School me on GPS
 

Next week is my birthday and the First Mate wants to buy me a GPS. :)

I've read up a bit on the subject, and I'm a bit overwhelmed by all the information that is out there. So I'm not really sure what I should be looking at. What features are the "must have" for a unit that will primarily see marine service?

Would love to hear any advice and/or recommedations.

Thanks.

OK, there's some basic things you need to know.

There's GPS, and then there's Chartplotters. They're two different types of units, with different functions. If you want to be able to tell your speed, and stick primarily around the same area, a GPS would get you by. However, if you like to explore waters unfamiliar to you, a chartplotter might be more what you need.

GPS, as far as what you should buy, is something with WAAS Capability. It allows you a much more accurate signal. It's accurate up to 9ft! Most of the new receivers have this capability built in. They make handheld units, which are a nice thing to have, since you can take it with you, and can be used in a car also. I have an old Garmin GPS III receiver, which works, but is getting replaced this year. It doesn't have WAAS, so it's not the most accurate. But it gets me by for now.

Chartplotters are extremely nice and even offer satellite imaging that can be laid upon the charts, which looks amazing and makes things so easy to read and visualize, but they require updating with different memory cards, and can get rather pricy after you figure in the cost of additional cards ($79-99 each). The units are more expensive to start off with too. Starting price is usually above $400.

The best advice I can give, if you want the GPS, get one. Don't go overboard with a chartplotter, if you explore unfamiliar waters, pick up a set of NOAA Navigational Charts and learn to read them. They cost less than $30, and even if you purchase many sets, it's still less than the cost of a chartplotter.

Thanks. At this point I'm thinking a handheld GPS is what I'm going to be asking for. Anyone with experiences chime in.

I have some experience using Garmin's GPS Map 76, as we use one on my friend's sailboat on Lake Erie. It's very simple to use and has many marine type features, like navigational markers, lights, buoys, daybeacons, and things already preloaded. It also has tide info and sunset/sunrise info loaded as well. Plus, it's waterproof, and it floats! It's a great portable unit you can use it on land too. I'd recommend something like this for you.

Here's a link to it. Garmin GPS Map 76
They're going for about $199.

Thanks Chris. I have also been looking at purchasing a GPS and appreciate the information. Friends of mine use them while deer hunting and as you mentioned, there a must on the Great Lakes or anywhere you loose sight of land.

I have been considering some kind of unit with depth sounder ability. My uncle has a unit I would be interested in, however its more of a fish finder. It is a Lowrance unit similar to this one.

Lowrance

If there was a unit that has just GPS & Depth without all the extra bells and whistles, I would be interested. I'm only boat on small lakes and so far haven't taken it too far away from home. I have the paper charts for checking my course/depths right now.

Thanks. I had stumbled across those in my preliminary search. I may "go halves" with her and move up to the Map76CSx which has a colour screen, and removeable SD card and a USB interface. It'a about twice the price, but it seems a bit more "future proof".

I just picked up a Garmin GPSMap76CSx from West Marine yesterday. Been looking at getting a GPS for a while for use on the trail when i go offroading and when we are out exploring different lakes with the boat. I got 30 days to try it out so i figure "what the hell, might as well try it."

So far i've only played around with it while on the trip over to Lake Chelan, just seeing how to use waypoints and and fooling around w/ the other features. I really like the unit so far, very intuitive to use which is great because i have 0 experience with a GPS. The 76CSx has an "SiRF high-sensitive GPS receiver" which on the open water won't matter but i plan on using this thing on the trail as well so heavy tree cover could be an issue with normal receivers. The unit also has a barometric altimeter along with the GPS altimeter to improve the accuracy of the altimeter. This will be great for getting accurate readings in the mountains. Again, this is probably not a feature that someone using the unit primarily on their boat is looking for.

I still need to get some TOPO maps and inland lake maps to make this unit really functional for finding where i am and what is around me. Out of the box though the unit is still very usable. It'll be great for marking cool features along the lake to come back to later.

I'll post some more comments once i can really use this thing with some more maps and get a chance to take advantage of all of its features.

I would recomend a chart plotter GPS, I am very happy with mine. and I also bought the Sonar Transducer which is mounted on the transom. I now have a fish finder, which shows me the bottom contour, and well as water temp depth etc. when there is fish in the area, it shows them as little fish icons with a number on top of them, thats how deep they are. It's almost not fair!. I piad $430 for the unit brand new on ebay, another $100 for the sonar transducer (a must have) and another $75 for the Blue Chart maps of the southern CA coast. It's a pretty amazing unit.

"when there is fish in the area, it shows them as little fish icons with a number on top of them, thats how deep they are. It's almost not fair!. "



yeah.....but try & catch 'em! :teal_chuckle: