Seastoke
Well-Known Member
Hi going for our first off shore major voyage approx 60 nm we have sat nav and yes compass and charts but swimbo would like gps back up ,at the right price any advice,would be good including getting new swimbo.roy
Best hand held gps
- Thread starter Seastoke
- Start date
paultallett
Well-Known Member
If you already have a chart plotter (sat nav as you call it) and charts etc....... If you already have a smart phone or tablet (just check its one with the built in gps, most have them nowadays) I'd just get the appropriate app and use that as my back up. Cost will be negligible and as long as you keep it dry (either in a case or are just careful with it) it'll serve you fine.
bluerm166
Well-Known Member
To answer the question :
I and others have found the garmin 72H to be a nice product.Its quick (the basic model 72 is pretty slow in comparison) to find satellites and seems pretty accurate.It's also very useful to be able to plug it in to your 12 volt system on a long trip.Get the marine kit that includes leads (12 volt and to PC for planning) and a bulkhead mount.Got my from Cactus at a good price.
I and others have found the garmin 72H to be a nice product.Its quick (the basic model 72 is pretty slow in comparison) to find satellites and seems pretty accurate.It's also very useful to be able to plug it in to your 12 volt system on a long trip.Get the marine kit that includes leads (12 volt and to PC for planning) and a bulkhead mount.Got my from Cactus at a good price.
gjgm
Well-Known Member
If it is just the lat and long, can't you get that off your phone (if it has GPS)?
I think the h/h gps are too small to be useful for boating.. you just need a bigger screen for charts.
That said,for a smart phone mx mariner will give basic plotting and pretty ok charts (but just check) for about £10, or Navionics does more sexy plotting for £40.
So, for half the cost of a basic h/h gps you can get full nav and charts. Spend a few quid on a waterproof case of ebay if needed.
ctva
Well-Known Member
I use a Garmin Montana 600 hand held unit which you can get preloaded with the full UK charts folio which is a great standalone unit. Easy to use and a good sized screen for a handheld. It is a bit pricy at around £400 ish I think but well worth it. It can also take OS maps too.
I'd also look at the smartphone options too, Navionics or Memory Map as both are only around £30 - £40 for full charts. I use the MM on an iPad mini and iPhone which works really well.
Can'h help on new SWIMBO advice as I've still got the Mk1 version!!
I'd also look at the smartphone options too, Navionics or Memory Map as both are only around £30 - £40 for full charts. I use the MM on an iPad mini and iPhone which works really well.
Can'h help on new SWIMBO advice as I've still got the Mk1 version!!
elton
Well-Known Member
A phone is useless as a backup for anything, let alone a gps backup. Four reasons spring to mind immediately:
- Not waterproof
- No sunlight viewable
- Battery doesn't last five minutes
- As a communications backup to VHF, the chances are there'll be no signal when it's needed most.
Garmin GPS72 is a good handheld.
ctva
Well-Known Member
Head in sand springs to mind!!
The same or similar can be said of all navigation / communication equipment. All have their place as part of a well prepared navigators kit bag, it's knowing when and where to use and their limitations.
elton
Well-Known Member
Garbage. Drivel.Head in sand springs to mind!!
The same or similar can be said of all navigation / communication equipment. All have their place as part of a well prepared navigators kit bag, it's knowing when and where to use and their limitations.
paultallett
Well-Known Member
As the gent said....... It's a back up to his other sources.
Not waterproof but a case can be used (or even a zip top food bag)
Depends on phone / tablet about screen viewable.
Battery life isn't great but make sure it's charged up in case you need it as back up or better still, have a 12v power cord.
As for Comms, that was never requested. Would totally agree that a phone 60 miles off shore is a waste of time...... VHF all the way.
But as I originally said, this would be dependant on it being a built in GPS phone / tablet, not one that needs to get it's fix via the mobile service, as it would be as much use as a chocolate tea pot.
Vallich
Well-Known Member
If you have a smart phone and/or tablet then get the relevent app but I agree with Elton's comments in general regarding their shortcomings. So, also get yerself a Garmin 72H with the marine pack (from Eebay) as already mentioned, then you'll have all the back up needed for not much cash, imho...
gjgm
Well-Known Member
Garmin 72 is a basic H/H gps if that is all you want: 1/10 the functionality and double the price.
That may be exactly what he wants.
He is going 60 miles or so in good weather and calm seas, I think , not 5 day passage to Portugal. I think a phone is just fine. The Navionics licence will work with all your similar devices for free, and gives you much more. I wouldn't use it as a main charting device, but it is one of those rare boating bargains , I think.
ctva
Well-Known Member
Fantasie 19
Well-Known Member
oceanfroggie
Well-Known Member
I used to use a nifty little Garmin hand held GpsMap76 as backup, but instead I now use my iPhone and iPad as backups with Garmin Bluechart mobile app with NorthWestern Europe charts, or Navionics UK/Holland HD. Personally I prefer the Garmin colour rendering.
Philiz
Well-Known Member
Roy, what's the Sat Nav you mention? Where are you off to?
oceanfroggie
Well-Known Member
I've used my iPad and iPhone successfully as backups on 150nm passages well offshore for years with none of the above problems. I still have a HH in the grab bag also, but the phone has a far better and larger display for charts, especially the iPad. Neither have suffered salt air damage yet and are never exposed to water at the sheltered helm of our cruiser. The pan & zoom on my iPad is better than the plotter. Not that I spend too much time looking at an LCD screen anyway, a glance once every half hour is enough offshore.
elton
Well-Known Member
It would be interesting to discover how long the iPad lasts in any kind of emergency situation.
Andy Bav
Well-Known Member
Asked a similar question re android phone as back up and advice was to download an app, turn phone into airplane mode and turn on GPS and see if it worked. It did.. So that will be my back up, but only in emergencies. Will keep charged via 12v socket en route and only use it if necesary. That said we will be doing regular plots on paper charts as well....
Be interested to know what you do decide on though.
Be interested to know what you do decide on though.
Alan ashore
Well-Known Member
Generally I regard my iPhone 4 with Lifeproof case and various apps as being more capable and pretty much as robust as the last dedicated hand held GPS I bought. That admittedly was some years ago, a Garmin 45.
BUT it falls down badly against the dedicated GPS in one respect; all you need to keep the GPS going for a long time, should you be without any other form of power (in a liferaft, perhaps), is a bag of dry cells. There are a raft of solutions to that for the phone, but I'd say they are too complex to be an ultimate fallback.
(Depending on circumstances and the particular 60 nm passage, I would probably be happy to go with built in plotter with or without a gps enabled phone as the only electronic position fixing devices, but that is not the question)
BUT it falls down badly against the dedicated GPS in one respect; all you need to keep the GPS going for a long time, should you be without any other form of power (in a liferaft, perhaps), is a bag of dry cells. There are a raft of solutions to that for the phone, but I'd say they are too complex to be an ultimate fallback.
(Depending on circumstances and the particular 60 nm passage, I would probably be happy to go with built in plotter with or without a gps enabled phone as the only electronic position fixing devices, but that is not the question)
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rubberduck
Well-Known Member
Mine worked pretty well last year when the plotter gave up & the back up failed as well. It was that good I now have an I-pad on the boat as a back up in a rugged water resistant case, & we have a generator to charge, but I'm sure an inverter could also do the job, or a car charger. It is, as is the phone, Ok with sunlight. We have a handheld VHF but didn't have to test that, fortunately.
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