GPS for the boat

[Fill Ess]

No, the interface is really simple. It has some more sophisticated functionality, but you won't use most of it. The basics are really easy to set up and use.

Also, I completely agree with @Phil S - If you get a handled VHF, get one with GPS and DSC. DSC gives you one-button mayday and sends your GPS position automatically to other boats if you hit the mayday. Standard Horizon HX890, or 870 if you can still find one. $170.00. Spend the extra $$.

Exactly! I picked up the SH handheld for $100. It's nice but I should have spent the $200 and gotten the GPS-enabled one that can send distress calls

 

[Skybolt]

... Standard Horizon HX890, or 870 if you can still find one. $170.00. Spend the extra $$.

This is the one I have for the dinghy as well, https://www.boemarine.com/standard-horizon-hx890-black-handheld-vhf-6w.html Still $170 at our sponsors store BOE Marine.

 

[Jaybeaux]

This is the one I have for the dinghy as well, https://www.boemarine.com/standard-horizon-hx890-black-handheld-vhf-6w.html Still $170 at our sponsors store BOE Marine.

+1 Same. And it floats!

 

[Skybolt]

+1 Same. And it floats!

And has an FM radio for the dinghy!

 

[Hoplite808]

@Ray Jones these are items that you need to spend some money on for your own safety. On the water cell phone service can fail due to the distance from the towers. Not to mention not all cell phones are waterproof.

Garmin makes quite a few affordable small chart plotters that also have built in depth/fish finders. I like Garmin now because they have an app that lets you keep the software up to date via your smartphone rather than downloading onto a SIM card. They are easy to install and are the best at helping you navigate away from hazards.

For the VHF radio, it is a must for safety. All new ones are now built with a distress button which is kinda like an automatic SOS button. If you connect the radio to the chart plotter or buy one with GPS built in it will tell rescuers your exact position. If you program the MMSI into it it will also tell them who and what they should be looking for.

A cellphone should only ever be used as a secondary or backup device for navigation and communication on a boat. Never the primary one.

 

[Arminius]

Non IPhone cell phone service hooks you to the vast computers of Google which respond to natural language. Just ask where you are. Amazing how far from land cell phone service extends. I am a cell hater from way back and tried an IPhone once but its maps were a disaster to be avoided at all costs. So give Android a try. Frankly, I'm trying to figure out how to use my GPS while Susan already has a map and a direction home up on her cell.

 

[jmcdboater]

Apple Maps WAS lousy…. Much improved, works just fine now…..just sayin’!!

 

[Tucker K5]

If there's one thing the CSR collective is consistently great at - it's spending other peoples money.

If you're boating on an inland lake, or on a tight budget with no plans of offshore travel, there's no reason a phone or tablet can't get you what you need. Even without cell service.

$110 delivered and you've got a robust GPS signal beamed right to your device...

https://www.amazon.com/Garmin-GLO-Bluetooth-Receiver-010-02184-01/dp/B07M9CZYTD/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=glonass+gps&qid=1666194830&qu=eyJxc2MiOiIzLjczIiwicXNhIjoiMi40MyIsInFzcCI6IjEuNDYifQ==&sprefix=glonas,aps,171&sr=8-3&ufe=app_do:amzn1.fos.18ed3cb5-28d5-4975-8bc7-93deae8f9840

View attachment 135621

I have one of these connected to an old iPad that doesn’t have a cellular modem.
It works great.

 

[Ray Jones]

I have one of these connected to an old iPad that doesn’t have a cellular modem.
It works great.

Thanks for letting me know.