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Bigger Andy
23rd-August-2004, 01:08 PM
Does anyone have any first hand experience of these hand-held GPS units ?

I don't know all the features that are available, or how easy they are to use.

I believe that some of them can be hooked up to a PC.

I tried looking around in Canterbury on Saturday and none of the big electrical stores seemed to have any !

There is one called a Garmin eTrex which seems to be quite good.
It gives a variety of speed readouts which is one of the facilities that I am particularly interested in.

Any further information would be gratefully received.

Andy McGregor
23rd-August-2004, 01:31 PM
I've got a Garmin e-trex. I use it for yachting. It's a pretty standard GPS. It does have a way of connecting it to your PC but I've never used that.

But, it doesn't have mapping so if you want to know where you are you'll need a suitable map or plug it into a PC with mapping software.

My advice would be to invesitgate a PDA with GPS and mapping software. You can get streetmaps and you can get charts for using them at sea. They cost a bit more but look much more versatile.

DavidB
23rd-August-2004, 01:37 PM
My advice would be to invesitgate a PDA with GPS and mapping software. You can get streetmaps and you can get charts for using them at sea. They cost a bit more but look much more versatile.If you want one for hiking, then get one where everything is in the same unit. But if you want to use it in the car, then get one with a separate receiver unit. The signals from the satellite are too weak to go through a car roof.

Bigger Andy
23rd-August-2004, 01:52 PM
I've got a Garmin e-trex. I use it for yachting.

Thanks for that.

The reason that I was interested in a GPS was for windsurfing. There have been a few articles in the magazines recently talking about speed records for certain locations. I think that every windsurfer must be interested in knowing what speed they are doing. It certainly seems very fast at times !

I gather that the Garmin e-trex gives a variety of displays including one showing your maximum speed.

The other aspect is that if I was to buy one for that purpose but found that other features were available for a couple of pounds more then it would perhaps be more justifiable.

Does your yachting involve bigger boats and going out far enough to be out of sight of the land thus making the GPS a valuable tool ?

What I don't know is how accurate the speed readout of the GPS is likely to be.

Have you ever used the speed readout on your Garmin e-trex to compare it with the boats speedo ?

Rhythm King
23rd-August-2004, 02:25 PM
I have a Garmin GPS 196 Map, which is usable for land, sea and, principally, air navigation. It includes the airways database for the entire of Europe and I have an add on to do turn by turn street navigation, also for the whole of Europe. This is run from software on my pc and downloaded, either directly through a usb connection, or on to a removable data card. I can therefore do flight or route planning at home and transfer it across. It then has a choice of several screens showing either data or a map. Anyone who came out with me in Car at Beach Boogie, will remember happy times pottering around the back lanes of the Isle of Wight, taking the shortest routes betweeen places. I don't suggest you need anything like the capability of this system. The etrex is simple and among the cheapest you can get (unless you can get hold of a military surplus Magellan). I believe it's also water resistant, although you should get a bag for it. The average GPS can be accurate to 40' as the US military have now removed the filter system which was in use to degrade the accuracy of civilian systems. The speed function is noticeably more accurate than my speedo! There are a number of online shops which specialise in GPS systems just google for gps uk.
Cheers
R-K

Andy McGregor
23rd-August-2004, 02:29 PM
Thanks for that.

The reason that I was interested in a GPS was for windsurfing. There have been a few articles in the magazines recently talking about speed records for certain locations. I think that every windsurfer must be interested in knowing what speed they are doing. It certainly seems very fast at times !

I gather that the Garmin e-trex gives a variety of displays including one showing your maximum speed.

The other aspect is that if I was to buy one for that purpose but found that other features were available for a couple of pounds more then it would perhaps be more justifiable.

Does your yachting involve bigger boats and going out far enough to be out of sight of the land thus making the GPS a valuable tool ?

What I don't know is how accurate the speed readout of the GPS is likely to be.

Have you ever used the speed readout on your Garmin e-trex to compare it with the boats speedo ?

The GPS is very accurate and gives you your SOG (speed over the ground), which is the same as your speed through the water if you're on a lake but different if you're in tidal waters. If you're at sea and you have 3 knots of tide in your favour the GPS will give your speed through the water plus 3 knots. When you're at sea you use the difference between the boat speedo and the GPS speed to calculate the speed of the tidal flow.

The advantage of the etrex is that it's waterproof - although the battery compartment isn't so you'd be best to use a dry bag as well if it's going to be immersed. It needs to see the sky but will see it through transparent plastic or glass.

The GPS is a very valuable tool when you're in the open sea. Fixing your position accurately is hard once you're out of sight of land. It can be done but not to the nearest 15 metres - which is what you can expect from a GPS, sometimes even better: it depends on the number of satellites it can see.

If there's ever an open air dance I might take my GPS so I can track my movements and maximum speed on the dance floor - and women can say "is that a GPS I can feel in your pocket..." :wink:

Rhythm King
23rd-August-2004, 02:37 PM
If there's ever an open air dance I might take my GPS so I can track my movements and maximum speed on the dance floor - and women can say "is that a GPS I can feel in your pocket..." :wink:

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

I am so going to have to try that :wink:

R-K

Gordon J Pownall
24th-August-2004, 10:10 AM
Hi There,

I bought a new GPS earlier this year as I wanted a range of features that my old GPS didn't have, such as mapping etc.

I use it primarily for sailing / walking however the advantage is that I can plug it directly into my PC, plot my course / route on electronic charts (with greater detail), download it to GPS and away we go.

When sailing I usually take my laptop with me and leave the GPS plugged in so it is run directly from the laptop giving a moving map display 'down below' as well as on deck.

This (http://www.globalpositioningsystems.co.uk/viewprod.php?product_id=31&category_id=11&pp_id=0) is the GPS I now use - it is (allegedly) waterproof however a bag is never a bad idea....

The company - http://www.globalpositioningsystems.co.uk/ provide an excellent second to none service (IMHO) and I have used them for the past three years or so with various bits and bobs, antennae etc...

Click here (http://www.globalpositioningsystems.co.uk/search.php?p=635,636,714,717,719,2236,2220,2422,24 18,2423&bid=12&PHPSESSID=1fc07a97d444743371c519cd0ed78d84) for some excellent wrist worn GPS which may be more suitable if you are windsurfing...

As with anything though, shop around as there are new products coming out every week - get one that meets all your needs within your budget and unless you intned getting a boat mounted system, colour is a bit of a fad....no really necessary with todays screens.....

Hope this helps......


Gordon... :cheers:

Lory
24th-August-2004, 10:13 AM
If there's ever an open air dance I might take my GPS so I can track my movements and maximum speed on the dance floor - and women can say "is that a GPS I can feel in your pocket..." :wink:
What are you like! :rofl: :rofl: It might track the speed but does it track the quality? :wink: