Garmin GPSMAP 176c

[Razorbak]

.....................

[Marc]

Razorbak,

First, I just love the 176c. I'm so happy...(what a wonderful wife I've got. She listens) Why did I pick this particular GPS? Lemme see:
[list=1][*]Resolution. The 176c has 320X240 resolution. That's 76,800 shiny little pixels all trying to convey information to the renchin' retard. My old StreetPilot had 160X240 resolution - exactly half.[*]Configurability. I was always wishing I could change the screen layout with the StreetPilot. With the 176c, I'm in almost complete control of what goes where. I like that. The 176c gives me input voltage so I can see WTF is happening with the bike's electrical system.[*]Speed. The 176c is noticable faster than the SP when it comes to scrolling, updating, booting up, etc.[*]Size. Same measurements as SP. Just layed out differently.[*]Mount-ability. Touratech just came out with a really cool mount for these babies. Check it out here.[*]Data Capacity. The 50 map limit was killing me with the SP. I bought a 128 MB card to use with the 176c and just loaded the western 1/2 of the US (Roads and Rec). You know, CA - WA - MT - NM.[*]Rumors. Rumor has it that Garmin might be working on a way to update the internal software on the 176c to add routing capability. This one is just a rumor. Nice to have, but not why I picked this unit.[*]Cool-factor. Yep. It's dayyyum cool. Works in the rain. Great display. Just gotta remember to take it off the bike when I park, or else it's gone![/list=1]

I almost went with the V, but the screen size, 19 MB memory limitation and lack of USB connection drove me away. You ever try to load 19 MB via serial connection? I loaded about 110 MB data via USB to my new 128 MB Garmin data card yesterday - about five minutes.

There's a lot more. But the bottom line is that I'm really happy. The SP was a good unit that served me well. It's sturdy, does almost everything I wanted it to do, and went a lot of places with me. I hope Briani gets lots of use out of it (he bought it). I just was ready for a few changes. Lemme know if you want more info - I'm happy to talk about this new toy.

Better yet, hop on your GS and ride out here and see it! I hear Iron-Butt riders can make it in a day. Hell, you could do it in a 3-day weekend...

Marc

[Marc]

Originally posted by Razorbak
...Ever had to board a pig for a few days?

Kinda reminds me of some of my 'ol Dating Days back at Cow Poly... (I'm certain fish'll have something to add here). Anyways, I'm out the door with The BOY to go do some outside stuff. I'll answer your questions this PM when I get back... L8R

Marc

[fish]

Originally posted by Razorbak

Speaking of takin' it off, exactly how easy is it to dismount?

Easy. Just whisper "ya know, your sister is a better lay than you are" in her ear.

Don't tempt me. I might take you up on it, and then you'd be sorry. Ever had to board a pig for a few days?

Hey, if porky rides out, then I can ride up...and you'll have to contend with both a pig and a shark

[fish]

Originally posted by Marc


Kinda reminds me of some of my 'ol Dating Days back at Cow Poly... (I'm certain fish'll have something to add here).

Yeah baby...a fellow Mustang!

[Killen]

Tusky is right about that "routing thing". I've seen the V in action and it is so slow in comparison to the SP. Are any of us that reliant on routing features that we need or want to be told when to turn and shit like that?

My Street Pilot give me the "as the crow flies" line and I figure it our as I go.....it's half the fun. I know the III and the V are popular, but I can't figure out why they don't make a bigger screen for those models. The GPS doesn't get in the way...Touratech has that figured out.

Turkeyman

[John Fallon]

Marc, tell me you didn't pay the MSRP of $350 for the 128m chip.
That makes it a very expensive GPS.
for my camera I just upgraded my memory to 128m for $72.00
Waiting for your complete report.

[Marc]

$229.99 @ SafeTrac GPS. Cost/MB is still too high, but that's the best out there (for now). Unfortunately, due to the proprietary memory card design, they've got you by the short hairs :eek: - and no one I have been able to find has discovered a second source. Damn.

Re the pics of the Touratech mount you asked for Chop - rechargable batteries dead in digital camera. Went to put in spare set of rechargables and found out they'd been sucked dry in The BOY's Game Boy Advance. Pictures coming soon...

Marc

[Marc]

Originally asked by Razorbak
...How useful is the routing feature for a GS rider?...

For this GS rider, not very. Most of my GPS use revolves around exploring the hundreds of miles of forest roads around here. You get combinations of dirt / pavement / dirt that wind around all over the place. Garmin's Roads and Rec. works best for me. If I was riding in unfamiliar cities, I'd probably miss the routing.

Porky went on to ask
Speaking of takin' it off, exactly how easy is it to dismount?

How's < 15 sec. grab 'ya? I'm not kidding. And it's very secure while in the mount!

Squealer continued with this
Since this appears to be primarily a marine unit, do you have a boat, or are you using this exclusively with your bikes?

Better than having a boat, I have friends with boats! Here's The BOY:


More of The BOY:


The frau and I enjoying a fine day of boating...

Oinker finished with this
How well does the unit work in a cage?

If you get the car beanbag mount, it works great. I've tried it in a Land Cruiser and in a Minnie-Van and it's worked great. You don't have to get an external antenna or anything, the one that came with the unit works just fine.

Pictures of the mount tomorrow.

Marc

[Marc]

Originally posted by Razorbak
...So whatrya waitin' for? You making the batteries by hand?

Because I care... here's the pics you asked for. There's some bug that shows up somewhere between my cheapo camera, free editing software, Micor$oft Win 2K, my discount web site, and this place that causes the pics to look "funny". Hopefully, these will show up ok... So, here you go.

1). Here's the Touratech mount on my bike (taken from the front/side):


2). Here's the mount from the top:


3). The GPS' antenna fits nicely through the opening in the mount. The mount has two 3/8" tabs that nicely fit into recesses in the top/bottom of the GPS:


4). This thingee flips over the GPS and holds it down. It's held down by that plastic screw thing and two bolts. It's more secure than it looks:


5). The power cord is held captive by this holder. It's great and won't vibrate loose:


I hope that answers your questions. BTW, the "battery making" process involved about 3-1/2 bottles of nice red wine. As a result, the expected results were delayed considerably...

Marc

[fish]

Great pix, marc. For some reason, I thought the 176 was huge, and it doesn't seem to be much larger than a streetpilot. I really like the way the TT gps mounts look...really high-tech.

[John Fallon]

Great pics, looks like the 176 is for me. not interested in routing.
just want to know what my options are.
need the larger screen for these old blue eyes.
What about a tank bag?
Have, do you, use a tank bag?
if so can you still see the gps?
tanks

[John Fallon]

Just a couple of more questions, I had read a couple of reviews saying that the back lighting was a problem in daylight.
Had any such problems?
Also looks like the bar holding the unit in place is very close to the controls. With gloves on it might be hard to access the left control buttons.
I don't know if you need to use those buttons while moving.
thanks
john

[Marc]

John,

First - I live up here in the NorthWet. It's been cloudy and rainy since I got the thing. Therefore, I can't tell you how well it'll work in the sun...until I see it! However, I can speak to using the unit with gloves while in the cradle. No problem. The bar does not interfere with any operations - bare-handed or with gloves. As to the sun thing - I'll have to get back to you on that. The unit does, however, function perfectly in the rain and in the dark.

**added 1/20/02**
...and in the snow.

Marc

[stevenknapp]

Alright..I'm drooling over the 176c...

Couple questions:

- Does it snap to roads?
- What use are the metroguide maps vs the Roads and Rec ones I download into the GPSIII+?
- A reviewer mentioned routing with the metroguide CD in his PC...how well does this work?

I really don't care about the auto-routing, but being able to snap to a road would be helpful..