On Fri, 25 Nov 2005 12:27:24 -0500, Harry Krause
wrote:
Wayne: I've been thinking of taking my older laptop out on Yo-Ho and
using it with a NAV program and a cheap USB GPS receiver. Do you think
the little receivers DeLorme and others sell are sensitive to pick up a
decent signal through a fiberglass cabin, or would I be better off to
roofmount a more traditional GPS receiver to feed into the laptop?

I use the Delorme GPS in both my truck, car and boats all the time and
it works fine, just put it somewhere near the windshield. That said,
a rooftop unit will always be more sensitive but for casual use it
probably doesn't matter 99% of the time. On the big boat I have an
external antenna driving the Furuno chart plotter, with the Delorme
GPS driving the laptop for backup and a wide angle view.

I still cannot figure out why I can buy a good-quality, complete laptop
computer for under $1000 with a 14" screen, and a GPS chartplotter with
a 10" screen fetches $2000.

A lot of it is supply and demand. There are many more laptops
manufactured than marine chart plotters, and the competition for
laptops a lot more intense. Of course the better quality marine units
are totally waterproof, have much better screen brightness and
dedicated panel functionality. My Furuno 10 inch Navnet unit is
superb in my opinion, and everone who comes on the boat ooohs and
ahhhs over it. Get the optional ARP functions for the RADAR if you
want a real crowd pleaser. Even Mrs B likes it and she is not easily
impressed by marine electronics.