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572 Posts
What's wrong with this:
Panbo: The Marine Electronics Weblog: Gizmo Wisdom #1, reboot 'er!
...Everything IMHO
Panbo: The Marine Electronics Weblog: Gizmo Wisdom #1, reboot 'er!
...Everything IMHO
IMO you shouldn't have any equipment on your boat you don't fully understand.Well, that ought to clear the waterways!
I'm OK. I like kayaking just fine.
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Actually, I kind of agree with the exception of equipment I'm willing to do without (ie., if my GPS goes out I have other means).
I totally agree with the self reliance sentiment in Scotty's post but Hello is right. Realistically, both diesel engines and most electronics are beyond the abilities and/or knowledge of most sailors. Basic troubleshooting and maintenance is about as far as any of us will ever get with those systems. How many of us are capable of, or equipped for, rebuilding a high pressure fuel pump? Similarly for the circuitry in a plotter?"IMO you shouldn't have any equipment on your boat you don't fully understand."
Ask the pilot on a 747 if he knows how to change the oil on his engines. Or the brakes. Don't expect so.
And while commercial aircraft have generally gone from 4 engines to 2 because they gain reliability by having fewer redundant systems to fail (catch 22) complexity is not necessarily a problem, if you have reliable systems.
A sextant may be more reliable than a GPS--but drop either one and it is offline.
ScottyIrwin is right.IMO you shouldn't have any equipment on your boat you don't fully understand. If you have an electronic engine monitor, make sure you can troubleshoot it! Bring spares! Frayed wires? Really? Maybe you should make sure your boat is up to snuff before you venture out to sea!
And I suppose you were able to get at least 2 LOP's for a fix in 2 hours and have as good a position as when the GPS came back on?I was tracking speed & distance with a Garmin 76 while driving in open territory when all the satellite signals were gone? (No position)This went on for a few hours then suddenly they reappeared.
Why? I don't know.
That's one reason my primary are these:
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Dick
Why not leave it on all the time? Surely the safety aspect of a continuously updated position is worth the cost of a couple of AA batteries?. My gps is a hand held that uses AA batts. I turn it on a couple of times a day to check my D.R.'s.
Yep, that's how we do it too. Garmin 76My gps is a hand held that uses AA batts. I turn it on a couple of times a day to check my D.R.'s.
Why switch it off then?And it's not about batteries.
OK so each person manages information differently. Here's my rationale - it may not work for you.Why switch it off then?
It provides a position a fix. A couple of independent position fixing methods , more if possible are always helpful. As well you have information about currents leeway etc.
I can only see drawbacks in not having the information.
Everyone should be able to navigate without GPS, but deliberatly loosing information does not seem sensible to me.