Re: [Paddlewise] VHF plus GPS for $250? Yes....

The suggestion that modest priced tools are fully useful is worth
underscoring.

It may be well to remember in this discussion of VHFs (and GPSs)
that "waterproofness" in its varying degrees is achieved at the
exclusion of Alkaline power.  So unless you paddle only short
times or use your radio only infrequently, power will always be a
serious concern.  The dry bag and alkaline battery combination is
still one I recommend.  Batteries can then be carried for
extended use and interchanged with other essential gear.  The new
ICOM M3 is a compromise; water-resistant cpu and a permeable
battery pack (that could be dried out in an emergency). The M3
can utilize alkaline AAs.  

Why is there such a rush to acquire GPS positions?  A unit that
takes 1 minute for acquisition seems as practical as one that
takes 20 seconds.  While white water kayakers rushing at 8-10 kts
down some plunging defile might like to know second by second
when the waterfall is coming sea kayakers are hardly ever so
hurried to get a latitude/longitude fix.  Visual sighting and a
quick compass bearing of two have served most of us for many
years.  When is the fix urgent?  What dangers were we facing
before the "quick find" GPS models arrived?  

RGM





VajraT_at_aol.com wrote:
> 
> There's a decent little Buyers Guide to current Handheld GPS in the December
> '98 Yachting Magazine, on stands now.  Not sure if it's also on
> www.yachtingnet.com.  Not a test, just listings, but a good text oriented to
> commonsense needs.
> 
> Low-price standout seems to be Garmin VHF 720.  Submersible, 3 watts,
> switchable to 1-watt, all VHF channels plus weather, 3 year warrantee.  "A
> sealed battery case protects the circuitry even when the batteries are being
> changed."  Lists at $160.
> 
> A 5-watt submersible is the Standard Communications Horizon HX350S. List $280.
> 
> Re: Magellan Pioneer GPS.  I get a reading in 2 to 3 minutes.  In bad
> visibility, I leave it on, and swap batteries after a full day.  On most days,
> I'm not using it for navigation, only as an odometer, and I switch it on at
> breaks, take a peek and switch it off.  So far, so good, but I'm the patient
> type.
> 
> Agreed that $50 may much be much more for quicker readings, and $120 may be
> worth it to go from 3-watts to 5, on the VHF.  But, hey, I paddle in Maine and
> that's a lot of Geary's Pale Ale!
> 
> For the impecunious paddler, the Magellan Pioneer plus the Garmin VHF 720
> makes a nifty electronic navigation center for about $250 total street price.
> 
> (It's great how electronics keep getting better and cheaper so quickly.  Any
> takers for a pool on when the Iridium, or other handheld sat phone, will break
> $1,000?)
> 
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