Originally Posted by
Footless Halls
A quality GPS is a secure and stable backup which is unlikely to let you down unless the signal is played with or you lose power
[...]
Pocket FMS is a really great piece of software and they seem to be terrific people, but I'd be scared to use it in the air.
FH,
While I agree with you that a dedicated gps may be more stable than a pda solution, it's not entirely so.
Have a look at this thread for example
There have also been other threads about the units switching off, because the batterys need more padding to hold them in place.
I accept that a PDA can do strange things from time to time, I have found mine to be pretty stable. The trick I find is to do a soft reset before the flight, to ensure nothing else is running in the background, and the remains of an error from days before aren't lurking in the memory. Then start up the gps software (PocketFMS in my case) and all seems to be very stable.
PDA solutions do have some important advantages too.
PocketFMS is extremely customisable, allowing the user to set it up exactly as they want it. (Can't vouch for other PDA solutions)
VFR reporting points are included in the database unlike most of Garmins units (I found this very very useful when visiting the contenient)
It is constantly being developed my the programers, who listen to their users.
Upgrading to the latest gps solutions, does not involve buying a new gps, but simply downloading the new software.
PocketFMS is very closely linked with it's PC version, making flight planning on the pc and transfer to the pda very easy. From what I see here, Garmin users seem to try to get a similar solution via Navbox.
I suppose it depends on how you use your gps. If it's your only gps onboard, and you relie 99% on it, and would find yourself in a panic if you lost it, then perhaps a dedicated unit is more appropriate. If on a rare occasion losing the signal, and taking a minute to reboot it (or having to continue without it, if you didn't have the free capacity to reboot it) would be nothing more than a bit of a nuieance, but not a big deal the a PDA solution has much to offer.
It's also nice to have internet access via the pda when away from base
dp