Handheld GPS ?

Lawrence B. Lee

Member III
I'm with Sven

I thought about this overnight before deciding whether I should barge in on this thread. On reflection I think three brief comments are in order.

  1. Mark’s comments are inappropriate given the large number of people who follow these threads. You can bet many of them are not comfortable with his language.
2. His assertion that we are (all) adults is belied by the following:

  • Realizing that Sven might have been offended, Mark’s response was to throw even more scatology into his next reply.
  • While many may use salty language in stressful situations, being an adult teaches us there is a time and place for everything. An internet posting is not the same as dropping a nut into the bilge etc.
3. Mark’s stated intolerance of the alleged ignorance of another person is certainly his business. However, However, I remind us all that this site is filled with ignorant people, myself included. We all come here to learn more about our boats and sailing. We ask questions about things we don’t know and sometimes we make statements in error because we are simply mistaken. Heaping expletives on someone under such circumstances is not only inappropriate but may well discourage them from further participation in this site which would be a loss for us all.

Larry Lee
Annabele Lee
E 32-200
Savannah, GA
 

Jeff Asbury

Principal Partner
I still sail Old School Tech.

I am still happy with my Magellan 2002 and 2005, Meridian Marine hand helds. Slightly different formats on both versions. I have a bracket hard wired with power and NMEA connections for my VHF & Tiller Pilot. If one of my hand helds has a crash, or waypoint memory loss, I can just swap out one for the other. I keep one in the ditch bag at all times because it's waterproof and it floats. These have served me well over the years.


Too bad that number one, they are not Mac OS compatible. Number two, Magellan is no longer making Marine GPS's specifically for marine. I have the street maps loaded on one and I also have the street maps CD rom. I also have a bracket for my windshield, on my truck as well as a bracket for my bicycle.

My Pal Eddie has the Meridian Color version (originally more expensive), when he had a crash / memory loss he actually took it to the Magellan office and they upgraded the software for him for FREE. They are right here in So Cal close to where my Pal Eddie lives. 960 Overland Court San Dimas, CA 91773-1742 (909) 394-5000. Lousy on line support, great support if you got to their office.

Like I said Magellan is no longer making Marine GPS's. Too bad because mine have been pretty reliable for the most part and very durable, as well as versatile.

You can still find new ones for sale for cheap on Amazon & E-bay.

Used on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Magellan-Meri...1_3?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1317228422&sr=1-3

New & Used on E-Bay: http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw...+Marine&_osacat=0&_trksid=p3286.c0.m270.l1313

I have all sorts of extra accessories for mine I got cheap from Worst Marine as close outs.

It's amazing that the new ones still sell for right around $100. bucks, and the accessories are very cheap now because they have been discontinued for a while now.

I still sail Old School Tech. :egrin: I might add, that I am not a fan of the Color Hand-helds. The Monochrome one's are much easier to read in daylight. No Bullshit. :)
 
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MarkA

Please Contact Admin.
Fine

I find it incredibly hard to believe that anyone in 2011 is honestly offended by one of the most common terms used by all walks of life to label a piece of information as being false. But if there truly are people sufficiently pious and self-important to separate themselves from the unwashed masses by identifying themselves as "gentlemen," then I guess I am wrong.

There are people and cultures who go to great lengths to avoid saying what they really mean so that the feelings of others may be coddled. I reject that in favor of frank exchanges of ideas, and challenges to test their validity. I expect people to be blunt with me, and I return the favor.

As for the chilling of expression by calling BS on the ignorance of an innocent? It's a valid point, but I do not believe that occurred here. We all misunderstand things, and we have various opinions on the better solutions for certain problems--each equally valid for the espouser's personal situation. But here we had a systems analyst spewing (can I use that word?) false information about a line of products he obviously disfavors, while touting his own fanboy preferences. This wasn't an opinion, this was a false statement of fact that should have been verified before pressing the send button. I doubt very much that ignorance was involved.

Mike, if your post came from mere ignorance, then I apologize for maligning your intentions.

I will not, however, apologize for using the word BS. The universe will not operate properly without friction, so we can't keep it all lubed and slippery. If "BS" is too abrasive for some, lay off the artificial skin lotion and grow a few more layers. Then step outside your bubbles into the real world.
 

Jeff Asbury

Principal Partner
This discussion about iPhone and iPad GPS features got my curiosity going so I just went to Apple support and this is what I found:

Does this settle anything?

About location precision or accuracy
Depending on your device and available services, Location Services uses a combination of cellular, Wi-Fi, and GPS*to determine your location. If you're not within a clear line of sight to GPS satellites, iPhone*can determine your location using Wi-Fi3. If you're not in range of any Wi-Fi, iPhone can determine your location using cellular towers.

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1975
 

MarkA

Please Contact Admin.
I concede the tone of the original post could have been nicer. Moreover, the tone of my followup posts could have been MUCH nicer. I agree with you on that.

Back to the word: For years I've been surrounded by people who blurt BS with no emotional baggage attached. It's not taken personally. I meant it in that benign sense, and, as I heard myself type it, it sounded even toned and matter-of-fact. But, in some circles, there is an element of attack attached to the word. It can be used as an offensive weapon, like hurling a rock. But I do not believe it is rendered "offensive" by the bovine doody connotations anywhere outside a preschool or church. As used in the urban world, there is no scatological content whatsoever.

My tone deteriorated because I was surprised and a little offended that you demanded an edit because, it seemed, you were thin-skinned and squeamish. If I am wrong about that, then I misread you. But hold on, because here's the broad brush I painted you with:

My disgust comes from the movements to make everything politically correct in the world today. In England, government workers cannot keep beanie babies or calendars that resemble pigs on their desks because they might offend Muslims. Students are being told not to wear the flag. In some contexts, people are not allowed to pray because that could offend. A woman was kicked off a Southwest flight the other day for kissing another woman. In some youth sports leagues, scores are not kept to protect the self esteem of the players. Every message must be positive, and we must not upset anyone. Tell the Emperor his new clothes look fabulous. You know where I'm going with this. So when I hear someone is squeamish about common, low sodium, language, the hairs on the back of my neck become erect (can I say that here?). The message of "tolerance" has been turned so far on it's ear that people must stop doing what they do to avoid offending others. The squeamishness of certain groups are now defining and constricting the boundaries of our freedoms and liberties. Meanwhile, the TRUE meaning of tolerance is to allow people to do what they do, and look the other way if it offends. So, when BS is too salty for sailors, this entire paragraph, and more, comes flooding out of my pores.

I apologize for spreading my bad attitude yesterday. After cursing my holding tank and macerator pump, and finally winning, and having a few beers, I should just refrain from posting. While I remain in love with the word BS, my attitude was not fit for public consumption. I apologize for hijacking this thread in my own defense.
 
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Matey

Member III
which app

Hmmm, did I mention the NOAA weather buoy app? Based on your GPS location, it displays as many weather buoys as you want. Click on one, and it gives the realtime conditions reported from that buoy. It also displays the full NOAA weather forecast for that area. It works great locally, where there is usually some form of data network available. But it's useless without cell coverage.

Hey Mark,

It looks like there are several apps .. which one do you like ?

greg
 

Mikebat

Member III
The spirit of the forum is to share factual information and honest opinions, not blatant mis-information.

It wasn't blatant mis-information, sir. As you yourself noted, sir, the 3GS iPhone does not have a standalone GPS chip. And I made my comments based on personal testimony from iPhone and iPod users with whom I cruised the 2010 Baja Ha-Ha, iPhone users who got no location data until they got to a internet cafe in Turtle Bay, sir. I, myself, sir, have an iPod touch 3rd gen which got no location data on the cruise until I connected to a hotspot at Turtle Bay.

Frankly, I'm offended that someone would barge in and challenge other posts without taking the three seconds necessary to google the facts.

I visited Apple.com before posting to verify that the location feature was still listed on the Apple website as Assisted GPS. It is. Even the iPhone4, sir.

I can't tolerate reckless misinformation. It offends the sh*t outta me.

I just wanted to quote that, sir.
 

Guy Stevens

Moderator
Moderator
This isn't sailing Anarchy.

I would like to have MarkA's posting rights Removed.

This is not and never will be Sailing Anarchy. For good reason, this is a useful place full of people trying to help one another. Not a bar fight.

I don't care what Bob says, this ain't Bob's place. Indeed if this place had a designer it would be Bruce, and he is an amazing gentleman, and quite the sailor too.

If you don't like our rules or our culture please feel free to head back to the bar fight that is Sailing Anarchy.

So either edit the above two posts, or I know what my recommendations will be....

Guy
:)
 
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Andrew Means

Member III
I'm kind of new here but I think everybody needs to chill out.

MikeBat, that's interesting about getting data outside of cell range - I use the iNavX app on my iPhone 4 (and previously iPhone 3G and 3Gs*), often out of cell tower range and the GPS works fine. I know that the google maps app will not update itself out of cell tower range because it can't download new terrain, but the iNavX app (and likely others) works great. Were your friends using navigation-specific apps? I'm sure there's an advantage to using cell tower triangulation + GPS in urban areas, so that's probably why they're still using a combination of the two in the iPhone 4.

As far as everybody being offended by language and tone and stuff - it's just not worth it. I bet you all a case of beer that if we were all on a dock somewhere hanging out and shootin the shit we would probably get along way better. It's because you can't see the other person that makes it easy to imagine them as a total dick/bitch, but the human on the other end of that keyboard is a fellow sailor and probably a pretty cool guy/gal. Both MikeA and MikeBat have opinions, and are humans, are we surprised? I like em both.

* edit: forgot the asterix: dropped two of them in the drink. My friends and I are slowly creating a reef of iPhones and designer sunglasses in Lake Union
 
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Jeff Asbury

Principal Partner
Marine Package for the "Magellan EXplorist 510, soon!

They will be coming out with a Marine Package for the "Magellan EXplorist 510, soon. I know this because the company I work for prints the boxes for Magellan.

Glade to see they will be back in the Marine market, because I really like my old Meridian Marine's.

http://www.magellangps.com/Products/eXploristseries/eXplorist-510

Marine Packages: http://www.magellangps.com/Navionics-Marine-Maps

Nice video clip on Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Magellan-eXpl...H17I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1320249672&sr=8-1
 
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