Marine-Instrument Reviews

The Garmin 168 offers quite a bit for the marine user. It is a very good multipurpose unit. It is my primary GPS and sees critical saltwater use for backcountry in the Florida keys.

The depth finder seems to work well, and though I do not use it for fishfinding that often, sensitivity seems great.

Overall, the ergonomics and packaging are typical Garmin Excellent! It survives SW use with no problems, and has a very clear and readable display.

Some features I really like:

- You can configure the screen to show only the info you desire and in the size that you prefer.

- The Mapsource capability to load topo's, marine charts, etc

When not on the water I use the unit in the car. Even without an external antenna it works well, and the built in maps are useful. Once you add in the optional maps it is even better!

One neat thing about Garmin. The firmware updates are free and easy to use. I updated the firmware on mine, and found that that had added the WAIS mode, which improves the accuracy to about 12 feet. Amazing!

The PIRANHA 5 was bought for dad's day. With a special price and no shipping charges (over [price]) also with no sales tax Amazon.com beat all local and big stores by at least [money], not a bad savings. The fishfinder arrived here in 2 days with normal shipping, really fast! My husband installed it in a short period of time on our pontoon boat and we went out the next day. He loves the built in surface water tempture gage, he had no problem swimming in 81 degree water, he knew it was not cold when he jumped in. He also liked the twin cone thing, he explaned to me that it showed the fish out to the side of the boat. The dark ones were under the boat and hollow ones were out to the side. Just because he could now see the fish under and to the side of the boat didn't mean he could catch them any better, but now we don't worry about hitting the engine on the bottom or on rocks. Boat props cost near a [price] here in california. This turned out to be a good present and investment. He did give me a choice of 6 different ones to pick from, the PIRANHA 5 was the best value for the money. He also wanted speed but that option cost another [price] on most machines and there is a speedometer in the boat already.

Srs. AMAZON, me dirijo a uds. para saber cuales son los pasos a seguir para ordenar la compra de 25 GPS Garmin 72, asi como el tiempo que demoraria en llegar, el precio exacto del envio y los impuestos.
Asi mismo nos interesa saber los costos de los accesorios del mismo:
- cuatro (5) PC interface cable.
- cuatro (5) licencias de MapSource.
- venticinco (25) estuches para los GPS.
- sesenta (60) pilas recargables Panasonic Ni/Cd.
- quince (15) cargadores para 4 pilas recargables.

Atentamente

Ing. Héctor Velásquez G.
CONSORCIO VCHI
Av. Larco 383 Miraflores
Lima - PERU
(511) 444-0537

I have tried a Etrex Vista, Sportmap, and a Gekko but I bought a Garmin 72. I like the 72 for use on my kayak where I can use the large screen to see my speed three feet away. This unit has been put through the ringer and it just keeps working. I don't miss the mapping at all.

Have used the GPS72 now for 4 months. It has been a pleasure to use. The Garmin operating system is is easy to follow and the prompts make it unnecessary to carry the manual to use all of the features. So far it is waterproof as advertised as it lives in my canoes and while not fully submerged is subject to splash and spray every time it is out. Approximately 66 hours of use to data and am totally happy.

this makes no sence garmin says the list price for the gps map 76 is only 321$. I dont get about this is that the vista was released at the same time if not later than the gpsmap76 and The both have the same exact list price so why is the gps76 so much more expensive. Also eopinions says your sellin it for 199$

So I finally got around to upgrading my trusty 3 year old Garmin 12XL to a new GPSMAP 76. I played with one of the Magellan 330s at the local store for comparison but found that once again I simply prefer the Garmin user interfaces. I also picked up the MetroGuide CD. I figured if I was going to upgrade to a mapping GPS, I'd really want richly detailed maps. Surprisingly, I've experienced no buyer's remorse whatsoever. The GPSMAP 76 is nothing short of miraculous! Garmin is to be commended for the improvements they've made to their product line over the years.

The internal quad-helix antenna is excellent. Position accuracy is superb, screen resolution is vastly improved, and the extras such as tidal and celestial info are a really nice touch. The optimal fishing/hunting time predictor seems like overkill but I'll bet there are users who swear by it. The routing and tracking functions are well thought out and much improved since the 12XL was released. WAAS is sort of a mixed bag. I find that that whenever I lock onto WAAS signals, the estimated accuracy gets a few feet worse. It's never reads more than 20-25 feet off total but it's still the opposite of what I'd expect. Regardless of what the estimated error reading is, the accuracy always seems much better than it lets on. I've been using it a lot for geocaching lately and it invariably puts me within 5-6 feet of the caches.

The MetroGuide CD is quite nicely designed for a Windows product (I'm a Mac fan!) It contains substantial improvements over Delormes Street Atlas 4 Mac which was the last CD based mapping product I owned. It's fast and accurate (I understand that they just updated all their maps) and the integration with the GPSMAP is excellent. You can easily transfer all waypoints, routes, tracks, or maps back and forth between the GPS and your PC (or VirtualPC for Mac fans). You can also connect your GPS to the serial port and dynamically track your whereabouts on your laptop screen but I find this arrangement a bit cumbersome. There are just too many wires and batteries to deal with. For me having an easily readable, high-resolution, zoomable map on the GPS is the only way to go.

The only complaint I expected to make was with regard to the limited 8 MB map storage space. It turns out that 8 MB will hold pretty much the entire San Diego, CA and San Francisco, CA Bay Area. If I were driving across the country and wanted to investigate every nook and cranny I might be concerned. Otherwise it's perfectly fine for now.

Great product, great price. Happy navigating!

So I finally got around to upgrading my trusty 3 year old Garmin 12XL to a new GPSMAP 76. I played with one of the Magellan 330s at the local store for comparison but found that once again I simply prefer the Garmin user interfaces. I also picked up the MetroGuide CD. I figured if I was going to upgrade to a mapping GPS, I'd really want richly detailed maps. Surprisingly, I've experienced no buyer's remorse whatsoever. The GPSMAP 76 is nothing short of miraculous! Garmin is to be commended for the improvements they've made to their product line over the years.

The internal quad-helix antenna is excellent. Position accuracy is superb, screen resolution is vastly improved, and the extras such as tidal and celestial info are a really nice touch. The optimal fishing/hunting time predictor seems like overkill but I'll bet there are users who swear by it. The routing and tracking functions are well thought out and much improved since the 12XL was released. WAAS is sort of a mixed bag. I find that that whenever I lock onto WAAS signals, the estimated accuracy gets a few feet worse. It's never reads more than 20-25 feet off total but it's still the opposite of what I'd expect. Regardless of what the estimated error reading is, the accuracy always seems much better than it lets on. I've been using it a lot for geocaching lately and it invariably puts me within 5-6 feet of the caches.

The MetroGuide CD is quite nicely designed for a Windows product (I'm a Mac fan!) It contains substantial improvements over Delormes Street Atlas 4 Mac which was the last CD based mapping product I owned. It's fast and accurate (I understand that they just updated all their maps) and the integration with the GPSMAP is excellent. You can easily transfer all waypoints, routes, tracks, or maps back and forth between the GPS and your PC (or VirtualPC for Mac fans). You can also connect your GPS to the serial port and dynamically track your whereabouts on your laptop screen but I find this arrangement a bit cumbersome. There are just too many wires and batteries to deal with. For me having an easily readable, high-resolution, zoomable map on the GPS is the only way to go.

The only complaint I expected to make was with regard to the limited 8 MB map storage space. It turns out that 8 MB will hold pretty much the entire San Diego, CA and San Francisco, CA Bay Area. If I were driving across the country and wanted to investigate every nook and cranny I might be concerned. Otherwise it's perfectly fine for now.

Great product, great price. Happy navigating!

I bought this unit after narrowing my choices down to it and the ... Standard Horizon. I went with the Garmin because of it's increased upgradability. Garmin continually updates the firmware packages for its GPS units. For instance, this unit came out before WAAS was available, but a simple, and free, download from the Garmin website added WAAS capability in a matter of minutes using the supplied AC/PC adapter. And, most importantly, Blue Chart map detail is now available in MapSource CD ROM form. This is the best map data available today (as detailed as any paper chart), and with the MapSource system, you can transfer as much or as little data as you need to your GPS. The BlueChart CD ROM adds immeasurably to this product. Negatives: the addition of the BlueChart detail slows the redraw times of the screen considerably. Also, the one area where the Standard Horizon outshines it is in screen clarity, but this unit is good enough in that respect to still come out on top, in my opinion. A solid 4 out of 5 stars.

Plotting and map availability have really come of age in this unit. Like all of Garmin's products the 162 is user friendly and menu driven. Newer units are WAAS acurate and come with a PC interface cable. All functions can be reached in a couple of button hits. There are several pages, map, position and navigation. Each has its own menu, a second swipe of the menu button brings you to the main menu. Anyone familiar with a windows computer will be able to use it almost immediately. Garmin has also added a nifty tide predictor and almanac feature. The alphanumeric waypoint naming feature is also a plus.

The 162 comes in two versions, one with an internal antenna for boats without tops (or just a bimini) which saves you from mounting the antenna, and one with a more traditional mushroom antenna for hard tops or t-tops.

The CD-ROM map includes all of the US and allows you pick and choose your area of coverage. It lacks the depth feature and hyper accuracy of Garmin's new, top of the line, blue chip models. But that's a price feature.

It looks good and it is said that it does wonders, but I can't calibrate it. I have tried many times but it fails on me. And their tech support is hard to reach.

The GPS 76 is the perfect portable GPS unit for connecting to a PocketPC based PDA or a laptop. I have tested it on an iPAQ 3835 with Pocket Streets 2002 and it works like a champ. I have also tested it with a friend's PDA using Anywhere Map (a moving map/EFIS type program for flying) and it worked great. If you are in an area that can get WAAS reception, the accuracy is even better. If you are looking for a great GPS that can be used stand-alone or attached to a PDA, this is it.

Got this GPS for primarily geocaching...It works wonderfully! Best Unit I have owned yet... and I have owned quite a few. Garmin has done it again! If you plan to use it for driving get the MAP76.. but for navigation while hiking this one is everything you will ever need. Great Unit! Great Features and Great Price here at amazon...

At [$$$] it was a nice little unit for the money. Had many of the critical marine aids to Puget Sound navigation built-in. Over all, performance was as represented...EXCEPT for waterproofing. Mine bit the dust after one use in the rain. Not what I'd expect from an "M" for "Marine" Magellan nautical navigation device. Never even submerged the unit (which Magellan claims it can withstand for short durations in up to three feet of water). Simply, "waterproof" is a severe stretch. "Water resistant" is even a stretch. Buy the 330M because it accomplishes the electronic wizardry you expect in a GPS unit, but also bear in mind that in the rain it will need to be operated in a plastic Ziploc bag.

There are many things I like about this unit -- it's very light and compact, and I find it easy to use. I found the base map surprisingly detailed (for my area), and uploading the detailed map from MapSend filled in all the tiny roads. Now the downers: - MapSend needs some lovin'. I can't just pick the ...baud rate I want; it must "discover" it. Interestingly, certain mismatches between what it was trying and what the 330 was expecting made MapSend crash. Just let me pick a number, .... - MapSend doesn't try anything past 19,200BPS. The thing (supposedly) works at 115,200. - Still waiting for street maps of Europe. - It won't plot a (street) course for you. Not a big deal for me, but if your primary usage is in a car in places you don't know, you'll probably want one that draws the "right turn here" arrow and talks to you, etc... Since I use it on the water and for hiking the 330's behaviour is just fine (it can draw a straight line from your present position to any desired locale).

It works very well, it is easy to use and for the price there is no better! The battery life is not very long, so I recommend to purchase the cigarette lighter power adapter to go with it! I have some problems downloading routes, which I have not resolved yet, but I also did not spend a lot of time resoloving it, so hopefully it is an easy fix. I also wish they had a nice portable mount for it since I use it in the baot and on land!