[Public-list] gps questions

Rod Symmes harmony at aztec-net.com
Sat Oct 21 07:53:32 PDT 2006


I am going to make your choice even harder because I use yet another really great program , FUGAWI moving map software, on my laptop.  It will do exactly what you want ie: < lets me go click-click-click to define a route, then upload it
into my GPS >  You can also create and label waypoints and upload them as well.  I use this to mark rocks and other hazards that I want to stay clear of.  
    With the NMEA cable you can take your laptop on board and FUGAWI will take the position info from the GPS and move an icon indicating your position across the electronic chart.  VERY COOL but as someone else mentioned - almost addictive.  I find it so distracting that it diminishes my enjoyment of pure sailing.  When I am in familiar waters I prefer to upload the danger points and just sail with the GPS but if I was cruising unfamiliar waters or tight quarters it is very comforting to know where you are to within about a boat length.
    I always keep paper charts on board as backup ( we all know how often computers give us grief )  and this is another reason that I like FUGAWI ,  unlike many nav software that uses vector mapping,  Fugawi uses BSB charts ( raster maps ) that are scanned images of the official hydrographical charts and so they look exactly the same as the paper chart that I am familiar with.  And I guess if you have the GPS with the uploaded danger points with you,  it is another backup to fall back on.
    The only dislike I have....... the company that creates the Canadian BSB charts, has a monopoly.......that always makes me uncomfortable.  >From an earlier thread, I gather that there are sites where US  BSB charts can be downloaded.  I have not checked this out or tried them on Fugawi.   The one advantage that I feel vector mapping has....... as you zoom in the software adds more detail and as you zoom out, it removes some detail so that the image is less cluttered.
    Someone else mentioned that they were adding a GPS module to their PDA.  I had never owned a PDA until about a year ago  when I picked up a GARMIN iQue 3600 because it has a built in GPS with street maps etc. ( a very cool toy ) and the street navigation is very useful ( I say with surprise in my voice )  I only digress because the latest version 4 of Fugawi is supposed to do what that other  contributor wanted.  It can upload selected parts of the Nav charts to the PDA and then it becomes a hand held chart plotter.   That is the theory, anyway.  I still have not found the time to configure the PDA and try it out.
    As you can probably tell,  I really enjoy playing with the technology  BUT  as I said earlier,  it is very distracting and I feel it does diminish my enjoyment of the purity of sailing.   Just you....the boat.....and the wind.

Sorry for being so wordy

Cheers,    Rod

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  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: J Bergquist 
  To: Alberg 30 Public List -- open to all ; Alberg 30 Racing 
  Sent: Friday, October 20, 2006 4:17 PM
  Subject: [Public-list] gps questions


  Hi Folks,

  Got a couple of GPS questions.

  I have 2 handheld GPS units. Both are Garmin. One is a GPS II Plus, the
  other is a GPSMAP 12. Both are now out of production.

  I also have an NMEA interface cable with which I can plug the GPS units into
  a serial port on my computer.

  My question is what do other folks do for routing software? I would like to
  be able to set up routes on my computer using some kind of whiz-bang mapping
  software that lets me go click-click-click to define a route, then upload it
  into my GPS and be ready to shove off. Has anybody set this up?

  Currently what I do (and what I have done whenever I did this in the past)
  is I look at the paper chart and type in waypoint co-ordinates to the GPS
  itself directly, but its user interface is not so good, and it takes me a
  long time to do this. Which means I usually don't do it, but I think it
  would be good if I did do it.

  I'm feeling a bit GPS-impaired. Hope somebody out there can make some
  recommendation as to what software is good, where I can get it, etc. I have
  got to believe that there is a better way to do this than what I am doing
  now.

  Later,

  J Bergquist
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