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Waterproof GPS Handhelds - Practical Features For Modern Sportsmen

By Alice Rea

GPS handhelds also benefits those who are fond of water activities like boating and kayaking. They can experience the basic features of waterproof GPS handhelds like calculating how far one location from another is, and displaying the latitude and longitude coordinates in a map.

This is all possible because GPS is already made waterproof for practical navigation and sports. Though they were originally intended for land use in military and government applications, technology enabled GPS to be functional in water despite its electronic components.

Some features should be understood before buying waterproof GPS handhelds, as they can be found in its specifications, and worth the comparison among models. Such features are also suitable for older and non-waterproof units.

In buying waterproof GPS handhelds, some characteristics should be understood because they often appear in specifications sheet and are good measures when comparing units. The following terms are also applicable for non-waterproof GPS.

Augmentation System: This system serves as the corrector for the received signal by the GPS. It can be found in the specifications as WAAS, or Wide Area Augmentation System. It increases the accuracy of the signal for positions outside 10-feet from the unit. WAAS-enabled units are five times more accurate than WAAS-disabled units.

WAAS or Wide Area Augmentation System: It is a corrector for the signal received by the handheld. GPS have the tendency to have higher deviation as distance increases. Enabling WAAS increases the accuracy of GPS up to five times for distances beyond 10 feet as opposed to disabling the WAAS.

Some advanced features of waterproof GPS handhelds are touch screen displays, switching from driving and sports activities, and memory slots. Some also features displaying of marine information like sea depth, ports, and tidal information as well as digital compasses. The package is floatable in case it is dropped in water. Two-way radio is sometimes included in the unit, but using it might require FCC license to ensure that it will not cause interference with other device.

Waterproof handhelds were expensive when they entered the market. During those times, it is considered as a luxury and only high-profile sportsmen can afford it. Now, even ordinary people and beginners can have it in a reasonable price. Non-water sports also benefit from it because of exposure to weather changes and humidity. In addition, it is portable and user-friendly, making it an essential navigation and sports equipment rather than a luxury.

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