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Good Portable GPS

3K views 17 replies 7 participants last post by  bdkorth 
#1 ·
I am looking for a good portable GPS that could be used not only for coastal cruising and lake cruising like I do now, but be able to grow into going longer term cruising. I have been looking at the Garmin 176C for $599, but haven''t jumped yet. Any input as to what has worked out there? Thanks,
Brad
 
#2 ·
The Garmin 76 for less than half the cost is a very good hand-held unit. I have the 76S which can hold 25M of data. I have all of the Chesapeake BlueChart data loaded into it, as well as the three county roads that I routinely travel through, as well as the topo maps of Shenandoah National Park. Moreover, it has a built in compass, can access tide data, and even has a barometer to help predict weather. Best of all, I bought it on ebay for less than what a Garmin 76 retails.

~ Happy sails to you ~ _/) ~
 
#3 ·
I have a Garmin 48 and a 12(backup)that have worked perfect. The 48 interfaces with my laptop for chartplotting and realtime navigation. Garmin does not offer either two but, I have seen them on EBay for as little as 75.00. Any hand unit will do everything you will need, the new ones with map data are good for on land.

If you are looking for a portable chartplotter, Practical Sailor did not think to highly of the new ones, as they felt they were overpriced for little chartplotting capabilities. Just my opinion?
 
#6 ·
WAAS GPS is accurate to 10 meters and it has proved to be so for me all of last season. This is vastly improved over GPS from the mid nineties. Digital charts are made from paper charts and are every bit as accurate. The thing that causes the problem is that most paper charts have inaccuracies and most have not been updated in many years. Some in over 50 years. These charts were made when the technology used to make charts today was not in existence. The bottom line is that Lat and Lon from a WAAS GPS is more accurate in many cases than the chart on which it is plotted.
 
#8 ·
It is only a matter of time before the software is better than paper, it just hadn''t happened yet (in the Rocky Mtn area) when I retired and quit using it regularly.

One suggestion for those new to GPS who sail ponds rather than the deep blue. Consider using UTM grids rather than Lat and Long. Many maps can be had either way now, and UTM is much more logical. One unit on the UTM scale is one meter, but no one can tell you how long a second of longitude is.

UTM is the system used by the military so if youv''e served, you may have already been exposed to it. You don''t have to try to learn this archaic system just because you have a sailors cap now.
 
#9 ·
I will second Mike Hoyt''s opinion of the Magellan 315.
Very reliable and flexible. The menu setup is very intuitive and easy to learn to use. The screen resoulution is better than the comparable Garmin plus the screen is larger.
These units have excellent battery life as well. Technical support from Magellan is top notch.
Price is dropping now that the WAAS units are the "ones to have". I''m considering purchasing a second one just so I have a spare.
Oh yeah, it floats.

Andy Shand
Dry Red
C&C 25-I
 
#10 ·
Thanks for all of the input. Would a color screen be a recommended feature, or is it mainly a way to jack the price up? I have heard that it can be useful with channel marker coloring on charts? Not sure, I have never done it before, I have been a lake sailor up until this coming summer. What would be some ''can''t live without'' features on a GPS in your opinions? Thanks again for the input. This is a great resource for knowledge.

Brad
 
#13 ·
Brad,

I too am wanting to purchase the 176 before we charter in May. I am assuming you have yours by now. What do you think? Is it portable enough for me to take along on our Moorings charters? To use as a handheld, pulling it out of the duffle when needed and transferring it from boat to boat. I like the idea of a bigger color screen. It will either be this one or the Map 76.
 
#15 ·
As "Sailmc" indicated, GPS positioning can be more accurate than the charts (paper or electronic), and are highly repeatable.
Remember to annotate your charts with on-site readings, so that you have an actual "been there" record of GPS Waypoints. This record will enable you to electronically pilot to within GPS accuracy limits, excepting avoidance of "movable" features (sand bores etc).
 
#16 ·
Popye,

Yes, I have my 176c now. The color is nice to have, however, I wonder if the gray scale would be alot easier to read. I do enjoy having the ability to see different color nav. aids on the screen that will theoretically match with what my eyes see. I haven''t been able to use it sailing yet, as in Idaho all the lakes are solid chunks of ice now. I got mine in time to learn how to use it before going to get bareboat certified in San Diego the week of March 1st. I have dinked around with it in my truck, and it is quite accurate and picks up the satellite signals and gets warmed up quickly. I bought the 64MB Memory card for it and downloaded the maps from Central California to the Southern tip of Mexico. I believe it only used up approximately 8 MB of the card. The 176c uses batteries up fairly quickly, as you need the backlight on most of the time. It definitely is nice and portable, larger than many of the handhelds, but that is what you get for the larger screen. I am going to get the cover for it, as well as the carrying case. I will also get the ac adaptor and the dc adaptor, to save some AA batteries. It takes 4 of them. It is very easy to use the gps, the menues are self explanatory.

If you have any other questions, please let me know. My only hesitation about the 176c is that the screen is a little difficult to see, as you need the backlight, and the screen is reflective.

Brad
 
#17 ·
If you are thinking of one day growing into cruising, I would advise that you consider purchasing a portable GPS with a removable antenna to which a remote-mount antenna can be attached. This pretty much restricts you to a vendor and sticking with them (Garmin for example). In this way, you can purchase your portable GPS now, then, if/when you go cruising, you may consider purchasing a fixed GPS with a remotely mounted antenna. If the fixed-mount ever gives up then you have a perfectly functional backup, by plugging the portable into the remote antenna.

Good Luck
 
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