Garmin GPSMAP 76 Waterproof Handheld GPS: Digital-Cameras-Photo.com

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.

Description of Garmin GPSMAP 76 Waterproof Handheld GPS

About the size of a small paperback book and weighing less than 8 ounces, the GPSMAP 76 fits comfortable in the palm of your hand, but is a bit big to carry in a shirt pocket. Using the unit requires almost no setup. Just put in two AA batteries, turn it on, go outside, and wait. In about a minute or so it will determine your location. It's accurate to about three meters, thanks to the unit's support of WAAS (Wide Area Augmentation System), which augments GPS signals for even greater accuracy.

Knowing your longitude, latitude, and altitude doesn't mean much without a little context. That's where GPSMAP 76's backlit LCD display comes in, displaying your location on detailed maps. The unit comes with a built-in basemap that includes major roads, railroads, rivers, and lakes for the U.S. and Canada, as well as a high-level worldwide map. The unit also has 8 MB memory for storing maps from optional CD-ROMS; available maps include topographical maps, BlueChart marine cartography maps, as well as city maps with detailed information on city streets and points of interest.

The eight buttons, directional rocker thumbpad, and menu-based interface made it simple to access all of the unit's features and customize the display. For instance, it's a simple matter to use the buttons to set and name waypoints and build planned routes. Extra features include information on tides, sunrise and sunset, and a trip computer for seeing how far you've traveled and your average speed.

To test the GPSMAP 76, we used the included serial cable, connected it to our PC, and loaded it up with topographical maps using the optional United States topographical map disc. We then hit the road and headed for Muir Beach north of San Francisco. It tracked our progress along Highway 1, and once we reached our destination, we found it very simple to use. It showed both the elevation of the hills as well as the paths we could take. The zoom-in and zoom-out function made it simple to plan out and automatically measure the distance of our intended route.

After walking for a while and enjoying the scenery, we used the TracBack mode to guide us back to our car. The unit automatically stores waypoints as you walk along, letting you display the way home clearly on the map. We even used the TracBack capability to guide us on the roads back to the freeway.

The GPSMAP 76 comes in handy almost anywhere, whether you're hiking, driving, boating, or wandering around a city as a tourist. Its easy-to-use interface makes it immediately useful to novices, and as you learn to exploit its programmability and features, it can become an extremely powerful navigation tool. --Ken Feinstein

The GPSMAP 76 adds an Americas basemap and 8 megabytes (MB) of map storage space to the other outstanding features of the mariner-friendly 76-series navigators.

Preloaded with a basemap of principle cities, interstates, highways, roads, and marine navigation aids.

Whether on water or land, the GPSMAP 76 can save up to 1000 of your favorite places in memory and takes you directly to your destination.

Rugged Handheld Navigation for Your Land and Sea Adventures

Ultra-Portable

About the size of a small, flat calculator, the Garmin GPSMAP 76 is a 12-parallel-channel, WAAS-enabled global positioning system GPS receiver that will go anywhere. Even with its compact style, this GPS unit boasts an extra-large display for showing more map data and the same power you've come to expect from Garmin handhelds--even while operating for up to 16 hours on two AA batteries.

Use on Land or Water

Don't worry about losing this GPS device in the drink. The GPSMAP 76 floats in water, and it's IPX7 waterproof to withstand the accidental dunk or splash in the lake. Whether on water or land, the GPSMAP 76 can save up to 1000 of your favorite places in memory and takes you directly to your destination.

The GPSMAP 76 features 500 waypoints (10 nearest, 10 proximity), 50 reversible routes with up to 50 points each, an automatic track log, and alarms for anchor drag, approach and arrival, off course, proximity waypoint, shallow water, and deep water.

Store More Data

The GPSMAP 76 is preloaded with a basemap of principle cities, interstates (including exits), highways and roads as well as marine navigation aids, including lights, buoys, sound signals and day beacons. It also has 8 MB of internal memory, so you can load detailed maps from a variety of optional MapSource products. If you're into boating, hunting or fishing, you can use the 76's built-in celestial data, which includes tide information, sunrise/sunset times and a hunting and fishing calendar.