Handheld GPS

[davidbains]

I need to purchase a handheld GPS to provide NMEA info to a serial
cable into a laptop running Maxsea.
Anyone care to recommend makes or models?

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[tr7v8]

I use a Magellan 320 with my lap top works perfectly with the packages I am playing with and now being advertised for £ 129 recently including power/pc cable.
Their will now be a deluge of other advice.....And aslo GPS Navigation on Yahoo groups has keen discussion of this subject.

Jim
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[colvic]

As Mike says the magelan or the Garmin 12, BUT why the hand held? A fixed GPS, Garmin 128 comes with power and data cable to connect to your laptop or PC, has an external aerial which DOES give better satelite aquisition and doesn't cost a fortune in batteries which a hand held will do if using for real time chart plotting.

Our 128 is going strong after 5 years.


Phil

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[LadyInBed]

I assume you want a handheld to be portable along with the laptop.
My handheld is a Magellan 320. The combined external power and NMEA interface are OK but I have had occasions when the GPS has lost external power due to the connection to the GPS making poor contact. It is a pressure contact as opposed to a plug and socket connector.

If the laptop is newish, it may not have a serial interface for the NMEA.

As for the 320 itself, it performs very well and has all the functionality of most fixed units.


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[qsiv]

But USB serial convcerters work well (but draw a little power and eat a surprising number of processor cycles)

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[tr7v8]

True thats the way my 320 connects to the desktop for testing via USB to Serial.

JIm
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[Avocet]

Don't know about proper navigation programmes but I have a Garmin Etrex Summit with a data cable that plugs into my laptop serial port. It was dead easy to set up with Microsoft "Autoroute" and works fine.

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[montezuma]

Though I don't use Maxsea, I have a Garmin GPS 76, which has done stirling work, including a transat and a sub-zero storm across the Skagerrak. It seems to speak to all of the software I've tried down its serial cable. Wonderful tool.

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[Trevor_swfyc]

The GPS can be kept basic if you only want it to send the data to a laptop. The Garmin 12 is an ideal choice with a combined 12V / data cable which is an extra. This setup has worked fine for me with Navmaster and Autoroute.

Trevor

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[ArthurWood]

Take a look at the Garmin 176 or 176C plotters. Run on batteries or 12V, so you can take them home to do your route planning etc then take them back to the boat and use them. Also good for use in your car. See comments in MB Chat. I also have Garmin 12, which is much less expensive and not a plotter, but you have the same flexibility as with the 176

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[poter]

Befor making any final choice take your pc with the Plotter prog along with you to a good elecs chandlers and try it.
Have a look at the MLR 24XC it has all you want along with a good price (around £160) and data conn. It also has one of the best screens, & is all menu driven, no messing about trying to find the function you want.
I have used it in the channel and in the Med with no problems.
See: GPS Warehouse on.........

http://www.gpsw.co.uk/index.htm

good luck.

poter.

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[sailorbaz]

I have a Garmin GPS 12 which I use in a support bracket and which connects it to the 12 V boat supply through a cig lighter plug with built in Voltage reduction.
Does anyone know if it's possible to split the cable and connect the NMEA wires (if they are already in there) to a GPS repeater so that I can read heading and speed without putting my glasses on!
Sailorbaz

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[kdf]

David,
Any of the newer models work fine almost all new GPS' output Nmea. I have a Garmin 76 plus the smaller etrex and both are great. There is a cable that supplies both power and data (there are two leads on it) which is great. Both work just fine with my Maxsea.



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[Oldhand]

I also wonder why you would want to use a handheld GPS with serious software such as MaxSea. You will get better results with a well installed fixed antenna unit. I use a Raynav 300 with MaxSea and it works very well.

Beware of using USB/Serial port converters. MaxSea will accept NMEA data input from a USB converted port but will not send data out unless a "proper" serial port is selected. One of the great uses of MaxSea is for programming routes, it is much easier than punching in waypoints on a GPS. MaxSea can then download waypoints and routes to the GPS but only via a BIOS recognised serial port. Apart from being the easiest way to programme a route into the GPS, it also ensures that MaxSea and the GPS are "singing from the same hymn sheet". As I need my only "proper" serial port for another peripheral, I have MaxSea receiving data via a USB/Serial converter but sending via serial port switches and the "proper" serial port. As it only takes a couple of seconds to download a route to the GPS, MaxSea doesn't even notice it has lost its NMEA input during the time I switch ports to send to the GPS.

If you need any more advice on intergating MaxSea, give us a shout.

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[davidbains]

Thanks everyone,
The Garmin 76 seems to be favourite, although I am also tempted by the
new slightly more expensive Magellan Meridian which has fewer pixels
but a slightly larger screen which might be easier to read in the cockpit
on a dark night.

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