Autohelm GPS

[Seven Spades]

I have an Autohelm GPS at my nav table and I want to remove it to make space for a Nasa Meteoman. As far as I can see the GPS is superfluous as I have a Raymarine R70 chatrtplotter and it will display the same information. Am I missing something, do I need the GPS display, I had assumed that it was probably there before the chatrtplotter and now is redundant.

On the back of the GPS there are two three pin cables one male and one female so it gives the appearance that the GPS unit is "in line" can I just remove the unit and leave the cables tucked away neatly or do I need to join them together to complete the circuit?

Thanks.

 

[philip_stevens]

What would you use for position if your plotter goes t1t5-up???

Keep the GPS as a back-up. I have a Navman plotter and an old AP-Philips mk6 GPS at the nav station, and an older AP-Philips Mk8 at the helm position. If all 3 give the same (or very near) lat/long, then that keeps me happy.

I also have a hand-bearing compass, and Yeoman/charts that are position updated every hour when on passage.

Belts and Braces. Overkill?? Maybe.

 

[mainmarine]

the GPS will probably be feeding position info to your plotter, if you switch it off/unplug it and see if the plotter loses its position, then you will have to keep the GPS. the three pin plugs and sockets are the power and seatalk in and out, possibly feeding other displays

 

[Seven Spades]

I disconnected it for about an hour and I didn't get a "No fix" message. If I link the in and out together will that cure the problem or is the display a compulsory part of the circuit?

 

[mainmarine]

if you link the in and out it will continue the seatalk/power circuit to the next display, are there any other connections to the gps display?
I would try it out on the water before you ditch the GPS,