best dgps

You will not find new units that come with DGPS. Basically what has replaced DGPS is WAAS. You will have to find a used or older unit to get DGPS built in.

I know Dinky Dick has successfully used DGPS with his Garmin handlheld, which is beyond me. He has a DGPS antenna that plugs into the handheld. Maybe he can shed some light on his setup.

WAAS is very accurate and the only issue you really face is loss of signal. If it goes, your accuracy will be all over the place. But otherwise, it is just as good as DGPS. With DGPS, your accuracy comes from the land signal that is used to calculate and adjust the error in position recieved from the satelite. If you are not in range of a tower or the tower is down, then NO DGPS!

As far as which unit to buy, its prefernce. What do you need? Mapping, Sonar, etc.? Any Lowrance would be great and of course the favorite, Humminbird with Side Imaging. Most all units come with WAAS now days anyway, even the handhelds.

Good Luck,

Robert
 

Billinstuart,23' sea ox. it was on sale here by a fellow t-neter.great guy.my last boat was a 23' formula. i called it my $10,000 kingfish boat cuz thats what i caught and that was a mighty expensive meal.i've got 3 boys now that i can use as mates or baits.
 

thanks, guys.what do i need to satisfy requirements for a subcontract.good accuracy and all the bells n whistles
 

http://www.getfeetwet.com/products/SKU-010-N0614-00-B1-Garmin-GPSMAP-540-Chartplotter-Plus-GSD-21-Bundle(Factory-Refurbished)__010-N0614-00-B1.aspx


I just bought this Garmin GPSMap. It's a factory refurbished unit, complete with the blue charts already installed. $399. They still have a few left.
 

thanks, guys.what do i need to satisfy requirements for a subcontract.good accuracy and all the bells n whistles

The minimum requirements are good reception, accuracy and repeatability. You will be required to accurately record the location where you are excavating on a log sheet and you need to be able get back to that same precise spot on the bottom of the ocean.

For quicker and more accurate calculations, look for a GPS unit with a 12 channel parallel receiver system. The more channels the receiver has, the more satellites it will be able to pick up, resulting in faster and more reliable calculations.

Although this is obvious, get a marine GPS unit, that will be durable and hold up in a salt water environment.

Any bells and whistles beyond that is up to your needs and your budget. Ideally you would have a dash mounted unit and a handheld unit as back-up.
 

A good accurate no frills GPS is the Furuno GP37 they come standard with WAAS and differential if I'm not mistaken.
 

It's been a while since I have used DGPS, but if you buy your own diff station and place is near your working location is, then its very accurate. We set the whole of the North Sea oil platforms with it in the later part of last century. ( I am getting old) The units must be cheap by now but must still work..

The old stuff works well.
 

Should i be looking for a WAAS unit?i'm new @this.
 

A good WAAS unit is all you need to satisfy the state of Florida and the Fishers. I only assume you are talking about 1715 fleet when you say subcontractor requirements.
 

Pretty much everything will have the WAAS feature. It is supposed to increase the accuracy to 7 meters or so, but as good as 2 meters has been achieved. It stands for Wide Area Augmentation System.

Basically it is a space based system that broadcasts integrity information and correction data as determined by ground reference stations.
 

thanks everybody. i WAAS uninformed and now i'm not.just got to pick it out.are the bluewater charts necessary or useful for the east coast of florida?
 

I was sailing along one time and my GPS with the bluewater charts went blank... I immediately grabbed my EPIRB and started to activate it and declare an emergency when I discovered that the Admiral had flipped the wrong breaker down below...


Seriously, no... they are not absolutely necessary, but neither is gravy on mashed potatoes... You can get by just fine with paper charts and a little Garmin Etrex Vista. You can download your course, waypoints, and sync everything back and forth between the GPS and your computer. The Etrex will put you right back on the same spot, it has WAAS installed et al...

The bluewater charts on a mounted marine unit just make things really nice, good gravy as it were.
 

Actually, if you get a contract you need to have a meeting with Bill Moore at the museum. Then, pick out the area you want to work and get your chart from him. He has detailed charts of what was found and where for the last 30 years.
 

Pete,

It sounds like he is just talking about the digital charts for navigation, not the charts for the 1715 sites. I could be mistaken.
 

Yes sir.I am talking about the navigational charts.
 

I highly recommend getting the digital charts. There are lots of information included that you cannot find on the generic base maps that come with the units. There are also some wrecks and obstructions not listed on the paper charts.

They are worth the extra money. Also get a program for the computer to manage waypoints, routes, etc.

Robert
 

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