February 5, 2010 02:08
Though I have three GPS sources on the boat, none of them is a standalone GPS unit like a Furuno GP32, etc. The mac and USB speakers are my best bet for an anchor alarm.
I was out on another trip a few days ago and I set the anchor alarm while cruising at 7 knots. The engine was making lots of noise since it was revved up to cruising speed, but I was also wearing a pair of fancy noise canceling headphones that were plugged into the mac. There is indeed a beep and then the female voice, followed by an interval of maybe 10 seconds before it repeats. I was genuinely surprised at how difficult it was to hear the alarm sounds even through the headphones. Granted, I'm on a noisy fishing boat while most customers are riding on quieter sailing vessels. In a big storm though, those sailboats make more noise than my boat, and we have all kinds of buzzing and rumbling noises.
I suppose I could invest in another GPS unit and get a better alarm sound, but in a sudden emergency there is a huge value in being able to see what's happening on the computer screen. In the end I'd still have the computer running.
I was out on another trip a few days ago and I set the anchor alarm while cruising at 7 knots. The engine was making lots of noise since it was revved up to cruising speed, but I was also wearing a pair of fancy noise canceling headphones that were plugged into the mac. There is indeed a beep and then the female voice, followed by an interval of maybe 10 seconds before it repeats. I was genuinely surprised at how difficult it was to hear the alarm sounds even through the headphones. Granted, I'm on a noisy fishing boat while most customers are riding on quieter sailing vessels. In a big storm though, those sailboats make more noise than my boat, and we have all kinds of buzzing and rumbling noises.
I suppose I could invest in another GPS unit and get a better alarm sound, but in a sudden emergency there is a huge value in being able to see what's happening on the computer screen. In the end I'd still have the computer running.
Edmund