Which GPS do I buy?

[Picketfence]

Hey guys,
This is my first post but I have been reading the forums on Sailnet for over 3 years now. I am planning a trip down the east coast of South America in an International Folkboat. So I need to get a good gps and a back up but I don't really know where to start. I was hoping you guys could give me some ideas of models that I should be looking at. I will be using electronic charts on my laptop and would like to interface that with my gps system. Alright well thank you all for any advice!

~Ryan

[PBzeer]

I use the one in this link: Globalsat BU-353 USB GPS Receiver, BU353 - buy GPS Now

It's inside the cabin and has never lost signal. I have a hand held Garmin for back up.

[xort]

lots of usb 'hockey puck' gps for direct laptop use.
The garmin gps76 is pretty common & popular.
This site store most likely has them at a good price

[johnshasteen]

I have used a Garmin Map 76 and Map 76cSX for years - both are excellent for offshore sailing. The 76cSX is primary and the 76 is now just a back up.

[hellosailor]

Ryan, pretty much any GPS will do these days. Your choices are to buy one that uses a serial or USB interface--match whatever your computer and nav software need--or even Bluetooth GPS, which is probably just a waste of power on sailboat.

Look for modern chipset, like SirfIII (Sirf3) which is more sensitive and better able to see the satellites through a cabin top, etc. If the GPS maker supplies a figure for "sensitivity" the new ones will all be something like 150db or more. And they tend to use less power, so batteries will last longer than they used to.

[camaraderie]

Get a hockey puck USB...A Garmin 76 and one more with lots of batteries as your backup!

[Perithead]

Yeah, I have a Garming 76xs and I really like it. Sounds like everyone else likes them too..........

You can hook them up to your PC and all.

[ckgreenman]

I concur with everyone above with one addition. You might also get a good handheld mapping gps (like a garmin) to use as a backup.

[Picketfence]

Thank you guys so much! I have am placing an order for a Garmin gpsmap 76S tomorrow morning. I'll also be buy a hockey puck gps reciever with sirf3...I think I'll take PBzeer's advise on the globalsat. Alright well thanks again! That's why I love sailnet's forums!

[patrickrea]

I have an older Garmin GPSMAP 176C as my primary. I think I paid CDN$100 for it on ebay. Full Bluecharts for Lake Ontario and Georgian Bay. I have a RAM mount (CDN$45 on ebay) for it on the pedestal that I can swing to where I am as I usually steer from ahead of the pedestal. The beauty is that it is tied to my 12 volt system as well as having a battery compartment. I always (and I mean ALWAYS) have a minimum of 12 spare AA batteries on hand as my Pentax DSLR uses them. I also have a mount in my car as it does well with road maps for those weird trips to get stuff for the Admiral. I take it home and connect the laptop to program routes and to download my tracks and for security.

My backup is an Etrex colour model that also uses AA batteries. That one lives below and also has Bluecharts loaded.