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gps recommendation

2K views 13 replies 10 participants last post by  sailingdog 
#1 ·
Hi all. I am sailing the SF Bay area and looking for some basic technology. Most of my sailing will be inland and a little coastal. I have a tri-data. What I would like is some technology to keep me out of trouble in the Bay in case I get trapped in fog. I don't need a huge chartplotter with lots of bells and whistles. Maybe just a handheld basic gps/sounder? I would like to see maps that include shelf depth, not just land outline. Thanks!
 
#2 ·
The Garmin Map series will do what you want, you need to buy the unit and then the Bluechart CD with charts, and you get the unlock code for one region.

Other brands probably offer similar units.

Of course GPS won't tell you where the traffic and other floating hazards are in fog, so be mindful of that.
 
#4 ·
I went with the Garmin GPSmap 76 for $180. The color handhelds are much nicer, but they run about $400+. For that price, you're almost to a GPSmap 172C which is the direction you may eventually want.

So far, I'm very happy that I went with my $180 handheld. Just remember that both are almost worthless until you buy the Garmin BlueChart map for them so add $100 to the price. Do NOT buy a GPS 72 or 76 without map capabilities, you want a GPSMAP model.

They do sell units that already have the good maps, but they start closer to $1000.
 
#8 ·
I may be in the minority, but we compared the Garmin 76 map and the Loranz (sp?), and found the Loranz colour screen a bit larger and easier to read (even the handheld one), and got a better price on it than the Garmin.

As well, the salesperson said they used to carry Garmin, but switched to Loranz because of better customer service with them. We have been very pleased with it so far after one season use.

I was initially a bit intimidated by the idea of GPS (technologically challenged :D ), but the Loranz can be operated in a very basic way, and then the manual shows how you can do more advanced stuff on a different setting, so it allows you to "grow" with it as your comfort increases.

Frank.
 
#11 ·
I have a hand held Garmin GPSMAP 76CS with the color charts that I have been using for 3 years. There are two things I don't like about it; one is the fact that BlueCharts divided the Pacific Northwest into two seperate areas to purchase (Canadian & US) what a rip job; two the display is very small and requires a lot of zooming in and out and Garmin is still locked into that ancient 640 X480 resolution. Other than that it is a nifty little unit that I can carry with me on anyones boat or car for that matter. It holds 115 MB of memory and the Pacific Northwest only consumes about 22MB, lots left over for topo maps or street maps. You can also plug into a sunlight readable laptop using USB port and see live tracking on the laptop display.
While on the topic of GPS displays can anyone provide me with a solution for my non-sunlight readable laptop. When out on the boat I have to keep it below to see the screen, if I bring it topside or even near the companion way the sun washes out the display as it is stronger than the backlight of the display. This really sucks and I need a cheap solution, those sulight readable laptops are very expensive, it would be cheaper to just buy a larger garmin unit but I want to keep it under $100.00 for the solution. Any thoughts?
 
#14 ·
You're basically SOL.
 
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