"Capt. Rob" wrote in news:1163209502.939415.46470
@h54g2000cwb.googlegroups.com:

A few people have told me that the maps on the Garmin 492 are somewhat
weak, and not really very detailed compared to some slighty more
expensive models that take chart chips. Has anyone here used the 492
enough to confirm this? I'm ready to dump it and buy a better model if
that's the case. And no, the 492 is not for sale.

Because you're a really smart fellow, anyways, and ALWAYS keep a paper
chart 'n pencil course plotted every hour in case the computers screw up,
does it really matter if the chart plotter has the finest picture money can
buy? You'll have a radar to plot your course down the canyons of buildings
and trees to watch. Only thing the GPS needs to tell you is your Lat/Long
to plot on the paper chart, anyways...right? Is that worth another
thousand dollars to have it on this little color LCD screen?....NOT.

We cheat on Lionheart. The fancy GPS receivers drive an old Yeoman paper
chart plotter I salvaged from the captain's trash can. I glued the boards
to the bottom of the chart table top. My pencil fits in the hole in its
puck so I don't have to haul the numbers in from the helm every hour. The
chart on the Yeoman looks just like a Maptech chart book....because it IS a
Maptech chart book...(c; Notice there are 3 keypoints on a Maptech chart
book to calibrate my Yeoman, which has the charts pre-programmed by number
into its memory for easy calibration. If you find one GET IT! Works great
and has a HUGE screen you can see in near darkness...(c;

http://www.yeomanuk.co.uk/


Thanks for any advice. BTW, the GPS will have a mount at the pedestal
and below, so I'll want a model with internal antenna and then add a
remote antenna for below deck.


You don't need a remote antenna in a plastic boat. Try laying your Garmin
handheld under the table or inside one of the wooden or plastic storage
bins under the seats. Let it run a while and see what kind of plot it
makes on its little chart. I mounted our antennas over in the corner of
the console under the hard top behind the windshield of the Amel Sharki 41
ketch. It sees the satellites just fine through the plastic top and lexan
windscreen. My old Eagle handheld got its button pressed in my baggage and
came on, dutifully logging itself onto 12 birds and plotting our course
until I found it running while looking for some dry socks....(c; As long
as there's no metal shielding over the dome, GPS works right through all
the plastic they keep calling "fiberglass".


Larry
--
My calendar must be wrong....
In all the stores, it's ALREADY Christmas!