Originally Posted by
Wylieguy
Alan, My experience with Spot involves my John Muir trail daughter & husband. They need to move to a "sky clear" area for it to work consistently. I wonder if you kept it under some cover except when you picked it up to hit the "I'm OK" button? It's a weak signal to a distant satellite & needs to "see" the sky.
No. The unit was under the cockpit cover all the time. EXACTLY the same for all the "I'm OK" and "Tracking" messages. Exact same spot on the boat every time. EXACT same place....face up, clear view of the sky, tethered to the hatch cover handle...EVERY time, all weekend.
About fog and the GG. I have a decades old Garmin eTrex handheld GPS. It has lost several "lines" and the light doesn't work any longer, but the waypoints, speed, bearing, heading, etc. work just fine. I think I paid about $50 for it a Target in the late 1980s. ......
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. Won't tell someone where you are, but will tell you where you are. Nice to have a chart to go with it in the fog.
Garmin no longer makes this GPS, but they have a similar one the "10" I believe for around $100. The older Garmin eTrex Venture HC (similar to mine), also no longer made, is available on eBay for under $100. -- Pat
Yeah, before I do the 400-miler I plan to pick up two inexpensive, first gen mapping handheld gps's off of ebay. There's a "new" eTrex Venture on ebay right now for $50. I'll also grab a USB-Linux compatible GPS hockey puck for my laptop, so I can use the AIS receiver I have.
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