GPS RIP

[ylop]

But I have never understood what their proposition / value was. You can get brand new tablets for so little money why buy second hand.
And he claims can clear £40k nett annual profit from just 25 hours a week, so about £40 an hour. Must be a lot of markup on the old kit?

I think part of the “value proposition” is that he sells old blokes who don’t understand Android stuff and some of the weirder plotter software configuration a tablet that is set up ready turn on and go (with charts already installed installed etc). Little value to me, and probably a diminishing market but I can certainly see that there’s a demographic who find that stuff “scary”. Cheap tablets are available - but are they waterproof? Are the daylight viewable? Which of the dozens of anchor alarm apps are actually any good and which are just an advertising spam mess?

Simple, charge organisations for WEEE certificates to remove tablets then charge customers to buy them. Profit + profit = bigger profit.

Maybe but I’m not sure he’s quite that business savvy! I think he’s buying the old units very cheap rather than getting paid to take them. He certainly gives off the vibes of a guy doing this is his back room because he thinks traditional plotters are a rip off rather than someone with a well oiled machine.

 

[lustyd]

He possibly buys them cheap from a WEEE disposal then which would make it more profitable than buying and selling secondhand units

 

[The Q]

You would have to try really hard to buy a phone without GPS nowadays.

I've only just swapped from a non smart phone, the old one made phone calls and that was it. It did have the advantage of being waterproof, armoured, and floated.. that's why it lasted so long..

This one is armoured, waterproof, but sadly is heavy, so will sink.. how long it will last depends on when it goes for a swim.

 

[newtothis]

Is an armoured phone really required on a boat?

 

[RunAgroundHard]

My trusty Garmin Map76 seems to have died. Dead screen on battery or cable....


View attachment 208219

Only a back up now but it's quite possible to do basic navigation on these with only the base map. I do like it and it has 25 years worth of waypoints.....plus the dodgy track through the I'le de Batz.

Anyone had similar or can recommend someone who could look at it?

Suspect its not worth it so if there is a used unit out there for sale......will post of the Wanted site maybe....hate to lose an old friend.

.

I am a big believer in using tech for as long possible, but only to a point. I bought the early version, eTreck, to use on my motocross bike back in 2003. It was attached to my my bike with a specialist clamp. I drove all over the Wahiba Sands and south Rub Al Khali with it. The tracks were plotted on Ozy Explorer and shared around. Amazing days, and to think that is all we used to cross vast, empty deserts. It still works but has been superseded by my phone, but unlike my phone it never shut down due to high temperatures. These days, my phone sits in a dedicated compartment in the bike and relays route data to a big screen, will receive and make calls, transmit calls to my helmet coms, dictate texts and play my music and all the other good shit. I miss the simplicity, but don’t hark for it.

They are incredibly tough devices, the Garmin eTreck.

 

[Snowgoose-1]

If you would like my old 76 you are welcome, just PM me your address. The screen seemed un faded till it went blank.......might be useful.

Many thanks for the offer Doug.
Will see how things go

 

[MontyMariner]

I'm surprised that more people don't sing the praises of the Orca app. I was most impressed when it was introduced to me, far better than an old (last century) gps device. I will now run for cover
Orca | The Marine CoPilot - Your next chartplotter

 

[Plum]

I'm surprised that more people don't sing the praises of the Orca app. I was most impressed when it was introduced to me, far better than an old (last century) gps device. I will now run for cover
Orca | The Marine CoPilot - Your next chartplotter

Yes, Orca may be better than a last century gps device but their charts lack a lot of detail so decided they were not good enough for me.

 

[lustyd]

I'm surprised that more people don't sing the praises of the Orca app

They had some fairly dangerous issues previously which I think put a lot of people off. I assume they’ve changed their approach now and hopefully won’t make those mistakes again

 

[Touching Cloth]

My phone is pretty useless as soon as the touchscreen gets wet.

 

[Allan]

I haven't read all the posts on this thread. The best thing I used, before it died, on my old GPS was the speed over ground. Our main system GPS puck is on the stern rail and combined with the clock speeds used now by modern systems means the COG and SOG are all over the place. My ancient handheld GPS sitting on the companionway would show the correct speed and heading constantly. I think this was mostly due the internal clock speed.
Allan

 

[Plum]

I think this was mostly due the internal clock speed.

Never heard anyone else report that problem, sounds unique to you.

 

[lustyd]

Far more likely due to two GPS sources being enabled on the system (AIS maybe?). As the signals arrive they’re a couple of metres apart and the SOG and COG move accordingly.

 

[RobbieW]

More likely to do with the averaging that the GPS is doing and the GPS signal jitter

 

[DownWest]

Cant see the problem.. Just chuck a bit of wood over the side on a bit of cord and count the knots on the cord as it plays out.. Tried and proven..

 

[lustyd]

More likely to do with the averaging that the GPS is doing and the GPS signal jitter

modern sets don’t suffer with that sort of thing in a way the user would see.

 

[Allan]

Never heard anyone else report that problem, sounds unique to you.

If it is, it's on all of the boats I've sailed. The more modern GPSs are actually too good, they register the position too often. When sailing in a choppy sea the puck, normally on the back rail moves from side to side and as you ride the waves your speed increases and decreases. Because the SOG and COG readings reflect this the speed and direction jumps around. My old and lamented GPS seemed to register the position much less frequently and therefore displayed a much more averaged COG and SOG. I believe most of us are so used to the situation that we naturally look at the displays and make a judgement without thinking. The position of the old handheld on the companionway was also helpful especially as my previous boat had a centre cockpit.
I've never thought of this as a big problem, just a minor irritation. If you could choose to slow down the display slightly, it would be much more stable.
Allan

 

[lustyd]

When sailing in a choppy sea the puck, normally on the back rail moves from side to side and as you ride the waves your speed increases and decreases. Because the SOG and COG readings reflect this the speed and direction jumps around

This is not how they work at all. Individually the GPS receivers average out movement automatically. As I said above, if you enable two or more receivers on the same plotter it can cause flip flopping between them on some plotters (most use only one source at a time).
All modern receivers receive multiple GNSS sources as well, and will average the position between the multiple derived positions internally.

 

[Allan]

As I have said above, just a minor irritation.
Allan

 

[Snowgoose-1]

Hand held GPS's do have some axvantages over fixed. I can keep it in a pocket and flip through screens quickly . Shielding the screen from sunlight is a bit easier. And you can doss about anywhere viewing routes , creating waypoints whatever.

Ideally I would like both.