If you have a handheld GPS or VHF radio, you have almost certainly watched it slide off the dash or out of your fingers and crash onto the deck. Did you crack the display? Break the casing? Maybe jam a button or two? The last time I saw this happen, the screen on my handheld GPS went permanently blank.
When you're choosing a new handheld, you certainly want to know how well it will hold up to use and abuse. Shock, water intrusion, extreme temperature and other mistreatment is a given, no matter how careful you are.
GARMINThe Garmin GPS Map didn't just survive this test. Some of these units are also in service in Iraq. In one case, a unit survived a blast that destroyed the Hummer it was in.
So, which units can take a beating and which ones will go to that big parts department in the sky? I wanted to know. And the only way to find out was to conduct my own electronics stress test, what I have come to refer to as a sadistic orgy of breakage.
THE VICTIMS
I called the major manufacturers of handheld GPS and VHF units and invited them to participate. They were told up-front about the simulated abuse: falls to the deck, drops overboard and flings across the dock. Four manufacturers were confident enough to participate, and one was so bold as to submit two units for my unique form of testing. It should be noted that a few manufacturers said "no thanks."
Garmin had the guts to send a color handheld GPS/Chartplotter called the GPSmap 76C. It costs about $400, takes a micro SD card with Mapsource data (so you can load up card with either road on nautical data), is WAAS enabled and claims to be waterproof. It has a quad-helix antennae, weighs 7.7 ounces and has a 140 x 260 pixel display measuring 1.6 x 2.2 inches.
Lowrance also took the leap with a GPS/Chartplotter, the iFinder H2O. This unit is reportedly waterproof, has a grippy rubberized band around the outside and is WAAS enabled. The Lowrance is also very inexpensive for a unit of this type, costing about $200. The screen measures 2.83-inches on the diagonal, with 320 x 240 pixels, and the unit weighs a half a pound.
Raymarine enabled my rampage by sending their Ray 101 VHF radio, a unit which has only been on the market for a couple of years. It costs about $180 and pushes five watts with a set of NiMH or alkaline batteries. (It comes with batteries and a charger, plus a 12-volt adaptor cord.) Raymarine doesn't just call this unit waterproof, they say it's "submersible."
Uniden was particularly bold, sending me two handheld VHFs to put to the test. The first was the pocket-sized, full-strength (5-watt) Voyager, which goes for about $160. This unit is two-thirds the size of most handhelds. It has all the features you find on full-size units, is supposed to be waterproof and runs on a 850 mAh li-ion battery. Uniden's full size 5-watt MHS 350 ($150) also entered the race. This unit has a 1,250 mAh NiMH battery and is another that is rated "submersible."
All of these units claim to be shock-resistant. The antennae on all the VHFs are rubberized and essentially unbreakable. On the GPS units, they're built-in.
LENNY RUDOWThis is why we call it a torture test.
TORTURE TEST
Handheld units of every variety are practically guaranteed to drop onto a fiberglass deck sooner or later, so the first thing I did was get on my boat, line the units up at the helm and nail the throttle. All five clattered to the deck, but none of the units showed any damage. So I did it again. And again. After five crash-downs I notice I'd chipped the gel coat on my deck and called this stage of the testing complete. All five units were still working just fine.
I then thought back to the time I accidentally dropped my cell phone into the cooler with a feisty mahi-mahi. It didn't survive the experience. So I grabbed my fishing rod and cast for a few minutes. Soon I have a nice striped bass. Not only will it be dinner, it will aid me in my experiment.
I gathered up the units, and tossed them into the cooler along with the still-kicking fish. I decided to help the fish out a little bit. I grabbed one side of the cooler, lifted it a foot off the deck, and dropped it. I lifted again, and this time shook it back and forth. I could hear ice cubes and electronics crashing around – just the effect I was looking for. I shook until my arms got tired, then removed the blood-flecked units. All I managed to do was put a little scratch onto the display on the smaller Uniden, and on the Lowrance. Even covered in fish slime and ice water, these units were still pretty darn grippy. I especially like the Lowrance in this regard, as the rubberized band around it makes it easiest to hold. All of them are were completely functional.
