Garmin GPS 76CSX Handheld GPS with Barometric Altimeter and Electronic Compass

Garmin GPS 76CSX Handheld GPS with Barometric Altimeter and Electronic Compass

Rating: - GpsMap 76csx great!!! It is an excellent Gps and it was delivered by Amazon very quickly, so I guess I would buy from them again soon. Rating: - Not the best for boaters Boaters: If you are looking for a handheld GPS for marine purposes, you need to be aware that this model comes out of the box with a base-loaded database that includes almost NOTHING in the way of aids to navigation. While the older MAP76 model included a database of coastal navigational aids (buoys, lights, nuns, cans, whistles, gongs, lighthouses, etc), this model DOES NOT include any of these. If you turn on this model and scroll over to Boston Harbor or San Francisco Bay, it will show you where the water is and where the land begins, but nothing more. No navigational aids whatsoever. Yes, it will give you lat/lon fixes like any GPS. And it will give you speed and heading information. But that's it. Of course, Garmin tells you that you can purchase the detailed marine charts (they cost $100-$200 each for just a single area...in the Northeast, you would need to purchase many of these to get complete coverage) and this is understood. But most serious boaters use detailed paper charts and/or a plotter and don't need their handheld for that kind of detail. What a handheld is good for, however, is to show where you are in relation to a bell or a light you may be running toward in the fog or in the dark or in relation to a known waypoint. The old version (MAP 76) gave you these bells and lights. This one does not. So unless you want to add many hundreds of dollars to your $275-$300 purchase price, this is the wrong model for a handheld GPS as backup. Get the older MAP 76 instead. For less than $200, you will have more than you need as a helpful boater's unit and no need to buy electronic charts. Of course, the MAP 76 is B&W and not color, possibly less sensitive, and lacks all the bells and whistles. But it is WAY more simple to use. This MAP 76CSx is very complicated because it has built in all the highway, hiking, climbing, geocaching, urban features and capabilities that you will never use. Just figuring out the setup takes hours. Bottom line...Garmin is a great product. But if you're a serious boater (not wanting to drop a thousand on a complicated handheld) and someopne who navigates with paper charts or a regular chart plotter, you don't want this model...you want the MAP76. Many sailors just want the peace of mind from a backup. This isn't it. Happy sailing Rating: - Good product so far. I bought the GPS76CSX mainly to use for fishing in the upper midwest. It is much quicker on startup than other units that my friends have. I thought it was fairly easy to use after a quick read through the instruction manual. Battery life with my rechargables has been about 18 hours. More to come after I've had a chance to buy a map pack and get into some of the more advanced features. Rating: - Great GPS for the money I purchased this gps primarily for waterway navigation on my sailboat. Unfortunately I haven't discovered as yet what navigation chips I will need to use it effectively. The unit itself is dynamite in a box. Already I have tested it's ability to get from point A to Point B and Back to A and it worked flawlessly. Also it works great for measuring speed over water. Bravo Garmin you guys are number 1 in the GPS game. Rating: - GarminGPS76csx This is a excellent product. The features that I like are waterproofness and the color screen. It is great to have a removable SD card because you can have more than 1 card with different maps on each card. It has very quick start up time. Also you can use the compass even if you are standing still. page 2 of  24  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11