On Sun, 23 Nov 2003 16:30:19 +0000, Chuck Bollinger wrote:

At the Work Boat Show (Seattle) on Friday I was looking for a fixed mount GPS to
replace my beloved Micrologic Mariner which is showing some senility. I found
the Garmin GPS 152 and the Furuno GP-32 and 37. They'd probably do the job.

Thing is, though, neither of them has a keypad. So I'd like to know from a user
just how, and how quickly, a waypoint can be entered. Ever since I had a laptop
disaster I've taken to putting waypoints in manually as I need them rather than
storing more than a couple. It takes less than 10 seconds on my Mariner. How
about either of these two units.

Alternatively, can someone recommend perhaps another unit, like these two, that
does have a keypad entry?

Thanks

I have the Furuno GP-32 and I love it! I like the BIG letters you can get so I
can see speed, course, etc. from anywhere in the cockpit.

However, it IS a pain in the rear to enter text. If you just wanted temporary
waypoints, you could just call them a, b, c, etc. and the entry would be pretty
fast. IIRC the initial lat/long displayed is the current position, so the closer
the waypoint is to you, the easier it is to enter.

I enter waypoints when I have nothing else to do, like when I'm motoring and
Otto has the helm. Donno how many the GP-32 stores, but it stores lots!

Lloyd Sumpter
"Far Cove" Catalina 36