North Australian FISH FINDER TM forums

Hawkeye · Post by **Hawkeye** » Thu Aug 17, 2006 12:31 pm

Hi

We are getting close to purchasing a GPS for the boat and were thinking that all we needed was a basic hand held for $200 to $300

Was wondering if they are adequate for hitting the reefs etc in the harbours and rock bars ?secret spots? etc in the rivers and billabong or have other found they soon wish they went for the more expensive models with graphics etc

Also would be interested in how other use them

Cheers

Hawkeye

Travis · Post by **Travis** » Thu Aug 17, 2006 12:59 pm

G'day Hawkeye,

I have a little hand held Garmin GPS that I've used for years and cannot speak highly enough about it. It has done the job perfectly for me in all sorts of things, from fishing, to hunting and 4WD'ing and is accurate enough that I quite often use it to mark crab pots when leaving them for longer periods of time or when the memory has a good chance of being effected by a coldie or 20 and it always takes me straight back to them. You can also get mounting brackets that they clip into so that they can be attached to consoles or dashes when used or just as a hand held like I do.

As for learning how to use them, I found that what worked best for me was going somewhere that I could have a long walk around and learn how to set waypoints, use track-back, goto, etc. Found this was a lot easier way to learn the basics than in the boat or car when driving and navigating tend to be a distraction.

Cheers,
Travis

BarraBeast · Post by **BarraBeast** » Thu Aug 17, 2006 4:08 pm

yep go Garmin.... GPS72 for something with a big screen and straight foward or the 76 if u want colour and charts.

damn fine technology for the price

go to Carcom for your electronics. the manager is a seeadog and goes out of his way for warrenty etc. true legend.

drifter · Post by **drifter** » Thu Aug 17, 2006 4:52 pm

Hawkeye, I have used a Garmin 12 for the last 6 years without fail. I have a tiller steer quinnie dory and all I do is velcro it to the thawt seat next to me and pickup only when I need to use it. I get a fair bit of spray over the sides and the only prob I have is the connector pins in the unit itself are starting to corrode. I called Garmins service centre in Sydney and they said its a sealed unit, so you can't replace the pins.

But for the money & the abuse its had over the years, even if I have to replace it soon, it has been money well spent.

BEAR · Post by **BEAR** » Thu Aug 17, 2006 5:39 pm

Got a garmin etrex

very good basic unit

BEAR

Post by **Matt Flynn** » Thu Aug 17, 2006 10:12 pm

Yes, the Garmin 12 is good. See Tony at Carcom in Bishop St.

Shane Doevy · Post by **Shane Doevy** » Fri Aug 18, 2006 7:54 am

Have a fair bit to do with the GPS through work and have to agree with the guys above.
The Garmin offers great functions and is easy to drive. The 12 or the 72 are both good units - depends whihc screen size you need.
Dont know Carcom but i do know that johhny appleseed at http://www.ja-gps.com.au/ offer a range of accessories for them at pretty good prices - will give you something to compare against anyway. the R-A-M accessories - brackets, power cords etc are cheaper than the brand name products and are very good.
On my old tinny i had a piece of timber about 150mm square with the unit mounted on a R-A-M bracket. It was powered by a cigarette lighter cord from the battery - be aware that you have to wire it carefully as it has some power reduction system int he plug so you cant just cut the plug off and fit another - the power must got throught he original plug. I simply connected it to the power, slipped it into the bracket and the velcro held it to the carpet on the seat.
Hope this info is of some use.
Cheers
Shane

BarraMack · Post by **BarraMack** » Fri Aug 18, 2006 2:41 pm

I have a Lowrance iFinder H20. Great little unit that I bought at Fishing & Outdoor World for about $500. It stores 1000 waypoints and is waterproof. It's compatible with the Navionics digital chart SD cards as well.

Dick · Post by **Dick** » Fri Aug 18, 2006 9:48 pm

I use a Garmin 76 for work, big screen is very handy, only problem is that the track line is a bit thin and therefore difficult to see at times.

PS it floats, not that I've tested that

Hawkeye · Post by **Hawkeye** » Sun Aug 20, 2006 12:08 pm

Thanks for response guys ? been out looking around this morning and will talk to Carcom this week. The Johnny Appleseed site is good Shane but would like to try and keep $?s in NT as long as competitive. One supplier is offering free upload of local sites which would save a lot of time

Anyone using a Garmin GPS60. The way it is packaged with the Serial and USB connection for flexible data transfer and Trip and Waypoint Manager graphical software included seems a good option ? but not sure how much use it would get.

Hawkeye