More on GPS

Tacklebuster · 04-09-2002, 11:22 PM

Ok, now it's my turn to post a question on the GPS. I had a bad experience last year out of Astoria when I was about 10 miles out and the fog rolled in so thick that you could choke on it. I have a Magellan 300 hand held unit that I am not very happy with. The problem was the unit is not fast enough to keep up with what you need to do.

I would be going on a course that I thought was correct but I would have to go quite a ways until the unit would show me I was going the wrong way. If I was to turn the unit on in the ocean and I could not physically see which direction I should head, I would end up going the wrong way for awhile before the unit would tell me. Even then I would try and correct my direction but would not really know if I was indeed on course until a period of time passed.

Granted I have the bottom of the line hand held unit but I need something more user friendly that will tell me which direction I need to head to make it back to buoy 10 in a faster response time. Any suggestions of makes and models would greatly be appreciated.

I really would like to follow someone out of Newport bottom fishing or to the pile to get a little more GPS experience before the Halibut run. I need a new unit and a little time in the salt and I will be good to go.

Pilar · 04-09-2002, 11:46 PM

Tacklebuster, you might have to replace your handheld.

When I first got a GPS it was a 5 channel model. I estimate about 80% availibility with that setup. The rest of the time it was useless and looking for satellites.

You have to get a decent compass and learn to use it. Once you have a heading to your destination, follow your compass and estimate how long to run that leg. When the box is working, check out your progress and drift if there is any.

The GPS is a tool. It should be one of several tools. You must assume that it will not work when you need it most and act accordingly. Use visual, compass, GPS together. If one goes away then the othere are available.

Threemuch · 04-09-2002, 11:46 PM

I had that Magellan handheld piece o crap for a while. Took forever to acquire. Lost signal all the time. Updated very slowly. Get a new GPS! Save your money and get a chartplotter, it will make your life much easier. I personally prefer Garmin over Magellan, and my Lowrance LMS 160 is great. If you must get a handheld, I have had great experience with the Garmin 12 and 48.

Good luck.

Tryin2Fish · 04-10-2002, 05:35 AM

I know a bit about this one. My first gps was a magellan 320, a nice unit but it would have been better if everything would have worked. I was alittle annoyed when the waypoints I had just entered went away when I turned off the unit. Well after finally getting ahold of customer service about a month later (took that long to for them answer email) they said update the firmware, what it came with was broke, duh?

Anyway, in the mean time I took it back and got a garmin etrex. Its a 12 channel which is pretty standard but I have noticed one thing that in cloudy situations its alittle slower to point the right way in the beginning, but once you get on course it updates. The update time is dependant on many things and the weather is one of them and plays a big part in it. Having a compass on the dash to compare to would take care of those problems. All in all the old gps saved my keester many times in big blue.

Jim

Serious Fun · 04-10-2002, 10:23 PM

About navigating with GPS. I've both a hand held and a chart plotter. However, never underestimate the value of a compass! Even with a poor quality GPS, read the heading/bearing off the GPS and then follow that on your compass. Every few minutes you can recalibrate your compass heading from the updated GPS heading, which will correct you for windage and current. When off shore, everything can, and will, eventually fail. You need to have at least two forms of navigation as a back-up for safety. Learn to recognize landmarks on shore, if visable. Check your watch and figure out where the sun should be and it will tell you roughly where you are. Basically, use all the information you have at your disposal, correlate it together and you'll have a pretty good idea of exactly where you are and where you are heading. It's not rocket science but if you rely soley on one thing, it is very possible you'll have a screw-up. Even the best GPS and/or Radar chartplotters have their weaknesses; nothing is perfect. Also, before you buy another GPS, try it out, play with it, make sure it is user friendly and intuitive to you, regardless of what the sales clerk claims. Good Luck.