Gps - Hand Held

[michiganbill]

I need to purchase a hand held gps. any suggestions,and capabilitys.

tia

Bill

[Gallivanters]

How's your eye-sight, Bill?

I'm certainly no expert, but...

It used to drive me crazy trying to plot a position on the chart while trying to focus on a tiny screen in one hand, and trying to operate paralell rules and dividers and a pencil in the other hand.

That said... I've always prefered GARMIN GPS products. The price is right and they have great customer support.

We currently have two fixed mount units (with LARGE display) and a hand held for backup. I prefer the fixed mount because I can read it from across the cockpit... with no hands. All Garmin.

And their color GPS MAP units provide a ton of additional information at comparitively little more expense.

Cheers!

Kirk

[Piotrek]

Probably the cheapest option tooday is Garmin eTrex. You can have one from Amazon for $90 with free shipping. I have one and it's very nice unit.

It doesn't have any maps or ploter so you will need paper charts.

It gives you all you need: position, bearing and distance to the waypoint, course and speed and even plot tiny map with your past track and waypoints. The screen has backlight but the letters on the screen are not the biggest though.

More important, it is waterproof and run on two AAA batteries. I find it tough and nicely build.

If budget is your priority I think this is the way to go, but consider additional expenses for charts.

Piotrek

[Nausikaa]

I agree with Piotrek to a large extent but I prefer the Garmin GPS 72 which is waterprof, floats and has a bigger display. It runs on two AA batteries but can also be connected to 12v supply and a lap top. Using NMEA coding you can import the GPS info to digital charts.

Alltogether - a nice unit

Aye

Stephen

[MMNETSEA]

Garmin good - accessories expensive.

Suggest get an external antenna - this will improve reception and allow better positioning of the instrument - Check this site for info and reviews (and better prices) :-

http://reviews.pricegrabber.com/gps-...es/m/14244461/

I have one from an outfit in the UK - called Lowe - good products and value for money :-

http://www.lowe.co.uk/home.shtml