How well does GPS work in AK (various ports, interior)?

[quiescentlyfrozen]

Curious to know how well GPS works in AK. My ports will be: Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway (going over to Haines), ISP/Hoonah. Then we'll be spending an extra week and a half in Seward, Denali, Fairbanks + two nights in Anchorage.

 

Just wondering what to expect - will GPS (via Garmin) be reliable, or should we expect to need paper maps too? If paper maps, are google maps results usually fine, and/or is it better to buy a road map/atlas once I'm up there?

 

Thanks to all!

[PennyAgain]

Buy a MILEPOST and have all the information you will need including maps and road advice.

[jenjens1023]

Our Garmin didn't work in Alaska. It couldn't find a satellite. I think we might have needed to download something before we left home. We picked up a couple maps at the visitor's center in Anchorage and they worked fine.

[bottom-dragger]

g=global

yes it works well, every quality from mapping grade to simple handhelds.

but nothing works well under a tree canopy.

 

but, mileposts is more suitable for road travel.

 

however, if you want to tag some geocache's, bring your handheld.

[bottom-dragger]

Our Garmin didn't work in Alaska. It couldn't find a satellite. I think we might have needed to download something before we left home. .

 

it may have been that you didn't wait long enough. most gps units think that they are still in the general area that they were when they were last turned off. if you pick it up and move it a couple of thousand miles, it may take up to 30 minutes for it to realize that it's not in kansas anymore.

 

due to our topography (you're at sea level and mountains zoom up all around) the lower (horizon level) satellites are tougher to get a good ping. i rarely get a accuracy of > ±25'. it's rare that i have to walk in a geocache more than a couple of times to locate it. though there is one on the island that continues to elude me.

[tetleytea]

I use VZNavigator GPS on my Verizon cell phone (I swear by it, by the way), and it did not work at all because I was roaming. Uh...oops. :-O Thank goodness we didn't plan on navigating Vancouver this time around.

[msd360]

GPS works fine in Alaska. I had a Google phone and a Garmin iQue and used both. The iQue on board, and the phone in US ports. Beware of mobile phone data charges on board ship ($$$). GPS accuracy is a function of sky obstruction, not geo-location.

[born 2 cruise]

GPS should work fine. You must reset the Garmin. Read your directions to Garmin.

 

Vis

[bearbait]

I've got 4 different Garmin's and I use mine all over Alaska. My favorite is the Etrex Legend HCX. I have the topo maps and the Metro Guide on micro SD cards and they work fine.

[basser]

It's hard to get lost on the main roads in AK. There just arent that many main roads. We took ours, but used The Milepost and never turned ours on.

[scottbee]

Curious to know how well GPS works in AK. My ports will be: Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway (going over to Haines), ISP/Hoonah. Then we'll be spending an extra week and a half in Seward, Denali, Fairbanks + two nights in Anchorage.

 

Just wondering what to expect - will GPS (via Garmin) be reliable, or should we expect to need paper maps too? If paper maps, are google maps results usually fine, and/or is it better to buy a road map/atlas once I'm up there?

 

Thanks to all!

 

The GPS system predominately doesn't use geostationary satellites over the equator, but rather a cluster of medium earth orbit satellites so the coverage of the GPS system is similar to anywhere else in the world. (That being said the WAAS correction satellites ARE geosynchronous, and much harder to receive in Alaska). So GPS receivers (w/o WAAS) are just as accurate as anywhere else. Lack of view of the sky will affect reception, limiting the number of simultaneously available satellites, but that can happen anywhere.

 

All of that said, you may be concerned about your maps, and for that you'd need to check with the manufacturer of your GPSR, but that's not a limitation of GPS, but a limitation of the maps installed on your device.

[ChiLee]

We purchased a Garmin Nuvee to take with us and it worked very well. We did not have any problems connecting to the satellites. Be aware that different models of Garmins have different coverage. Make sure that your GPS model is loaded with coverage for Canada and Alaska because the other one we have only covers the lower 48.

 

On our Alaskan vacation, we actually found the GPS to be more useful during the cruise portion (we charged it by connecting it to our laptop). During our landtour, we mainly used the Mile Post. However, we did use the GPS alot while we were in Anchorage.

[Glaciers]

I have a Garmin too and have had no problems. Was trying to set a waypoint at the hand tram at Winner Creek Trail last weekend in Girdwood. It was difficult due to the canopy.

[Alaska0799]

We purchased a Garmin Nuvee to take with us and it worked very well. We did not have any problems connecting to the satellites. Be aware that different models of Garmins have different coverage. Make sure that your GPS model is loaded with coverage for Canada and Alaska because the other one we have only covers the lower 48.

 

On our Alaskan vacation, we actually found the GPS to be more useful during the cruise portion (we charged it by connecting it to our laptop). During our landtour, we mainly used the Mile Post. However, we did use the GPS alot while we were in Anchorage.

Hello! Which Garmin Nuvi do you have? We just purchased the Nuvi 550 for our 7/27 Inside Passage cruise, primarily because it came loaded with Alaska map. Still learning how to use it!

[donaldsc]

Curious to know how well GPS works in AK. My ports will be: Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway (going over to Haines), ISP/Hoonah. Then we'll be spending an extra week and a half in Seward, Denali, Fairbanks + two nights in Anchorage.

 

Just wondering what to expect - will GPS (via Garmin) be reliable, or should we expect to need paper maps too? If paper maps, are google maps results usually fine, and/or is it better to buy a road map/atlas once I'm up there?

 

Thanks to all!

 

I had no problem finding satellites with the Nuvi in my car and with my hand held Garmin. That said, when I was driving on Kodiak, it had a lot more difficulty locking onto road than it did in the lower 48 or when I was in Australia. It was getting a decent signal and my errro circle was reasonable. I do not know if it was that the signal was not quite strong enough or the roads were not where the maps said they were.

 

I talked to someone else on the ship who was using their GPS on Kodiak and they had the same problem.

 

DON

[jenjens1023]

I gotta find my instructions. Today it couldn't even get a satellite when I was only 100 miles from the last place I used it!

[donaldsc]

I gotta find my instructions. Today it couldn't even get a satellite when I was only 100 miles from the last place I used it!

 

It can also take a while if you have not used the unit recently. The reason is that is looks for satellites based on where they were the last time you used it.

 

If it can not find a satellite in this mode, it basically goes into a random search mode until it finds something. This can take a long time.

 

DON

[ChiLee]

Hello! Which Garmin Nuvi do you have? We just purchased the Nuvi 550 for our 7/27 Inside Passage cruise, primarily because it came loaded with Alaska map. Still learning how to use it!

 

I have the Garmin 265wt

[kenish]

As others said, if you turn off your unit in one place and turn it on hundreds or thousands of miles away, it can take a long time to reorient itself. The same is true if the internal clock is not set fairly accurately.

 

Most GPS have a feature during the search for satellites where the approximate current location can be entered. That will really speed up the "lock on" time.