna module. 
We'll  show  you  how  to  get  the  MultiMedia  Card  (MMC)  correctly  in-
stalled  inside  the  unit.  We'll  also  tell  you  about  some  of  the  available 
accessories. 
Section 3 covers Basic GPS Operation. It will show you how easy it is to 
run the GlobalMap 3500C, right out of the box. This section features a 
one-page  GPS  Quick  Reference.  (If  you've  already  jumped  ahead 
and  figured  out  how  to  install  the  unit  yourself,  and  you  just 
can't  wait  any  longer,  turn  to  the  Quick  Reference  on  page  36 
and head for the road with your GPS unit!) 
Section  3  contains  short,  easy-to-scan  GPS  lessons  that  follow  one  an-
other in chronological order. They're all you'll need to know to find your 
way on the water or in the wilderness quickly. 
1 
After  you've  learned  the  basics  (or  if  you  already  have  some  GPS  ex-
perience),  you  may  want  to  try  out  some  of  the  GlobalMap  3500C's 
many  advanced  navigation  features.  That  brings  us  to  Section  4,  Ad-
vanced GPS Operations. This section contains the rest of the unit's GPS 
command functions, organized in alphabetical order. 
When  you  come  to  a  GPS  menu  command  on  the  GlobalMap  3500C's 
screen, you can look it up in the manual by skimming over the table of con-
tents,  just  flipping  through  Section  3  or  scanning  through  the  command 
portion of Section 4. 
This unit is ready to use right out of the box, but you can fine tune and cus-
tomize its operation with dozens of options. We describe how to use general 
system  options  along  with  GPS  options  in  Section  5,  System  Setup  and 
GPS Setup Options. Section 5 is organized in alphabetical order. 
In  Section  6,  we  go  into  more  detail  on  one  of  the  GlobalMap  3500C's 
most  remarkable  capabilities  —  Searching.  We'll  introduce  a  search 
example  in  the  Basic  GPS  Operation  section,  but  there  are  so  many 
map items you can search for, we had to give this function its own sec-
tion  in  the  manual!  For  example,  did  you  know  this  unit  can  look  up 
business  phone  numbers,  functioning  as  a  virtual  Yellow  Pages?  We’ll 
show you how in Section 6. 
Finally, in Section 7, we offer Supplemental Material, including a list of 
the GPS datums used, warranties and customer service information. 
Now, if you're into the fine details, glance over the next segment on speci-
fications  to  see  just  how  much  GPS  power  your  GlobalMap  3500C  con-
tains. It's important to us (and our power users), but, if you don't care how 
many  watts  of  power  the  unit  has,  or  how  many  waypoints  it  can  store, 
skip ahead to important information on how our GPS works, on page 4. 
Capabilities and Specifications: GlobalMap
 3500C 
General 
Display:............................ Color 5.0" (12.7 cm) diagonal high contrast 
Film SuperTwist LCD; programmable to 
viewing preference. 
Resolution:...................... 480 pixel x 480 pixel resolution; 230,400 total 
pixels. 
Backlighting: ................... Incandescent cold cathode backlit screen with 
multiple lighting levels; backlit keypad. 
Input power:................... 10 to 15 volts DC. 
2