Hand held gps

[marshman520]

Hi know all you kayakers are a mind of info,any recomendations on a good hand held, gps,and vhf radio, for kayaking. As i am getting my list of items, i will need for kayaking,I am 99 % certain on the prowler 13, any advice greatly received. Colin

[geffaz]

Hi know all you kayakers are a mind of info,any recomendations on a good hand held, gps,and vhf radio, for kayaking. As i am getting my list of items, i will need for kayaking,I am 99 % certain on the prowler 13, any advice greatly received. Colin

go for a magellan gps (think thats how you spell it) i know thats what the

forces yous! so gota be very reliable and tuff ,saw one in the local rag for 150 quid! second hand!

Edited January 29, 2006 by geffaz

[Simon Everett]

You don't have to spend that much on a GPS. There is nothing wrong with the Magellan, nor is there with the Garmin range. I use a Garmin 12, it is about 8 years old (or more) never had a problem.

 

The new versions out now are more waterproof and have extrnal links to your laptop etc so you can store more waypoints/routes and then load up the ones you want for that particular trip (before you go obviously). A good, new GPS should be had for about £120.

 

VHF: ICOM have just brought out the successor to the M1 EuroV - this is the IC M71. It is 6 Watts (which s 20% more powerful than the M1 Euro at 5 watts) has 15 hour battery and is fully waterproof to 1m for over 30 minutes. No idea on price yet - BUT, I bet you could pick up M1s for a song as the old stock gets shifted!

 

The M1 Euro is a great VHF and is the preferred model for handhelds for the Coastguard and RNLI inshore teams. It is rugged and the battery lasts me over a weekend on the yak anyway. 2 year guarantee.

 

There are cheaper ones out there - but when you need it, you want it to work! I wouldn't skimp on the VHF if it were me. I can live with not being exactly accurate on a fishing mark!

[marshman520]

Thanks i live not far from icom a visit may be in order, also the magellan sportrak looks good bit of kit, as soon as my boat goes ,i can start ordering ,thanks again. Colin

[Starvinmarvin]

Marshman520

 

The Magellans look like a great piece of kit, I use a basic Garmin eTrek which is cheap and does the job, it's waterproof as well.

 

As for the VHF, I use the Entel HT640 Submersible, it's 5 watts and most importantly has a Lithium-Ion Battery, this gives a much longer battery life, I would strongly advise that you get this type of battery regardless of which make you buy.

 

Also like Simon has already said spend the extra money on the VHF, 5 watts minimum, which gives you approximately 5 miles line of sight connection.

 

SM

[Neil]

Try here if your looking for a good price.....

 

Magellan explorist 100 £69.26

 

http://www.compass24.com/cgi-bin/abnetshop...PS_GPS+portable

 

 

 

handheld VHF from £44.00 here...

 

http://www.compass24.com/cgi-bin/abnetshop...Hand-Held+Radio

 

Neil........

[marshman520]

Thanks again my head is spinning with prices at the moment , will try some local chandlers to see if they can get near net prices, as i like to use local shops ,as if we don,t they arn,t there on a saturday when you need that all important widget to fix kayak etc. I have found with a little bit of haggling they come close enough to make a sale. Colin :

[geffaz]

BLOODY HELL THEY COME ALONG WAY! last time i saw one it was a big green brick!

[Simon Everett]

Good attitude that Marshman - not enough people willing to give the local shop a try. Also, the benefit of being able to take the thing back if it lets you down - try that with some of the internet shops....They will, if you get it to them. Then the carriage is nearly the cost of what you saved and it takes two months for them to sort it out. There goes your saving (and I think many internet prices are DEARER than the chandlers - but people don't check because they have got into the mindset of " it's on the net, so it must be cheaper"