Re: 18rabbit how bout some advise
You scored big time! I paid $230 for mine about a year and a half ago. For a small screen, LCD chartplotter, it is packed full of features and is a robust unit. It is a vanilla GPS unit. Accuracy is as good as any other GPS unit. Ive started to track down the DGPS option for it but havent found whats involved yet. It may be as simple as adding an off the shelf D antenna with std sc104. If you are interested Ill let you know.<br /><br />Drawbacks: it doesnt come with the required 2-amp fuse so you will need to either get one or connect to an appropriate breaker. If you are installing other electronics I recommend you go ahead and install a power distribution panel with breakers. Waypoint naming is limited to 7 characters, but you can add a bunch more to the wp description. I hate 10-key texting so 7 is too much for me. Plastic pwr connector sucks.<br /><br />Documentation is good. I recommend you read the whole user manual before using, then reference back to the manual when you try/learn each function one at a time. For me, the operation is intuitive
but then the menus and functions are the same as my MicroLogic. Everything with more than 1 button has a learning curve so you just jump in there and go for it.<br /><br />I both read and have been told the GPS antenna should be 4 or 5 feet away from the VHF antenna. No one can explain why this is. VHF should not be an interference problem for GPS, unless the VHF antenna install somehow significantly blocks the GPSs view of the sky. Perhaps others here can weigh in with any experience they have had with interference of GPS reception from VHF.<br /><br />It is critical the GPS antenna not be mounted in the beam of any onboard radar. It will fry the GPS antenna. <br /><br />In general, VHF antennas get mounted high, for greater trans/rec distance, while GPS antennas get mounted low so they are not waving around as much with vessel roll/motion. GPS must have a clear view of the sky so it is better to mount it higher to get the view, than lower with obstructions. By mounting GPS low and VHF high, you are likely to meet the 4 or 5-ft recommendation anyway. Thats the way it worked out for me, it wasnt planned that way.<br /><br />I agree ICOM makes above-average, quality products. Fwiw, they swept the 2003 NMEA radio awards; best portable VHF (M88), best fixed VHF (M602), best SSB (M802). I am more inclined to the results of Powerboat Reports unbiased testing
who just happens to like the ICOM radios as well. I think of ICOM as a radio company only and as such I had to question their commitment to the GPS and Radar products. They already dropped sounding, now GPS. Radar next?<br /><br />I dont know why people dont like the unit. Maybe more to do with name brand recognition of other GPS?!? The only specific user criticism I have heard (read) came from someone on these forums that had problems (if I remember correctly) receiving a GPS signal and lagging update time. Fwiw, the unit has the usual 1-sec update rate. I have never had any problem with either MicroLogic or ICOM GPS reception/updating when I had a clear view of the sky.<br /><br />I was not looking for a chartplotter. I was comparing fixed GPS units when I bumped into an unadvertised sale at BoatUS. It was a speculative purchase based solely on what I knew about MicorLogic and ICOM. I figured that in the grand scheme of boat dollars, tossing a $230 irritant overboard is not going to be an issue. The critter exceeded my expectation.<br /><br />As far as valuing my opinion, I dont think it is any better or worse than others posted here. There are people with a lot of experience and knowledge that participate and share within these forums. Its a great resource.
