The key to success in life is knowing where you are, where you've been, and where you're going. Garmin's full-featured GPS 76 puts all of that information in the palm of your hand, mapping your movements off-road or on--and even afloat. Plus, its extensive features, PC connectivity, and add-on map options make it powerful enough for practically any need.
About the size of a small paperback book and weighing less than 8 ounces, the GPS 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 for 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 the GPS 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 1 MB memory for storing downloaded points of interest data from optional CD-ROMS, like the Roads & Recreation series.
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 GPS 76 we hit the road 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 GPS 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
Pros:
- Large backlit LCD
- WAAS (Wide Area Augmentation System) support
- Automatic TracBack shows you the way back to your start location
- PC connectivity with ability to download points of interest and waypoints
Cons: - Only 1 MB built-in memory, which can't be expanded
- Too large to fit comfortably in a shirt pocket
The GPS 76 is designed to provide precise GPS positioning using correction data obtained from the Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS). This unit features a built-in quad helix antenna for superior reception and can provide position accuracy to less than three meters when receiving WAAS corrections.The GPS 76 provides 1 megabyte of internal user memory to be used for storing downloaded Points of Interest data. This 1 megabyte of storage area is preloaded from the factory with worldwide cities (populations greater than 200,000) and nautical navigation aids such as lights, buoys, sound signals and day beacons, and is perfect for downloading points of interest detail from Garmin's line of MapSource CD-ROMs.An extra-large display measuring 1.6"W x 2.2"H gives users a clear view of information, while a waterproof case means the GPS 76 will keep working well even if it's been submerged in water. Even more amazing, this unit will actually float if accidentally dropped in the water.
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