Best Anchor Alarm- Hand Held GPS

Thedreamoneday

Thedreamoneday

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I'm after a good anchor alarm, I have one on my plotter but don't want to leave that on during the night and I've downloaded an app in to my iPad but i'd rather a dedicated alarm. My thoughts are along the lines of a hand held GPS. I don't mind spending a few £'s more for a better quality item.

I'd also like to be able to charge through 12v on the boat too.

Any suggestions for specific models to go for or avoid?

Thanks in advance.
 
If you just want a digital readout and anchor alarm, a Garmin GP12 would do just fine. They only work on AA batteries though. Some other models allow connection to onboard 12v. Cheap as sliced fried potatoes on eBay.
 
Why not set up 12v charging on the boat and use an app like DragQueen on iPhone or iPad (if it has GPS on board). I think it's excellent, and works well for us. I can't see the logic in going to the expense of a handheld GPS solely to get this function when apps tend to work well and are so cheap (or free).
 
Thanks for the replies so far.

As I said though I do have the free Dragqueen queen app on my phone but I don't feel comfortable trusting it with my P& J especially with the disclaimers you have to agree to, I'd rather spend a few £'s and have something which has been designed specifically to do a job which in turn will give me the confidence to completely trust it.
 
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I've been using 'Anchor Alert' on Android for a couple of years and do absolutely trust it.
I've monitored it quite closely and it seems to be extremely accurate.
Very easy to use and well designed (for example you can exclude sectors of swinging area).
As per comments above, I leave the phone plugged in overnight on a shelf next to my pillow.
I wouldn't consider buying anything else and I sleep much better.
M :-)
 
Why don't you test your app?
Drop a mark on your plotter and set anchor watch, set app alarm, then allow boat to drift.
Drop marks on plotter when alarms go off, then compare the two.
PS I've got MadMut app, the anchor watch on that is adjustable.
 
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I use Anchor Pro on my Android phone @ £2.90. Great app and can send a text to another phone should you leave the boat at anchor and it drifts outside your set parameters.
 
I tried Anchor Queen today using my car, either I'm not setting it up properly (As far as I can tell it's just push the start button twice) or it's not that good!

There seems to be a good few people who are using these apps but I just can't get my head around relying on one.

I've had a quick scan on eBay and there seems to be plenty of GPS with anchor drag alarm function to choose from for not a lot of ££'s so I think I'll go for one of those.

Cheers
 
VicMallows said:
I'm puzzled; why not? I'm still using a Garmin 128 and happily use that when I need an anchor alarm. Do modern plotters really use THAT much power ... or is there some other reason?
Click to expand...

Mainly due to the fact my plotter is in the cockpit an I want something next to me in the aft cabin. (no funnies please :) )
 
VicMallows said:
I'm puzzled; why not? I'm still using a Garmin 128 and happily use that when I need an anchor alarm. Do modern plotters really use THAT much power ... or is there some other reason?
Click to expand...

They can use a fair bit, mostly spent on running the screen. Possibly one could save some power by turning the backlight off. I can understand the desire not to leave them on overnight though, they're quite different beasts to your old Garmin.

Pete
 
On my Garmin 152 the built in alarm was useless - it bacically went beep beep beep very quietly for about five seconds then stopped !

It does have a dedicated remote alarm data wire. I routed this to a 110 db pietso buzzer via a latching relay - then to stop it I have to press a small break button. It will wake the dead - and keep waking them untill switched off.

A downside is reaching a waypoint can give me a heart attack - but I know I'm there all right !

Check whether any alarm is actually worth setting - audibly !

Geoff
 
Screen shot of Mad Mut - last nights boat movement at anchor

MadMut.png
 
ghostlymoron said:
If you just want a digital readout and anchor alarm, a Garmin GP12 would do just fine. They only work on AA batteries though. Some other models allow connection to onboard 12v. Cheap as sliced fried potatoes on eBay.
Click to expand...

You can, or could, get a 12V supply for a Garmin GP12, I know because I have one. Haven't used it for a few years though since I sold the wooden One design.
 
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