Good HANDHELD marine GPS?

[gunner1]

I read recently about a handheld GPS unit that was also usable in a boat. It seems pretty good, but for the life of me, I can't think of where I saw it. Does anyone know of such a thing? I think it was in the $300 price range.

 

[86 century]

Re: God HANDHELD marine GPS?

Re: God HANDHELD marine GPS?

I use an old magellin sport trac map that is seven or eight years old. It has a spedo and you can mark way points to mark fishing spots or under water hazards. It was $100 at radio shack back then.

 

[BeaufortTJustice]

Re: God HANDHELD marine GPS?

Re: God HANDHELD marine GPS?

There are numerous handheld GPS that can be used on the water. I'm afraid you'll have to be more specific.

As a side note: Some of the auto type do not translate well to a marine environment. I tried (briefly) a basic TomTom and it would have left me hangin' if I didn't have a backup plan. I saved the ramp as a favorite location and went cruisin' for a few hours. When time to head back I told it to navigate back to that favorite location and when it stopped laughing, it said "Route not found!" The only thing it was good for was a basic, overhead(2D) map showing my current location on the lake, but could not zoom out enough for it to be that effective. I guess b/c there were no roads between me and the ramp, it gave up. Some have hiking / biking settings that supposedly allow for off-road use, but I do not have any personal experience with those.

 

[ScarabSprint]

Re: God HANDHELD marine GPS?

Re: God HANDHELD marine GPS?

I'm getting the garmin 76cx which is a chart plotter. Has real good reviews but the screen might be too small if you don't have good eyes. I like it alot and don't room for a fixed mount.

 

[Boatist]

Re: God HANDHELD marine GPS?

Re: God HANDHELD marine GPS?

I would recomend the Lowrance Ifinder H20 C over the Garmin GPSMap 76CX. for a lot of reasons.
Main reasons: It redraws maps 4 times faster because it has a dual processor.
The screen is Much Brighter.
The base map is much more detailed and has all the navigation buoys.
The screen is a tiny bit bigger
It is more sensitive and has 16 satellite channels. Garmin get lots of lost satellites in a heavy forest and has 12 channels.
Lowrance has more routes so if you use routes you do not have to keep reprograming them.
It comes with a lighter power cord and the Garmin wants $35.
The Garmin unit the buttons are above the screen so if hitting a button your hand blocks the screen.
If you have it mounted on the dash and want to name a new waypoint or something like that
you have to move your hand to see what letter your on then continue on.
Even zooming in or out you have to keep moving your hand to see if you have the details
you want and wait for it to redraw.
Lowrance unit the buttons are below the screen so your hand never blocks the screen.
Lowrance is cheaper also.

I should note I have a Garmin GPSMAP 76 and a Lowrance IFINDER H2O C.

The Garmin has two things I like better.
The batteries are eaiser to change while driving and the battery cover is higher quallity.

My non color Garmin GPSMap 76 is hard to see in the car and if I run in track up mode on a windy road the screen will be blank a lot of the time because the screen takes so long to redraw. Then you turn again and it again has to redraw so blank again. It does ok in North up or Course up if you navigate a route or to a waypoint.

I went to buy the Garmin GPSMAP 76 C to upgrade to color.
When I got to the store I noticed they had down graded the base map from what the GPSMAP 76 came with.
I was looking at the area I fish all the time but could not see any of the navigation buoys.
I could not turn the buoys on and my 2 years older 76 had all the buoys so
I ask the saleman how do I turn them on and he said to get the buoys you have to buy the detailed maps.
I explained I have the mono 76 unit out in the car and it has all the buoys and
he insisted I had to have bought the detailed map but I never did.

The Lowrance Ifinder H2O C was right next to it on the shelf. It the same size and has all the better features listed above.
It's base map has all the buoys an is much more detailed than the Garmin base Map.
While looking at it I noticed it had a 3D position inside the store and had 5 satellites lock in.
The Garmin did not see a single sattelites. These units were about 30 feet from the windows inside the store.

I bought the Lowrance instead and while they both work good on the boat the Lowrance is much better.

When I got home I went to find the Wife and with the old Garmin and the new
Lowrance I sat down beside her to show her the new unit.
Put batteries in the unit and then turned both units on to show her the difference in how bright
the new unit was and explain why I change my mind and bought the Lowrance.
While showing her the Lowrance unit beeped so I looked at the unit and it said
position aquired.
I looked and sure enough it had a 2D postion inside the house and the blinds were closed.
I checked the satellite page and it had 3 satellites locked in and one more had signal but not strong unough to lock in.
My Garmin had never done this and it beeped also but when I checked it said no satellites found
and wanted to know if it should keep searching or use indoors.

If you go to the store and look at the two units position both to see the same area.
Check shoreline details and note whice is better on the base map.
Then just do a simple zoom in or out and see how long the screen takes to redraw.

Check with JB on the Garmin he has.
It has a larger screen and has a auto and marine mode. It also as I recall has a rechargeable internal battery and can be used outside the boat or auto.
I not sure if it is still sold or not but he really likes his garmin.

 

[Rocky_Road]

Re: Good HANDHELD marine GPS?

+1 on the Lowrance H2Oc!

It also is water resistant, and if you use the recommended batteries will float.

I also purchased the NauticPath card, and it is great here in the Panhandle...shows the channels, and even pinpoints major sunk vessels.

Happy boating!

 

[Tacklewasher]

Re: Good HANDHELD marine GPS?

Also like the H2O.

Make sure you can use the 12v plug as they eat batteries. Also it is a bit of a pain removing the card to load maps and waypoints. Be nice if they came out with a USB 2.0 version so you could plug it into a computer and not have to remove the card. It is under the batteries is all.

 

[Tacklewasher]

Re: Good HANDHELD marine GPS?

I see Lowrance has a new line out.

http://www.lowrance.com/Products/Outdoors/Endura-Sierra/Specifications/

Looks like they've addressed some issues.

 

[ScarabSprint]

Re: Good HANDHELD marine GPS?

I don't know which one to get. the 76cx is on sale at west marine for 250 plus a 10% off.

My buddy bought the h20 open box and can't get the thing to work. I like the larger screen though. Oh does the h2o come with base maps installed or does a card come with it on it and that's why it's not working. Doesn't have a card in it. Trying to look it up can't find info about the base map.

Thanks

 

[Boss Hawg]

Re: Good HANDHELD marine GPS?

I have a Garmin Etrex Vista CX -
It does what i need it to do ( get me to where i need to be)
Not fancy or complicated but it, nice mount & 12V charger cost me about $150 so i'm happy

 

[Rocky_Road]

Re: Good HANDHELD marine GPS?

I don't know which one to get. the 76cx is on sale at west marine for 250 plus a 10% off.

My buddy bought the h20 open box and can't get the thing to work. I like the larger screen though. Oh does the h2o come with base maps installed or does a card come with it on it and that's why it's not working. Doesn't have a card in it. Trying to look it up can't find info about the base map.

Thanks

It comes with a pretty basic road map for the 48 states, and the major cities around the world. I sprung for the Freedom Map Eastern US, and the NauticPath, cards. They were very good....

I have an H2Oc full functional demo on my computer, that lets you do anything that the real unit can do, but on your computer monitor. It is intended to help you learn how to use all of the functions. The demo is no longer on their website, but I can copy it to a DVD for your friend (16 mb) if you want to PM me his address.

Happy boating!

 

[Moody Blue]

Re: Good HANDHELD marine GPS?

I'm partial to the Garmin product. I have had a couple now and the quality and performance is top rate. My current unit is the handheld Vista Cx model.

I use mine for a variety of purposes (boating, wilderness canoeing, driving, hiking) and I like the portability and versatility of it. I have full marine charts, topographical maps and roadmaps for all of North America. It has full autorouting capability (like the automotive type GPS units) and memory expandability by MicroSD memory cards. It is fully waterproof and runs up to 32hours on two AA batteries. Other features include an electronic compass (not GPS compass), barometric pressure display and an altimeter.

I have used a couple of the Magellan models and they are IMHO inferior to the Garmin products for several reasons, the biggest being a poor user friendly/intuitive interface.

Do your homework, read online reviews, research technical features and ask lots of questions. Try to actually use the models you are thinking of buying. Nothing like a hands-on trial to narrow down the choices.

 

[Boatist]

Re: Good HANDHELD marine GPS?

The Lowrance H2O C does have a good base map for the water areas.
It does not need a card to work.
The card is for if you want to buy a more detailed map for land or water.
The card can also be used to store your waypoints and routes on and transfer to your computer.
They are right to get the card out or put it in you have to remove the batteries first.
Maybe their way to make sure you turn it off first.
More likely they figure you will be changing batteries more than you change your card.
If your friends unit does not work, first make sure it has good batteries and put in correctly.
Hit the power button and if it does not work take it back.
Even a open box unit should have a warranty.

I can not stress enough compare units before you buy.
If you like the Garmin Better buy it.
I started with the Garmin GPSMAP 76 and it works great, it just dim and slow.
I went to upgrade to a GPSMAP 76 C color unit and compared to the
Lowrance Ifinder H2O C.

I like almost everything about the Lowrance unit better.
To start with the built in base map has all the navigation buoys and I did not need to buy a more detailed map.
They Have more detailed maps just like garmin does but they are not cheap.
I have only had my unit for 3 years but work perfect and is faster and brighter than garmin.

 

[Ocean Airbrush]

Re: Good HANDHELD marine GPS?

Garmin GPSmap 76CSX
a phenomenal unit with a bazillion features and additional memory storage for maps, waypoints updates etc. Connectable to just about everything, optional mounts for the boat, great battery life and above all, a high sensitivity receiver which will put you right on top of the target everytime.
I love mine and would'nt trade it for a full size unit.

 

[SBTOM]

Re: Good HANDHELD marine GPS?

Just saw today that www.woot.com was selling a handheld Bushnell Onix 400 for 99$ It has gps as well as radar so you get weather as a bonus. I don't have any experience with them, but I googled the model and they usually sell for 350$ or more so it sounds like pretty good deal.

 

[jay_merrill]

Re: Good HANDHELD marine GPS?

I have a basic Garmin ETrex. No mapping but it allows me to mark waypoints and track. I can also enter waypoints by lat/lon, which is usefull when I want to find a published fishing hole, etc.

The hand helds can be a little cumbersome in terms of making entries and some other chores, but they get the job done. I know the waters that I boat in well, but I like mine, because it lets me take a direct route across large bodies of water at night, etc. I also use it in SAR operations to find a centerpoint of a search area, mark the boundaries of the area that I searched, etc.

I also use my cell phone as a backup. Like the automtove GPS units, you really can't navigate with it, but it does show me shorelines and it gives me a general, visual reference as to where I am. It came in very handy a few months ago, when I didn't have the Garmin with me. I was looking for a canal that I hadn't been to in quite awhile and the cellphone depicted its location very well.



???

 

[ScarabSprint]

Re: Good HANDHELD marine GPS?

Thanks for the advice but decided to get the Garmin oregan 400c. Nice little touch screen with the display at 3in. That's larger than the 76cx and comes with bluechart. Good price too at 300 bucks on sale at WM normally 500 price is good til 12/24 better get em.

 

[jthughes]

Re: Good HANDHELD marine GPS?

The Oregon is a great unit for coastal waters with preloaded maps and another option is the Delorme PN-40 GPS w/ Navionics HotMaps for inland waters.

 

[Jeep Man]

Re: Good HANDHELD marine GPS?

I've got a Garmin Vista Hcx with all the maps from Newfoundland to Manitoba and all of Northeast US. I wish I could cover 1% of it.