Should I rely on GPS

[Prophammer]

Should I rely on GPS? It seems everyone is doing it.

 

[Lion hunter]

Re: Should I rely on GPS

Yes. They are really very accurate. But with all electronic devices they will fail. Don't let them give you a false sense of security or lead you to believe that basic map reading skills are not needed.

 

[QC]

Re: Should I rely on GPS

For what? Not rhetorical or sarcastic . . .

 

[DaNinja]

Re: Should I rely on GPS

Should I rely on GPS? It seems everyone is doing it.

For what? And opposed to what?

 

[wifisher]

Re: Should I rely on GPS

For non-safety related navigation: yes. They are wonderful.
If you are out of sight of shore, or your landing, be sure to have a backup.
If it's foggy, and the GPS dies, how do you get back. I would never go without a compass that is not battery powered. And charts if I am not familiar with the area.

 

[Pez Vela]

Re: Should I rely on GPS

Rhetorically and sarcastically ... no. Roll the Magic 8-Ball again.

The 20 answers inside a Magic 8-Ball are:
● As I see it, yes
● It is certain
● It is decidedly so
● Most likely
● Outlook good
● Signs point to yes
● Without a doubt
● Yes
● Yes ? definitely
● You may rely on it
● Reply hazy, try again
● Ask again later
● Better not tell you now
● Cannot predict now
● Concentrate and ask again
● Don't count on it
● My reply is no
● My sources say no
● Outlook not so good
● Very doubtful

 

[MTboatguy]

Re: Should I rely on GPS

I did every single day I was in the Army and didn't loose a single person because of it, why are you questioning it? GPS was just coming into its own about the time I graduated from the Military Academy and it has done nothing more that get better since then..I was using GPS before the public ever knew what it was..so yes, I would depend on it..

 

[DaNinja]

Re: Should I rely on GPS

For non-safety related navigation: yes. They are wonderful.
If you are out of sight of shore, or your landing, be sure to have a backup.
If it's foggy, and the GPS dies, how do you get back. I would never go without a compass that is not battery powered. And charts if I am not familiar with the area.

That's why I asked. Relying on it for speed? Sure, knock yourself out. Relying on it solely for your navigation is asking for a significant emotional event.

 

[DaNinja]

Re: Should I rely on GPS

I did every single day I was in the Army and didn't loose a single person because of it, why are you questioning it? GPS was just coming into its own about the time I graduated from the Military Academy and it has done nothing more that get better since then..I was using GPS before the public ever knew what it was..so yes, I would depend on it..

While my aircraft wouldn't leave the ground without it and an INS, you could definitely see the difference in new pilots that relied on it and those old-timers that could actually read a map.

 

[QC]

Re: Should I rely on GPS

Well . . . as with much here we have experienced people 180 degrees apart . . . Coin toss.

 

[DaNinja]

Re: Should I rely on GPS

Well . . . as with much here we have experienced people 180 degrees apart . . . Coin toss.

Maybe because "rely" is too strong of a commitment.IMO

I started flying Cobras with a paper map in my lap. I finished flying Longbows where it was very easy to "rely" on a moving map display in front of you. It was a beautiful tool that allowed you to focus on the situation around you. Same with a boat. I wouldn't rely solely on any one thing.

Display goes blank and you see who can still read a map and a compass.

 

[ziggy]

Re: Should I rely on GPS

Well . . . as with much here we have experienced people 180 degrees apart . . . Coin toss.

it's a 180 question imho, maybe a catch 22 even. gps is great, very accurate. great tool and should be relied on. that said. electronics fail. one reason or the other. if that happens ya need to be able to rely on reg. piloting skills with charts and compasses. celestial nav. if your on open water w/o reference. ya really need the backup nav. skills. time, speed, distance. imho...

edit, me being a inland boater on mostly smaller lakes. a gps is much less necessary.... i use mine at night so i know where i am on the lake and for a speedo if i feel i need to know speed.

 

[Summer Fun]

Re: Should I rely on GPS

Just follow the dotted line to get back home.

 

[mphy98]

Re: Should I rely on GPS

We fish Eagle Lake in Canada, it is a 60 mile long lake with many huge Islands that appear to be a shoreline. If my gps goes out I still have my compass. Don;t leave port without it.

 

[shout]

Re: Should I rely on GPS

I boat on the Middle Chesapeake Bay area, always in sight of land, but.... I always carry a compass and a paper chart.... wouldn't take much of an electrical problem to cause an outage with the GPS and I like to have a backup, just in case
- shout

 

[Jeep Man]

Re: Should I rely on GPS

I have a small hand held Garmin and I boat on three connected inland lakes, and I wouldn't be without it. The lakes take up nearly 250 sq. miles with plenty of bays and channels. It's easy to get turned around. With it, I always know where I am on the lake. I also have my maps and a compass but they are for back up only. Spare batteries are ALWAYS on board.

 

[JB]

Re: Should I rely on GPS

No. A good GPS will tell you many things, but you have to make decisions and pilot your vessel. Do not go anywhere that would leave you lost and stranded if it quits.

 

[MTboatguy]

Re: Should I rely on GPS

No. A good GPS will tell you many things, but you have to make decisions and pilot your vessel. Do not go anywhere that would leave you lost and stranded if it quits.

Boy I can think of quite a few times, I would have loved to follow this advise!

Now I will add a compass is your BEST friend, leaning to navigate without aids, is your best friend, it will save your butt!

 

[DaNinja]

Re: Should I rely on GPS

Just follow the dotted line to get back home.

Sure, sure...even it it leads you back through the stump field that you should've avoided on your first pass through.

Great tool, but my reliance only goes so far.

 

[QC]

Re: Should I rely on GPS

Yeah, "coin toss" was too strong and not an accurate depiction of the results here. I have at times "relied" almost entirely on GPS. Scares me to do so, but I have also experienced such dark nights that I can't see any shoreline definition. In those situations I keep my head buried in the GPS and a lookout on the bow. Twenty years ago I did the same thing with no GPS, so definitely capable of back-up skills and methods.

I do the same on sections of river where "navigating" with charts etc. is not really relevant. My biggest concern when on the river is depth and I use the GPS for this. We don't have channel markers on the Colorado, so I purposely lay down the "dots" that Summer Fun notes above as my own personal markers for any potential night cruise. If I stay between my daylight sets of dots, I am pretty sure I won't run into anything That's assuming of course that my GPS is operating properly both when the dots get laid down and when I use them as reference. I guess this is a pretty strong reliance . . .