Is Garmin GPSMAP 78s ok for comps?

Summary:

Advice needed for GPS purchase for first comp.

Is Garmin GPSMAP 78s ok for comps?

Ben Philpott (guest) 04 May 2011 00:03

Hi All,
Just buying a GPS so I can enter my first competition - hopefully BOS Round 3 in Mid Wales.
I think the Garmon GPSMAP 78s ticks all the boxes for comp flying.
Am I right?
Ben
AKA The Punter

Re: Is Garmin GPSMAP 78s ok for comps?

Baz69 04 May 2011 14:07

Ben, hold on!!!

I bought a Garmin 78 (not the 78s) for the same reason and am looking to sell it because I found that although it appeared to tick all the boxes, it’s the usability of the 78 that I can't get on with. Here are a few reasons;

1. When waypoints are uploaded either by using GPSDump or MapSource, they are listed in no logical order so this make it very time consuming scrolling through them all to create a route
2. Once a route has been created you can only view the total distance and not the individual leg distances
3. If you upload additional maps, like the Airspace maps, you can only enable all or none where as with other Garmin MAP GPS’ you can select or deselect single or multiple maps
4. I also found that at the recent BOS, Phil and Co. were unable to upload the waypoints to my 78, also they could not retrieve a track log from it either

Hope this helps

Baz

Re: Is Garmin GPSMAP 78s ok for comps?

ThePunter 05 May 2011 22:31

Thanks Baz
Looks like I will send it back unopened when it arrives tomorrow.
Anyone know about the new Garmin GPSMAP 62s?
http://www.handtec.co.uk/product.php/3063/garmin-gpsmap-62s

Flippin' minefield! Would have thought that the newer models would handle things better…..

If buying second hand - what do peeps recommend? I am also flying with wrist mounted iphone4 running Memory Maps for general navigation, but need the GPS for logging and airspace awareness.

Ben
AKA The Punter

Mike Townsend (guest) 01 Jun 2011 22:50

I think the poorer ones of us will have to stick to the Garmin GPSMAP 76 or 96 (don't mention the 76 and Air Maps to Garmin, they don't recommend it for some reason). The B&W versions have wider screens (the Colour versions, 76C and 96C, have narrower displays).

Make absolutely sure it's a 'GPSMAP', not a GPS… eBay have a habit of mis-naming these and the 'GPS' doesn't have enough memory for maps, so look at the photos very carefully and mail the seller to be sure. Try and go for one with an 'x' after the number - it has a memory card slot inside the battery compartment and 'appears' to run faster. Perhaps 76 and 96 users can advise here.

Re: Is Garmin GPSMAP 78s ok for comps?

ThePunter 12 Jun 2011 07:09

Thanks fro the feedback guys.
After some considerable research I opted for the Garmin GPSMAPS 60CSX - it is widely used by HG and PG XC and comp pilots.
Only trouble being that it is discontinued so had to source one from US (with US base map).
Now have a basic UK map installed with the airspace as per the ukairspace site.
All seems to be good and looking forward to flying with it at BOS3 at the end of the month.