I've added a handheld GPS to my Xmas list, has anyone here used one for windsurfing / kiting etc.

I won't be after one that is all singing and all dancing, but obviously it has to be waterprof and has to have good 'speed' recording features.

So far the Garmin eTrex for about £85 looks pretty good and records current speed, average speed and max speed.

The Garmin GPS72 looks good as well, and has better accuracy than the eTrex and records trip distance, stopped time, moving average speed, moving time, overall average speed, max speed... It's a bit more expensive though at around £125, but it does float which could be useful!

Is there anything in particular I should look for, anyone know which would be best, and just HOW waterproof are they, the specs say submersiable to 1m for 30 minutes... Do you guys that use them keep them in an aquapac whilst on the water??

Al.

if you are getting lost going from your house to the beach Al you could always try using a bread- crumb trail and that way you are bound to find your way back and its far cheaper! or are you thinking of using a really really long board? but then you will need a bigger van!

A bit if string would do between my house and the beach! P

Al.

Ive got a Garmin GPS 12 that I use for hang gliding. Its quite old now - about 6 years old that cost around £300 in its day. An essential tool but I dont think its waterproof so no good for Windsufing unless I keep it in a plastic wallet. It has all the usual facilities and the one I like is the searching facility where it finds the nearest petrol station, restuarant etc etc.

My dads got a Garmin Emap that is great, easy to use and can be used as a traffic master so you have no excuse to get lost trynna find your destination.

A GPS would be a great present for u Al. You'l be playing with it whilst eating your xmas dinner

aha if its waterproof you want ,put it in one of those waterproof mobile phone bags; i've got one from when i used to have a boat. got it in the van so have a look at it when i'm next up then it will be totaly waterproof and floats as well still just another gadget, and the peice oif string dont need batteries. C.C.

neil a breadcrumb trail is a good idea in theory, but you are forgetting about all the seagulls which will munch away at the trail, thereby leaving Al lost after his session.
I suggest unravelling the wool on an old jumper, which is far more bird proof.

We discussed this option the other day, but as I want it as a speedometer, I'd then have to wind the wool up, measure it and time how long I was out on the water for, then divide the length of wool by the time on the water to get my average speed.... I'd also have to add a few knots to my speed to account for the drag of the wool of course!

Al.

ah, I see now, so we need some wool with a low drag resistance, and markers on it so you can calculate how long it is, I'll see if there's anything like it on ebay.

I think dental floss would work really well - it's super tough, floats, and comes on a handy little roller - u just need to mark it off in 50cm sections and yer laughing..

I was gonna post something but started watching Jonny's avator and fogot what I was gonna say :O

indeed, just had the same problem myself with that avatar !

damn, I wish she wouldn't keep taking my camera and recording pictures of herself like that, must remember to tell her off next time she comes home.

Can someone repeat what Jonny said 'cause I still haven't managed to read his entry ;-)

Hi everyone,

thanks for your extremely constructive comments on and advice on GPS You've made my choice of what to get him a lot easier!

I suppose I could just go with the dental floss....definately a lot cheaper than the Garmin eTrex and how fast can he go with a baby in tow??!

what gps ? thought this was a thread about that avatar


[Edited on 8-12-2004 by paul]

havn't we got on to tooth decay yet?

Hey there al,

Just having a dip in to FON. I've been using a Garmin Forerunner quite a bit for my running training and it's got all the various features you're looking for in a nicely contained wrist mounted unit. An alternative is the Foretrex which is more sailing orientated and has less of the lap/pacing functions needed for running. I'd think the 201 version would be your model as you can download all the data in XML format and make excellent graphs showing speed and so on.

If you get them from Tracklogs.co.uk you get a digital OS map thrown in. Alternatively another cheap online source (which I used) is www.sportextreme.com

Someone over on the Boards forum did mention using it for windsurfing without an aquapac but I'd be a bit wary of that myself.

hth

Mark

Just ordered a Garmin Etrex. Had a look at the foretrex and forerunner, but they were more expensive and a bit difficult to put in an aquapac whilst on your wrist... Also I thought it was more likely to get damaged whilst on my wrist rather than shoved inside my wetsuit.

Hopefully it'll arrive sometime next week then I'll be able to see just how slow i'm actually going!!

I've ordered an Aquapac for it as well...hopefully it'll fit inside a normal mobile phone aquapac.... Toys toys toys!

Al.

hey there Justal&justanna...only saw this post today..just thought i'd mention that when i was down in South Africa I spoke to a dude at the SA Windsurfing championships who owned a Garmen Fortrex 201. He showed me what it could do and i was amazed, in fact its something i will be buying sometime this year! I highly recommend it!