Seeking Opinions: Ready to pull the Handheld GPS trigger...

MilesandMiles

...and settling on one of the Garmin 76 series units for simplicity and other applications (camping, hiking, car, etc.)

Does anyone have one? Or an opinion on them? Open to hearing opinions on other brands/units and why they might be a better choice.

There's so much to know about GPS units, it eventually has to come down to just going with what you (think) you know and feels right.

I'm buying next week.

Thanks,
Brenton

Yankee1 · Joined: 22 Dec 2010 Posts: 4 State or Province: MI

I have owned a 76CSX for years now and I had a hard time getting used to a dedicated GPS I bought for my truck. I have North America Maps installed as well as charts for the Eastern Great Lakes and Florida Coast. It is the only GPS I use in my Boston Whaler Montauk I use for walleye fishing and was the only GPS I used in my truck for a few years.

The 76CSX is a great unit and very versatile. Reception has never been an issue in any conditions or locations. I'd trust it with my life - in fact I have on several occasions when it was all fog on Lake Erie fishing. It got me out on the water and after dark, got me home several times. Battery life is exceptional - about 12 hours per set of AA batteries.

MilesandMiles · Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2011 5:04 pm Post subject:

Yankee,

This is helpful, a couple questions please: Does the unit have a power cord to plug into a wall/inverter in place of AA usage? Also, do you remember roughly how much the date cards cost (great lakes, etc.) this is the only part I don't like about them because the GPS industry discontinues units so often.

Thanks,
Brenton

centerisland · Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2011 9:08 pm Post subject:

I've had a GPS60C for a few years and love it. Streets in Australia, on the boat / dinghy / and now CD22, hiking, snowmobiling, snowshoeing, trying to locate property corners on rural land, I never run out of places to use it.

I note that the 60 and 76 both appear to have 240x160 screens - kind of surprising that screen size hasn't increased in the intervening years.

The interface (for my 60C) took some figuring out, but I'm used to it now. I use lithium batteries for below freezing temperatures, a USB cord to download routes, and a bunch of different mounts.

BrentB · Posted: Sat Feb 05, 2011 10:28 pm Post subject:

anyone running an Android tablet with a built in GPS chip-set?

Doryman · Posted: Sun Feb 06, 2011 12:41 am Post subject:

Before you buy anything, please take a look at the DeLorme PN-60W and see if its feature set appeals to you. If I were in the market for one, I would seriously consider this unit.

Warren

thataway · Posted: Sun Feb 06, 2011 4:10 pm Post subject:

I own both the Garmin 76 CSX (Bug out bag) and the Colorado 400C (boat ditch bag). The screens are about the same size. They have similar chips sets, and get accurate fixes inside of the house, or car (with cover, including metal). The maps are about the same. The Colorado is less than half of the size of the 76.

The 76 seems a bit easier to us, and will hook up to external power and outputs easier. I keep a bracket and power cord in my Caracal for the 76, and use it as the back up GPS.

Aurelia · Posted: Sun Feb 06, 2011 5:35 pm Post subject:

We use a 76csx with charts connected to power and RAM mounted in our boat all the time. In fact we often run with just that unit and leave the C80 turned off. The charts from puget sound to SE alaska were only 130 bucks all on one card. We also use this unit for its anchor drag alarm. I have had 4 of the 76 series over the years and still own two of them. They are nearly the same working parts as the 60 series (but float) or the new 78 might be worth a look of you want some newer functionality. Can praise them enough.

I also have a mount in the dinghy for it.

Greg

colobear · Posted: Sun Feb 06, 2011 6:23 pm Post subject:

another 76CSX user, in the boat as backup and for the dinghy/ditch bag.