Question about the Garmin Colorado 400c handheld

[donhaller]

I think I'm very close to choosing the Garmin Colorado and am good on most all of the features etc., but one I'm a little fuzzy on is what they mean by the "limited capability" of the BlueCharts g2 on the device?

From Garmin's own spec page it says clearly that they are limited?

Charts - yes (BlueChart® g2 with limited capability)

If any of you own one of these devices or may know what is meant by limited I'd really like to know.

Thanks in advance

[drgamble]

Same chart but I have the Oregon and the same notation was included for that device. The items I don't see on my handheld are the "fisheye" view (3D underwater view), the aerial reference photography, and autoguidance... At the end of the day you're just really getting the maps without the "enhanced" features on these handhelds.

[preservedkillick]

I too have the Oregon, and one "feature" I thought I was getting was the "Depth Alarm" feature. I figured that if I set the alarm to go off at 20 feet, the unit would go off at 20 feet on the chart. It does not, it needs to be connected to a sounder. I figured, not nearly as good as a sounder, but the alarm could get me to pay closer attention to where I was.

[labatt]

Skip the Colorado... get the Oregon... I've used both, and the trackwheel on the Colorado is very tough to use - the Oregon is much nicer. I do love my Oregon though. I put a bracket next to my head in my berth, turn on the track feature, and when at anchor a track of where I've been gets drawn. As long as I'm in the track areas, I know I'm good!

[SEMIJim]

donhaller,

Check davidpm's comments on the Garmin Colorado in this thread: http://www.sailnet.com/forums/gear-m...-handheld.html

(Sorry. Fixed the link. SailNet's own brain-dead word stealing software destroyed the link to their own site .)

labatt,

Isn't the Garmin Oregon's display nearly unreadable in bright sunlight? That's the impression I'm under from my on-line research.

Jim

[labatt]

I've always been able to see it when I put it at the right angle. I believe the Colorado is not significantly better (but is marginally better). I have heard, however, that the wheel on the Colorado is the biggest pain in the world.

Everything you wanted to know about the Oregon/Colorado:

Garmin Oregon Wiki - Garmin Oregon Wiki - home
Garmin Colorado Wiki - Garmin Colorado Wiki - home
Garmin Dakota Wiki - Garmin Dakota Wiki - home

[tkringstad]

We had a Garmin Colorado as the main GPS device on Wandering Star's delivery in May. I thought the wheel was fine, and actually made it pretty simple to move between different functions and also to zoom in and out when looking at maps.

The issue I had with the display was mainly that the size of the text showing the Lat/Lon while viewing the map is so small that I sometimes had trouble reading it even when wearing my reading glasses. I believe you can view Lat/Lon from a different page and have bigger text, but you can't increase the size of the text when viewing on the same screen as the maps.

Tom.

[drgamble]

I've had zero issues in bright sunlight with the Oregon (I don't use a bimini and have it mounted on my Edson pedestal bar). I would trust labatt's word too as he was using it under the Bahamian sunshine

[c40eb]

Originally Posted by SEMIJim

donhaller,

Check davidpm's comments on the Garmin Colorado in this thread: Garmin GPS 76CXs - handheld.

labatt,

Isn't the Garmin Oregon's display nearly unreadable in bright sunlight? That's the impression I'm under from my on-line research.

Jim

The Oregon is actually very good in any light, including direct sunlight. I posted a vid of my demo a while ago. Also, you can turn the backlight way down...saves batts.

YouTube - Garmin Oregon 400C in direct sunlight

The Oregon does have an anchor alarm...which I forgot to turn off last time I weighed...and it kinda startled me until I realized what it was. HA!