GPS

[Tanners]

I just ordered my first GPS unit. A Lowrance H2O handheld. More for fun than anything else.

Anybody else use them? Any comments?

[qb12]

I agree with Ed, that they are great.

Heck, Ed really needs his to help him get home after to many beers on the lake.

db

[tlrowe]

My lake is 56k acres. If I am out of familiar territory after dark, the GPS comes in very handy.

[Smrtz]

A must have!
Helps regulate speed much better than analogue dials.
Has saved my @ss a few times stuck out after dark. Allows you to follow the exact path that you took to get to where you are.

On a big lake you may find areas that are better than others for skiing/wakeboarding/wakesurfing etc. helps you go back to those exact spots instead of searching around again if you are new to the area.

Good purchase, you wont regret it!!

[BensonWdby]

Definitely a fun toy. And can be useful finding way back. However, be warned that depending on where you are, backtracking can be dangerous. Make sure your original path in the daylight stays well clear of shore and fixed objects. I know a guy that put his cabin cruiser on shore following his GPS back track. Yes it was dark, he was going fast, and he was coming back from the bar, but still....

Now that you have this toy you might also want to check into an off-water activity known as geo-caching. Google it, it can be fun ...

Dave

[gotmyboat]

Geocaching is hours of fun for the whole family. Go to www.geocaching.com and learn all about it. Basically people hide a cache (usually an old ammo can) with a log book and some trinkets in it. They record the coordinates and then post it to the database on geocaching.com with a description and hints. You put in the coordinates in your GPS and the hunt is on. When you find it, you sign the log and trade som of your junk for the junk that is in the can. We have a gallon freezer bag of old hot wheels, bracelets, shiny rocks, and the like for trading. I usaully download a bunch of caches in an area that we are vacationing at. It allows a free healthy activity, and lets you see different parts of the area that you might have missed.
I also have the boat ramps at my favorite lakes loaded in there. In May I was out fishing with my father-in-law on his boat w/o my GPS. The fog dropped on us at about 8am with 20ft of visibility, we had to just wait until it burned off. With my GPS we could have gotten rtight back to the ramp.

[wakeboard dad]

tlrowe -- 56k acres, are you kidding me. what state is that in? Makes my 200 acrea seem loike a puddle.

[Wolf-]

Originally posted by Tanners
I just ordered my first GPS unit. A Lowrance H2O handheld. More for fun than anything else.
Anybody else use them? Any comments?

West Point (http://westpt.sam.usace.army.mil/), our home lake, is 25k acres.

We own a small hand held Garmin Legend.
I use it to geolocate all of our digital photos from outings.
(http://www.feather.us/category/hobbies/gps/)

Use it to calibrate my speedos. I have done some geocaching (be careful, thanks to DHS, you can be harrassed for this now) in the past.

[gotmyboat]

Has DHS made some comment about geocaching? Would they fear that my family of five is a terrorist cell hell-bent on blowing up the US one ammo can at a time? :p

Our tax dollars at work.

Dave

[Wolf-]

Originally posted by gotmyboat
Has DHS made some comment about geocaching? Would they fear that my family of five is a terrorist cell hell-bent on blowing up the US one ammo can at a time? :p

Our tax dollars at work.
Dave

I'll have to find the reference.

[tlrowe]

Wakeboard Dad...it's Lake Hartwell on the Georgia/South Carolina border. Very nice lake.

[marchina]

The speed may be not so accurate, it depends on the tides, the gps meassures the movement of the boat in the earth but the skier may go faster if the tides are moving fast, it,s very similar with planes and wind.

regards

Simon

[Wolf-]

Originally posted by marchina
The speed may be not so accurate, it depends on the tides, the gps meassures the movement of the boat in the earth but the skier may go faster if the tides are moving fast, it,s very similar with planes and wind.

regards

Simon

So what you are saying is:

GPS(Speed_of_Boat) != tuber(60ft , arc, centrifigal force)

[JoeTechie]

Well if we are being correct...

Centripial force, centrifigul reaction (no such thing as centrifigul force)

and I thought it was :

(# of beers) ^ 3 = boat speed

iff K = 100 where K = Coolness factor based on the number of hot girls watching you wipe out your buddy.

:)

And to keep closer to the thread...

Anyopne have any reccomendations or models of handheld GPS to stay away from.. I'm looking for cheap but not crap.(may check out ebay)

-J

[gotmyboat]

I have the Etrex Legend. Got it last year. It came with the interface cable and preloaded maps. It's pretty cool, and easy to use.

Dave

[Wolf-]

Originally posted by gotmyboat
I have the Etrex Legend. Got it last year. It came with the interface cable and preloaded maps. It's pretty cool, and easy to use.
Dave

My Legend has taken quite a beating. I love it.
Have the Eastern US Maps and the US Lakes N Fishin'.
Never loaded the fishin' maps and the US lakes are "eh" as far as being better than the standard mapsource US east.

I put a small piece of RV cabinet no-slip on the dash (not the sticky back kind, just the thin clothe) and it rides just fine in front of the tach.

[gotmyboat]

I've been thinking about how to keep it from falling. Mine ends up in my lap when I cross the wake picking up a skier.

[zabooda]

I got the yellow Etrex also and works well. I got my data/power cable on Ebay for about $12-15.