Garmin GPSMap 76Cx Handheld GPS

Average Customer Rating:

List Price: $535.99

Our Price: $219.64

You Save: $316.35 (59%)

Availability:

Usually ships in 24 hours (as of 8:55 PM CT - detail)

Features:

Bright, sunlight-readable color TFT display and an included a 128 MB microSD card

Uses the powerful SiRF GPS navigation chip for supreme accuracy

Lightweight, rugged, and water resistant case is fully bouyant

USB connectivity for sharing map and waypoint data with PC

Preloaded with an Americas autoroute basemap

Product Description

Aimed squarely at boaters and marine users, the Garmin GPSMap 76Cx is packed with features that seasoned mariners crave. The 7.6-ounce 76Cx now features an insanely accurate, high-sensitivity GPS receiver by SiRF that tracks your position even in tree cover and canyons. Plus, you get a bright, sunlight-readable color TFT display and an included a 128 MB microSD card for storage of optional map detail. Simply put, this powerful unit is ready to take you anywhere on the water. Landlubbers will find much to like about this unit, too, as it packs great GPS mapping capabilities into a compact device.

Projected waypoint display. View larger.

Track profile. View larger.

The GPSMap 76Cx features the powerful SiRF GPS navigation chip for supreme accuracy in all conditions.
You can use the 76Cx's memory card slot with preprogrammed microSD cards from Garmin (sold separately) that provide topographic maps, city streets, and nautical charts. In fact, the unit is compatible with most Garmin MapSource products, including BlueChart, City Navigator, U.S. Topo 24K, and U.S. Topo and Recreational Lakes with Fishing Hot Spots. The unit comes preloaded with an Americas autoroute basemap that provides automatic routing capabilities including highways, exits, and tide data. There's also a preloaded marine point database. You can even get turn-by-turn directions when you're driving, and an integrated trip computer provides odometer, stopped time, moving average, overall average, total time, max speed, and more.

The 76Cx's 2.6-inch, 256-color TFT color display is designed to present mapping and trip information clearly and accurately in any lighting conditions. Plus, the case is lightweight, rugged, and water resistant to IEC 60529 IPX7 standards (can be submerged in one meter of water for 30 minutes). Marine users will also like the fact that the 76Cx floats. When using two AA alkaline batteries, you'll get up to 30 hours of battery life from the unit.

Another key feature of the 76Cx is the 10,000 point automatic track log; 20 saved tracks (500 points each) let you retrace your path in both directions. Meanwhile, there's a large numbers option for easy viewing, as well as a dual-position display mode. The unit also includes built-in celestial tables for best times to fish and hunt, as well as sun and moon calculations. You also get audible alarms for anchor drag, arrival, off-course, proximity waypoint, and clock.

The 76Cx's trip computer provides odometer, stopped time, moving average, overall average, total time, max speed, and more. Meanwhile, a fast processor allows the 60Cx to provide quick auto-routing, turn-by-turn directions, and audio alerts when you use the optional MapSource software, which can be stored on the unit's included 128 MB microSD card. Downloading information is quick with the USB or serial port interfaces. Using the dedicated serial port, the 76Cx can share navigation instructions with repeaters, plotters, and autopilots.

If you like the features of the 76Cx but require an electronic compass and a barometric altimeter, check out the Garmin GPSMap 76CSx.

What's in the Box
76Cx unit, 128 MB microSD card, belt clip, USB interface cable, MapSource Trip and Waypoint Manager CD, lanyard, owners manual, and quick-start guide.

Spotlight Customer Reviews:

Customer Rating:

Summary:

Good little GPS handheld

Comment:

The 76cx is a great little GPS. I can't believe how well it stays locked on even when in the car below the dash panel. I use it between boat and car and did understand before purchasing that two software packages were needed before it would guide me either street by street or navigate the waterways.
The screen is quite small, but readable. The rubber cover that goes over the USB port on the back came off. It is held in place with a tiny phillips head screw. When I took out the screw to reattach the cover, it fell on the floor and was impossible to find again. That is my only complaint so far.

Customer Rating:

Summary:

very nice...

Comment:

...but there are two things that annoy me:
The color display is significantly smaller than the one on the older monochrome gpsmap 76.
The screws on the back of the unit quickly get rusty when exposed to saltwater.

If you don't need a device that floats, I'd recommend buying its prettier sister, the 60csx for the following reasons: it is smaller (but its display is the same size), it looks nicer and it has the keys in the right place (below the display).

Customer Rating:

Summary: A good buy
Comment: I wanted a hand held device that would work well in a car and this does both very well. No external antennae needed in the car either. However, an external power cable is needed because batteries do not last long. Accuracy is excellent.

Customer Rating:

Summary:

So far I like it, really 4.5 stars.

Comment:

Having used a huge number of GPS units over many years, I must say that the 76CX is very good.

Pro's
Removable memory (now up to 1GB)
Can be powered from 2 AA cells for a long time.
Nice Color Screen, no back light needed daytime
Water resistant
No easy to break off parts
Can be powered from USB connection!
Memory Cards(Micro SD) can be written to outside of unit
Does a good job routing for automobile use
Has marine and geocaching functions as well as hiking stuff like track logs etc.
fair pricing
Lots of optionally available maps
Garmin support is good including firmware updates that add functionality.

Cons:
Screen could be larger
Requires purchase of maps for street level(but this keeps price down, for people who aren't driving with it)
Even with car kit unit doesn't talk at all("turn right next" or more recent auto units that pronounce street names)like the NUVI units do.

That said this and the 60 series are the only GPS units that you can drive with as well as use for hiking/boating/geocaching that work really well. The Magellan units that support both Meridian and Explorist are not nearlly as nice from a hardware, software and firmware point of view.

I will keep this unit until Garmin comes out with one that talks and pronounces street names as well as all the other functions that the 76 has. Would have also cosidered the 60CX but the price of the 76CX was better with the rebate offered this month.

Customer Rating:

Summary:

Complete rip off

Comment:

The Garmin GPSMAP76Cx is very disappointing. Garmin recommended this unit after I contacted them about wanting a GPS I could transfer from my boat to my car and vice versa. It was more money than I had expected to pay but then it looked like it had everything I needed and although I knew I would have to buy a Bluechart map I was assured these were readily available on micro SD card. I was assured that the included Metroguide Europe software had detailed maps of the UK and therefore I would not need to purchase additional maps for using in the car. However when the unit arrived it became clear that the Metroguide Europe software does not do "auto-routing" (you can't get the GPS to find places and direct you to them) unless you have first worked out all your routes on a PC and uploaded them to the 76CX unit. If you want the 76CX to behave like a proper automotive GPS unit you have to purchase the City Navigator software which is another ?150! This seems completely crazy as dedicated car sat nav units are available for this price with auto-routing and all the bells and whistles as standard. The fact that Garmin didn't include the City Navigator software rather than the completely useless Metroguide software seems very mean spirited to me. At this point I was starting to feel a bit ripped off so I thought I would just buy the Bluechart Micro SD card and use the 76CX on the boat, and probably buy a proper dedicated road GPS separately. However when I tried to buy the Bluechart map on Micro SD card I couldn't find anyone in the UK who had them in stock. Garmin will only sell them directly within the US and eventually when I found someone who said they could order the card for me they said it would be "at least 10 days" to get it to them and it would cost 50% more than Garmin charge their US customers! After contacting Garmin's support team I was told to buy a blank SD card and the Bluechart map on CD - even more expensive! The Bluechart maps are also for quite large areas which is useless for me as I only have a small boat with a 10 mile range so really wont need such a large area but still you have no option to just buy the bit you need - you have to purchase an entire section! All in all this unit is fine - the screen is smaller than I would have liked and there's no voice directions, it also feels a lot flimsier than I thought it would, but the additional costs of maps and poor availability of pre programmed micro SD cards mean this is incredibly poor value for money - I really regret buying it now and wish I had done more research.