GPS - Speedometer

[Larson170]

My boat speedometer works sometimes, but mostly not well. I am picky about the speeds I run while waterskiing.

I decided to try my car GPS in the boat. It worked great for gauging accurate speed, but... Two problems. First, the speed indicator on the TOMTOM is quite small in relation to the rest of the display. I am not going to get lost on my lake, so I don't care about the maps. Second, and more importantly, it's not water friendly. It rained and now I have the white screen of death on my GPS.

Is there a GPS available that measures speed as its primary function and costs less than $100?

 

[JoLin]

Re: GPS - Speedometer

Speed measurement isn't the primary function of ANY GPS, so the short answer is 'no'. You can buy a handheld GPS for around $100.

 

[produceguy]

Re: GPS - Speedometer

Try blowing out the lines of your speedometer. Something might be stuck in the tube.

 

[seaboo]

Re: GPS - Speedometer

There are sppedo apps for your smartphone (if you use one) for free. Another cheep option would be look on ebay for an older (like a Magellan or Garmin) backpacking (handheld) gps with the speedo function. They are water proof and You can pick them up for next to nothing. Not fancy, but effective.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Magellen-GPS-/1...ultDomain_0&hash=item1c1e0c14a5#ht_500wt_1202

 

[produceguy]

Re: GPS - Speedometer

Teleflex makes GPS based speedos that simply repleace the old speedo (and the tubing, etc.) in your boat. Try here for product details: http://www.teleflexmarine.com/produ...uct-range-for-2011/new-gps-speedometers-2011/

Once you find what you want search for the part number on the internet and you should be able to find them in the $80 to $100 range from the marine discount houses. iBoats even has them: http://www.iboats.com/GPS-Speedomet...4631308--**********.117523772--view_id.730632

Those are cool bubba. Wish I seen that before I bought my new set.

 

[Larson170]

Re: GPS - Speedometer

Teleflex makes GPS based speedos that simply repleace the old speedo (and the tubing, etc.) in your boat. Try here for product details: http://www.teleflexmarine.com/produ...uct-range-for-2011/new-gps-speedometers-2011/

Once you find what you want search for the part number on the internet and you should be able to find them in the $80 to $100 range from the marine discount houses. iBoats even has them: http://www.iboats.com/GPS-Speedomet...4631308--**********.117523772--view_id.730632

That's exactly what I'm looking for! Thanks. Do you know if the GPS speedo requires the separate receiver listed on the Sierra site?

 

[45Auto]

Re: GPS - Speedometer

The speedometer is not going to do you any good by itself. You need some kind of receiver with a NMEA 0183 output to feed the speedometer. The GPS antenna as referenced by bubba1235 above will also be useless to you without a receiver, it's just an antenna.

Cheapest NMEA 0183 GPS receiver I found when I put in my GPS speedo was a Garmin Etrex on sale for $39.

 

[mcgyver210]

Re: GPS - Speedometer

My Speedo went bad this season so I just use the one on my Navionics App for my Iphone. It was really small until a recent update which made it large enough to see well. I also have a couple of Speedo Apps that use the whole screen that I believe were free, I prefer the Navionics version my self.

I plan on sending the Faria Gauge in for repair after the season ends since I have checked pitot & tubing already.

 

[JimS123]

Re: GPS - Speedometer

A name brand pitot tube speedometer (like Teleflex) will be accurate to +- 1 mph if its in good working order, and will register water speed. That's what you need to know for skiing.

Remember that a GPS will read land speed, so you'll need to know where you are for it to be useful for your purposes.

 

[Larson170]

Re: GPS - Speedometer

My Speedo went bad this season so I just use the one on my Navionics App for my Iphone. It was really small until a recent update which made it large enough to see well. I also have a couple of Speedo Apps that use the whole screen that I believe were free, I prefer the Navionics version my self.

I plan on sending the Faria Gauge in for repair after the season ends since I have checked pitot & tubing already.

I have a Blackberry. No iPhone apps for me.

 

[Larson170]

Re: GPS - Speedometer

Depends which speedo he gets. SOME come set up for a NEMA 0183 connection while others require nothing more than an ampplified antenna which is what I linked to. Keep in mind, all the Speedo does is show speed, not worry about location data or displaying location data or communicationg with another device.

Amplified antenna? NEMA 0183? Confused newbie here.

 

[45Auto]

Re: GPS - Speedometer

Depends which speedo he gets.

Only GPS speedo I've seen discussed on this thread is the Teleflex that you referenced in post 5.

From the Teleflex website GPS speedo website:

http://www.teleflexmarine.com/produ...uct-range-for-2011/new-gps-speedometers-2011/

Our GPS speedometer can be connected to an existing NMEA 0183 receiver. You can also purchase our custom design GPS receiver/antenna separately.

Amplified antenna? NEMA 0183? Confused newbie here.

A GPS speedometer has a small motor in it that's connected to the speedometer needle. That's how it positions the needle to tell you how fast you're going. Most also have an LCD digital display incorporated.

The speedo needs an input from a GPS receiver to tell it where to put the needle and what to put on the LCD display. The GPS receiver must be able to "talk" to the speedo to tell it where to put the needle. Most GPS speedometers speak NMEA 0183 (an older communications protocol). If the receiver and speedo do not speak the same language they won't work together.

See the 2 receivers at the top of this webpage, one with a 4' cable and one with a 25' cable? You need one of those (or something equivelent) to drive the Teleflex GPS speedo. You won't need any kind of antenna besides what comes with the receiver.

http://www.teleflexmarine.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/gauges.pdf

 

[Texasmark]

Re: GPS - Speedometer

I have a Magellan Explorist 200 that I have had since '05, and bought for $99 from Cabellas as I recall. It is hand held, wrist lanyard, and waterproof. Tracks me walking 2.4 mph down the driveway. Very simple and it is easy to read your speed with the boat at 50mph (gps..grin) and pegged my Quicksilver speedometer recording 2 mph too fast at WOT...showed me at 52. It also shows you where you have been, if you choose, and for fishing the coastal waterways, where every little lagoon and bay looks like every other, you can just follow your recorded path back to the dock.

HTH,

Mark

 

[Larson170]

Re: GPS - Speedometer

The speedo needs an input from a GPS receiver to tell it where to put the needle and what to put on the LCD display. The GPS receiver must be able to "talk" to the speedo to tell it where to put the needle. Most GPS speedometers speak NMEA 0183 (an older communications protocol). If the receiver and speedo do not speak the same language they won't work together.

See the 2 receivers at the top of this webpage, one with a 4' cable and one with a 25' cable? You need one of those (or something equivelent) to drive the Teleflex GPS speedo. You won't need any kind of antenna besides what comes with the receiver.

I'm seeing more clearly now. Thanks. It looks like altogether it will be well over the $100 limit. Am I correct in assuming that the receiver and speedo will connect with wires or do they use a common male-female connection like USB or AV cables?

 

[JimS123]

Re: GPS - Speedometer

I have a Magellan Explorist 200 that I have had since '05, and bought for $99 from Cabellas as I recall. It is hand held, wrist lanyard, and waterproof. Tracks me walking 2.4 mph down the driveway. Very simple and it is easy to read your speed with the boat at 50mph (gps..grin) and pegged my Quicksilver speedometer recording 2 mph too fast at WOT...showed me at 52. It also shows you where you have been, if you choose, and for fishing the coastal waterways, where every little lagoon and bay looks like every other, you can just follow your recorded path back to the dock.

HTH,

Mark

They are even cheaper now. I bought one with a mount for that. Its permanently on my dashboard right in front of me, or I can take it out and go mountain climbing as well.

 

[veritas honus]

Re: GPS - Speedometer

For future reference, Attwood makes a waterproof floating bag for GPS/camera/cellphone. The front is clear and it inflates slightly, all around; just enough to float it. You can pick one up at WallyWorld for 14.95. I've been using mine for over a year, and no problems.