Lost in the fog...

L

love1u0

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jan 24, 2004
Messages
173
I went down to the Columbia river to do some Sturgeon fishing the other day and we got lost in the fog. Being that we were close to the mouth of the river I decided to stay put and call for help from the Coast Guard. They tried to send a 47' boat but it couldnt make it over the bar at the time I guess, they ended up sending a large Zodiac instead.

The problem really arose when my crappy handheld Garmin GPS wouldnt read through the fog. Is this common with all GPS units, or can I get a new one for say up to 500 dollars that wont have a issue with fog?


Thanks
 
gonefishie

gonefishie

Commander
Joined
Jul 28, 2004
Messages
2,624
Re: Lost in the fog...

Nope! A 500 bucks Lowrance with the appropriate Navionics mapping chip, you won't regret it. I found my way around in fog so thick I couldn't see 10ft pass the bow and in pitch black night time.
 
L

love1u0

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jan 24, 2004
Messages
173
Re: Lost in the fog...

All I know is that my Garmin 76s is junk, I was really starting to get nervous.

I might have to look at a few in that price range and contact the manufacturer and make sure they will work in foggy weather conditions.
 
kenmyfam

kenmyfam

Supreme Mariner
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Aug 10, 2006
Messages
14,392
Re: Lost in the fog...

Our Lowrance works fine in the fog. Only needed it once in fog however.
 
JB

JB

Honorary Moderator Emeritus
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Mar 25, 2001
Messages
45,907
Re: Lost in the fog...

You get what you pay for. The 76 is a decent GPS for hiking.

I have never had a problem in fog with a Garmin. . .38, 12MAP, 162MAP or 276C.
 
jay_merrill

jay_merrill

Vice Admiral
Joined
Dec 5, 2007
Messages
5,653
Re: Lost in the fog...

While I am not familiar with a Garmin 76, I have an Etrex and it works fine in fog.

Fog is nothing more than a cloud that exists at ground level. It occurs when dew point and temperature converge at or near ground level. Simply put, a cloud is not dense enough to interrupt line of site reception. In fact, some waterproof units can receive signal slightly under the surface of a body of water.

My guess is that your unit has some sort of problem that affected its use on the day in question.

If you want to try an Etrex, they are sold at many sporting goods stores or departments for less than $100. My only complaint with mine, is that battery life is pretty lousy and it isn't rechargeable. It takes standard AA cells. While I could use rechargeable AAs, I'd rather have something that I could recharge directly from a cigarette lighter type receptacle.


PS: A towering cumulus type cloud could have much more effect on line of site reception, simply because it is likely to be a rainstorm with lots of actual water in it, not to mention hail.
 
L

love1u0

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jan 24, 2004
Messages
173
BWR1953

BWR1953

Admiral
Joined
Jan 23, 2009
Messages
6,314
Re: Lost in the fog...

Yeah, a GPS unit should work in fog no problem. Depending on where you were in the Columbia, it could have been the tall canyon walls or gazillions of trees causing the failure to orient. Glad you made it out safely. Keep us posted.
 
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