Best Anchor Alarm- Hand Held GPS

I generally use the garmin plotter but it does use quite a bit of power. If I was saving power then I would use my phone. I can plug it in to a cig lighter to charge and it uses next to nothing. It seems to be very accurate.
 
I have an old Garmin GPS 60 and used that for years. However the sound isn't very loud and I managed to sleep through it!
This year I changed to Drag Queen on the iPhone which is much better and clear as to what is going on and to set. The sound cannot be slept through.
 
I've been anchored in a couple of places in the last 24hrs so have been playing with Drag Queen (again, no comments please!). It is remarkable accurate and sensitive, and the ability to finely adjust the extent of "wander" and the period of time before the alarm triggers makes it very useable.
 
I put Anchor Watch on to the iPad a couple of years back. The night I downloaded it we had a force 6/7 through the anchorage and the anchor popped out. The iPad woke us up nicely enabling us to sort things out before it got too hairy. The iPad is charged through the night so the GPS doesn't flatten the battery and averages positions so that a single 'bad' fix doesn't trigger the alarm. The plotter alarm is too quiet once I've taken my hearing aids out but the iPad can live by the bunk......
 
Thedreamoneday said:
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.
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As said previously the Garmin 12 does take a 12v supply and can also be connected to the DSC radio but doesn't have an anchor alarm.The Garmin 72H retains a signal when inside the boat (grp) and takes a 12v connection (local to bunk?) - the batteries are not charged but are cut off when connected to power.Conversely we have a Garmin 72 which fails to pick up when inside the boat and is a dullard compared to the 'H' suffix model,normally working well in arrears of the other..As has also been said the anchor alarm on these isn't very loud and we don't rely on hearing it.We've used rechargeable AAs in each of these models which you can of course recharge via your cigar lighter (with suitable charger).Currently using Sanyo and these easily last for 2 x 8 hrs. use.
 
I tested my Samsung Note 8 after downloading an anchor alarm app, and was surprised to see the location drift about 20 m within a few minutes of enabling. My Garmin GPS12 was rock steady. The default setting on the alarm was 15 m, it may be OK at 30m setting, I will check when next anchored vs on the mooring. I have no idea why the GPS on the tablet, showing "3m accuracy", would be so bad.
 
Interlude said:
I tested my Samsung Note 8 after downloading an anchor alarm app, and was surprised to see the location drift about 20 m within a few minutes of enabling. My Garmin GPS12 was rock steady. The default setting on the alarm was 15 m, it may be OK at 30m setting, I will check when next anchored vs on the mooring. I have no idea why the GPS on the tablet, showing "3m accuracy", would be so bad.
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Can't see an anchor alarm on my 12 or in the manual for it or the 12XL.How do you set it ?
 
Smart phone with Android application Sailsafepro, I've got plotter and Garmin GPS, its what I use and I like rock hopping and anchor with a fin keel. Tested many times recently and occasionally a false alarm, but wakes me up and I sleep with earplugs in the aft cabin and its permanently plugged in charging at the nav table ;)
 
Following several posts on here I downloaded Drag Queen and have been using it over the last couple of weeks, seems to do what it says on the tin. I like having it on my iPad by the side of my bunk. I now save battery power and turn off the chart plotter when at anchor.
 
DannyB said:
Following several posts on here I downloaded Drag Queen and have been using it over the last couple of weeks, seems to do what it says on the tin. I like having it on my iPad by the side of my bunk. I now save battery power and turn off the chart plotter when at anchor.
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So tell us, how many times have you dragged over the last couple of weeks to know it works? :)
 
GrahamM376 said:
So tell us, how many times have you dragged over the last couple of weeks to know it works? :)
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None, but the alarm has gone off when I swing to the tide. I deliberately set a small alarm distance to test it, and set the boat cockpit as the anchor location, so as the boat swings, the system thinks it's dragging the anchor.
 
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