"Brien Alkire" wrote in message
...
Can anyone make suggestions on what I should consider when purchasing a
hand-held GPS?

I am fairly new to sailing and don't own a boat. I charter them, and
frequently the boats either don't have GPS or I have to spend a lot of
time
figuring out how to use them. I sail in So Cal and the local Channel
Islands.

I want a hand-held I can bring with me on charter boats. I am willing to
go
with monochrome to save $. I am versed on coastal nav, but would
particularly like a GPS when navigating in fog. I'd like to be able to
interface with my laptop and overlay on charting software (don't own any
yet).

I've a Garmin MAP175.

The mapping feature works well, but it really cannot display enough
information to be useful.

In fact, the only thing that I really find the map useful for, is inputting
routes.

Before you purchase any unit, find out if it comes with a cable to connect
to your laptop. Six years ago, these cables were very expensive.



Regards


Donal
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