GPS

[txswinner]

New Boater, hope to be fresh water fishing, any advice on GPS that is reasonable, simple yeah real simple and reliable. What do I look for in the equip.

 

[JRJ]

Re: GPS

You might check the electronics forum and then click on the Marine Mega Mall tab at the top of the page. There are a lot of choices.

 

[zoom50]

Re: GPS

I saw a Lowrance - M68C Compact WAAS GPS Chartplotter and Fishfinder with 3.5" Color Display - Includes Transom Mount Transducer with Temp for $365 at boaters world. <br /><br />This is a great price for a colored GPS/fish combo. GPS is a waste unless you have a good base map. SOme GPS units have chips you have to buy, some you have to download for a fee, some have base map included in the system. This one has a fairly detailed base map included and you can download more detailed if needed.<br /><br />This is my pick.

 

[JB]

Re: GPS

Going to Electronics.

 

[TwoBallScrewBall]

Re: GPS

Hey TXS,<br /><br />The color charting or mapping GPS's are definitely nice, but I got by very well in my first boat using my Magellan SporTrak Pro handheld. Limited marine basemap, simple things like marinas, etc. But for getting you out and back it was all I needed. I picked up a mount and a 12V adapter for it and used it all last year with no problems. If all you really want is a simple to use unit that will do routing and waypoint marking, one of the handhelds should work fine for you and save you some $$ too. <br /><br />What I did was leave it on during the day when I drove from spot to spot, and it built a 'roadmap' of my tracks so at night or in fog I could still navigate with confidence knowing that I was navigating over water that I had safely passed through before by simply following my previous tracks. <br /><br />Good luck.

 

[sloopy]

Re: GPS

Of all the GPSs I get to use I still think the Etrex is the best. It is very simple to use I have had mine for 5 years. Mine has dents, scrapes, rubber falling off, holes drilled into it (don't ask) and wires hanging out of the holes (I added them so I could connect it to a computer without buying the connector.) I have 3 of the higher prices handhelds (upper end boating and lower end aviation models) and although they are great, you can not quickly use them. One of my GPSs has about 20 warning screens you have to read before it starts searching for sats... The etrex is great for a beginner.

 

[Darren Smith]

Re: GPS

I just picked up a used Garmin GPS12 handheld. Easy to use, and seems to be well put together. For a chartplotter I have a Garmin 178C, haven't installed it yet, but the instructions look good, found it for $600 with dual frequency transducer. What are you looking for, a hand held, or a mounted one? for a handheld, you can find decent ones for $100 to $150 all day long, for mounted, about $300 up for black and white, and about $500 up for color.