GARMIN GPSmap 62 series

GARMIN GPSmap 62 series

Rugged hand held GPS receiver with large color display, integrated base map, auto-routing and USB interface. The GPSmap 62s and 62st are additionally equipped with an electronic compass, a barometrical altimeter, a slot for an optional uSD memory card, a connector for an external antenna and support wireless communication with compatible devices. The GPSmap 62st comes furthermore with a pre-installed topographic map of Europe.

The devices of the GARMIN GPSmap 62 series are very easy to use thanks to their rocker key and user friendly graphical interface. They consume little power, support multiple languages and have an integrated base map. They provide 1.7 GB rsp. 600 MB free built-in memory to store even more detailed information, such as local roads, restaurants, public buildings and other points of interest. All models are equipped with an USB interface.
The GPSmap 62s and GPSmap 62st are both equipped with a slot for an optional uSD memory card in the battery compartment, a built-in electronic compass, a barometrical altimeter, a connector for an external antenna, they can exchange data wireless with compatible devices and can receive data from an optional heart rate monitor and an optional speed/cadence sensor. Additionally, the GPSmap 62st comes with a pre-installed topographic map of Europe. The extremely sensitive antenna provides navigation information outdoors, in a car, in a train or even in an airplane (see MapSource examples).

Features:

• Portable, easy to use, robust, waterproof to IPX-7 standard (withstands 30 minutes under water up to 1 meter (3 feet) deep)
• Large, easy to read color display with background illumination (65536 colors, 160x240 pixel)
• Easy to use thanks to its rocker key, push buttons and user friendly, graphical interface
• Multilingual user interface in Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Farsi (Persian), Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish and Turkish
• Integrated 12 channel GPS receiver with very sensitive built-in antenna.
  GPSmap 62s/62st: Connector for external GPS antenna. Antenna and various cables available as options.
• Integrated base map with countries of all continents including major cities
• Memory to transfer additional, more detailed maps with roads, crossings and addresses of restaurants, public buildings, points of interest etc. from a PC to the GPS:

GPSmap 62:	1.7 GB built-in memory.
GPSmap 62s:	1.7 GB built-in memory. Slot for standard micro SD memory card ("TransFlash"). Memory cards are available as an option.
GPSmap 62st:	3.66 GB built-in memory. Pre-installed topographic map of Europe, occupies approx. 3 GB, leaving about 600 MB for user data and other maps. Slot for standard micro SD memory card ("TransFlash"). Memory cards are available as an option.

• GPSmap 62s/62st: Electronic 3D compass to check heading while not moving¹, accuracy ±5°, resolution ±1°, can be turned off to safe power. "3D" means tilt-compensated compass which does not require the device to be level for accurate readings.
• GPSmap 62s/62st: Barometrical altimeter for precise elevation recording²
• Powered by batteries (2x AA, last about 20 h) or by an external 12 V power source, e.g. from a car's cigarette lighter (power cord available as an option)
• Short time to first fix (TTFF³: approx. 15 seconds after a warm start, meaning there are valid coordinates of the satellites available, or approx. 45 seconds after a cold start, meaning there are no valid coordinates of the satellites available)
• Supports the following protocols for data exchange with PC: GARMIN Spanner, GARMIN serial, NMEA-Input/Output, Text, RTCM
• Supports WAAS (improves accuracy of position indication from typical better than 15 m (49 feet) to typical better than 3 m (10 feet))
• Supports more than 100 different datum (coordinate systems)
• Supports various display formats include the Swiss Grid
• Firmware stored in Flash-Memory, can be updated by the user
• Operating temperatures -15 .. 70°C (5° .. 158°F)
• USB interface (GPSmap 62s/62st: Highspeed USB, USB cable for data exchange with PC included)
• Dimensions: 61x160x36 mm (2.4x6.3x1.4 inches)
• Weight: 260 g 9.2 ounces, without batteries)

• ¹) In order to check the heading with a GPS, a minimal movement with a speed of at least 5..8 km/h (3..5 mi/h) is required. Where no movement is not possible, a compass is needed.
• ²) Even though a GPS provides accurate elevation information, the value slightly varies continuously. A barometrical altimeter is therefore more accurate, especially when summarizing elevation changes.
• ³) TTFF: Time To First Fix, time until the first information about the current position is acquired.

Information for navigation:

• Stores up to 2000 waypoints with name (up to 30 characters), icon (choice of 75 symbols) and coordinates
• Stores up to 200 reversible routes.
• World map with zoom function in the range of 800 km to 5 m (500 mi to 20 ft)
• Information on the map displayed in 5 levels of details
• Find waypoints, favorites, cities and exits
• Extended search function for points of interest, addresses and intersections, if there is a MapSource map available in memory. These maps require a Windows PC plus a connection cable and are available as options, see MapSource.
• Bearing (electronic compass, GPSmap 62s/62st only)
• Current position (longitude, latitude, altitude)
• Altitude via air pressure (barometer, GPSmap 62s/62st only)
• Current accuracy of the position information
• Current time
• Current bearing
• Current, average and maximum speed
• Trip duration and distance (Odometer)
• Records the travelled path (track), capacity 10'000 track points
• Stores 200 travelled routes (tracks)
• Supports metric and U.S. units

Additional features:

• Air pressure trend (can take pressure readings every 15 minutes even while power is off)
• Calendar
• Alarm clock
• Stop watch
• Calculator
• Area calculation
• Time of sunrise and sunset, moonrise and moonset, current phase of the moon, constellation sun-earth-moon
• Information for hunters and fishers
• Heart rate, requires optional heart rate monitor (GPSmap 62s/st only)
• Speed and cadence of the crank arm, requires optional speed and cadence sensor (GPSmap 62s/st only)
• Temperature, requires optional temperature sensor (GPSmap 62s/st only)

Garmin GPSMAP 78s (waterproof)

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Hands on with the Garmin GPSMAP 78s

The Garmin GPSMAP 78s brings the first major update to the GPSMAP handheld line in over four years. The reason for it taking so long is that Garmin had a huge hit with the 60/76 series, and instead of messing with a winner, they turned their attention to new interfaces, which were introduced on the Colorado series, followed by the touch screen Oregon line. These new units brought the ability to add custom maps and aerial imagery, paperless geocaching, and high-resolution screens, but the latter made them less than bright (although the latest model, the Oregon 450, has largely solved this problem).

But patience has its rewards and Garmin did well not to rush things. With the 78 (and the forthcoming 62 series, which shares the same interface), Garmin has married the best features of the 60/76 models, with many of the advantages of the Oregon line. Before we get into the details, lets look at some closely.

Garmin GPSMAP 78s display

With transflective TFT screens, the greater the pixel density, the less light that can be reflected back to the user. In order to maintain the bright screen found on the 60/76 series, Garmin left the resolution (160 x 240 pixels) alone. Screen size remains unchanged too, at 1.6 x 2.2”. The 62 and 78 series do enjoy an increased range of colors that can be displayed (65,000 vs. 256 in the 60/76 series). The result is a bright display, not quite as large or as high resolution as the Oregon series, but with much better visibility in a wide range of conditions. I definitely noticed the lower resolution, but these are the tradeoffs you make. Also of note, speaking as the owner of an Oregon 400t, I really didn’t miss the larger screen.

Garmin GPSMAP 78s interface

map and page ribbonGarmin hit a home run here. They did an excellent job taking the best aspects of the Oregon interface and making it work on a non-touchscreen unit. I think it is actually better than the Oregon except for when it comes to text-entry, where the touchscreen excels. This new interface makes it much quicker to navigate main menu items.

A Page Ribbon menu appears when  you press the Page or Quit buttons (see image at right). Just like on the 60/76 series, these buttons advance through pages in forward or reverse order, respectively.

The Page Ribbon menu item that appears is the next screen in the sequence. After a second or two, that screen will automatically open. Or you can press Enter to go there right away, or continue pressing Page or Quit to advance to other pages in the sequence; stop on one and it will open. Page Ribbon items and their order can be customized. I prefer this interface to the old style, but you may not. In that case, you can set the unit to a classic style menu and get the old 60/76 series functionality and eliminate the Page Ribbon. A Classic profile comes pre-loaded, Shown below are examples of the Setup menu in classic (left) and list (right) styles.

For boaters

The 78s is lightweight (7.7 ounces with batteries), but bulky (2.6" x 6.0" x 1.2"), likely due to the desire to make it float. One other marine feature worth noting is that the Find button doubles as a Man Overboard (MOB) button – hold it down to set a waypoint and begin navigating to it. The GPSMAP 78s accepts a wide-range of Garmin’s inland and coastal charts.

Though ostensibly for boaters, the 78 series predecessor 76 line was popular with landlubbers as well. Quite a few folks like the buttons above the screen, rather than below. So don’t be scared off because it is “for boaters;” layout and form factor are more personal preference issues.

Newer features on the Garmin GPSMAP 78s

The 78 series inherited a number of features from the Colorado, Dakota and/or Oregon series. These include the ability to utilize Garmin custom maps and BirdsEye aerial imagery, a tri-axial compass, new customization options, advanced track navigation, wireless data transfer and paperless geocaching. None of these were available on the 60/76 series;

Custom maps and BirdsEye imagery

Garmin custom maps allows you to put just about any map image on the 78s. Found a PDF park trail map online? Add it to your GPS! The image at left below shows a custom map — a USGS topo (raster) image. You can read more about this feature by checking out my posts on Garmin custom maps.

Garmin also recently announced their BirdsEye aerial imagery program, a $29.99 annual subscription that will allow you to add aerial imagery to the GPSMAP 78s. Since I had a review unit without a BirdsEye subscription, I’m showing a Jefferson Memorial aerial image using Garmin custom maps, but hey, you get the idea. You can read more in my posts on Garmin BirdsEye imagery.

Tri-axial compass

Having a tri-axial compass means you don’t have to hold the unit level while navigating. The downside is that the calibration process is more complicated than that for a two-axis electronic compass. It’s the same procedure that is used on the Dakota 20 and Oregon x50 series — here’s a brief video I shot of it. The compass should be recalibrated every time you change the batteries in the unit.

Garmin GPSMAP 78 pros

    * Excellent menu setup; fast access to features

    * Bright screen

    * It floats

    * Ability to load Garmin custom maps and BirdsEye aerial imagery

    * Paperless geocaching

    * Tri-axial compass

    * Extensive customization options

    * Advanced track navigation

    * Wireless data transfer with compatible units

    * Lightweight

    * Chipset firmware seems very mature, resulting in highly accurate tracklogs

Garmin GPSMAP 78s cons

    * Small, low resolution screen

    * Text entry more difficult than on a touchscreen Oregon

    * Inaccurate elevation gain reports

    * Does not work with standard mounts

    * Bulky

    * Patch antenna adversely impacts accuracy when unit is held vertically

Conclusion and recommendations

Highly recommended; probably the best marine handheld series currently made by Garmin. One reason I say this is due to the bright screen, which should outperform any touchscreen in the kind of bright conditions you’re likely to find on the water.

For landlubbers, I’d recommend waiting for the 62 series, due to be released in late July 2010. Personally I favor the 62 series form factor, with the buttons at the bottom, but you should also consider the fact that, unlike the 78 line, the 62 series uses the standard Colorado / Dakota / Oregon mount, and a wide range of mounting solutions are already available. 78 series mounting options are limited, but will expand as third-party manufacturers begin production.

Garmin has a clear winner with the 62/78 series. The interface is awesome; the Page Ribbon has some clear advantages. Add to this Garmin custom maps, BirdsEye aerial imagery, paperless caching and more. I think there’s going to be a lot of handheld GPS users getting a new toy this year.

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