Someone please explain/ FF GPS questions

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Originally Posted by CatFan

That's actually a pretty good technical description of the parameters, lacking only a pixel count and screen size. Giving both RMS and peak-to-peak power helps compare no matter how it's given by other manufacturers. Giving the parameters that they use to define cone angle also narrows it down. They are saying that at the edges of the cone, the signal strength is 1/10th as strong as it is at the center.

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I learn something every day.....

Measuring at -10db you get more bang for your buck.

Here is a good beamwidth scale. On the left is the db labels. Changing the db rating actually changes the "cone angle". At -10db, the cone angle is greater than at -3db. DB is a logarithmic function and is not linear.

Mathematical trickery.:rolleyes: No standards.

Sure glad you cleared that up Tom--now I can go sit and watch it snow the rest of day---:D:D

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Originally Posted by rnvinc

I learn something every day.....

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As do we all! :)

Someohow that actually makes sense to me. I guess I haven't forotten everything I learned in school after all.

I should have said "effective cone angle", or "working cone angle". The physical cone angle is fixed based on the crystal characteristics.

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Originally Posted by SpeckWick

OK, I thought I was confident with my choice. You guys aren't helping me here.:D How 'bout I just buy the one with the highest BS numbers that I can afford and cross my fingers?:D;)

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Speck, on the contrary, I think you've done a good job of sorting the wheat from the chaff. The manufacturers, on the other hand, let their marketing department sit through a 3 hour slide show of how the product works and then attempt to sell us these things with no real idea of how WE -- the consumers, use them.

Where does this leave us? Well, doing exactly what you're doing. Asking questions and trying to understand how these meaningless terms make one machine better than another. The specs don't tell us a thing, I'm sorry if the truth hurts, but the specs are mostly useless.

You're on the right track as far as I'm concerned. I'm just disappointed that we're being treated like morons with all the double talk.

Get the one that seems to be the best for your money. There is a touch of usefulness in there, you just have to have master's in crapola to make heads or tails of it. Unfortunately, that degree is only offered in the school of hard knocks.

Good luck

They are, after all, salespeople. That's why sites like this are so great. You get opinions and expertise from FISHERMEN who have used the products, and from those who do understand all the technical BS enough to warn the rest of us. Most guys look at the pictures and the descriptions in the BPS catalog and buy the most expensive thing they can afford. I found that some of the expensive ones don't have all the features I want, and that some of the less expensive ones do. I started out wanting to buy something cheap with GPS just to get me through till I can save up money and buy one of the big boys. But heck, with the "cheap" ones running $300 plus it makes more sense to throw in a hundred or so bucks and get a much better unit. I'll take the leap at the end of the year for something with SI...or sooner if I can somehow squeak out a tourney win or two. Thanks again for all the advice.

Is there a "good" moderately Priced $400-$600 unit that the SI & DI can be added to later?