GPS speed at startup?

[Billdc]

I have my first boat and my family are learning alot of new sports. I had a Lowrance HDS5 installed so I wouldn't run aground. My problem is when ever I start the boat, for a new tube/ski/kneeboarder it takes maybe 1-2 minutes for the GPS to come online. At that point we have already taken off and I'm waiting to get an accurate speed. Has anyone tried a handheld or battery powered GPS mounted to the windsheild? And just for a point of reference, this was not an issue until yesterday when my wife (who never drives) said she would tow me while I tried Kneeboarding. Well, She apparently never heard me say backoff the thottle after I got on plane because at one point I was going so fast I was afraid to drop off and I was even more afraid to stay on. Man that one hurt.

 

[DaveM]

Re: GPS speed at startup?

I have no experience with that Lowrance, but I have seen some GPS units take some time while they re-establish a satellite link. Can you turn it on before getting on the water?

 

[Billdc]

Re: GPS speed at startup?

I have no experience with that Lowrance, but I have seen some GPS units take some time while they re-establish a satellite link. Can you turn it on before getting on the water?

The GPS restarts everytime I start the motor. I turn the motor off when ever someone is getting into the boat from the water. If the skier falls and we go for a second run, it's not a problem. Is there some way of changing the wiring (Safely) that would bypass the ignition switch so it would stay on during startup?

 

[robjen1019]

Re: GPS speed at startup?

You might try running a hot (+) wire directly from the battery to run the depth finder. That way it is on all the time. You just need to remember to shut it off at the end of the day.

 

[skibrain]

Re: GPS speed at startup?

This is sort of a work around, but figure out what rpms correspond to the speed you like for a specific towed activity and watch the tach for speed.

If it were my wife I would help her out by putting a triangle piece of vinyl tape on the face of the tach where I wanted her to line up the needle.

I've never had a GPS-based speedo in a boat before.

 

[metriccrescentwrench]

Re: GPS speed at startup?

You might try running a hot (+) wire directly from the battery to run the depth finder. That way it is on all the time. You just need to remember to shut it off at the end of the day.

If you do this just make sure you include an inline fuse. Depending on your boat there may already be an accessory circuit that would stay hot.

 

[Thad]

Re: GPS speed at startup?

I use the hand held Garmin. Set it on the dash and have NO problems.
For the most part, I use the tach as my speedo is unreliable. The gps is mainly for the more experienced skier that I know exactly what speeds they are looking for and rpm's are different with every skier I pull.

I had the power off problem you are having with my stereo, everytime I started the unit had to be turned back on and reset.
I finally ran from the fuse pannel to the unit direct and no more problems.