Handheld GPS Circa £100

[Little Dorrit]

Any suggestions on what is currently a good buy and what to look out for in terms of functionality?

 

[pvb]

Has to be waterproof! You wouldn't go far wrong with a Garmin 72H - £89 here. Or, on the same page, there's the Lowrance iFinder Hunt for £99, and this can take Navionics charts.

 

[Fantasie 19]

+1 on the Garmin - had one for two years now and love it..

 

[FishyInverness]

Has to be waterproof! You wouldn't go far wrong with a Garmin 72H - £89 here. Or, on the same page, there's the Lowrance iFinder Hunt for £99, and this can take Navionics charts.

Just a thought on that Garmin 72 at that link - that does appear to be the old, discontinued 72 being sold there, as opposed to the current model the 72H (Which is the high sensitivity GPS - preventing loss of signal under light cover) - around the £100 mark.

 

[FullCircle]

The 72 is slow, and eats batteries, but is a very good choice. I would spend the extra for a 72H.
i have just swapped my 152 for a 152H (under a warranty repair agreement) and the difference in acquisition and required signal strength is very marked.
They have probably incorporated SIRF III technology which was not available at the time of the original product launch.

 

[Fantasie 19]

The 72 is slow, and eats batteries, but is a very good choice. I would spend the extra for a 72H.

My experience of the 72 is different to yours (locks on to satellites within 30 seconds of startup, and I use a couple of AA's every 12 hours or so), but would agree re. the 72H - newer is usually better... having said that I can get a signal with my older model 72 when I leave it below anyway so how much more sensitivity is needed?

 

[mpmiller101]

I've used the old Garmin 72 for several years and found it fine as long as it is reasonably exposed to the sky. It does occasionally lose reception but picks it up again very quickly. The new 72 H does get better reception - it works while being carried around in a rucksack - but I'm not tempted to upgrade as a result of the improvement. If you get the marine pack you get a cable that you can plug into the boat so you don't have to worry about battery consumption.

 

[barnaclephill]

gps features

I like my Garmin Etrex, currently here around $130.

It has a "map" page, whereby your tracks are recorded, zoomable, and if you put in as waypoints the headlands, then it becomes like a useful map of where your bay/waters are.

It has a "project" feature attached to the waypoint page, so you bring up your waypoint, and "project" a selecable distance at a selectable angle, and voila you have a new waypoint - good for when you can't get close.
About 20 hours on 2 AAs, or it has a 12V power cord, especially good for when you want it lit at night.
It shows sun rise/set and moon rise/set, fishing times,
Waypoints have 6 characters. And it tells you how accurate your position is - the best I've had is 14 feet accuracy.