GPS and Solar Panel Battery charging?

[George Brannan]

Hello. Can anyone suggest a good GPS plotter to go for? I’m not worried about one which is biased toward Fish Finding, Just a good Budget GPS c/w boat speed UK charts, Tide direction/ speed, etc. Budget, £400-£500 or so. And what size in Wattage for a solar panel to trickle chart my Battery? My boat is a Macwester Rowan Crown. Thanks, George

[Chris Nixon]

Hi George
The cheapest and most accurate form of chart plotter is to buy a second hand iPad on EBay (unless you already have one) and then download the Navionics Charts app @ £35.00.
This includes free updates for the first year.
You can get a waterproof envelope to put it in when weather is foul.
You can get a 12 volt charger for the iPad to run off the ships supplies.

I’m sorry I can’t answer your question about the solar panel.
Just go to a solar panel agent and they will advise you.

Chris

[Bernie Branfield]

I agree with the iPad / Navionics option. A very minor draw back of the iPad is screen brightness in bright sunlight but this is easily overcome.

For solar panels to charge batteries, this all depends on how much use your batteries get. I have a 5W panel to charge a 110Ah battery and this is adequate for fortnightly weekend trips. Even with 5W I use a regulator as overcharging batteries probably doesn’t do them any good. There are several circuits on the internet and this worked out cheaper than buying a ready made unit.

[George Brannan]

Thanks Chris and Bernie. Good info. Cheers, Regards, George

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