What Is A Good Handheld GPS

[Oldbear]

I am looking for a good marine handheld or mobile GPS.

We have about 100 dive sites accessible by boats that we can rent from the local marinas here in Kwajalein Atoll. They come with a Garmin eTrex. They are descent little GPS units...with little being the key word.

I would like to get my own GPS unit with a mobile base that I can take along with me. When the waters get a little choppy it is very hard to see the 1"x2" gray screen. I would like to get something with a MUCH larger screen, preferably color.

Any suggestion?

Thanks

~Oldbear~

 

[Pyro_]

The Montana series has the biggest screen for the Garmin mobile/handheld GPS I believe

 

[Oldbear]

Thanks...I will check them out.

 

[lemke]

I have used a Garmin Oregon series for years as a backup to the Simrad units on my boat. I use one of those RAM suction cup mounts with the "roller top" holder. It's been accurate and trouble free.

 

[Oldbear]

Thanks Lemke. I just got off of the Garmin site and also saw the Oregon Series GPSes. The Oregon had a 3" screen where as the Montana has a 4" screen. I will have to think about it a while to see if the extra inch is worth the extra dollars to me.

 

[KeithG]

maybe i am over thinking this, but first thing i thought of was my cell phone...

my last 3 models all had builtin gps. i purchased the tom-tom app and maps for the first 2.

have not got around to looking into gps apps for my latest android phone.

 

[rhwestfall]

Yes, as options, I have my android phone, PDA (ancient), and tablet running versions of MemoryMap. Inexpensive, and it runs the electronic NOAA charts (unlike the other systems that seem to really whack you for proprietary stuff). If you don't have a built in GPS, there are excellent bluetooth units available.

Tons of aftermarket mounts if you need....

---------- Post added January 17th, 2015 at 09:59 AM ----------

also, NOAA themselves have a free Chart Plotter program (in the Android Store). Not too bad...

---------- Post added January 17th, 2015 at 10:09 AM ----------

if you happen to be running a windows tablet, there is also SeaClear: SeaClear GPS Navigation Software

 

[Asteve]

7" Android tablet with GPS, Lot of apps that can be use for this. I would use a Zip bag to weather proof it.

 

[Oldbear]

Interesting options...

I am not "smart" enough to run one of those phones and here in the Marshall Islands I won't have anyone to talk to. My phone is very old and I use it every once in a while when I am back in the states.

My tablet isn't much better.

The nice thing with a large screen GPS when I PCS (Permanent Change of Station or leave) Kwajalein there will be plenty of buyers for it...especially if I have all the dive site waypoints programmed into it.

But good advice for future reference.

 

[Jessica Anderson]

I (and everyone in my dive group) uses the Navionics app on phone/tablet/iPad for diving waypoints. The app lets you put in a waypoint (and even has a lot of the more popular dive spots marked). You can add a waypoint that just you can see or you can add a waypoint via Community Edits which will allow anyone using Navionics to see it.
You can share waypoints and tracks, take photos from within the app (so you could take a photo of the triangulation from the water on a waypoint if you wanted) and best of all it all works without cell signal or wifi (as long as you have an internal GPS on your device which nearly all devices do now).