Hey Roger ,, happy new year ..

What handheld GPS would you recommend? I've been looking at the various
Garmin models, but haven't bought one yet.
I keep thinking this will be like buying a computer .. on Monday you think
you are getting a great deal .. the thing is obsolete on Friday.

It seems as if the handheld models all do about the same thing. Unless I
purchase the blue chart software I will ony see the marine buoys anyway,
right.

I am looking for a cheapoo laptop. A boat computer. I only plan on using
it for Maptech Nav so I don't want to spend much money.

I am also looking at a solar panel. Do you have one of these? Did some
basic research and found out that the West Marine panels were pretty much
junk. Need about 50watt plus to get any real power. That way the batteries
are fresh and the boat gets a little extra ..

Guy down in Florida told me he uses a portable one. Says he puts it out
when he is at anchorage. He connects the wires to a line into the
batteries, I don't remember whether he had a regulator or not ,, says the
portable panels worked good for him. He puts them away when he sails. He
said he had one attached to the stern rail on a former boat and a wave
washed/smashed it all to hell.

==

"Roger Long" wrote in message
...
Does anyone know when the next Blue Chart CD revison is due? Neither
store I asked knew although Hamilton Marine recommended that I wait until
the last minute next spring to buy it.

It would be nice to have it earlier for winter dreaming but nicer to have
the latest when I load it on my computer.

BTW I did get Metro Guide for road trips this winter. The title made me a
bit concerned about rural area coverage and I was told it could be spotty
out in the sticks. However, it has the dirt road that runs into my
family's six cottage summer colony and you can't ask for much more local
detail than that. It did miss the driveway to my brother's cottage which
shows up on Maptech and other online maps but, nothing is perfect. OTOH,
it doesn't show our driveway as a through road to the next street as does
almost every other map in existance (including DeLorme produced here in
Maine), a fact that often brings us puzzled people sitting in front of our
house staring at their Maine Map and Guide or GPS.

--
Roger Long