GPS Primer

newbie · 02-02-2005, 10:18 AM

I am beginning to think of the boating season and was also thinking of adding a GPS/Chartplotter to the boat. Before I fire of hundreds of ??s specific to the Lake, I was hoping that someone could direct me to a website that would act as a primer for GPS and chartplotting. What to look for, what features and functions there are, what mfg are the best, etc.

Thanks in advance and love the forum

upthesaukee · 02-02-2005, 06:35 PM

Welcome...Getting a GPS CharterPlotter will not eliminate the need for keeping your paper chart handy, and an everpresent watchful eye all around.

I have a very basic GPS that has a decent (not great) map of Lake Winnipesaukee. I also downloaded the waypoint files from Bizer Maps, saving me hours of inputting those waypoints. It certainly helps to keep track of where I am on the lake, especially at night, but again, doesn't replace local knowledge and the use of a paper chart and the old eyeballs. Recommendations from those who have CharterPlotters seem to favor those units that can use CMap cartridges (actually little memory cards like you use in a digital camera), and the map of choice seems to be Bizer's map. At last glance on his (Bizer.com) website, Garmin GPS cannot or do not support Bizer maps.
I'm not aware of a "tutorial" website per se, but perhaps when you make a decision on what kind of unit you want, their website may have a tutorial.

Good Luck, and welcome to the forum.

chunt · 02-02-2005, 06:47 PM

I purchased a Standard Horizon cp150c with the C-Map cartridge. Last year I noticed a design flaw, or possibly operator error. Once you activate a route, to follow, the unit shows you were to steer, to maintain the route's course. If you are to far off course near a waypoint, the unit will draw a new route to the next waypoint. This new route, if you are not aware of it, will set a course, possibly over a marine hazard. I called Standard Horizon to complain about this flaw and was told "GPS UNIT SHOULD BE USED AS A NAVIGATION AID ONLY" and that is the way the unit works. They also said that the plotters firmware is from C-MAP and there was a software update for my unit. All you have to do is insert the update C-MAP cartride into the slot, boot the unit and the firmware will be updated. So I got hold of the unit, thinking this bug would be corrected, followed the directions and proceeded to permantly erase the system's software. Ended up having to send the plotter back to Standard Horizon to re-install the original software back into the system. So now we go back into the new boating season with a unit I can not trust as a navigation aid. If anyone out there knows what I am doing wrong, let me know. Otherwise, I would not recomend this unit to anyone. Just my two cents.

Mee-n-Mac · 02-02-2005, 10:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by newbie

I am beginning to think of the boating season and was also thinking of adding a GPS/Chartplotter to the boat. Before I fire of hundreds of ??s specific to the Lake, I was hoping that someone could direct me to a website that would act as a primer for GPS and chartplotting. What to look for, what features and functions there are, what mfg are the best, etc.

Thanks in advance and love the forum

For a primer on marine GPS you might want to look at ;

http://www.westmarine.com/electronic...e=west_advisor

http://www.garmin.com/pressroom/gpsPrimer.html

http://www.garmin.com/aboutGPS/manual.html (download the manual)

As for GPS on Winni be advised that the mapping versions generally don't have a complete map of the lake. Only CMap has a really good chart (from Bizer) of the lake, including buoys, small islands, etc. If you search the forum you'll find prior discussions on GPS for the lake and whether you need/want a CMap capable unit, or whether you even need a mapping unit at all. The least expensive CMap capable units have tended to come from Standard Horizon and all (I think) are intended to be permanently mounted to your boat and have a separate antenna (which requires mounting and cabling). With handheld or removable units you have a built-in antenna but I don't think anyone makes (anymore) one that takes the CMap cartridge. Mapping units are nice in that you can get a pictorial of where you are relative to shore, islands, etc. They are therefore easier to understand in use. If you're going to program a set of waypoints & routes to follow, and know the lake well already, a non-mapping GPS can be sufficient IMHO. Unless you spend $$$ to get a big screen version I think you'll want to keep a paper chart handy in any case. And before someone else says it - remember GPS isn't radar or night vision. It only tells you about pre-known hazards.

SIKSUKR · 02-03-2005, 10:17 AM

If your only boating during the day,like UP and M&M said,IMO there is still no better device than your eyes and a good paper map.I know the lake very well now but I still keep a Bizer map next to the porcelin throne and study it during my down time there.Too much info?Sorry,but I'm always finding new areas to look at and it helps when I go there.I think it's fun reading also.But that's just me.Your pleasures might be found doing another activity!! SS

Dave R · 02-04-2005, 02:16 PM

I got a Standard Horizon 155C and a C-map Bizer chart for Christmas. Seems like a great combo to me. I never considered using it to actually plot a course on the lake though, seems like you could just see where you want to go on the map and mentally plot a route there while the map moves. I'll know more when I use it.

The main reason I wanted a maving map display device was for those afternoons when you are peering into the sun, unsucessfully trying to determine the color of a spar, and therefore, which way to proceed around it. Moultonborough bay is the worst area for me in this regard. There so many spars in the middle of wide expanses of water and I just can't memorize them all.

DRH · 02-04-2005, 09:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dave R

I got a Standard Horizon 155C and a C-map Bizer chart for Christmas. Seems like a great combo to me. I never considered using it to actually plot a course on the lake though, seems like you could just see where you want to go on the map and mentally plot a route there while the map moves. I'll know more when I use it.

The main reason I wanted a maving map display device was for those afternoons when you are peering into the sun, unsucessfully trying to determine the color of a spar, and therefore, which way to proceed around it. Moultonborough bay is the worst area for me in this regard. There so many spars in the middle of wide expanses of water and I just can't memorize them all.

I got a Standard Horizon 155C last year too, and I'm also using Bizer's C-map chart of Winnipesaukee. The color detail on the GPS screen is identical to that on Bizer's paper chart. We always know where we are and what direction we're going in, and we've found that it's virtually impossible to become lost while using it. You can zoom in and out to see large or small areas of the lake on the display. As the boat moves through the water, the chart moves on the screen so we always know exactly where we are relative to the chart.

Using just the paper chart, we've sometimes become disoriented on the water and not known exactly which island is which, where the next marker is or where we are relative to the chart, especially (as Dave R pointed out) if we're looking into a bright glare or if the air is hazy. With the GPS, we always know exactly where we are on the water. We've found the GPS to be a valuable navigational aid, but we always keep a sharp eyeball lookout as well.

02-02-2005, 10:18 AM	#1
newbie Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Just North of Boston Posts: 105 Thanks: 57 Thanked 5 Times in 4 Posts	GPS Primer I am beginning to think of the boating season and was also thinking of adding a GPS/Chartplotter to the boat. Before I fire of hundreds of ??s specific to the Lake, I was hoping that someone could direct me to a website that would act as a primer for GPS and chartplotting. What to look for, what features and functions there are, what mfg are the best, etc. Thanks in advance and love the forum

02-02-2005, 06:35 PM	#2
upthesaukee Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Alton Bay Posts: 5,548 Blog Entries: 2 Thanks: 2,398 Thanked 1,918 Times in 1,061 Posts	Welcome...Getting a GPS CharterPlotter will not eliminate the need for keeping your paper chart handy, and an everpresent watchful eye all around. I have a very basic GPS that has a decent (not great) map of Lake Winnipesaukee. I also downloaded the waypoint files from Bizer Maps, saving me hours of inputting those waypoints. It certainly helps to keep track of where I am on the lake, especially at night, but again, doesn't replace local knowledge and the use of a paper chart and the old eyeballs. Recommendations from those who have CharterPlotters seem to favor those units that can use CMap cartridges (actually little memory cards like you use in a digital camera), and the map of choice seems to be Bizer's map. At last glance on his (Bizer.com) website, Garmin GPS cannot or do not support Bizer maps. I'm not aware of a "tutorial" website per se, but perhaps when you make a decision on what kind of unit you want, their website may have a tutorial. Good Luck, and welcome to the forum. __________________ I Live Here... I am always UPTHESAUKEE !!!!

02-02-2005, 06:47 PM	#3
chunt Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 20 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Standard Horizon CP150c I purchased a Standard Horizon cp150c with the C-Map cartridge. Last year I noticed a design flaw, or possibly operator error. Once you activate a route, to follow, the unit shows you were to steer, to maintain the route's course. If you are to far off course near a waypoint, the unit will draw a new route to the next waypoint. This new route, if you are not aware of it, will set a course, possibly over a marine hazard. I called Standard Horizon to complain about this flaw and was told "GPS UNIT SHOULD BE USED AS A NAVIGATION AID ONLY" and that is the way the unit works. They also said that the plotters firmware is from C-MAP and there was a software update for my unit. All you have to do is insert the update C-MAP cartride into the slot, boot the unit and the firmware will be updated. So I got hold of the unit, thinking this bug would be corrected, followed the directions and proceeded to permantly erase the system's software. Ended up having to send the plotter back to Standard Horizon to re-install the original software back into the system. So now we go back into the new boating season with a unit I can not trust as a navigation aid. If anyone out there knows what I am doing wrong, let me know. Otherwise, I would not recomend this unit to anyone. Just my two cents.

02-03-2005, 10:17 AM	#5
SIKSUKR Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 5,075 Thanks: 215 Thanked 903 Times in 509 Posts	If your only boating during the day,like UP and M&M said,IMO there is still no better device than your eyes and a good paper map.I know the lake very well now but I still keep a Bizer map next to the porcelin throne and study it during my down time there.Too much info?Sorry,but I'm always finding new areas to look at and it helps when I go there.I think it's fun reading also.But that's just me.Your pleasures might be found doing another activity!! SS __________________ SIKSUKR

02-04-2005, 02:16 PM	#6
Dave R Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 2,974 Thanks: 246 Thanked 736 Times in 438 Posts	I got a Standard Horizon 155C and a C-map Bizer chart for Christmas. Seems like a great combo to me. I never considered using it to actually plot a course on the lake though, seems like you could just see where you want to go on the map and mentally plot a route there while the map moves. I'll know more when I use it. The main reason I wanted a maving map display device was for those afternoons when you are peering into the sun, unsucessfully trying to determine the color of a spar, and therefore, which way to proceed around it. Moultonborough bay is the worst area for me in this regard. There so many spars in the middle of wide expanses of water and I just can't memorize them all.