Garmin GPS 76CSX Handheld GPS with Barometric Altimeter and Electronic Compass
by Garmin
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Garmin GPS 76CSX Handheld GPS with Barometric Altimeter and Electronic Compass
Customer Review: Solid, Adaptable and Multifunctional
Summary: 5 Stars
I have lived in Alaska more than 30 years and I am an avid boater, hunter, snowmobiler that travels in very remote parts of the state. I also participate in two search and rescue organizations. I purchased the 76CSx July 2007. Since that time I have used it when flying in rural Alaska, boating in Southcentral Alaska's Cook Inlet and Kachemak Bay as well as the Yukon River, and when motoring the Midwest and Southeastern US.
The 76CSx GPS came with MapSource Trip and Waypoint Manager and a 128Mbt micro SD memory chip. I purchased two 2Gig microSD chips later. I also purchased TOPO US 2008 and loaded ALL of the topo maps for all of Alaska on it. I also purchased BlueChart Americas v9 and loaded all of the marine charts for the area from Juneau north to and including Kodiak and Anchorage area waters (more than 100 specific charts). Both of these were loaded on a single 2 Gig chip. On the second chip, I loaded City Navigator North America 2009.
Depending weather I am boating, flying, hunting or driving I easily swap chips as needed so that I have the charts or maps I need. I have found that the detail on the BlueChart marine charts are more detailed than those that came with the more expensive electronic charts used with the chartplotter onboard many of the boats here.
The sensitivity of the GPS receiver in the 76CSx is incredible. I can turn it on and set it on the living room floor 5 feet from a window and it will lock onto three or more satellites and give me a fix. When snowmachining or hunting, I can leave the GPS in the Garmin case, inside the top pocket of my daypack and it will stay locked on to the satellites and create track as I travel without having to worry about it. In a vehicle and aircraft, the built-in receiver has always worked fine. I have not needed a remote antenna.
I have found the City Navigator to be a real assett when driving through areas of the midwest and southeast last fall. Especially helpful were the features that let one select various options, such as Food, Lodging, etc close to where you are or anywhere you want to look, and then provide you the address and phone numbers so you can call ahead if need be. One can also type in a specific address anywhere in the US and much of Canada and show the precise location on the map screen and a Go To option for specific turn by turn instructions.
I get about 16 hrs from a set of AAs. For use in a rental car, I purchased an auxiliary power cord that plugs into the car's 12V power supply ("cigarette lighter").
Loading the charts/maps from the DVDs to the 76CSx was easy to do after I got familiar with the process. One thing I noted is that in areas where the marine chart data overlaps the topo map data, the marine chart info takes priority and does not allow the specific topo date in that specific area to show. That was easily fixed by simply unselecting or "turning off" the specific chart from showing on the GPS. Once charts and maps are loaded onto the micro SD chip and the chip in the 76CSx, one can choose which of the charts or maps to show on the screen.
As with most GPS Units, the manual covers the basics but there is a much more capability in this unit than the manual could possibly cover without the manual getting too large.
I would recommend this unit without hesitation. It has saved me from possible disaster when boating, has provided additional confidence when out on the water and back country and has been equally helpful when driving through large cities and across the country in a rental car. No more bickering with my wife for driving directions! Sure made our 10 day road trip much more pleasant! When we missed a turn because we were not paying attention to the GPS, it quickly rerouted us and got us to where we needed to go every time.
One closing comment here: Don't get too dependent on ANY GPS when traveling in the backcountry or when boating in marine waters and large lakes. Take a compass with you and know how to use it. Electronics do fail sometimes and when they do, you need to have basic map/chart reading and navigation when skills ready.
I give this unit 5 stars.
Customer Review: An easy to use GPS that's great for field work
Summary: 5 Stars
I purchased this GPS at the end of April 2010. After using it for over 3 months of field work, i feel I've gotten enough experience with the unit to write this review.
First thing I recommend doing before using the gps is to get the topo maps for your area. The basemaps on the gps are horrible, there's no detail and they are inaccurate. It's also a good idea to get a case for it and a screen protector to prevent scratching the screen and scuffing the exterior. I got this case for my gps, NEW CASE for GARMIN GPSMap 72/76 GPS in 'Hunters & Hikers Brown' w/ Webbing Loop, Lanyard, Clip & "Peel & Stick" Screen Protector. - For Garmin GPSMap 72/ 76/ 76S/ 76CS/ 76CSx/ 76 Cx/ West Marine 76cs plus. Molded 'E-Z-Grip' Protection. Made in USA by F... , it fits perfectly and came with 2 screen protectors. The case does not affect the signal from my experience. I also bought a 2gb micro sd card with the GPS, but it came with a 1 gb micro sd card in the unit. I loaded all the topo maps for the province of Ontario and that took up about 700mb.
Performance wise, the gps works great it picks up signals quickly and I've never had any issues of losing a signal when I put the gps into my cruising vest pocket. The screen is easy to read even in bright sunlight. I've used it in different kinds of weather and I haven't had any problems so far. The tracks recording is not as detailed as the Colorado 400t, but it still works without any problems.
If you've never used ArcMap or have any idea what it is, the next paragraph will not make sense. For work, my company uses ArcMap, and with the garmin dnr extension, loading blocks (polygons) and waypoints into the gps is relatively simple (you will need some knowledge of how to setup the garmin dnr options so that the polygons appear in the right projection). You can also use it to download waypoints and tracks from the gps into ArcMap. Using another program called mapedit and send2gps gives you the ability to create your own garmin compatible image files that you can load onto the gps. For those of you familiar with garmin dnr, when you load up multiple polygons, the gps will treat it as a track and snap lines between all the polygons you upload, unless you upload and save them separately. This can be really annoying when you have to load up dozens of tiny blocks. Also, the topo maps only have the main bush roads, they don't show a lot of the secondary and tertiary roads. Using mapedit, I am able to take shape files from ArcMap and convert them into image files that can be loaded onto the gps. Using send2gps, I am then able to send these image files over to the gps creating a single image file that looks like a map made using ArcMap when using the gps. The only limitation to this is you can only use the golf course green or lake blue colour for your blocks, but in the map setup options you can turn on/off individual image files that you loaded.
So far, I've been very impressed with the 76csx. It is easy to use, gives you more control in managing tracks, and the ability to use other programs to upload/create maps for the gps is a major plus for me.
Also, using NiMh 2500mah rechargeable batteries and the battery saver mode gives me 20-23 hours of use, compared to the Colorado 400t which gets me about 13-15 hours.
I've never tried to use the navigation option while driving, so I cannot comment on how well it works.
The screen is not as good as the screens for the newer gps's that've been released, but if you're looking for a rugged gps for work purposes, I highly recommend the 76csx with the topo maps for your area or if you have the ability to upload shape files.
Customer Review: Meets my GPS needs
Summary: 5 Stars
I was looking for a water proof GPS unit to take both tour kayaking & backpacking. Looked around for at least a year then bought this one. Having logged over 100 mi. paddled this season I can say that it works well in water. I typically mount it under the forward deck lines & secure it with a clip. No water problems so far, it's been pounded by many waves. -I'm more worried about heat from sun than the water. Having the compass navigate a course on water has come in handy, I sometimes paddle in fog or bad weather. Match my heading to the bearing of the next way point & I'm going the right way. It can tell me distance left to go, time remaining at current speed, etc. I have found that for the compass to work well when traveling at low speeds some settings need adjustment but after that compass is reliable and self adjusts for magnetic variance.
I save all my tracks to an SD card in the unit. When I get home I upload the tracks to the computer, where on the larger screen I can see everything. Calling up the track with google earth and having them overlaid on 3D Sat. images is jaw dropping, this capability is standard with the included "Map source" software. Often I choose not to look at the GPS while out & find out where I've been after I get home. I have a minor gripe with the altimeter, the reading fluctuates while standing still & the profile view in "map source" is not as dynamic as I'd like. Still it is better than no altimeter, and can give a rough idea of peaks troughs, etc. I just wouldn't jump from a plane with it. I really like observing the profile on the unit then moving the cross hairs over a particular peek and pressing [enter] it brings up the map page and the pointer shows that particular point on my journey, this often makes peek elevations & identifications quick and easy. Note: while on the trail, bug spray eats away at the screen, one small corner of mine got some bug spray on it & now it is slightly cloudy.
Hard key pad buttons make navigating the screens easy but only after you get the hang of where things are. Battery life is excellent, exceeding my expectations. Screen is small for Topo reading, but this unit should NEVER replace a paper map on the hiking trail, or even kayaking. I use the statistics page more than the map page anyway. It can give me my moving average, total time on trail & total moving time as well as distance, altitude gained, etc. All a much better use for the device than as a map. Maps that come with the device ON THE COMPUTER are detailed enough for interesting uploads, but the devices base map is like a blank canvas. So if you are strictly using it to track where you have gone & upload to the "map source" program on the computer additional maps may not be necessary. However if you plan to plot courses or use the device for road navigation you will probably need additional map software. I have also used this device for car travel but this it is not it's strong suit. It will not impress but might satisfy.
-Topo 2008 maps improves terrain maps on the unit (including coastal outlines) and improves road maps greatly. Initially I had expected to need road map software as well for any road info at all but the topo 2008 software had plenty of small roads, points of interest, direction computation, etc. So far I have no need for additional maps. The only time I have lost a sat. signal is in a cave or a tunnel so far.
Overall a great unit. Technologically the best civilians can get for outdoor use at this time -so 5 stars.
Customer Review: The Cadillac of handheld GPS units
Summary: 5 Stars
There are times when "pretty good" isn't good enough. For me, purchasing a GPS unit represented one of those times. I wanted a handheld GPS unit that was best-in-class. My research led me to the GPSMap 76CSx. Factors that led to the decision: frankly, the reviews here; Garmin's reputation; powerful satellite locking; great variety of base- and add-on maps; expandable storage via microSD card; altimeter; compass; battery life; transreflective LCD screen. Don't underestimate the importance of the transreflective screen: one of the biggest consumers of battery power is the LCD: with the backlight on frequently, battery life drops significantly. The transreflective LCD enables you to turn off backlighting for use outdoors during the day, which significantly reduces battery draw.
I like to play with a unit before reading the manual, and in playing around I have figured out the major functions/features. It's not the *most* intuitive unit, but I give it 4/5 stars on intuitiveness. The manual is not huge, but is a several-evening reading project, and that's on my soon-to-do list.
Initial satellite locking is pretty quick (3-4), then acquisition of another 3-4 satellites occurs over the next several minutes. This is *indoors*, where I routinely lock 9 satellites in a townhouse. Out in the woods while hiking, I also lock and hold at least 9 satellites. The more satellites your unit can lock, the more accurate your coordinates are.
I started with using just the built-in basemap, which is ... basic. The first map I added was Topo 2008 USA. While the resolution is only 100k, it adds a reasonable level of topographical detail for my uses (general light hiking), as well as non-routable local roads. (The roads appear and are labelled, but the unit cannot calculate turn-by-turn routing directions using the Topo map. For this, you must add one of the Navigator maps.)
The unit is light, and battery life so far seems as promised (15-20 hours). I have not tried rechargeable batteries, but plan to do so. If they work well, fine, and if not, fine too. Alkalines are inexpensive enough bought in bulk.
Downloading maps from the computer is quite a slow process, so I'm going to guess the USB is 1.1 not 2.0. I downloaded the mid-Atlantic and New England region, approximately 700k of data, which took over 45 minutes. I can't imagine loading the whole country. The Navigator maps may be smaller, since I don't believe they contain elevation data.
All in all, I am very pleased with this unit. The main things a potential buyer must be aware of is the need to add: 1) a larger microSD card to store additional map data; 2) the need to purchase better topographical maps for serious outdoor use; 3) the understanding that while Topo maps show roads, they do not calculate driving routes on these roads; 4) for routable driving maps, you have to add a Navigator type map.
Customer Review: Nice GPS, Good Price
Summary: 5 Stars
I'm new to using a GPS receiver unit, and frankly I'm impressed with the accuracy, quality and general overall ease of use with this hand held gps unit.
some of the features it has that surprised me,
parachute jump calculator, tells you where you might land based on altitude ect.. very neat feature, I'm sure an advanced parachutist would love this tool that's integrated into the gps functions of :
compass
altimeter (barometric)
speed indication
highly precision GPS location tracking
waypoints, and automatic routing.
In short. VERY COOL, as cool as a car mounted system.
The only issue I had was the maps were kinda useless, all the feature are present for obviously something it doesnt come with, highly updated maps.
THOSE are seperate, and about 200$ extra - but you get the car charger, and mounting system for in car navigation .. it doesnt talk, but it really doesnt need to. the map s are scrollable. and you can quickly find things like gas stations, resturants ect.. specially good if your traveling quite a bit. or even a little to a new area.
I use this for GEOCACHING, it fits in my cargo pockets with ease. it's lightweight, durable, lasts a long time on 2 AA Batteries, and even has options to switch to ni-mh batteries which I happen to have layinga round the house w/ a charger unit for an old camera I used to use.
the screen is color, bright. and what's neat about this unit is.. it has a day/night color change feature, .. so when it flips to nighttime, you can look around the window and say 'yep there goes the sun"
it's accurate too with dates and calender info - such as moon phases.. it has that built in.
there's even tide prediction as well .
For marine use, it's got SOME features. but for general overall everyday use. WOW this thing is packed with features, built in applications. search system to find stuff. and it works great with geocaching.com online .loc uploads.
this has 128 meg Micro SD card built in, larger memory cards are available for very low prices.. I saw 512meg microsd for about 29$
the microsd cards are used to store tracks, waypoints that you add, and additional maps.
I recomend this one over the 60csx, only because it's waterproof submergable, and doesnt ahve a funky antenna sticking up. that will tell people aroudn you you got a gps unit in your hand.
as far as design and buttons, it's easy to use. smooth scrolling. and hihgly configurable to change sensativity ect..