GPS for Competition?

Post by **nic80** » Thu Dec 03, 2009 8:33 am

Hi,

Looking a purchasing a GPS chart plotter etc.. to be used in Competition.

Whats is every one using?
Whats not good?

Any feed back is appreciated!

Thanks.

Post by **evil_hitman** » Fri Dec 04, 2009 8:32 pm

not sure if it's still the go now but a couple of years ago it was th FX324
You gotta hunt around as they stoped making them
If you still lookin in the next month or two and want this model i will be selling mine. Just gotta find the power cable :S

Post by **pigletracing** » Sat Dec 05, 2009 7:14 am

I agree..
X2 FX324

Post by **mickyd555** » Mon Dec 07, 2009 8:23 pm

Garmin 3006c/3010c

Post by **Harb** » Mon Dec 07, 2009 8:28 pm

Yep the FX324......
There are colour and B/w versions, with the B/W one being just a bit quicker on the screen refresh's
either are good, and have fast direct keypad entry......not menu driven data inputing which is slow as..

as mentioned though, they stopped making them, so Ebay is your friend

Post by **MUD000** » Tue Dec 08, 2009 4:23 am

I have a mate who is looking at selling his FX324 if your interested He is located in Albury/Wodonga
It cost $32 to send with insurance & I think he is looking at $1000 for it
Only problem is Guts has his antenah & he is in Brisbane
Let me know if your keen & I'll give you his phone number
Cheers Dan

Post by **nic80** » Tue Dec 08, 2009 8:17 am

Thanks for the feedback.

Has anyone ever seen or used this product?

http://www.standardhorizon.com/indexVS. ... Archived=0

I have access to them through work........

Post by **evil_hitman** » Tue Dec 08, 2009 8:41 am

personally haven't heard of this product but it appears to be made by vertex standard who make yaesu amateur radio. If they're anything like the amateur radios then it's probably a good product.

Thing to remember if you get one of these is that you're on your own.
If you get an FX324, everyone knows how to use it, and if you're starting out they will help you work out how to do things the way you want to do them because they've been through it themselves, what works, what doesn't, etc.

Whilst ultimately they both do the same thing, it's the ease of use, readability whilst driving fast over rough terrain, ability to survive the vibrations associated with said driving, etc etc etc.
FX324 is a well tested, tried, and proven product.

Post by **marin** » Wed Dec 09, 2009 9:43 pm

evil_hitman wrote:SNIP
FX324 is a well tested, tried, and proven product.

And doesn't have any maps that relate to the last 5 years or so. Out of date to fark! And no updates.

Post by **Harb** » Wed Dec 09, 2009 10:20 pm

Why would you need to update maps anyway ?
Comps dont often end up on one way streets or freeways.
General Mapping and navigation is all you need really

Post by **1MadEngineer** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 10:08 am

mickyd555 wrote:Garmin 3006c/3010c

i asked the same Q ages ago and did some reseach.

^^^ as mick said. They have the ability to be linked also (if you can afford 2) this way both driver and navvy can enter points at the same time and share the track data.

Post by **Pinball** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 12:30 pm

marin wrote:
evil_hitman wrote:SNIP
FX324 is a well tested, tried, and proven product.
And doesn't have any maps that relate to the last 5 years or so. Out of date to fark! And no updates.

looked at the date on the topo maps from sunmap, natmap etc?

5 years is recent!

I agree, the Magellan was a nice product, with software on a desktop i'm pretty sure map uploads were possible (don't quote me).

biggest factors are;
visibility (day and night)
screen size
shock survival (vibration and big bumps)
refresh speed
data entry (touch pads vs dedicated keypads)

Spock

Post by **marin** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 1:26 pm

Have found with the FX that the refresh rate is a little lacking, it locks up randomly for no reason, with tree cover or cloudy conditions it drops out where my pioneer running ozi explorer doesn't.

Post by **marin** » Thu Dec 10, 2009 1:27 pm

Harb wrote:Why would you need to update maps anyway ?
Comps dont often end up on one way streets or freeways.
General Mapping and navigation is all you need really

As far as I am aware, the Navruns that I have participated in were competitions... and having the right maps for a navigation event is generally a good idea.

Post by **turps** » Mon Dec 14, 2009 12:36 pm

marin wrote:Have found with the FX that the refresh rate is a little lacking, it locks up randomly for no reason, with tree cover or cloudy conditions it drops out where my pioneer running ozi explorer doesn't.

Region size was probably to big. that effects the refresh rate heaps.

Post by **marin** » Mon Dec 14, 2009 5:24 pm

turps wrote:
marin wrote:Have found with the FX that the refresh rate is a little lacking, it locks up randomly for no reason, with tree cover or cloudy conditions it drops out where my pioneer running ozi explorer doesn't.
Region size was probably to big. that effects the refresh rate heaps.

Yeah, it gets a fraction better when I cut out a smaller area for when we do a navrun, but thats nothing really compared to all the other stuff I listed, that stuff is rather important

Post by **mickyd555** » Mon Dec 14, 2009 7:52 pm

1MadEngineer wrote:
mickyd555 wrote:Garmin 3006c/3010c
i asked the same Q ages ago and did some reseach.

^^^ as mick said. They have the ability to be linked also (if you can afford 2) this way both driver and navvy can enter points at the same time and share the track data.

we run two Garmins linked together, just a small one in front of me so i can keep an eye on Grant

, some people say it is no good but we havnt had too many arguments yet. Bggest problem with running the two is you need to delete the waypoint off both units as they dont run as one unit and it can confuse things a bit.

Post by **GutSquisher Media** » Wed Dec 16, 2009 5:10 pm

marin wrote:Have found with the FX that the refresh rate is a little lacking, it locks up randomly for no reason, with tree cover or cloudy conditions it drops out where my pioneer running ozi explorer doesn't.

Have been running one of these for years, never had a loss of signal while driving and the only lockup was when power dropped below 11.5volts. Bit strange that you suffer loss of signal due to overcast conditions as these are designed for ocean use and as you know the weather out there can be shithouse.

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