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View Full Version : MAPTECH / Garmin 276



TuxedoPk
08-07-2004, 12:21 AM
Is anyone using Maptech's electronic maps or software? At first glance it looks like their software and maps are far superior to Garmins offerings when you run them on a laptop or PocketPC.

I've owned my Garmin 276 for 2 days now and have mixed feelings about it so far- 28 days left to really learn how to use the system and determine if it is going to be a keeper.
The system I have includes Bluechart and City Select.

Initial Reactions:

Hardware- The screen is terrific. Because this unit is meant to be used on land and water the hardware design leaves much to be desired in terms of the time it takes to pop off the built in antenna and plug in an external antenna. Really annoying is the time it takes to get the little rubber weather cap off the power connection.

User Interface- As my first experience using a GPS/Chartplotter I have not fount the interface to be very intuitive. While I'm new to boating, I'm not new to computers, and this thing is a royal pain in the a#$ to learn.

Transferring Maps- I've installed the City Select and BlueChart software on my pc and downloaded maps to the unit. 50% of the transfers yield a transfer error message; no rhyme or reason as to when it transfers flawlessly or when it gives an error.

Documentation-This would have been a nice feature to include with the software. I haven't taken a thorough look on the CDs to see if electronic docs were supplied, but it seems that a PDF file should have been linked as part of the install. For the price, full printed docs should have been provided.

Missing useful feature- Perhaps I just haven't learned how yet, but it seems to me like the unit should give you the ability to create additional screens to customize with fields of your choice that can be paged thru by using the page button. This would surely beat just having the ability to modify a few preset screens.

I'm hoping that by the end of the weekend I'll have created land and sea routes with success. On the water today the Bluechart wasn't working and I'll be trying it again tomorrow.

Ranman
08-09-2004, 08:30 AM
Transferring Maps- I've installed the City Select and BlueChart software on my pc and downloaded maps to the unit. 50% of the transfers yield a transfer error message; no rhyme or reason as to when it transfers flawlessly or when it gives an error.

Make sure you are running software version 2.7 in the unit. Mine was shipped with v2.5 and I had xfer issues. Once updated to v2.7 all was better. You can get the firmware updates on Garmin's website.

JimG205
08-09-2004, 03:30 PM
Been doing research on these for my Minx,Spoken to alot of mariners,not sales people.The Lowrance M68C and 335 LCX,are the front runners,lots for your $ and easy to use and see-the 335 my be overkill,but it's packed with technology.

Mr X
08-09-2004, 04:47 PM
I have 3 Garmin's.......if you get the USB cable to connect to the GPS, it is easy and fast with NO problems.