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Looking at handheld GPS for marine use

Discussion in 'Sports' started by parkerfe, Oct 23, 2007.

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  1. parkerfe

    parkerfe F1 World Champ

    Sep 4, 2001
    12,887
    Cumming, Georgia
    Full Name:
    Franklin E. Parker
    #1 parkerfe, Oct 23, 2007
    I'm looking to buy a hand held GPS with marine charting as a backup GPS for my Caribbean adventures. I like both the Garmin 76CSx and 276C with Bluechart Americas-Caribbean chart USO30R package. The 276C has the larger screen, but it uses rechargeable batteries only;that concerns me for a back-up hand held GPS as if the boat loses power I could not charge the battery. The 76CSx has a smaller screen but uses AA batteries for which I could carry plenty of spares. They both are WAAS capable. Anyone ever use either of these unites and if so, what do you think of their performance?
     
  2. sailrat

    sailrat Karting

    Nov 28, 2006
    78
    MI
    Full Name:
    Brad
    #2 sailrat, Oct 24, 2007
    I've spent a lot of time on the water. Sailboat racing in the great lakes. Not much time spent in the oceans, so take this with a grain of salt.

    I've been on a lot of different boats with different GPS units. They are all about the same, after you know how to use them. My advise is to buy the one you want. If you want a back-up, buy a cheapie $100-150 that takes regular batteries. Having one that just takes batteries, and can't run from a plug on the boat, is a pain for any long distance trips.

    FWIW, I thought that those battery packs were just 2-4 batteries run together. In an emergency, I think you can jury-rig several regular batteries together in a pack and hook it to the GPS unit.
     

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