Good GPS for Boat?
Ross
Any recomendations for a GPS for a boat. Should I look at portable
(hand-held) or mounted in boat?
Alain-Pierre DERENNES
Ross wrote:
>
> Any recomendations for a GPS for a boat. Should I look at portable
> (hand-held) or mounted in boat?
Hello,
I have a garmin 38 on a zodiac Cherokee 480 (rigid inflatable boat) and it runs very well.
have fixed it on the control panel (console) with scratch (velcro). Even with waves of 1.5meter
(5 feet) at 15 knots, it don't move; you can secure it with the strap.
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Les infos ci-dessus, autres que professionnelles, ne peuvent engager mon employeur
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Alain-Pierre DERENNES
Ingénieur d'Etude Chargé de Communication au
Télécom Bretagne
Technopole Brest Iroise Groupe Manche Atlantique de Plongée (GMAP)
BP 832 1er éperon port de commerce
29285 BREST Cedex 29200 BREST
Tel: 02 98 00 14 76 Tel: 02 98 43 15 11
Fax: 02 98 00 13 43 Fax: 02 98 44 68 80
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Glenn Wiltse
You have not give us a whole lot to go on, but I'll try and offer
some usefull infromation...
Generaly in a boat, your veiw to the Sky is not impeeded too much, of
course that can vary too depending on the boat and where you use your boat.
If you travel down rivers that are narrow, or just along the shoreline where
there may be trees that overhang, or come close to over haning, then it
can be impeeded significantly. If your always out away from shore then I'd
say it's not being impeeded too much by things like trees or buildings, ect..
If your the view to the sky general is excelent, then maximum reception
capabilitys is not a critical factor, or in otherwords nearly any GPS could
receive well enough for you. Well I'll qualify that statement a bit too...
Human bodys will block GPS signals completely, so it is generaly best
if you have a GPS that has a antenna that can be mounted above, or away from
people or metalic objects. So I feel that a antenna that has a remote antenna
is of great bennifit on most boats(or for nearly any GPS application actualy).
Basicly I would be hard pressed to ever recomend to someone a GPS that didn't
at least have a jack for a external antenna.
Waterproof construction would be very bennificial too. If your at all
fermilar with marine electronics, then you probably know that just because
it says it's waterproof doesn't mean it's fully waterproof. This is true
with GPSs too.
Another thing that will probably be important is that the GPS have
a screen that can be easly seen from more then one location, or when wearing
polarised sunglasses.
Then there is the question, do you really want a GPS? Do you know
that the best accuracy you can count on is +- 100 meters?(If someone told
you something like 15 or 20 meter accuracy, they are misleadining you
by telling you the best it can possibly do) So if you make a fishing
spot, and try and come back to it later, you may be 200 meters away from
the spot you wanted to be at, and you don't really even know which direction
to go. To get any better accuracy then I descibed, you need a Diffential
Receiver too, and you also need someone like the Coast Gurard to have a
tower set up to send the signal...
So if you still think you want a GPS for your boat, I say...
Get one that has, or at least has the option of a external antenna. Get one
that you can see clearly under most conditions you may us it in. Don't
be too concerned about battery life.(I'm assuming your on a boat that has
other batterys on board, like a 12v marine battery) Do find one that can
be easly connected to a 12 volt DC source. Get one from a manufacture that
you know of and are satisfied with their other products(if you have
a company like that that makes GPSs). It may also be bennificial that
the company you buy from has been in the marine electronics bussniess
for a long time...
You may really want to considre a handheld unit so you can easly
use it in your auto on the way to the boat, and then take it out of
the auto and then use it in the boat... There are some advantages
to a fixed unit, but I can think of very few for my purposes.
Specificly, I have had great results with Eagle/Lowrance products.
They have fixed mount units that start around $300. They are suposed to
be soon selling a handheld unit that will sell for $200. They have units
with full charting capabilitys selling for around $600. All their GPS
products have a excelant reputation as being some of the best performing
GPSs on the market, thanks to thier use of Rockwell receivers...
I have a Eagle AccuNav Sport, and have owned it for about 3 years
now. I have never regreted the purchase even though it was more expensive
then some of the other handhelds on the GPS market. I am looking forward
to the new 12 channel GPS units Eagle/Lowrance will be selling and may
purchase another if they look like the offer me any gains in features
or performance. I also own a x-703D depth finder and am extreemly happy
with it as well... I have no other affiliation with Eagle/Lowrance.
Bruce Shoffner
I have been very impressed with the Garmin XL45 re its display.
Contrary to most other marine equipment design, someone thought about
us polarized sunglass wearers. The XL45 has the polarization set so
that you can easily read it without cocking your head to one side.
Also, I have had good results with the attached antenna while using it
in a boat with a canvas bimini. I mounted it using the "available"
adjustable mounting bracket and wired it to the boat battery. Another
good point: it is quite close to the compass and I can see not
noticeable affect.
ig...@merit.net (Glenn Wiltse) wrote:
Avon Lake, OH USA
bsho...@centuryinter.net
Jukka Salo
It Has lot of funcions, big somputer-like display and possibility to
separate completely waterproof externa display etc.....
Rudiger Voss
I have owned a Garmin GPS 45 (the "old" model, not the XL) for two
seasons. I use it mainly for sailing on the Mediterranean, and I'm
extremely pleased with the unit. Great features are the display which is
perfectly readable under all light conditions, the large choice of chart
datums (often ignored, but absolutely essential for accurate coastal
navigation unless you prefer to do the conversions yourself), route
navigation, and the easy interfacing to external power. I also rely a
lot on interfacing the 45 to my Macintosh using MacGPS; programming a
large number of waypoints via the unit's keypads is admittedly clumsy,
and the possibility to store and back-up waypoints and routes is very
useful when you often sail in the same area. I never had a problem to
get a fix within a minute or so, and the receiver never ever lost lock
as long as the antenna was correctly positioned (vertically) under an
unobstructed sky. In practice, it also works well on the chart table
under the deck of a plastic boat. Finally, I also had no reliability
problems when the unit was exposed to rain or saltwater splashes.
I read a lot of criticism in this newsgroup about unsufficient antenna
performance under canopy or in deep valleys, the speed limit, etc - it's
probably all true, but the Garmin 45 is designed for marine use, and
there it does a great job.
Rudiger Voss
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Rudiger Voss E-mail: Rudige...@cern.ch
PPE Division, CERN Office phone: +41-22-7676447 (internal: 76447)
CH-1211 Geneva 23 GSM phone: +41-79-2010018 (internal: 160018)
Switzerland Fax: +41-22-7850672
HIDDA
Ross wrote:
>
> Any recomendations for a GPS for a boat. Should I look at portable
> (hand-held) or mounted in boat?
Sorry for such a late reply to this. Maybe it can help other with the
same question.
I'd suggest a fixed mount. That's what I have and what the majority of
the boat owners I know have. I also have a handheld (Sitex HG-7) just
in case something goes wrong witht he fixed mount.
The idea is to get the fixed mount, hook it to your other instruments
(chart plotter, autopilot, etc.).
Fixed mount units generally have larger panels and input keys. So, it's
easier to read and easier to punch the buttons, especially in rough
water.
smtpgate.tnrcc.state.tx.us
Have you heard of Starlink DGPS? THey sell a unit with a differential
correction reciever that will pick up the free Coast Guard beacons.
CHeck 'em out at http://www.starlinkdgps.com/home.html