In the market for a Handheld GPS

[scottsail]

Folks,

I'm in the market for a new Handheld GPS and I've spotted the Magellan Meridian Marine. Has anyone out there already purchased one and if so is it good, bad or indifferent ? Has anyone a recommendation to make regarding any other Handheld GPS's ? What about onboard maps, are they accurate and worth using or do you have to splash out £150 for the CD Maps ?

This will be my first GPS so I want to get it right. Your help and advice would be appreciated.

Steve Scott.

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[Guest]

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gps-navigator/

Ask this lot ..... we have just about every make and type possible used in the group .... over 700 members and growing everyday .....

Me - I use a cheap eTrex and link it to notebook PC and chartplotting software ...... Seaclear which is freeware .... and the author is a member of the group !!


<hr width=100% size=1>Nigel ...
So WHAT does the EU really stand for ????/forums/images/icons/cool.gif

 

[cgull]

Bought the Magellan a couple of years ago and can highly recommend it. Very user friendly,reliable.Used it all over the UK and Med , only problem is the backlight does not work,i have dropped it many times,therefore the mounting bracket would be a good idea.
I find the chart display really good, some say its a cheap chartplotter ,cant see anything wrong with that

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[oldharry]

Yes excellent piece of kit, easy to use and easy to set up, and the charts although pricey are excellently clear. Only gripes are that the screen is a bit on the small side (but what else will you get at the price?) which means I need my glasses, and more seriously although you have a complete set of European Charts in Blue Nav, you can only load one at a time which is a total pain if you are singlehanding on passage and cross to another chart area. You either have to reprogramme the chip via the laptop, or carry a set of pre programmed chips which have to be authorised by magellan and are linked exclusively to your receiver. As Blue nav only works with the special Magellan chips this is expensive, and fiddly, and a bit of a rip off considering how much you already paid for the Blue Nav software! I tried complaining to Magellan, but they did not bother to reply.

The Road Maps software does not have this limitation, and if you travel at all frequently is very well worth while, and I find I use it more in the car than afloat! I have yet to find a minor road or backstreet that is not included, and the software includes most road names or designations in UK. I dont know for certain about the rest of Europe, as I've not had the chance to check it out - yet!

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[oldharry]

Yes excellent piece of kit, easy to use and easy to set up, and the charts although pricey are excellently clear. Only gripes are that the screen is a bit on the small side (but what else will you get at the price?) which means I need my glasses, and more seriously although you have a complete set of European Charts in Blue Nav, you can only load one at a time which is a total pain if you are singlehanding on passage and cross to another chart area. You either have to reprogramme the chip via the laptop, or carry a set of pre programmed chips which have to be authorised by magellan and are linked exclusively to your receiver. As Blue nav only works with the special Magellan chips this is expensive, and fiddly, and a bit of a rip off considering how much you already paid for the Blue Nav software! I tried complaining to Magellan, but they did not bother to reply.

The Road Maps software does not have this limitation, and if you travel at all frequently is very well worth while, and I find I use it more in the car than afloat! I have yet to find a minor road or backstreet that is not included, and the software includes most road names or designations in UK. I dont know for certain about the rest of Europe, as I've not had the chance to check it out - yet!

It even works on commercial aircraft if you have a window seat, so that you can know what towns you are flying over!

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[Birdseye]

been really quite impressed by the garmin 76 i bought last year. excellent start up / sensitivity, and the waas bit is useful since the satellite seems to work almost everywhere. battery life excellent too - by comparison with the earlier garmin 12 i have.

would buy the same again

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[whisper]

Agreed, my 76 is super - even works on flights - entertaining to see position changing at huge rate and speeds in the 500s. What sold it to me was the large & very clear screen that I can read without glasses and the intuitive way that it works.

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[Omatako]

I also use Garmin 76 but not the Map version. Still, it has lights info built in and the screen can be formatted pretty much how you want it. I am very happy with mine and would buy it again if mine went missing. If you buy one, be sure to buy the 12V cable to run off system power.
I use it with SeaPro software and the exchange of waypoint data both ways is a breeze.
Help me though on the WAAS issue. I was of the impression that WAAS is a terrestial augmentation of GPS and is only available in USA. Did I misunderstand that?

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[malcp]

WAAS is a satellite based differential system for the US, and I believe it is up and running now.
EGNOS is the European equivalent, which I understand is going through its initial test phase. I think it's supposed to be operational sometime this year.
There is also another similar service for the far east, MSAS.

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[PGD]

Review of it here if you need it.

Complete the Consumer Survey <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.mssa.org.uk>http://www.mssa.org.uk Marine Service Standards Assistance

 

[jhr]

General consensus on these boards seems to be that there's little to choose between Magellan and Garmin except that Garmin controls are a little more intuitive than Magellan and that Garmin after sales backup is very highly thought of by those who have had recourse to it.

Having said which, I've got a Magellan and have absolutely no complaints.

<hr width=100% size=1>Je suis Marxiste - tendance Groucho

 

[chas]

Agree totally with your comment on Garmin after sales. As I have already said on this board, I sent my four year old GPS 48 to them for a new memory battery to be insatlled and they sent me a brand new 76 free gratis and for nowt.

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[Guest]

Manufacturers sites advise that WAAS is only fully applicable in USA .... in other areas advised to not use.....

Don't believe me .... check out Garmins own site .... its at the bottom.


<hr width=100% size=1>Nigel ...
So WHAT does the EU really stand for ????/forums/images/icons/cool.gif

 

[Miquel_Culzean]

I have the Magellan, with the Blue Nav kit Europe. I usually sail in North Sea, Oosterschelde & Mediterranean.

I have no complain of it, it is very usefull for me both at sea & in land: I don't have the land charts, but in the Paris boat show, last December, they told me they were going to launch a guiding software for Europe & the Meridian series in March - April, that will come for about 350 €, and I will wait for it.

There are however a couple of details I would like to see improved:

- It has no MOB key, even idf it is called marine. It's however possible to fix the position if needed, via the GOTO key (if you press it for 2 seconds, it will keep the coordinates of the position).

- It would be nice if it had a conexion for an external antenna.

Fair winds,

Miquel - Culzean.

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