Garmin GPSMap 76 Handheld GPS Navigator

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

Pros:

• Large backlit LCD
• WAAS (Wide Area Augmentation System) support
• Automatic TracBack shows you the way back to your start location
• PC connectivity with wide variety of uploadable maps available

• 8 MB built-in memory can't be expanded
• Too large to fit comfortably in a shirt pocket

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.

The GPSMAP 76 is also compatible with Garmin's line of downloadable MapSource CD-ROMs and will store 8 MB of downloaded map detail. Always know just where you're going with preloaded maps of rivers, lakes, worldwide cities, navaids, and tide data. With a detailed base map database, users also have the ability to look up address and telephone number information for nearby services and points of interest as well as find map detail for cities, highways, and interstates.

Designed with all types of users in mind, this unit will take you from the car to the hiking trail and beach without missing a beat. This quality Garmin product comes with a one-year limited warranty.

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!


An excellent product...   October 11, 2001
 20 out of 21 found this review helpful

The MAP76 is a well-designed and well-made unit with a lot of useful features. In particular, the external antenna, WAAS and DGPS capability, and wide input voltage range make this a great GPS for doing consumer-level mapping.

This unit has Garmin's new quadrifiler antenna which really improves the ability of the GPS to lock onto satellites under heavy brush and in rugged terrain. There really is little comparison to the etrex units on all the testing I have performed in real-world conditions.

The user interface is typical Garmin and it won't take you long to figure out how to use the GPS. The unit is fully water-tight (well, except for the battery compartment itself) and I have yet to see any complaints about leakage. It also floats which is definitely a useful feature for those thinking about using it for canoe tripping.

The accuracy is rather astounding, again in comparison to older etrex units I have used. The unit consistently and quickly locks onto satellites and often receives the WAAS info even in northern Ontario; accuracy is remarkable when WAAS is recieved.

I have used this product extensively for doing trail mapping and design. With an external battery and antenna such as the Mighty Mouse II you get very accurate data and the tracks are extremely detailed compared to previous products. The MapSource information leaves a lot to be desired but with GPS Utility and a bit of time you can do whatever you want. The only thing I would like to see on this unit is some form of pluggable memory such as SmartMedia; hopefully that will be available on future products.


Garmin GPSMap 76 A Great Hand-Held Device   April 2, 2005
 14 out of 14 found this review helpful

This is a great gps, especially for marine purposes. I searched around and researched before deciding on purchasing the gpsmap 76. I find the preloaded base maps to be very sufficient and fairly detailed. It's waterproof and submersible, what else could you ask for. The only downfall is that it's not colorized, but big deal. It's quite easy to see when you're standing in direct sunlight. This is one of the best gps devices out there for this price range. It's well worth every penny, and comes highly recommended.


Perfect Starter GPS and more (GPSMAP76)   January 18, 2007
 10 out of 10 found this review helpful

I had previously used GPS units, but never knew the intricacies of one until purchasing the GPSMAP76. The base maps that are preloaded on this unit are awsome. It is extremely user friendly. If you are technologically in the dark and are scared about newer electronics such as this, this unit is perfect. The manuals walk you through everything.
I have had a blast planning trips, geocaching (google it), and I can't wait to get on the water with it. I put it to the test when I was in some beautiful back country in the northern portion of lower Michigan. I googled some coordinates of where I wanted to go, and connected the dots on some really awsome 4x4 trails. The accuracy was incredible.
The only downside I can think of is the lack of expandable memory. However, I can't see the need for any additional software. Like I said, the basemaps are full of detail. I can find a McDonalds that is 20 miles up the road off an interstate exit! Also, it is a little bigger than the eTrex series, but that's because it's a "mapping" unit. It still fits easily into my Columbia jacket pocket.
The GPSMAP 76S would have been nice, but I was trying to be very price conscientious. Overall, I'm stunned and I love it.


The best yet...   June 29, 2001
 16 out of 18 found this review helpful

Having owned over 6 Garmin GPS products, and now having the 76 that provides accuracy beyond belief, makes this product a real winner. Read all of the options, the WAAS is clearly next generation. I have used it on land and sea, in both cases there was no comparison to previous models. It is all here, you need look no longer.