Any comments on this version. I'm getting ready to pull the trigger on one of these and want to make sure it is a good purchase. I have read a few threads here that discuss older versions but wasn't sure about this iteration of the 76C.
I know I will need to buy the $100 BlueCharts, anything else I need to know about it?
Thanks in Advance
__________________ Chesapeake Beach, MD C&C 25 MKI, Hull No. 039
Umm... Never heard of the GPS 76CXs... there's a nice GPSMap 76CSx... which I recently bought and think is a pretty good unit. It was bought as a replacement for an older 76CS that is being given to a friend's son.
Having the BlueCharts on it would be a great addition, if you're getting it at the right price. Mine was only $160, so I am getting the charts. However, if you're paying closer to retail, it might not make sense to get the GPSMap 76CSx, since for the price of it and the BlueCharts, you can get a Colorado or Oregon with the entire coastal or inland US charts PRE-LOADED. This would give you significantly more chart area coverage for about the same money.
__________________
Sailingdog Telstar 28
New England
You know what the first rule of sailing is? ...Love. You can learn all the math in the 'verse, but you take
a boat to the sea you don't love, she'll shake you off just as sure as the turning of the worlds. Love keeps
her going when she oughta fall down, tells you she's hurting 'fore she keens. Makes her a home.
—Cpt. Mal Reynolds, Serenity (edited)
If you're new to the Sailnet Forums... please read this POST.
I have the 76 CSx as a backup GPS. Its a decent unit as a second GPS for my boat...my Raymarine Plotter + Raystar is my primary. $100 is for Bluechart and one region...if you want to use it for land navigation, you'll need to get Garmin City Navigator NT as well. Thats more money. What I like about it is that its rugget, it floats, and it hooks up nicely with my Mac (running Parallels for all the software). Also, my version of the 76Csx has micro-sd cards for storage. While the box said 128 mb storage card included, a nice surprise was that I had a 256 mb card. Even then, I went to Office Depot and picked up a 2 gb card for $10 and use that now.
What I *DONT* like is that with a lot of maps, the unit can be slow to load up. Also, the menu navigation is a bit clunky...definitely not an iPhone U/I at all. The screen is old technology so a bit grainy/not as bright as you'd like. Most of all, though, is I dont like (nee...HATE) garmin's software! Mapsource no longer works under-way, so its fine for just planning purposes, but if you want to track progress on your laptop, you're SOL. For that, you have to run nroute. But then nroute only works with the last generation of Garmin products (Bluecharts 2008.5). Nroute does NOT work with City Navigator 2008 NT! Also, its tough to interchange waypoints between Garmin and Raymarine. It can be done...but again, lots of hacks.
You can do all sorts of hacks to get around compatibility of maps as well as vendors, but why Garmin took away the ability to do planning *AND* tracking from Mapsource is a bloomin' mystery to me.
I bought one during the winter and have been using it this season. Practial sailor reviewed the handheldgps units earlier this year, pick up a copy if you can, that may help.
Overall I like it. It is a major upgrade from my b/w magellan, although both do about the same thing except... I like the color maps with the depths and navigation aids loaded in. It FLOATS! It is very adaptable and you can configure screens how you like. Plenty of different screens/views to navigate by. You can buy a road map card and use it in the car.
Some things I don't like is the fact the screen isn't any bigger than my old magellan, but the unit itself is larger and almost too big for pockets. The buttons are hard to press, I'd prefer softer buttons. Figuring out all the features takes some time. I'm still messing with it. I need to buy all the software/accessories so it works with a mac.
I'd say maybe now if I didn't have it, I might go with a larger touch screen model since prices have dropped a lot. In the end they all do the same thing. I bought the csx for the price, detailed color mapping, and floating feature.
Umm... Never heard of the GPS 76CXs... there's a nice GPSMap 76CSx... which I recently bought and think is a pretty good unit. It was bought as a replacement for an older 76CS that is being given to a friend's son.
Having the BlueCharts on it would be a great addition, if you're getting it at the right price. Mine was only $160, so I am getting the charts. However, if you're paying closer to retail, it might not make sense to get the GPSMap 76CSx, since for the price of it and the BlueCharts, you can get a Colorado or Oregon with the entire coastal or inland US charts PRE-LOADED. This would give you significantly more chart area coverage for about the same money.
sailingdog,
You are correct, I left off the correct nomenclature for the unit.
I read a lot of bad reviews about the Colorado and Oregon on WM website. Some said they felt it was not as good for marine use as land based. In addition there seemed to be some other technical problems. I have considered the Colorado, but after reading negative reviews I hesitate.
The GPSMap 76CSx has tons of favorable reviews.
If I could find one on fleaBay for under $200 I'd be doing ok. I would definitely want the US Charts and I think they are $99 at WM right now.
__________________ Chesapeake Beach, MD C&C 25 MKI, Hull No. 039
The Garmin 76C is generally pretty highly thought of, but, to me, the unit is too big for its screen size and its screen size is too small. After fairly extensive on-line research, I think I'm going with the Lowrance H2OC. I'd prefer to stick with Garmin, being as we've got a Garmin I really like on Abracadabra, but their units are either all too big, screen sizes too small, or they're too expensive. Plus Garmin often really rear-ends you for charts.
Mapsource no longer works under-way, so its fine for just planning purposes, but if you want to track progress on your laptop, you're SOL. For that, you have to run nroute. But then nroute only works with the last generation of Garmin products (Bluecharts 2008.5).
I run nRoute (ver. 2.7.6) on a Vista laptop using Americas BlueChart v4.01 and BlueChart Americas v9.0 (both relatively old maps). I also use the GarminGPSMap76s (LINK) black and white screen as my GPS (very old).
The only trick and slight PITA is you have to save your Mapsource file with your routes, waypoints, etc. as a Garmin GPS Database Version 2 file (not Database Version 3 file) for the nRoute to import it. Then connecting the GPSMap 76s to the laptop shows real time mapping and lays down track information on the laptop.
I agree though, why not leave all the functionality in Mapsource (the way it used to be) so you don't have to monkey around with the nRoute program.
I've used the 76CSx and the Colorado. The 76 is slow and clunky compared to the Colorado, but the Colorado is a power hungry little monster. Note that the 76's use 4 AA batteries and the Colorado uses 2 AA, so someone might want to time them both to failure and divide the 76 by two. I'm wiring a 12vdc socket in the companionway to feed the Colorado on an adapter. The Oregon is fun to play with in the store; nice touch screen... Colorado needs no purchase of additional maps... Colorado has tides and current info... I can see the screen in daylight without backlighting. Zoom is Way Faster than 76's... Not sure if it floats though.
We have a GPSMap 76--B&W--that we've had since it first became available in early 2001. It has proven to be a very robust device and came in very handy during a race to Key West a few year ago when the ship's primary GPS device packed it in. A worthwhile addition is the cigarette lighter power cable. We obtained one and cut off the cigarette lighter insert plug and replaced it with a waterproof 2-prong connector that connects to a matching outlet we have in the cockpit and it has endured some very rough weather without fail. We routinely carry the device in the "bail-out bag" for our inflatable and sailing dinghy and it has proven very valuable in that use as well.
Lastly, with the optional power/data cable, it happily "talks" to our Dell lap-top running nROute and is able to receive positioning signals while sitting on the edge of our Nav table without an exterior antenna.
FWIW...
s/v HyLyte
__________________ "It is not so much for its beauty that the sea makes a claim upon men's hearts, as for that subtle something, that quality of air, that emanation from the waves, that so wonderfully renews a weary spirit."
*snip* Note that the 76's use 4 AA batteries and the Colorado uses 2 AA, so someone might want to time them both to failure and divide the 76 by two *snip*
Not true...the 76CSx I have runs on 2 AA batteries. The rechargeables I use last a full 8 hours of use.
