Substandard article on GPS plotters

[roger]

I thought the article in the current YM was mediocre.
Clearly battery life is a problem from what the article did say. It did NOT say what the battery life was. A piece of portable equipment with a very short battery life is not worth having. If it can only be used on a lead then it is not portable.
GPSs alone usually have pretty short battery lives. One with a colour plotter will have a shorter one.
By reading between the lines I would guess that none of the plotters tested would be useful crossing the Channel. However the article leaves us completely in the dark as to whether the plotters are of practical use. If nothing else I would like to know how big a pile of batteries I have to ship to make a weeks cruise possible.
I have to say with great reluctance that the Sailing Today test articles are a very great deal better then YMs















.


<hr width=100% size=1>Roger

 

[A_7]

Battery life did cross my mind when I looked at the article. I suppose most people will have them plugged in to the boats power. I guess that some would keep one at the chart-table and take it home with them after a weekends sailing for security purposes.

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[Talbot]

I have a Navman 5500 plotter which is not portable, but only uses abt 500mA, so batteryt impact from domestic battery bank is not really an issue.

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[Guest]

<<GPSs alone usually have pretty short battery lives>>

Most nowadays can run near a full day or more - ok add in colour and/or plotting / map faetures and it reduces - but still what I term longer than 'pretty short'.

And anyway - you can get 12V input AA chargers - so a pack of 'extended re-charge AA's can be used ..... I have 2000mAh AA's that cost me 1.50 each. 2 in the GPS, 2 in the charger - both have about same time for charging / useage. If you clip on lead to power from ship supply when changing AA's - you don't lose any useage .... / info etc.

There really is no need to line the bank-accounts of the battery manufacturers ..... not with the array of re-cahrgeables available today.


<hr width=100% size=1>Nigel ... and of course Yahoo groups :
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gps-navigator/

 

[Guest]

On - off boat

On borad usually plugged into ship supply and in bracket. So batterys only used when in dinghy / trekking ashore. Batterys stay in GPS in case of power failure.

Off boat - of course its batterys until I get home and then its back to 12v supply - an old tired car battery gives me a years worth of power !

The only bugbear is the carriage of the lead - but its also the PC data lead as well - so is always carried back and forth - to allow me to play with the toy at home.


<hr width=100% size=1>Nigel ... and of course Yahoo groups :
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gps-navigator/

 

[roger]

Thanks for the responses guys.
My feeling is that an instrument sold as portable should be tested as portable with data provided about its battery life.
Otherwise one might well be better of with a permanent built in plotter.
One obvious use for this kit is when on another boat say chartering. Being able to recharge is not necessarily possible let alone convenient.
This is much the same problem as with lap top computers which often have very very short working times away from a power socket.
On a reaonable day time trip you are likely to have to use the GPS plotter for 12 hours. If the batteries wont last that long you will have to change them - possibly losing data or switch it off for most of the time

<hr width=100% size=1>Roger

 

[Twister_Ken]

Gizmoitis

Do you really leave the things on full time? It's pretty pointless when you're in the middle of nowhere. Just turn it on when you get to a jaggy bit (or look at a chart). They're all just toys, anyway.



<hr width=100% size=1><A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.writeforweb.com/twister1>Let's Twist Again</A>

 

[Guest]

Notebook PC's ............. the number of people who taljk about Laptops - do anyone remember Laptops ? A long way away from the Notebooks that now are wrongly called Laptops ! Anyway - NB Pc's - common complaint is the lack ot hours they run on battery pack - typically 1-2 hrs ..... instead of the advertised 3+ hrs .....

BUT - most GPS handhelds run for more than 12 hours, actually many run for 18+ hours ..... on a single set of batterys. Get the extended mAh rechargeables and you'll get even more ..... eg. eTrex is advertised at about 18hrs on a set of 2 x AA. I get over 24 hrs with 2000 mAh rechargeables ..... so what's the problem ?


<hr width=100% size=1>Nigel ... and of course Yahoo groups :
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/gps-navigator/

 

[FergusM]

How do I get the batteries you mention, and the chargers?About 12 years ago, I tried rechargeable batteries in a Garmin hand-held, and they just wouldn't work. I think they were 1.2V, instead of 1.5 of ordinary batteries. I would be delighted if I could use rechargeable batteries instead.

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[bob_tyler]

Maplins

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[BobE]

Fergus,
Try...
http://www.7dayshop.com/

I've always been more that happy with their prices and service..
They are in Guernsey so no VAT is charged...
I use AA s for a digital camera, and the odd small item and AAA s for a pair of walkie talkies... All from 7dayshop.
No connection otherwise than being a satisfied customer.

But I'm sure that there are other mailorder firms offering rechargables.

Cheers Bob E...


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[BobE]

Sorry Fergus I should also have pointed out that my Garmin 12 XL hand held runs permanently on AA s of between 2000 and 2200 mah... keep a couple of spare sets on board which can be recharged from the fag lighter socket.
Cheers Bob E..

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[roger]

Re: Gizmoitis

I do leave my non-portable GPS on all the while. I always use routes and waypoints so that I have a track to relate to. I also use a repeater on deck so I can change from one leg to the next without going below. My crew and I also find the "time to next way point" functions therapeutic on a long boring trip - knowing that there are only x miles or hours to go on a acold empty bit of sea is pleasant.
I would have found the route system useful decades ago when the fog came down in the entrance to the river up to Treguier. I would have found the repeater very useful on an intricate approach round rocks with very little in the way of marks up in southern Norway. I do find the route system very handy indeed. It takes a while to get used to it and it is a bit of work putting in each waypoint but it's worth the effort - I think.

<hr width=100% size=1>Roger

 

[BobE]

Re: Gizmoitis

Hi Roger,
You sure seem to get around!
I also tend to leave the GPS on all the time...not worth re booting each time...

I use a program called "GARtrip" which I paid for on the web about three or four years ago..It allows me to enter waypoints on this PC from Reeds, Cumberlidge or whatever, and transfer them to the garmins via either a direct link to the hand held or via a cd and the laptop or even before I got the laptop by using the handheld as a intermediate unit and transferring the WPs to the fixed unit in the boat...This last way means that at least the waypoints in both units (500 max in each) are the same..
Then, when on a trip, I can labouriously enter any local points I might need...

You can in fact scan a chart and overlay your WPs on it with route rhumblines etc..But I find that a bit tedious and continue to scribble on paper ones !

Have a butchers at www.gartrip.de...

As usual no connection just a satisfied customer..
Cheers Bob E...

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[roger]

travel and computers

Thanks BobE. We are trying to use the interval between retireing and arthritis as fully as possible. Thanks for the mention of GARtrip - sounds interesting.
I'm decidedly undecided about computers and electronics on board. In the Baltic a plotter to be any use has to be on deckand it and its chart chios are very expensive. To get from the Dart to Stockholm would take a lerge number of super wide chips at £300 each. In any case I firmly believe I have to have paper charts on board, which is why I use a Yeoman plotter. This however is little use in the skerries. I use the local very good chart packs on deck and use the more electronic bits when I have a chance to go below.
A notebook/laptop would have to be below. I'm not too happy about leaving that sort of kit on all the time and I think one would have to to get updated forecasts etc. via some form of dedicated receiver.
Heck I'm not being very realistic - I'm still working on managing my fridge power requirements.
Basically I think the kit will get better and cheaper quite fast.
For Example LIDL were selling this week a pocket PC + GPS and all UK map for agout £360. If that sort of pricing gets to the marine market my outloofk may change.

<hr width=100% size=1>Roger