On Fri, 25 Nov 2005 02:17:35 GMT, Eddie
wrote:
Can I get a unit that is interchangeable? I don't want to get one for
the boat and one for the car.
Is there a gps that I can move car to boat?
====================================

I have one of those little postage stamp sized GPS units that comes
with Delorme's Street Map USA software package. You need to use it
with a laptop and suitable software of course, but the GPS itself is
dirt cheap depending on what value you assign to the Street Map
software. You can usually purchase both together for about $120. On
the boat I use it with Maptech's Offshore Navigator software.

On Fri, 25 Nov 2005 12:27:24 -0500, Harry Krause
wrote:
Wayne: I've been thinking of taking my older laptop out on Yo-Ho and
using it with a NAV program and a cheap USB GPS receiver. Do you think
the little receivers DeLorme and others sell are sensitive to pick up a
decent signal through a fiberglass cabin, or would I be better off to
roofmount a more traditional GPS receiver to feed into the laptop?

I use the Delorme GPS in both my truck, car and boats all the time and
it works fine, just put it somewhere near the windshield. That said,
a rooftop unit will always be more sensitive but for casual use it
probably doesn't matter 99% of the time. On the big boat I have an
external antenna driving the Furuno chart plotter, with the Delorme
GPS driving the laptop for backup and a wide angle view.

I still cannot figure out why I can buy a good-quality, complete laptop
computer for under $1000 with a 14" screen, and a GPS chartplotter with
a 10" screen fetches $2000.

A lot of it is supply and demand. There are many more laptops
manufactured than marine chart plotters, and the competition for
laptops a lot more intense. Of course the better quality marine units
are totally waterproof, have much better screen brightness and
dedicated panel functionality. My Furuno 10 inch Navnet unit is
superb in my opinion, and everone who comes on the boat ooohs and
ahhhs over it. Get the optional ARP functions for the RADAR if you
want a real crowd pleaser. Even Mrs B likes it and she is not easily
impressed by marine electronics.

Most handheld GPS equipped with a Memory card like SD will work.
On the Secure Digital card (SD) you can have the road map for Canada and the
US.
Some of the Handheld GPS come with the basic Nautical charts and you can
load more detailed charts. As for roadmaps they have to be updated more
often than the Nautical charts. That could cost you about $99.00 USD
The largest screen on Handheld GPS is about 1 3/4" X 2 1/4" and has a night
light.
This size work fine on a boat. However, when I was driving at 65+ MPH in
heavy traffic on Hwy 95 south after dark and the wiper running at full speed
navigating to get into the City of New York the situation was different.
My concentration was on road coping with heavy traffic and hydro planning.
My conclusion is"
I have problems using a GPS when driving a car in heavy road traffic moving
at high speed.
A much larger screen would facilitate visual check on the GPS, when driving
on land especially to get into highly populated cities.
When sailing on water most GPS is easy to read.

BTW, when using the same GPS for when your are in your car or boat you have
to program your set up for either land or nautical.

"Wayne.B" wrote in message
news
On Fri, 25 Nov 2005 12:27:24 -0500, Harry Krause
wrote:
Wayne: I've been thinking of taking my older laptop out on Yo-Ho and
using it with a NAV program and a cheap USB GPS receiver. Do you think
the little receivers DeLorme and others sell are sensitive to pick up a
decent signal through a fiberglass cabin, or would I be better off to
roofmount a more traditional GPS receiver to feed into the laptop?

I use the Delorme GPS in both my truck, car and boats all the time and
it works fine, just put it somewhere near the windshield. That said,
a rooftop unit will always be more sensitive but for casual use it
probably doesn't matter 99% of the time. On the big boat I have an
external antenna driving the Furuno chart plotter, with the Delorme
GPS driving the laptop for backup and a wide angle view.

I still cannot figure out why I can buy a good-quality, complete laptop
computer for under $1000 with a 14" screen, and a GPS chartplotter with
a 10" screen fetches $2000.

A lot of it is supply and demand. There are many more laptops
manufactured than marine chart plotters, and the competition for
laptops a lot more intense. Of course the better quality marine units
are totally waterproof, have much better screen brightness and
dedicated panel functionality. My Furuno 10 inch Navnet unit is
superb in my opinion, and everone who comes on the boat ooohs and
ahhhs over it. Get the optional ARP functions for the RADAR if you
want a real crowd pleaser. Even Mrs B likes it and she is not easily
impressed by marine electronics.

On Fri, 25 Nov 2005 13:30:32 -0500, Harry Krause
wrote:

That 10" Furuno sells for about 3x the price of the average decent laptop.

===================================

Can your average decent laptop do RADAR, survive a cold shower and be
highly visible in bright sunlight on the flybridge?

:-)

You getz what you pays for...

On Fri, 25 Nov 2005 19:13:29 GMT, "Denis Marier"
wrote:

My concentration was on road coping with heavy traffic and hydro planning.

====================

As well it should have been.

One nice feature of the Delorme Street Map package on a laptop is that
it taks to you when a turn or critical juncture is coming up. It does
a surprisingly reasonable job for an inexpensive package, even telling
you what lane to be in for an exit.

The talking feature is very nice.
I have learned that it does not warn you fast enough to make a right of left
turn to exit a busy Parkway/Turnpike. This feature does not take into
account the traffic lane on your left of right.
My instructions to go to Mamaroneck NY from New Haven Conn. were to drive
south on HWY 95 and to take exist 19. When I saw exit 19 I took it. Then
all the instructions were erroneous. I stop at the Connecticut tourism
office. There I learned that I took the wrong exit. They told me that I
should have taken exist 19 in the State of New York just a few miles south
after exist 19 in the State of Connecticut. Anyway I am learning the ropes.


"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 25 Nov 2005 19:13:29 GMT, "Denis Marier"
wrote:

My concentration was on road coping with heavy traffic and hydro
planning.

====================

As well it should have been.

One nice feature of the Delorme Street Map package on a laptop is that
it taks to you when a turn or critical juncture is coming up. It does
a surprisingly reasonable job for an inexpensive package, even telling
you what lane to be in for an exit.

"The 10" Furuno sells for about 3x the price of the average decent laptop."

Check Furuno NAVnet vx2 that combines C-Map, Radar and GPS all on one
screen. Price may vary from one place to another. I saw the 7" display for
about $1400.00 USD and the 10" display for approx. $2100.00 USD. Myself I
could be happy with the 7" display.


"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
Wayne.B wrote:
On Fri, 25 Nov 2005 13:30:32 -0500, Harry Krause
wrote:

That 10" Furuno sells for about 3x the price of the average decent
laptop.

===================================

Can your average decent laptop do RADAR, survive a cold shower and be
highly visible in bright sunlight on the flybridge?

:-)

You getz what you pays for...


I rarely give the instruments in the cabin of my boats a cold shower,
but you never know.


--
Bush-Cheney: Over A Billion Whoppers Served!

Harry Krause wrote:


That 10" Furuno sells for about 3x the price of the average decent laptop.


Same deal with marine AM/FM/CD radios. The "marine" part seems to
amount to a white face plate and not much more.

Ever look at the price for one of those "marine" BBQ grills? Ouch!

Dan

"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
Denis Marier wrote:
"The 10" Furuno sells for about 3x the price of the average decent
laptop."

Check Furuno NAVnet vx2 that combines C-Map, Radar and GPS all on one
screen. Price may vary from one place to another. I saw the 7" display
for
about $1400.00 USD and the 10" display for approx. $2100.00 USD. Myself
I
could be happy with the 7" display.


"Harry Krause" wrote in message
...
Wayne.B wrote:
On Fri, 25 Nov 2005 13:30:32 -0500, Harry Krause
wrote:

That 10" Furuno sells for about 3x the price of the average decent
laptop.
===================================

Can your average decent laptop do RADAR, survive a cold shower and be
highly visible in bright sunlight on the flybridge?

:-)

You getz what you pays for...

I rarely give the instruments in the cabin of my boats a cold shower,
but you never know.


--
Bush-Cheney: Over A Billion Whoppers Served!




Those are the prices for just the display, correct?



The 7" unit Wayne was talking about retails for around $2,700. I am sure
you can find it better discounted if you search.

http://www.maritech.com/radar1.htm

a.. Sunlight Viewable 7" Color VGA (480 x 640) TFT LCD Display

b.. AR-coated, high-brightness display unit for improved sunlight
viewability.

c.. New Radome Antenna adjusts antenna rotation speed based on the range
in use, 30rpm in short range and 24rpm in mid/long ranges

d.. 18" Radome / 2.2kW / 24nm Range / 10M Cable

e.. Automatic GST (Gain, Sea Clutter, Tuning) Receiver

f.. Target or Echo Trails with Selectable Time Intervals

g.. Commercially popular SD card format with dual chart/memory card slots

h.. Full compatibility with Navionics Gold charts

i.. Enhanced graphics with 256 color full VGA presentations

j.. Improved screen redraw, scroll refresh, and memory cache

k.. New "Quick Point" L/L direct entry waypoint

l.. 100 target AIS display with I/F module and external AIS Rx

m.. Simplified installation with new "Network Wizard" set-up

n.. Adjustable (In or Out) Radar Guard Zone Alarm

o.. Picture Off-Centering or Target Zoom Mode

p.. Cursor L/L Position Display **

q.. Watchman Mode activates the Radar for Safety and Security

r.. On-Screen Display of Vessel Position, Heading, etc. *

s.. Waypoint Lollipop On-Screen, to simplify Navigation * or **

t.. Full Functioning Infrared Remote Control

u.. Radar Overlay available with appropriate heading sensor (ie. PG500R)

v.. Vessel Position Display in L/L or Loran-C TD's

w.. North-Up, Course-Up or Automatic Course-Up display modes

x.. Plotter, Nav Data, Steering Director or Highway display modes

y.. Up to 8,000 points for ship's track and marks, 999 waypoints, 35 quick
points, 1 MOB, 200

z.. planned routes (max. 35 waypoints/route) and 1 quick route

aa.. Add Multiple Displays by Connecting to NavNet Interface

ab.. Add Network Sounder by Connecting to NavNet Interface

"Dan Krueger" wrote in message
k.net...
Harry Krause wrote:


That 10" Furuno sells for about 3x the price of the average decent
laptop.


Same deal with marine AM/FM/CD radios. The "marine" part seems to amount
to a white face plate and not much more.

Ever look at the price for one of those "marine" BBQ grills? Ouch!

Dan

I agree when it comes to AM/FM/CD stereo radios. You can purchase a better
quality unit (automotive grade) at half the cost, realizing though that it
is not *marinized* and rated for marine use.