Garmin GPSMAP 176c

[Marc]

Steve,

Here are the best answers I can give you regarding your 176c questions:

Does it snap to roads?

Not as far as I can tell. However, the screen update is a lot faster than with the old unit and the new MetroGuide software is considerably more accurate than the older version I was using (at least in my area). I was driving back home yesterday from a great day of snowmobiling. We were in a friggin' blizzard and on unfamiliar roads at night (in the Cruiser, not on the GS). I had the GPS on its' dash mount with the resolution set to 800 ft. It was nice knowing where the turns were in advance. Yes, we made it home.

What use are the metroguide maps vs the Roads and Rec ones I download into the GPSIII+?

Well, it used to be that the R&R was great for off roading, while the MetroGuide was primarily for streets. With the latest update to the MetroGuide, it now has almost everything that the R&R has (again, in my area). I compared the two and all the remote forest roads I'm interested in are now listed in the MetroGuide although some of the remote lakes and places still don't show names like they do in the R&R. I just use the MetroGuide now because it allows you to find addresses, places of business, gas stations, etc.

metroguide CD in his PC...how well does this work?

Before we left on our little outing yesterday, I tried this. I let the PC plan the route for me using the MetroGuide software. It came up with a great route - and the route line exactly followed all the roads. When I downloaded the route to the GPS (this is where you still have to use the serial port), I noticed that the turns and distances were downloaded, but the road-following lines were not. So, while the I-90 freeway wiggled around for about 70 miles, my route went as the crow flies direct to the turnoff at about 60 miles. It would be nice to have the route follow the turns of the actual road, but the important things (where to turn) were there.

HTH,

Marc

[stevenknapp]

Marc,

Thanks for the advice. My reason for asking about the R&R maps is that my understanding is that they take up less space. Since the R&R ones don't have all the extra hotel/eats info. I use the R&R maps for on-road nav with my GPSIII+ and have been happy enough with them.

Seems odd you can't put the routes on the card via USB, instead you need two connections to the PC.

I was at the local fishing/hunting/outdoors show (sorta a letdown) and chatted with the Garmin and Lowrance folk and played with the GPSV and 176 for the first time.

The GPS176 would be totally kick ass if it had the "rubberband" (Garmin rep's term) feature like the old SP-mono. Routing isn't a big deal for me. I liked it's size (same width as the GPSV, but taller, not as deep as the SPIII), big screen, and fast updates. The GPSV screen is tons better than my III+, but seemed dinky compared to the 176.

The SPIII seemed good for road use, but no fucking way would I want to cary that around, use it on a kayak, whatnot. The 176 was oddly portable feeling. None of them will really fit in a pocket, but the 176 was light, and seemed a good size for a fanny-pack or outer backpack pocket. I suppose if I kept my GPSIII+ the SPIII would be the winner. Hmm..

The intresting datapoint was that Lowrance's units use standard COTS SD/MMC cards. They also appear to be running WindowsCE. Their small mapping GPS seemed nice enough, but wasn't waterproof. The marine sized ones (much bigger than the 176) were 100% waterproof, but big. Still a 2nd ran for me, but the use of normal memory was a big bonus and will hopefully start a trend (whatcha bet that the Garmin stuff has the same pinout but is a different form factor! :): )

Anyways, all too rich for me right now. I'll stick with what I got. But the 176 is a really intresting unit...now the 176 with the GPSV routing SW...

[fish]

So it seems that the StreetpilotIII kicks ass over the other GPS units, right?

[stevenknapp]

Depends...IMHO there is no ideal GPS for everyone.

How deep are your pockets? The SPIII is big $$$.

How important is autorouting or rubberbanding? The 176 doesn't do it.

How important is a big screen? The 176's screen bigger. Didn't see a 176c, but the mono screen was very sharp. As was the GPSVs. Made the lowrance stuff look low-rez...very low-rez.

How much do you value being able to config the boxes on the screen (speed and whatnot)? The SP series isn't too configurable.

Do you want to use it for other things? Maybe the GPSV's size.

Fish, when I was planning that SF trip I made a big effort to have the route punched in the GPS before I left. It was a good motovator, and the SP/GPSV would have made that easier with the rubberbanding. But around local roads, the 176s larger screen would let me see more of that intresting side road...that's one of the great benefits of the GPS... I can't decide I think I'll keep what I got.

I know that the units will get better. I like the 176 more than I ever expected I would. It just seemed like my III+...but with a second III+ stacked on top . I'm not sure about the SPIII (tho a mono SP for <$200 is tempting)...seems expensive and loaded with features I'm not sure I'd use...probably because I've used more generic GPS's than the auto-specific ones.

[canike]

Any of you GPS wizards ride with polarized sunglasses? I would appreciate any information on how the SPIII or 176 screens work with polarized sunglasses.

Thanks,

Tony.
01 1150gs

[markgsnw]

This thread is very interesting as I'm hot on buying a GPS unit. Seems like bargain hunters like me can get a SP or III plus for around $200...how suitable would either of these be for poking around logging roads and fire trails? I'm not interested in point to point naviagtion, I am interested in saving routes and waypoints, and having a map that shows back roads.

Seems like you can sink a lot of money into one of these babies without trying too hard:eek:


Mark

[stevenknapp]

Both are pretty good units.

Check out
http://www.gpsriders.com
http://joe.mehaffey.com/

The SP lets you "snap" to roads...called rubberbanding.

And you are correct sir, it is possible to spend big $$$ pretty quickly.

[Marc]

Originally posted by markgsnw
...bargain hunters like me can get a SP or III plus for around $200...how suitable would either of these be for poking around logging roads and fire trails...

Mark,

First, hello and welcome to advrider. We need to get you an avatar! Oh yeah, (standard disclaimer) don't pet the fish.

Regarding your GPS question, either will work perfectly for logging road / forest trail use. The III+ has 1.5 MB RAM and can hold four or more Oregon counties' worth of Roads & Rec maps - more than enough to keep you very happy for a long time. The StreetPilot uses the external memory cards, so you can put a lot more in there. For off-road use, the III+ would be my choice because:

• it's lighter and easire to carry around off the bike
• it's screens are configurable
• you can display source voltage (nice to see what your bike's electrical system is doing)

Anyways, I just sold my old StreetPilot here for $225 (included mount, power cords, 16 MB memory card, etc.). If you hunt around here, on ibmwr.org and on e-bay, there are some decent deals to be had.

FYI... here's a brief listing of some Garmin Roads & Rec sizes for counties around you:
Clatsop County Oregon 186 KB
Tillamook County Oregon 233 KB
Yamhill County Oregon 164 KB
Columbia County Oregon 135 KB
Washington County Oregon 278 KB
Multnomah County Oregon 337 KB
Clackamas County (North) Oregon 295 KB
Clackamas County (South) Oregon 122 KB
Polk County Oregon 146 KB


Lemme know if you have any more questions I can help you with...

Marc

[WageSlave]

Touratech USA (a.k.a. Cycoative) has a comparison chart on GPS devices that some may find of interest.

http://www.cycoactive.com/gps/gps_compare.html

[fish]

Originally posted by Marc


First, hello and welcome to advrider. We need to get you an avatar! Oh yeah, (standard disclaimer) don't pet the fish.

I'd like to join the pissin' simian in offering you a heart Howdy and welcome!! Outstanding avatar selection! I was hoping someone would choose my favorite stooge

[stevenknapp]

Alright..how big are the metroguide maps in real life? The web site said about 1.5MB per square...in which case SHIT I'll stick to R&R and put the whole damm US in one 128MB card...or close.

I stopped by Bass Pro last night. While their selection of shooting vests sucked. They did have the GPSV, SP3, and GPS176.

My thoughts:

Good thing my wife was there.

The SP3 seems bigger than it is, it's quite deep, about another inch over the SP-mono. The screen didn't seem that useful, nor was I impressed with the color. It talks to you said the sales guy. Good for finding your way around the city he said.

The GPSV seemed to have the same amount of info on it's screen. Smaller.

G176. I want one. Not big in an annoying way. Light. The screen offers good detail and is BIG. Oh, and pan/zoom operations are super fast, the other units you watch the map draw, takes a number of seconds. Here it's just instant...

Only one of the three that I could tolerate using like I would a paper map...panning, zooming in/out. Even at one zoom level it was about the same size and amount of detail as a section of paper map. I could see planning routes on this thing at the side of the road without killing myself too... Did I mention that I want one? I've not had snap-to-road nor have I had autorouting...but I'd rather have the speed and screen real estate.

[stevenknapp]

Originally posted by fish
So it seems that the StreetpilotIII kicks ass over the other GPS units, right?

Fish after playing with the 176 the SPIII seemed like an old PC. Functional, has some intresting features. But dog slow.

[Marc]

Steve,

Nice write-up - I couldn't have said it better myself! Now if it'd just stop snowing long enough for me to go for a ride and use the damn thing...

Marc

[stevenknapp]

Marc, while watching the flakes fall...could you give me an idea of Metroguide map size?

I'm trying to decide what this is going to cost, do I need to get Metroguide, or can I live with R&R. I'm leaning towards keeping R&R as it's good enough detail for me, and the maps seem small.

Having said that, the III+'s base map has some gas station/exit type info already in it. And I do find that useful. If I understand correctly, the 176 w/out metroguide has no such info?

Thanks!
Steve

[Marc]

Originally posted by stevenknapp
...could you give me an idea of Metroguide map size?

Here's your state (IL) as rendered by R&R:

Jo Daviess County Illinois 133 KB
Carroll County Illinois 79 KB
Whiteside County Illinois 119 KB
Rock Island County Illinois 143 KB
Mercer County Illinois 73 KB
Henderson County Illinois 64 KB
Hancock County Illinois 107 KB
Adams County Illinois 145 KB
Pike County Illinois 129 KB
Calhoun County Illinois 55 KB
Jersey County Illinois 69 KB
Madison County Illinois 247 KB
St. Clair County Illinois 253 KB
Monroe County Illinois 75 KB
Randolph County Illinois 118 KB
Jackson County Illinois 115 KB
Union County Illinois 71 KB
Alexander County Illinois 54 KB
Pulaski County Illinois 43 KB
Massac County Illinois 49 KB
Pope County Illinois 47 KB
Hardin County Illinois 31 KB
Gallatin County Illinois 48 KB
White County Illinois 102 KB
Edwards County Illinois 47 KB
Lawrence County Illinois 67 KB
Crawford County Illinois 80 KB
Clark County Illinois 81 KB
Edgar County Illinois 81 KB
Vermilion County Illinois 147 KB
Iroquois County Illinois 118 KB
Kankakee County Illinois 122 KB
Will County Illinois 292 KB
Cook County (South) Illinois 382 KB
Cook County (Central) Illinois 351 KB
Cook County (North) Illinois 372 KB
Lake County Illinois 334 KB
McHenry County Illinois 185 KB
Boone County Illinois 48 KB
Winnebago County Illinois 187 KB
Stephenson County Illinois 100 KB
Wabash County Illinois 53 KB
Ogle County Illinois 117 KB
Lee County Illinois 103 KB
DeKalb County Illinois 94 KB
Kane County Illinois 199 KB
DuPage County Illinois 342 KB
Kendall County Illinois 62 KB
La Salle County Illinois 199 KB
Bureau County Illinois 129 KB
Henry County Illinois 110 KB
Warren County Illinois 67 KB
Fulton County Illinois 136 KB
Knox County Illinois 116 KB
McDonough County Illinois 87 KB
Schuyler County Illinois 67 KB
Brown County Illinois 43 KB
Morgan County Illinois 97 KB
Scott County Illinois 40 KB
Greene County Illinois 76 KB
Macoupin County Illinois 141 KB
Washington County Illinois 91 KB
Clinton County Illinois 103 KB
Bond County Illinois 62 KB
Montgomery County Illinois 118 KB
Christian County Illinois 104 KB
Sangamon County Illinois 201 KB
Menard County Illinois 59 KB
Logan County Illinois 86 KB
Tazewell County Illinois 135 KB
Woodford County Illinois 82 KB
Marshall County Illinois 61 KB
Peoria County Illinois 170 KB
Cass County Illinois 71 KB
Mason County Illinois 90 KB
Fayette County Illinois 128 KB
Effingham County Illinois 95 KB
Jasper County Illinois 72 KB
Richland County Illinois 70 KB
Clay County Illinois 89 KB
Marion County Illinois 126 KB
Hamilton County Illinois 64 KB
Williamson County Illinois 128 KB
Jefferson County Illinois 124 KB
Perry County Illinois 89 KB
Wayne County Illinois 117 KB
Saline County Illinois 77 KB
Franklin County Illinois 113 KB
Johnson County Illinois 59 KB
Shelby County Illinois 109 KB
Piatt County Illinois 62 KB
Macon County Illinois 121 KB
De Witt County Illinois 59 KB
Stark County Illinois 35 KB
Putnam County Illinois 33 KB
Grundy County Illinois 80 KB
Livingston County Illinois 120 KB
McLean County Illinois 185 KB
Ford County Illinois 63 KB
Champaign County Illinois 156 KB
Coles County Illinois 95 KB
Moultrie County Illinois 59 KB
Cumberland County Illinois 52 KB
Douglas County Illinois 67 KB

Total: 11.7 MB

---

Here's your state (IL) as rendered by MetroGuide:

Waukegan, Illinois MetroGuide USA 776 KB
Mundelein, Illinois MetroGuide USA 726 KB
McHenry, Illinois MetroGuide USA 342 KB
Belvidere, Illinois MetroGuide USA 492 KB
Rockford, Illinois MetroGuide USA 2.3 MB
Dubuque, Iowa MetroGuide USA 1.5 MB
Davenport, Iowa MetroGuide USA 2.1 MB
Dixon, Illinois MetroGuide USA 1.5 MB
Galesburg, Illinois MetroGuide USA 1.3 MB
Peoria, Illinois MetroGuide USA 2.1 MB
Burlington, Iowa MetroGuide USA 1.2 MB
Jacksonville, Illinois MetroGuide USA 1.2 MB
Springfield, Illinois MetroGuide USA 2.0 MB
Decatur, Illinois MetroGuide USA 1.8 MB
Collinsville, Illinois MetroGuide USA 2.3 MB
Mount Vernon, Illinois MetroGuide USA 1.6 MB
Cape Girardeau, Missouri MetroGuide USA 1.8 MB
Paducah, Kentucky MetroGuide USA 1.8 MB
Washington, Indiana MetroGuide USA 2.2 MB
Terre Haute, Indiana MetroGuide USA 2.1 MB
Bloomington, Illinois MetroGuide USA 1.7 MB
Streator, Illinois MetroGuide USA 401 KB
Morris, Illinois MetroGuide USA 531 KB
De Kalb, Illinois MetroGuide USA 398 KB
Lake Michigan 1, Illinois MetroGuide USA 1 KB
Evanston, Illinois MetroGuide USA 334 KB
Oak Lawn, Illinois MetroGuide USA 1.0 MB
Kankakee, Illinois MetroGuide USA 798 KB
Danville, Illinois MetroGuide USA 1.3 MB
Elgin, Illinois MetroGuide USA 656 KB
Aurora, Illinois MetroGuide USA 658 KB
Boulder Hill, Illinois MetroGuide USA 216 KB
Lansing, Illinois MetroGuide USA 1.7 MB
Chicago, Illinois MetroGuide USA 2.0 MB
Cicero, Illinois MetroGuide USA 1.9 MB
Wheaton, Illinois MetroGuide USA 1.4 MB
Joliet, Illinois MetroGuide USA 922 KB
Schaumburg, Illinois MetroGuide USA 1.1 MB
Des Plaines, Illinois MetroGuide USA 1.6 MB

Total: 51.9 MB

Now, 11.7 MB vs. 51.9 MB isn't exactly apples-to-apples, but it's as close as I could make it. MetroGuide crosses a few state lines here and there, where with R&R you can pick all the counties within a state. You get the idea. I really like MetroGuide because it lists so much good stuff (gas stations, hotels, etc.). I guess it's up to you. Remember, you can carry more than one cartridge (they're small) with you...

Marc