Excellent Do it All GPS

SUMMARY:

I was looking for a handheld GPS that would work for turn by turn navigating, off road 4 wheel trails, hiking and geochaching. I'd also like it do a little something when I go recreational boating. I had actually already ordered the Garmin GPSMAP 60C, when I found the 76C. So glad I did. I canceled the 60C.

Garmin has done itself a disservice by marketing the 76C GPS only in the Marine section. I missed it originally when reviewing GPS devices. Although it does have Marine features, which are excellent, it's equally as good for road navigation and topo mapping. This GPS Unit is virtually the same as the GPSMAP 60C/CS with some specific additional features and the MAP70 series face.

KEY FEATURES:

Go to www.garmin.com and look in the marine section for a complete list of the 76C features and specs. Mainly, it has 115mb of memory, operates on 2 AA batteries, comes preloaded with a North America Basemap, has a points of interest/waypoint CD included, USB cable, color TFT screen and some Marine POI. It will do turn by turn directions, Marine navigation, direct navigation and has comprehensive track/ track back features. In addition to doing everything the MAP60C will do; this one has 115mb of built in memory versus the 60C's 56mb! It also comes with the same base map Garmin loads into the 2610 series navigation systems, which is a detailed basemap of the US, Canada and some Mexico.

Bottom line, it has a better base map than the MAP60C. The better basemap and 115megs of memory make this a better purchase than the 60C and a great GPS Handheld. Although the 60C has a "more rugged" look, both are durable, have the same warranty and are waterproofed with the same rating. The 76C has the buttons on top, which seems odd at first, but is very easy to use.

GARMIN VS. MAGELLAN

I compared the Garmin to the Magellan Meridian color. The Meridian, does allow you to use SD cards, which makes the memory unlimited. However, you have to go through a whole system of steps to load and name sections of the map and then load each card for each section into the GPS. The card slot is on the back and not as quickly changeable as you would like. In addition, you have to tell the system which map to use, it doesn't automatically transition from one to another. The Garmin saves more tracks and waypoints compared to the Magellan. The color display on Garmin is brighter and more detailed. The Garmin has almost double the potential battery life as well. You have to weigh the features and memory issues, but I think the Garmin's ease of use and built in memory are the better choice. Check gpsinformation.net for more reviews and info. It's also worth noting, in the reviews I read, many people purchased Meridian color travel packs only to have them arrive and not work properly...

INITIALIZATION:

I ordered my Garmin GPS 76C from gps4fun.com and it came as promised at a significantly lower price than anywhere else I could find. I put batteries in it, powered it up, relocated it to Long Beach, CA on the map and it found several satellites within minutes. Subsequently, when powering up it locks several sats in under a minute and has me locked in +/- 30 feet. The buttons, menus and functions are very easy to use. I familiarized myself with most of the unit functions in minutes. I was apprehensive about the buttons being up top, but they're easy to use and pose no problem.

DISPLAY:

The display is very bright and easy to see. When using an DC adapter and having the backlight on, it's incredible. The mapping, menus etc are bright and clear. I'm sure using the backlight full time with batteries, would deplete them more quickly, but it's still got reasonable battery time at about 15 hours +/-.

TURN BY TURN MAPPING:

The turn by turn mapping is really great. It performs as well as many of the auto units I've seen, Garmin 2610, Magellan's neverlost, etc. It's easy to find a location, address, POI, recent location etc, and then hit "goto". It calculates very quickly (about 10 seconds)and provides good directions. It occasionally will route you a little differntly than you might go manually, but it's still very good and very accurate. It will recaculate quickly if you go off track and backtracks your route as well. It is completely full featured. Instead of a talking voice, you'll get audible beeps warning you of impending turns, or actions and a pop up preview of the turn. I prefer the audible tones to voices. The voices are fun at first, but quickly become irritating. I can't stress enough how impressed I was with the turn by turn navigating. I was somewhat skeptical; being a smaller screen than the automobile mounted units and a handheld I figured there would be some disapointing results. Not so. (Note this requires loading the Cityselect v5 or v6 Map from Garmin).

C VS. CS

I chose to save 80-100$ and buy the C without the compass/altimeter functions of the CS. This is a personal choice. The C compass will not work when standing still, the CS will. I think if you're seriously off road/hiking using the compass feature, you'll always want a manual compass anyway. What if the GPS fails, batteries die, no signal etc? So I'll carry a manual compass for 20-40$ and save the money on the GPS. Your choice. The C model does have a good compass, it just only operates when your moving.

ACCURACY:

The 76C does a great job of satellite acquisition. It shows me +/- within 10-20 feet most of the time. it has slight trouble in the middle of downtown LA (skyscrapers)or in very heavy tree coverage. This is normal and acceptable. Not to worry. Garmin sells an external antenna for these issues. I would rate the Garmin satellite accuracy above average and quick.

MAPS:

Garmin maps are generally rated very well in the industry. That being said, you do have to pay for them. To use the turn by turn navigation, you will need the Cityselect software. For about $150 you can get an autonavigation package that includes the software, 2 dash mounts and an DC adapter. The cityselect software covers US, some Canada, some Mexico. It is comprehensive and you do not have to pay to unlock specific regions. You get the whole area with the purchase. It's very detailed and easy software to use. You basically select a map area by dragging the cursor and then load it to the GPS via USB. The City Select software will provide you the detailed turn by turn directions for anywhere you load. Very simple and fast. Note: when you load a map section it overwrites the prior maps, so select everything you want to load, including other maps ie/ Topo and then transfer them all at once.

Same thing with the 24K Topo West or Topo USA. Both maps have a good list of POI including campgrounds, boat launches, restaurants etc. Very impressive. Topo USA covers the entire US at 1:1, while the Topo West is just Western Region National Parks at 1:24. Both good, but for separate purposes.

Regarding Marine maps: Research this carefully, as you have to unlock each region and they are costly. Check Garmin's unlock page for details. The maps are very detailed, but can get very expensive if you're unlocking large regions.

MEMORY:

The 115mb of memory is alot. I loaded most of California from San Diego to Sacramento, including all of Los Angeles, Orange County and San Francisco. I also loaded the 15 freeway to Vegas, Sacramento to Lake Tahoe and all of Reno, NV. This took approximately 95mb leaving me nearly 20 more. California, being heavily poplulated and mapped is a big area. LA County alone is a big chunk of memory. The 56mb of the 60C/CS would have barely allowed me 1/2 this area. So I would rate the 115mb as more than adequate. The 56mb, might not cut it.