Garmin 76 Handheld

We have sailed with a Garmin 76 Handheld mounted to the top of the binnacle for just over 7 years. Last weekend the feature that displays tide info displayed the message "inaccurate data" and nothing more. The GPS feature works fine. We count on it when anchoring and picking our transits though places like the Tacoma Narrows which can present 5 knots currents. When I contacted Garmin they told me that tidal data was no longer available for that unit and I would need to upgrade! That's what I call "push" marketing. They pushed me over the edge. Maybe I'll just keep it and add a copy of Capt. Jack's Almanac. Our true goal is to replace it with another hand held with tides data under $500 unless there is something better available. The Sound is pretty much line of sight navigation but we like the comfort of a GPS with us in addition to a Maptech chart book. What have y'all found to work? Cheers, Danny

There is at least one tide app for an andriod phone that works without the internet and that is free. Also, the Maptech app at about $20 has charts and tide on a phone. Battery life is an issue but if you only need to check it out now and then it might work. You can also use my one page tide page to print out a page with several tide locations (up to 6) with one page per day. If you do short trips, that might be helpful. I think all the tide data is inaccurate to some degree. You can't really count on it to be within a few inches but even old data is useful to let you know if you need to be careful. Use it with that in mind. Garmin may have hard coded tide constants into the unit and now feel that they are just too old with no way to upgrade them or no motivation on the old unit and they don't want the liability of presenting old data. The "official" data is on the NOAA Tide and Current site. Allen On Tue, Apr 10, 2012 at 4:27 AM, Danny <sa… [at] gmail.com> wrote: > ** > > > We have sailed with a Garmin 76 Handheld mounted to the top of the > binnacle for just over 7 years. Last weekend the feature that displays tide > info displayed the message "inaccurate data" and nothing more. The GPS > feature works fine. We count on it when anchoring and picking our transits > though places like the Tacoma Narrows which can present 5 knots currents. > When I contacted Garmin they told me that tidal data was no longer > available for that unit and I would need to upgrade! That's what I call > "push" marketing. They pushed me over the edge. Maybe I'll just keep it and > add a copy of Capt. Jack's Almanac. > Our true goal is to replace it with another hand held with tides data > under $500 unless there is something better available. The Sound is pretty > much line of sight navigation but we like the comfort of a GPS with us in > addition to a Maptech chart book. > What have y'all found to work? > Cheers, > Danny > > >

Danny, I too have a Garmin 76 handheld as a backup unit. Thanks for the information. We have been using a GPSMAP 276C on the binnacle for a few years along with the ENCs for Southeast FL and the Bahamas. Unfortunately, the 276C is no longer in production. Mine failed last October, but Garmin still services them and I got a refurbished/rebuilt unit for $250 (I think). While mulling whether to replace it with another make/model, it appears that all GPS manufacturers are going with larger screens to the point that it's not always practical for such a small boat as mine is. I'm really not interested in a lot of features that are now included... especially touchscreen models. To top that off, some of the prices that are listed are over my budget. I will be interested to know what you decide on and your opinion of how your replacement unit works. As an option, have you considered OpenCPN? You can run it on a laptop using a $25 USB GPS receiver. ENCs and RNCs are free from NOAA, and OpenCPN also provides tide data. Good Luck! --Michael-- s/v Magic, Cal 2-27 Pompano Beach, FL From: Danny <sa… [at] gmail.com> To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Sent: Tuesday, April 10, 2012 7:27 AM Subject: [Cal_Boats] Garmin 76 Handheld We have sailed with a Garmin 76 Handheld mounted to the top of the binnacle for just over 7 years. Last weekend the feature that displays tide info displayed the message "inaccurate data" and nothing more. The GPS feature works fine. We count on it when anchoring and picking our transits though places like the Tacoma Narrows which can present 5 knots currents. When I contacted Garmin they told me that tidal data was no longer available for that unit and I would need to upgrade! That's what I call "push" marketing. They pushed me over the edge. Maybe I'll just keep it and add a copy of Capt. Jack's Almanac. Our true goal is to replace it with another hand held with tides data under $500 unless there is something better available. The Sound is pretty much line of sight navigation but we like the comfort of a GPS with us in addition to a Maptech chart book. What have y'all found to work? Cheers, Danny

I do not know if it helps, but when it came time to buy (about 4 years ago), I purchased through the following link: http://g.factoryoutletstore.com/ I got quite a deal on a factory refurbished unit. Terry On Apr 10, 2012, at 4:27 AM, Danny wrote: > We have sailed with a Garmin 76 Handheld mounted to the top of the binnacle for just over 7 years. Last weekend the feature that displays tide info displayed the message "inaccurate data" and nothing more. The GPS feature works fine. We count on it when anchoring and picking our transits though places like the Tacoma Narrows which can present 5 knots currents. > When I contacted Garmin they told me that tidal data was no longer available for that unit and I would need to upgrade! That's what I call "push" marketing. They pushed me over the edge. Maybe I'll just keep it and add a copy of Capt. Jack's Almanac. > Our true goal is to replace it with another hand held with tides data under $500 unless there is something better available. The Sound is pretty much line of sight navigation but we like the comfort of a GPS with us in addition to a Maptech chart book. > What have y'all found to work? > Cheers, > Danny > >

I have a 76 hand held for 5 years and still don't know how it works, it's not intuitive like my Garmin II, which unfortunately is 8 channels. With more satellites up it's been working better lately, tho. Maybe I should spring for a Garmin II +? Same nice trianglular shape which you can place on a surface and see the display. Nothing like good old, 20th century technology, along with walking beam steam engines and DC-3s. And I almost forgot. Cals. Jerry From: Michael D <md… [at] yahoo.com> To: "Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com" <Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com> Sent: Tuesday, April 10, 2012 6:48 AM Subject: Re: [Cal_Boats] Garmin 76 Handheld (Danny) Danny, I too have a Garmin 76 handheld as a backup unit. Thanks for the information. We have been using a GPSMAP 276C on the binnacle for a few years along with the ENCs for Southeast FL and the Bahamas. Unfortunately, the 276C is no longer in production. Mine failed last October, but Garmin still services them and I got a refurbished/rebuilt unit for $250 (I think). While mulling whether to replace it with another make/model, it appears that all GPS manufacturers are going with larger screens to the point that it's not always practical for such a small boat as mine is. I'm really not interested in a lot of features that are now included... especially touchscreen models. To top that off, some of the prices that are listed are over my budget. I will be interested to know what you decide on and your opinion of how your replacement unit works. As an option, have you considered OpenCPN? You can run it on a laptop using a $25 USB GPS receiver. ENCs and RNCs are free from NOAA, and OpenCPN also provides tide data. Good Luck! --Michael-- s/v Magic, Cal 2-27 Pompano Beach, FL From: Danny <sa… [at] gmail.com> To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Sent: Tuesday, April 10, 2012 7:27 AM Subject: [Cal_Boats] Garmin 76 Handheld We have sailed with a Garmin 76 Handheld mounted to the top of the binnacle for just over 7 years. Last weekend the feature that displays tide info displayed the message "inaccurate data" and nothing more. The GPS feature works fine. We count on it when anchoring and picking our transits though places like the Tacoma Narrows which can present 5 knots currents. When I contacted Garmin they told me that tidal data was no longer available for that unit and I would need to upgrade! That's what I call "push" marketing. They pushed me over the edge. Maybe I'll just keep it and add a copy of Capt. Jack's Almanac. Our true goal is to replace it with another hand held with tides data under $500 unless there is something better available. The Sound is pretty much line of sight navigation but we like the comfort of a GPS with us in addition to a Maptech chart book. What have y'all found to work? Cheers, Danny

Speaking of good old 20th century GPS: A new hand held just for sailors. It takes into account tacking, tacking angles, tacking times and such: http://www.gizmag.com/the-sailing-gps-new-thought-adds-high-tech-to-the-art-and-joy-of-sailing/22069/?utm_source=Gizmag+Subscribers&utm_campaign=7a21438f5f-UA-2235360-4&utm_medium=email From: Gerald Sobel <so… [at] yahoo.com> To: "Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com" <Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com> Sent: Tuesday, April 10, 2012 9:42 AM Subject: Re: [Cal_Boats] Garmin 76 Handheld (Danny) I have a 76 hand held for 5 years and still don't know how it works, it's not intuitive like my Garmin II, which unfortunately is 8 channels. With more satellites up it's been working better lately, tho. Maybe I should spring for a Garmin II +? Same nice trianglular shape which you can place on a surface and see the display. Nothing like good old, 20th century technology, along with walking beam steam engines and DC-3s. And I almost forgot. Cals. Jerry From: Michael D <md… [at] yahoo.com> To: "Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com" <Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com> Sent: Tuesday, April 10, 2012 6:48 AM Subject: Re: [Cal_Boats] Garmin 76 Handheld (Danny) Danny, I too have a Garmin 76 handheld as a backup unit. Thanks for the information. We have been using a GPSMAP 276C on the binnacle for a few years along with the ENCs for Southeast FL and the Bahamas. Unfortunately, the 276C is no longer in production. Mine failed last October, but Garmin still services them and I got a refurbished/rebuilt unit for $250 (I think). While mulling whether to replace it with another make/model, it appears that all GPS manufacturers are going with larger screens to the point that it's not always practical for such a small boat as mine is. I'm really not interested in a lot of features that are now included... especially touchscreen models. To top that off, some of the prices that are listed are over my budget. I will be interested to know what you decide on and your opinion of how your replacement unit works. As an option, have you considered OpenCPN? You can run it on a laptop using a $25 USB GPS receiver. ENCs and RNCs are free from NOAA, and OpenCPN also provides tide data. Good Luck! --Michael-- s/v Magic, Cal 2-27 Pompano Beach, FL From: Danny <sa… [at] gmail.com> To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Sent: Tuesday, April 10, 2012 7:27 AM Subject: [Cal_Boats] Garmin 76 Handheld We have sailed with a Garmin 76 Handheld mounted to the top of the binnacle for just over 7 years. Last weekend the feature that displays tide info displayed the message "inaccurate data" and nothing more. The GPS feature works fine. We count on it when anchoring and picking our transits though places like the Tacoma Narrows which can present 5 knots currents. When I contacted Garmin they told me that tidal data was no longer available for that unit and I would need to upgrade! That's what I call "push" marketing. They pushed me over the edge. Maybe I'll just keep it and add a copy of Capt. Jack's Almanac. Our true goal is to replace it with another hand held with tides data under $500 unless there is something better available. The Sound is pretty much line of sight navigation but we like the comfort of a GPS with us in addition to a Maptech chart book. What have y'all found to work? Cheers, Danny

From: Allen Edwards <al… [at] gmail.com> To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Sent: Tuesday, April 10, 2012 6:40 AM Subject: Re: [Cal_Boats] Garmin 76 Handheld There is at least one tide app for an andriod phone that works without the internet and that is free. Also, the Maptech app at about $20 has charts and tide on a phone. Battery life is an issue but if you only need to check it out now and then it might work. You can also use my one page tide page to print out a page with several tide locations (up to 6) with one page per day. If you do short trips, that might be helpful. I think all the tide data is inaccurate to some degree. You can't really count on it to be within a few inches but even old data is useful to let you know if you need to be careful. Use it with that in mind. Garmin may have hard coded tide constants into the unit and now feel that they are just too old with no way to upgrade them or no motivation on the old unit and they don't want the liability of presenting old data. The "official" data is on the NOAA Tide and Current site. Allen On Tue, Apr 10, 2012 at 4:27 AM, Danny <sa… [at] gmail.com> wrote: > >We have sailed with a Garmin 76 Handheld mounted to the top of the binnacle for just over 7 years. Last weekend the feature that displays tide info displayed the message "inaccurate data" and nothing more. The GPS feature works fine. We count on it when anchoring and picking our transits though places like the Tacoma Narrows which can present 5 knots currents. >When I contacted Garmin they told me that tidal data was no longer available for that unit and I would need to upgrade! That's what I call "push" marketing. They pushed me over the edge. Maybe I'll just keep it and add a copy of Capt. Jack's Almanac. >Our true goal is to replace it with another hand held with tides data under $500 unless there is something better available. The Sound is pretty much line of sight navigation but we like the comfort of a GPS with us in addition to a Maptech chart book. >What have y'all found to work? >Cheers, >Danny > >

Michael: I've noticed the same trend: larger GPS's and more features. I know it helps their bottom line but it isn't what I need. I prefer simplicity, low power consumption and portability. I use Memory Map for planning trips at home and then upload the routes and waypoints to my Garmin 76. Sometimes I do the reverse and download the tracks from a trip to the PC to review them and save as possible future trips. Hard to do with a dedicated plotter. I used to manage tech support at Nobeltc, in their heyday, and have never wanted more than what I use now. Laptops aboard are great but they're more costly and vulnerable to damage and theft. I think I may get the Garmin 76Cx. It allows me to add charts to that tiny screen and include the tides data. West Marine is putting them on sale next week at $169. The chart chips are about $149 per region. But then the alternative is the Garmin GPSMAP® 78sc which is the newer body style and probably more of the future than the 76Cx. It's also about $450 with one region pre-loaded. I'm still shopping. What did we ever do before electronics... Danny --- In Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com, Michael D <mddfl@...> wrote: > > Danny, > > I too have a Garmin 76 handheld as a backup unit. Thanks for the information. > > We have been using a GPSMAP 276C on the binnacle for a few years along with the ENCs for Southeast FL and the Bahamas. <SNIP>

I use a Garmin GPS III and when I failed after all these years, I bought two more on eBay. Simple, easy to use interface. In racing, we set it to big numbers and TURN and Time to Next. TURN is a wonderful function. Tells you when you are at the layline and when you are on course on a reach. I am using an external powered antenna and it makes all the difference in the world. It finds the sats in just a few seconds. When I am crew on another boat, I use a Foretrex on my wrist. People call it my inspector gadget watch. I can then download the track and overlay them on the current map to see if we were in the best current. Very instructive. I looked at the one West Marine had on sale for about $150. Too hard to set up. Allen

I bought my 76 Map on Ebay for 125 bucks on auction five years ago. Too bad old dogs are adverse to learning anything new. I try to figure out how t work it while setting up for the start of the race. Good way to be really frustrated, and mess up your start. So frustrating! So, using an external powered antennae helps? You'd think the big swinging antennae on the side of my Garmin II would be enuff! I wonder how much a plus costs in operating condition? I'll have to check out of curiosity. Then maybe put my 76 up for sale, which is a shame cause I bought all the accessories for it. Jerry From: Allen Edwards <al… [at] gmail.com> To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Sent: Wednesday, April 11, 2012 10:33 PM Subject: Re: [Cal_Boats] Re: Garmin 76 Handheld (Danny) I use a Garmin GPS III and when I failed after all these years, I bought two more on eBay. Simple, easy to use interface. In racing, we set it to big numbers and TURN and Time to Next. TURN is a wonderful function. Tells you when you are at the layline and when you are on course on a reach. I am using an external powered antenna and it makes all the difference in the world. It finds the sats in just a few seconds. When I am crew on another boat, I use a Foretrex on my wrist. People call it my inspector gadget watch. I can then download the track and overlay them on the current map to see if we were in the best current. Very instructive. I looked at the one West Marine had on sale for about $150. Too hard to set up. Allen

Danny, BE we used charts, compass bearings and depth, all charted. I just finished the USPS Advanced Piloting Course. I think I need to take it again before trying to do the final exam. If you can pass that course you can figure out where you are anywhere you have a chart for. They rate a GPS fix as the most reliable, by the way. David Dobbs CAL29 411 From: Danny <sa… [at] gmail.com> To: Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com Sent: Wednesday, April 11, 2012 11:39 PM Subject: [Cal_Boats] Re: Garmin 76 Handheld (Danny) Michael: I've noticed the same trend: larger GPS's and more features. I know it helps their bottom line but it isn't what I need. I prefer simplicity, low power consumption and portability. I use Memory Map for planning trips at home and then upload the routes and waypoints to my Garmin 76. Sometimes I do the reverse and download the tracks from a trip to the PC to review them and save as possible future trips. Hard to do with a dedicated plotter. I used to manage tech support at Nobeltc, in their heyday, and have never wanted more than what I use now. Laptops aboard are great but they're more costly and vulnerable to damage and theft. I think I may get the Garmin 76Cx. It allows me to add charts to that tiny screen and include the tides data. West Marine is putting them on sale next week at $169. The chart chips are about $149 per region. But then the alternative is the Garmin GPSMAP® 78sc which is the newer body style and probably more of the future than the 76Cx. It's also about $450 with one region pre-loaded. I'm still shopping. What did we ever do before electronics... Danny --- In Ca… [at] yahoogroups.com, Michael D <mddfl@...> wrote: > > Danny, > > I too have a Garmin 76 handheld as a backup unit. Thanks for the information. > > We have been using a GPSMAP 276C on the binnacle for a few years along with the ENCs for Southeast FL and the Bahamas. <SNIP>