Garmin GPSMAP 76C 1.5-Inch Waterproof Marine GPS

by Garmin

Product Details

• Item Weight: 3 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 4 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B0001MHL0E
• Item model number: 010-00352-00
• Batteries: 2 AA batteries required.
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description All other marine handheld GPS units pale when compared to the GPSMap 76C. Under the hood, The 76C is a WAAS-enabled, 12-parallel-channel GPS receiver with a built-in quad-helix antenna and remote antenna capability. State-of-the-art receivers and powerful microprocessors give you a quick and steady fix.

Projected waypoint display. View larger.

Track profile. View larger.

The Garmin GPSMap 76C packs powerful navigation into handheld device. View larger.

On the outside, The GPSMap 76C has the familiar GPS 76-family keypad and styling. The bouyant case is water-resistant to IEC 60529 IPX7 standards (can be submerged in one meter of water for 30 minutes). The built-in 115 MB of memory, Americas Autoroute basemap with major interstates and highways, and Marine Point database with navigational aids for North and South America make the GPSMap 76C ready to go right out of the box. The unit is also compatible with Garmin's full line of mapping software for land and sea. Fast USB connectivity makes loading charts and maps quick and easy, and navigation instructions can be shared with repeaters, plotters, and autopilots using NMEA protocols through the dedicated serial port.

The 76C is easy on the eyes, too. The latest color-display technology featuring a 256-color, transreflective LCD gives the unit the brightest sunlight-readable display available. The unit offers up to 30 hours of power on two AA alkaline batteries, and there's no need to worry about data loss when the juice runs out. The 76C features permanent user-data storage; no memory battery is required.

Other features include the ability to program 1,000 user waypoints with name and graphic symbol and to track 50 reversible routes. The unit supports a wide range of position formats: Lat/Lon, UTM, Loran TDs, Maidenhead, MGRS, user grid, and more. Audible alarms alert users for anchor drag, arrival, off-course, proximity waypoint, and clock. A large-numbers option makes for easy viewing, and a trip computer provides odometer, stopped time, moving average, overall average, total time, max speed, and more. A 10,000-point automatic track log with 20 saved tracks lets you retrace your path in both directions. Finally, built-in celestial tables suggest the best time to fish, and they offer sun and moon calculations.

What's in the Box
GPSMap 76C receiver, basemap (Americas Recreational), database (Marine Point), MapSource Trip & Waypoint Manager CD, PC/USB interface cable, lanyard, quick start guide, and owner's manual.

Product Description

Garmin GPS MAP 76C has the familiar GPS 76 handheld keypads and styling, with 115 MB of memory, with USA based software with auto routing capabilities. Fast USB connectivity makes loading charts and maps quick and easy, while navigation instructions can be shared with repeaters, plotters, and autopilots through the serial port. The latest color-display technology gives the brightest, sunlight-readable screens around and, with brand-new state-of-the-art receivers and powerful microprocessors, you can be assured of a quick and steady reading. It can also be used for charting marine routes for boating excursions. Accessories are available for vehicular use. With MAP-76C there's no trouble finding your way around with its fast and powerful GPS features. Color operating system with new look-and-feel LED-backlit display and keypad Up to 30 hours battery life (uses two AA alkaline batteries) Permanent user-data storage; no memory battery required Internal memory is pre-loaded with a Marine Point database Water resistant to IEC 60529 IPX7 standards (can be submerged in one meter of water for 30 minutes) 1000 user waypoints with name and graphic symbol; 50 reversible routes Audible alarms for anchor drag, arrival, off-course, proximity waypoint, and clock Large-numbers option for easy viewing; dual-position display mode Trip computer provides odometer, stopped time, moving average, overall average, total time, max speed, and more 10,000 point automatic track log; 20 saved tracks let you retrace your path in both directions Built-in celestial tables for best time to fish, plus sun and moon calculations

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Works well in Sunlight, June 6, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Garmin GPSMAP 76C 1.5-Inch Waterproof Marine GPS (Electronics)

I bought this unit for GPS data collection. I choose it because of the 115mb internal memory and the 10,000 track points storage, WAAS capability, external antenna jack, USB port, ability to load maps, and color screen.

The screen is very readable in full sunlight, better than any I have seen. The rocker switch makes text entry for track and waypoint descriptions easy.

Managing Waypoints is a bit cryptic. This is because there is no function to bring up the waypoint list except the "Find" key.

At first I did not realize I could search by name, there are many submenus whith additioanl functions. I think it would work better if there was simply a WayPoints menu (there is one for Tracks, and one for Routes, why leave waypoints out?) rather than having to "Find" your waypoints.

The MapSource program allows for a DXF export, all I could get was 5 points and a single line. I had collected 7 tracks and 30 waypoints.

O.K., why is Garmin putting games on the GPS units? I would rather have the ability to easily manage waypoints or more tracks than 5 stupid games.

Without WAAS I was getting +/- 21 feet (7 meters) on top of a levee, and +/- 49 feet under canopy, at least thats what the screen said. I was able to collect track and waypoints under different levels of canopy, but I did notice I lost track points while circling a large riparian area with 40-50 foot trees.

Track points can be set to collect once per second, or by distance. The smallest distance is .1 mile, it would be better if it could go down to meters. Track display is very good.

Summary:

I like the unit, but Waypoint Management could be easier.

What would make it better?

1) Waypoint Management Menu screen
2) Allow more than 20 tracks

3) Pulldown box descriptions for Waypoints, Tracks, with user item entrys, like "tree", "River", so I don't have to enter every letter every time.

4) Remove corny games, why would you be playing these games at sea? This is a MARINE unit...

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Costly Marine Software, July 13, 2004

By 

Shawn Taylor (UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Garmin GPSMAP 76C 1.5-Inch Waterproof Marine GPS (Electronics)

I have just received my new GPS 76C. It is a great unit. There is however a major downside. If you intend to use this for marine navigation and are looking at buying a BlueChart CD to download Charts, you only get one unlock code with your CD. This means that you can only use one of the region charts. Ie. if you are in the Eastern part of the Med, you can use your one free download to get the chart for this area. If you move to the West of the Med, you now need to buy another unlock code. These are far from cheap and will start costing you a fortune. Buy a Magellan GPS as the Marine CD is cheaper and you get all the charts for the region you purchased included and not have to buy each areas chart. I am now stuck with a GPS that I don't really want.

12 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Difficult to manage Waypoints, June 6, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: Garmin GPSMAP 76C 1.5-Inch Waterproof Marine GPS (Electronics)

I bought this unit for GPS data collection. I choose it because of the 115mb internal memory and the 10,000 track points storage, WAAS capability, external antenna jack, USB port, and color screen.

The screen is very readable in full sunlight, better than any I have seen. The rocker switch makes text entry for track and waypoint descriptions easy.

However, once you have waypoints marked it is extremely difficult to delete them. This is because there is no function to bring up the waypoint list except the "Find" key. If you have waypoints far-away from you, you cannot delete them because you can only "find" waypoints near your current position.

Well, mine came with 2 waypoints outside of the United States, one was Garmin Europe, the other Garmin Taiwan. These points do not show up if I use the find function as they are too far away.

I see no way to delete these waypoints. Also, since there is no Waypoint management screen, you have to delete the waypoints you can find one at a time.

The MapSource program does not allow you to delete the waypoints, so how do you get rid of Garmin's headquarters?

This seems like a very ridiculous limitation for a NEW GPS unit in this price range.

The MapSource program allows for a DXF export, all I could get was 5 points and a single line. I had collected 7 tracks and 30 waypoints.

O.K., why is Garmin putting games on the GPS units? I would rather have the ability to manage waypoints than 5 stupid games.

Without WAAS I was getting +/- 18 feet (at least thats what the screen said). I was able to collect track and waypoints under canopy, but I did notice I lost track points while circling a large riparian area.

Track points can be set to collect once per second.

Summary:

I like the unit, but not being able to easily manage waypoints is a major limitation.

What would make it better?

1) Ability to Delete all waypoints
2) Waypoint Management Menu screen
3) Allow more than 20 tracks
4) Remove corny games, why would you be playing these games at sea? This is a MARINE unit...

Suggestion:

If you are looking for a GPS unit for Data Collection, this ain't it. Unit has the potential to be a great tool, but un-professional limitations restrict its use to a fancy toy.