Thread: HB AS GPS HS antenna intitial "on the water" testing

I was able to do some initial "on the water" testing of the AS GPS HS antenna this afternoon...

I am very pleased with the results that I am finding so far...I think the AS GPS HS antenna is definitely going to be the answer for slow speed operation...(and other operation I'm sure)...

I tested 3 HB antennas....AS GR50, AS GRHA, AS GPS HS...

I tested each separate antenna in "North Up", "Head Up", "Course Up"....

All tests were performed with the new 6.600 version softwate...

All tests were performed at 0.3mph - 0.5mph...(with an occassional 0.6mph just to see what the course projection line would do)....

I set up a course on the water of 4 newly created waypoints with buoys spaced out about 50 yards apart in a square with each waypoint buoy at the corner of the square...

I tested each antenna (at each chart orientation setting) in a controlled course around the square...and also at at manuevering toward the waypoints at random....

I took notes of the following...:

*Accuracy at arriving at each marked waypoint on the screen...

*Chart orientation reaction in relation to the boat orientation on the water...

*Position icon (boat shape or donut shape) reaction to actual boat course on the water...

*Position icon (boat shape or donut shape) reaction to actual boat heading on the water...

*Position icon (boat shape or donut shape) movement frequency on the chart at slow speeds...

*HDOP with each antenna..

*EPE with each antenna...

*Enhanced or 3D fix with each antenna...

*Any anomalies (or possible anomalies) to note....

Findings...:

*Accuracy in returning to marked waypoint buoys are about the same for the AS GR50 and AS GPS HS.....95% return to ~3-5ft of marked waypoint...5% return to 8-10ft of marked waypoint...

*Accuracy in returning to marked waypoint buoy for the AS GRHA is 3ft (or less) every time...

*Earlier versions of software using the "Course Up" chart orientation setting at slow speeds made the chart spin from "course at the top of the screen" to the default with "north at the top of the screen" every time the boat speed dropped below 0.6mph...this no longer seems to be the case in the 6.600 software version....I could tell no real difference in the chart orientation reaction between "Course Up" and "North Up".....(the chart never moved or rotated)...... The "Head Up" setting seems to keep the chart rotated with the boat's actual heading on the water at the top of the screen across all three antennas..(even with the donut of the AS GR50 and AS GRHA at these slow speeds)...

*The "Position Icon" (boat shape) heading reaction on the chart with the AS GPS HS seems very accurate in showing the boat's actual heading on the water....even at 0.0mph....and ....it even seems very smooth in the boat icon's movement on the chart in relation to the boat icon keeping up with the boat's actual heading...I made a very tight circle on the water (1 circle slow and 1 circle fast) and the boat icon kept up with my boat's heading on the water very well at both speeds ....

*The "Position Icon" (boat shape or donut shape) movement frequency on the chart seems to be the same across all 3 antennas at each of the "Chart Orientation" settings....the icon moves a fraction of an inch on the chart every 3-4 seconds...in the direction of the boat's course on the water....(I figure this movement is because the boat has actually moved enough distance on the water for the satellites to recognise the antenna has moved "x" number of feet from it's previous position...so the unit updates the icon to the new position on the chart by "jumping" the icon a fraction of an inch on the chart...this is also how the position icon reacted in previous versions of software so this is not any different from before at these slow speeds)....

*HDOP and EPE were about the same between the AS GR50 and the AS GPS HS....
*HDOP and EPE on the AS GRHA was noticeably consistantly lower in the readings...

*Enhanced Fix was indicated on all 3 antennas...

*Anomalies.....I did notice the unit wanted to lock up changing the views too quickly....the unit would go to a dark yellowish drab screen with the words "PC Connect" in a black band across the top of the screen....I would have to power off the unit and power back up to regain control of the unit....( I'm not sure if it had something to do with the 6.600 version software or just when the AS GPS HS antenna was attached....I will have to test this further)....

Another anomaly...I noticed the GPS speed indication of the AS GPS HS was a lot different than what I "felt" like the boat was moving.....I did not have another GPS to verify but I have "slow trolled" enough at 0.4mph to know pretty well what 0.4mph "feels" like...when I put the AS GPS HS speed at 0.4mph..my boat was "scooting"...it felt more like I was moving 0.7 - 0.9mph...that's a huge difference when "slow trolling" and trying to monitor baits at a certain speed...The AS GR50 and the AS GRHA seemed like normal 0.4mph with this 6.600 version software so it's something to do with the AS GPS HS antenna...we will see what becomes of this in the near future I hope....

*Other notes....I took some comparison snapshots between the 6.310 version and the 6.600 version of the same structure at the 455 kHz and 800kHz SI....using the same settings and the same boat speed.....the 455 frequency snapshots of each software version were about equal in brightness, clarity, courseness, and aspect ratio...the 800kHz frequency snapshot of the 6.600 version was a tab sharper/crisper than the 800kHz frequency snapshot of the 6.310 version....

*I did no tests of the DI or 2d in this outing.....

I am very pleased with this new AS GPS HS antenna....

I feel the "Heading" information given by this antenna at slow or "0" speed will do exactly what "slow trollers" need....Provide the user with the valuable info of ..."which way do I need to manuever my boat to go toward "X" spot (or waypoint) on the chart"....This AS GPS HS accomplishes this task very well - and quite accurately...

I feel that there may still be some things to work out in the 6.600 software (like what caused my unit to lock up changing views) but it still seems "fairly" stable and workable...

I didn't notice any of the syncing problems between the SI, DI, or 2d views that has been reported on some of the forums...(I was more interested in the antenna comparions on this trip...) I only watched the 3split view during a very short recording I made...

If there are slow trollers wondering...I feel the new AS GPS HS antenna is well worth the cost of upgrading...

The accuracy seems to be very comparible to the AS GR50 ...so the added info of "which way the boat is actually pointing" on the water can be a great advantage to slow speed operation....

No more wondering which way do I turn my boat to go to "x" spot (or waypoint)....

Rickie

Was on phone with HB support. It is supposed to more accurate than the original puck. They are looking into it.