I have a cell phone that I often carry with me in a water proof bag. Standing on shore I can place a call and communicate without taking it out of the bag. My question is - has anyone ever tried placing a call while they were actually in the water. My phone can take voice commands and most of my numbers are programmed to be placed this way; including the Coast Guard and SAR. But I'm thinking I may be kidding myself. If you're in the water for any time at all the cold might render your ability to manipulate the buttons an impossible task. Even the voice activation might not work because of the back ground water noise. Has anyone any real experience trying to do this. Please don't come at me about the VHF vs. cell phone debate. I strongly believe in VHF, there's usually one or more in my group every time we go out. As soon as I can I will add a VHF to my gear. This brings me to a question regarding GPS. Has anyone any experience with the Brunton Multi-Nav MNS. It's a GPS, compass, barometer, and Altimeter (now you can measure that wave height and put an end to the how big was it debate). It's waterproof and only cost $359 Canadian or $1.25 in real money. That's two post in one day. What am I coming to! gordin Warner *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
gordin warner wrote: > My question is - has anyone ever tried placing a call while they were > actually in the water. My phone can take voice commands and most of my > numbers are programmed to be placed this way; including the Coast Guard and > SAR. > > But I'm thinking I may be kidding myself. If you're in the water for any > time at all the cold might render your ability to manipulate the buttons an > impossible task. Even the voice activation might not work because of the > back ground water noise. Has anyone any real experience trying to do this. Fortunately I don't yet have any experience with trying to call from the water in a real emergency, but I do have an additional caveat. I've checked to see how good reception is in the areas where I kayak and have found it to be pretty spotty when right on the water surface. I still think it's worth carrying, but know that I can't expect it to work. > > This brings me to a question regarding GPS. Has anyone any experience with > the Brunton Multi-Nav MNS. It's a GPS, compass, barometer, and Altimeter > (now you can measure that wave height and put an end to the how big was it > debate). It's waterproof and only cost $359 Canadian or $1.25 in real > money. I've played with one a little and saw some reviews in the GPS group (sci.geo.satellite-nav). My impression is that it's overpriced considering the limited features (no maps, no satellite page, no true backtracking feature, little software support). You'd still want to have a simple mechanical compass for reliability and one user commented that the Brunton electornic compass was hard to use since it needed to be held perfectly level and lacked any sighting mechanism. If you really want the integrated compass and barometric sensor, then I'd recommend looking at the Garmin Summit and Vista. Other models I'd recommend are the Magellan 315, 330, and Meridian, and the Garmin Venture, Legend, and 76/Map76. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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