Anyone have a recommendation for a GPS system? I need to upgrade some of the electronics on my boat and haven't a clue what to look for. Thanks.
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Well....
I don't have an endorsement, but I'll tell you this; I outfitted my boat with a lot of Standard Horizon equipment. While I find the VHF to be of great quality, I had a problem. I accidently cut the wire to the RAM mic while doing some wiring. What the heck, it's just a cable right? I called them up and they wanted to charge me $100.00 plus shipping. I've dropped batten retainers, whisker pole clips, water tank keys, and other things overboard and had them replaced free or at just the price of shipping. One rep even called me to ask if the replacement worked properly. While I didn't expect a freebee, and it was my error, I felt they were gouging me because the entire RAM mic cost $125.00 - I wound up buying an entire new RAM mic , but won't give them my business in the future. Now my S.H. GPS is dropping the signal due to a deteriorated antenna wire - not their fault, it's old, but I'll be looking at their competitors. I also wonder if anyone has had good experiences with electronics companies. Good luck.
I don't have an endorsement, but I'll tell you this; I outfitted my boat with a lot of Standard Horizon equipment. While I find the VHF to be of great quality, I had a problem. I accidently cut the wire to the RAM mic while doing some wiring. What the heck, it's just a cable right? I called them up and they wanted to charge me $100.00 plus shipping. I've dropped batten retainers, whisker pole clips, water tank keys, and other things overboard and had them replaced free or at just the price of shipping. One rep even called me to ask if the replacement worked properly. While I didn't expect a freebee, and it was my error, I felt they were gouging me because the entire RAM mic cost $125.00 - I wound up buying an entire new RAM mic , but won't give them my business in the future. Now my S.H. GPS is dropping the signal due to a deteriorated antenna wire - not their fault, it's old, but I'll be looking at their competitors. I also wonder if anyone has had good experiences with electronics companies. Good luck.
Garmin, Garmin, Garmin
Did I say Garmin. This company continually post new software updates until all the issues are worked out. Very impressive.
Did I say Garmin. This company continually post new software updates until all the issues are worked out. Very impressive.
Be careful of Garmin
Garmin likes to change thier formats and discontinue the old. They had the G charts - but try to find those today. Now it is is C sharts. They will, in a year or two, scrap that format and force you to buy a new unit with a new format.
Garmin likes to change thier formats and discontinue the old. They had the G charts - but try to find those today. Now it is is C sharts. They will, in a year or two, scrap that format and force you to buy a new unit with a new format.
Garmin rocks
why wouldn't they update their product when necessary? GPS units have changed quite a bit. Garmin rocks, their products are solid, their customer service is the best, they earned their fans. I can't say the same for C-Map. They just changed too, but they can't provide us with a chip burner that works, and their technical guys sound like they don't talk to each other at the company. Now I know why Raymarine switched to Navionics. Standard Horizon still uses CMap, but thats another (prior) post.
why wouldn't they update their product when necessary? GPS units have changed quite a bit. Garmin rocks, their products are solid, their customer service is the best, they earned their fans. I can't say the same for C-Map. They just changed too, but they can't provide us with a chip burner that works, and their technical guys sound like they don't talk to each other at the company. Now I know why Raymarine switched to Navionics. Standard Horizon still uses CMap, but thats another (prior) post.
I have this compass
and an old Magellan GPS 300 that doesn't have tracks or programming or anything but #s in the display. I'm quite amazed that I'm still able to navigate without a color plotter. I always wonder about the mariner who boasts of his GPS's manufacturers' ability to update their software. Of course, this person must be connected to wi-fi or broadband - when he is navigating offshore to obtain his updates from a basically beta product that needs continual updates. Oh, well, back to the paper charts... Stu PS Anyone wanna bet when Garmin (oh, yeah, the world leader) will install a simple "GO TO" button - so you don't have to "navigate" through a menu to ask a simple question, like, here's where I want to go? I'd love to hear from people who think they're "user friendly."
and an old Magellan GPS 300 that doesn't have tracks or programming or anything but #s in the display. I'm quite amazed that I'm still able to navigate without a color plotter. I always wonder about the mariner who boasts of his GPS's manufacturers' ability to update their software. Of course, this person must be connected to wi-fi or broadband - when he is navigating offshore to obtain his updates from a basically beta product that needs continual updates. Oh, well, back to the paper charts... Stu PS Anyone wanna bet when Garmin (oh, yeah, the world leader) will install a simple "GO TO" button - so you don't have to "navigate" through a menu to ask a simple question, like, here's where I want to go? I'd love to hear from people who think they're "user friendly."
GARMIN
I love my Garmin. Never a problem with it. Only piece of electronics on my boat that hasn't been repaired/replaced at least once. For those who cannot see the need for a chart plotter, try navigating on a very dark night, in a narrow channel in unfamiliar territory. I have had to do it twice, and the Garmin was spot on, all the way. I ran 30 miles down the ICW in far S. Texas, at night, never been there before. Out of the ditch down there and you are aground. Never touched the bottom once.
I love my Garmin. Never a problem with it. Only piece of electronics on my boat that hasn't been repaired/replaced at least once. For those who cannot see the need for a chart plotter, try navigating on a very dark night, in a narrow channel in unfamiliar territory. I have had to do it twice, and the Garmin was spot on, all the way. I ran 30 miles down the ICW in far S. Texas, at night, never been there before. Out of the ditch down there and you are aground. Never touched the bottom once.
Another vote for Garmin...
Here's another vote for a Garmin chartplotter, and their BlueChart CD. Getting the charts on CD lets you use them on your PC. Garmin has established a reputation for "Apple Macintosh" ease of use, as well as excellent customer service. I recommend getting one that has two COM ports so that one can be set for the Garmin protocol to communicate with a notebook computer in the cabin and one set for NMEA to communicate with VHF, autopilot, etc. We have mounts and wiring for our 178C with internal antenna on both our Whaler and MacGregor, and on the latter, we also have a power cable in the cabin, so we can run the unit all night with the anchor alarm on. This model's internal antenna picks up as many satellites in the MacGregor cabin as it does in the cockpit, but I've heard this isn't the case with the internal antenna on the 176/276 unit. If you want to "Go To" a waypoint press the Nav button, select "Go To" and choose the waypoint from two lists. One is waypoints alphabetically and the other from nearest to furthest away. No electronics are a substitute for paper charts. When out of sight of land or in reduced visibility, use a paper chart and plot a fix hourly and at every course and speed change. OTOH, in a narrow channel, especially on a dark and/or stormy night, having someone at a chart table or PC below shouting up steering directions is no substitute for a good, weatherproof chartplotting GPS at the helm!
Here's another vote for a Garmin chartplotter, and their BlueChart CD. Getting the charts on CD lets you use them on your PC. Garmin has established a reputation for "Apple Macintosh" ease of use, as well as excellent customer service. I recommend getting one that has two COM ports so that one can be set for the Garmin protocol to communicate with a notebook computer in the cabin and one set for NMEA to communicate with VHF, autopilot, etc. We have mounts and wiring for our 178C with internal antenna on both our Whaler and MacGregor, and on the latter, we also have a power cable in the cabin, so we can run the unit all night with the anchor alarm on. This model's internal antenna picks up as many satellites in the MacGregor cabin as it does in the cockpit, but I've heard this isn't the case with the internal antenna on the 176/276 unit. If you want to "Go To" a waypoint press the Nav button, select "Go To" and choose the waypoint from two lists. One is waypoints alphabetically and the other from nearest to furthest away. No electronics are a substitute for paper charts. When out of sight of land or in reduced visibility, use a paper chart and plot a fix hourly and at every course and speed change. OTOH, in a narrow channel, especially on a dark and/or stormy night, having someone at a chart table or PC below shouting up steering directions is no substitute for a good, weatherproof chartplotting GPS at the helm!
Just finished a 650 mile seven week ...
Discovery Island cruise with our Garmin 178C with external antenna. It has the 32meg data card (less than half the size of a book of matches) loaded with two chart regions (250 charts altogether) that cover Puget Sound to the north end of Vancouver Island. We sailed in fog as thick as soup and waters laced with submerged rocks and shallows. Not one mishap (knock on wood)! It is very user friendly, loaded with navigation features (tide tables, marine services, etc.) and accurate. I have paper charts as backup. Ours is mounted at the helm for ready access. I also have a separate power cable that allows me to build routes the night before at the navigation station below decks. Once a route is built I track it to confirm a clear way, then fine tune waypoint locations upon approach. Two features that would be nice to have: 1. Currect direction. The Garmin charts show current direction with arrows but they do not indicate whether flood or ebb. 2. Slack water. These cruising waters contain several passes and narrows with fast running currents, e.g., Dodd Narrows, Deception Pass, Active Pass. It would be helpful if Garmin would include a slack water table in the tide information section. Garmin has my biased vote. Terry
Discovery Island cruise with our Garmin 178C with external antenna. It has the 32meg data card (less than half the size of a book of matches) loaded with two chart regions (250 charts altogether) that cover Puget Sound to the north end of Vancouver Island. We sailed in fog as thick as soup and waters laced with submerged rocks and shallows. Not one mishap (knock on wood)! It is very user friendly, loaded with navigation features (tide tables, marine services, etc.) and accurate. I have paper charts as backup. Ours is mounted at the helm for ready access. I also have a separate power cable that allows me to build routes the night before at the navigation station below decks. Once a route is built I track it to confirm a clear way, then fine tune waypoint locations upon approach. Two features that would be nice to have: 1. Currect direction. The Garmin charts show current direction with arrows but they do not indicate whether flood or ebb. 2. Slack water. These cruising waters contain several passes and narrows with fast running currents, e.g., Dodd Narrows, Deception Pass, Active Pass. It would be helpful if Garmin would include a slack water table in the tide information section. Garmin has my biased vote. Terry
Garmin GOTO button.
I don't understand the point of the criticism on the Garmin GOTO button. Both my GPSMAP175, and my newer Foretrex201 have a GOTO button. Press it and select a waypoint from the list and you're done. On the GPSMAP175 I can scroll the cursor to a location on the electronic chart and press GOTO, and I'm done. I don't see how it could get much simpler. I thought most if not all Garmin gps's had a GOTO button. But I'm probably under informed!
I don't understand the point of the criticism on the Garmin GOTO button. Both my GPSMAP175, and my newer Foretrex201 have a GOTO button. Press it and select a waypoint from the list and you're done. On the GPSMAP175 I can scroll the cursor to a location on the electronic chart and press GOTO, and I'm done. I don't see how it could get much simpler. I thought most if not all Garmin gps's had a GOTO button. But I'm probably under informed!
Lowrance
Hello, Back in the spring I bought a Lowrance color mapping GPS / SONAR unit for $399. It's the M68 C Smap. It has a 3.5" color display, built in high res maps of the US, etc etc etc. I also like Garmin, by old GPS is a handheld Etrex. Compared to Garmin, Lowrance is much much cheaper. Things to be aware of: For many manufacturers, buying the unit is only the beginning, you also may need to but chart packs, memory chips, interface cables, etc etc. So make sure you consider the price of EVERYTHING before you buy a unit. Good luck, Barry
Hello, Back in the spring I bought a Lowrance color mapping GPS / SONAR unit for $399. It's the M68 C Smap. It has a 3.5" color display, built in high res maps of the US, etc etc etc. I also like Garmin, by old GPS is a handheld Etrex. Compared to Garmin, Lowrance is much much cheaper. Things to be aware of: For many manufacturers, buying the unit is only the beginning, you also may need to but chart packs, memory chips, interface cables, etc etc. So make sure you consider the price of EVERYTHING before you buy a unit. Good luck, Barry
latest and greatest
We selected the Lowrance LMS 160 plotter/GPS/Sonar/Depth for Makai when looking to add a system. One of the thing I noted was the price of the latest and greatest LMS 1600 wich was ~$600 or $150 for the last generation. We went with the last gen. It works well and was worth the money. Most new models are evolutionary not revoltionary. It is kind of like buying a new car witha different color doesn't really improve the basic quality. Are the new improvements something you wil use or take advantage. Since we use other chart plotters as main nav tool we didn't need an expensive redundant system that used differnt charting. We sailed on the Bay and rarley used a GPS. An expensive system would have been a waste of money. Now that we are sailing in the Caribe we have not had a single problem or issue with using an older GPS with fewer bells and whistles. Quality, price, and useabilty should be a deciding factor. Bells and whisltes don't always help you navigate.
We selected the Lowrance LMS 160 plotter/GPS/Sonar/Depth for Makai when looking to add a system. One of the thing I noted was the price of the latest and greatest LMS 1600 wich was ~$600 or $150 for the last generation. We went with the last gen. It works well and was worth the money. Most new models are evolutionary not revoltionary. It is kind of like buying a new car witha different color doesn't really improve the basic quality. Are the new improvements something you wil use or take advantage. Since we use other chart plotters as main nav tool we didn't need an expensive redundant system that used differnt charting. We sailed on the Bay and rarley used a GPS. An expensive system would have been a waste of money. Now that we are sailing in the Caribe we have not had a single problem or issue with using an older GPS with fewer bells and whistles. Quality, price, and useabilty should be a deciding factor. Bells and whisltes don't always help you navigate.
Anyone have the new Garmin 376C?
Any comments or reviews on the new Garmin 376C other than that it is a bit pricey?
Any comments or reviews on the new Garmin 376C other than that it is a bit pricey?
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