Handheld GPS charplotter ..

[Volusian]

Hi all ... i have used a garmin colorado 300 for a while now but find it a little slow ...

I do like the garmin G2 vision maps which i have tried ..

I like the idea of handhelds so would like to keep with one but also upgrade it to a faster unit ..

anyone here us the garmin Oregons .. are they faster in map redraw etc than the Colorados ?

or would you recommend a different unit altogether ?

thanks

 

[msimms]

I bought an Oregon 400t last year as a backup to the main plotter for our first channel crossing. Map refresh seems fine though this was my first handheld so don't know if others perform better or worse.

It can sometimes take a while to get a signal if it's been moved a long distance, UK to Europe flight for instance. Switching profiles, marine to automobile etc. are rather sluggish. I wouldn't class these as major issues.

 

[neale]

I have used the Oregon 550t. The unit is great with some brill features but I did find the re-draw time a bit slow. I think this may be a problem with all handhelds as there is so much info on modern cartography, and the processor speed in a small handheld just may not be up to the same spec as those found in larger fixed sets.

 

[Richie]

Alternative is to get an Iphone and stick the Navionics App on it for £15. Makes a great back-up handheld chartplotter. Got to keep an eye on battery life though.

If you don't want a new phone contract you can also get Navionics for Ipad now too (you'll need the 3G model to get GPS) but talking much more money now.