Garmin GPSMap 76 / BlueCharts

[Dean Abramson]

I bought a Garmin GPSMap 76. Also bought the CD for accessing the BlueCharts.

Found disk doesn't work on Mac. Went to friend's house, got on his PC. Downloaded maps, and "unlocked" the one of my choice using the access code.

Went to transfer data to the GPS, and found that the cable provided is a Serial cable with nine holes for pins on the computer end, with a cylindrical plug on the GPS end which has holes for the four pins on the GPS. There are no other ports on the GPS, just the one with the cylindrical cavity and four pins.

There are no USB ports on the GPS. There are no Serial ports on my buddy's computer (or on mine, for that matter). Tried to write the map document to a disk to transfer it to another, ancient, computer with a Serial port. BlueCharts apparently does not allow the document to be copied. So I am f@*#ed.

So I now have a $140 chart file sitting on my buddy's computer, with no way to get it on to my GPS without, it seems, buying a $60 adapter cable from Garman.

Questions:

How can it be that I buy a brand-new unit at Hamilton less than a month ago, and it has a serial cable, which is basically obsolete.

If I spring for this $60 cable adapter, what are the chances it actually works?

Is this typical of Garmin? (I am not impressed.)

What suggestions does anyone have?

I am hoping that my normal Go-To Guy, Rich Abato, has one of these cables which I can borrow. (I need to have one of these suckers to make one single transfer.) But Rich is out sailing. Does that seem fair?

This was to be my backup plotter. Now I am thinking of kissing the $140 (for the BlueChart) goodbye, figuring the GPS at least shows lat/lon, pressing on as is, and never buying from Garmin again.

If you read between the lines, you will detect one pissed-off SOB.

Dean

[bgephart]

I can understand your frustration - computers drive me nuts too. I think you will enjoy your Garmin when you resolve this issue. I have had the same unit, but without the BlueChart chip, for some years now, and I love it. I am constantly amazed how accurate the unit locates nav aids all over the world. I have had good luck with Garmin's on-line tech service the few times I needed it. I also got a Garmin for the car and I love it too. I hope your buddy has the cable you need. Good luck.

[doubleb]

Hey Dean
I currently own the Garmin GPS 76S I too had to purchase the serial adapter to do the download. It works fine, Yea it's a rip off to me but I had no other choice, I got mine from amazon.com for a fair price, of course this was a few years ago. What chaps my A@@ is after 2+ yaers of owning the unit it is not supported by Garmin. It works fine but one would think you would get a little more bang for your buck from Garmin. I also own a NUVI and I won't leave home with out it.
Go get the adapter and rock on,
Hopefully Garmin will wise up and catch up to the USB crowd?

B.B.

[tartansailor]

Not applicable.

[Andy Denmark]

Hi Dean,

I've just been going through the software upgrade dilemna but with my trusty 176-C and 182-C. Resolving this is easier than you've laid out. Simply find a someone whose (older) computer has a serial port. There are lots of these still around. When I put out a query at the local yacht club I got a call almost immediately from someone whom I met and together we made the upgrade in < 5 minutes. Dead easy.

It bothers me that updates for the Blue Charts will no longer be available. The most current of mine shows the a revision date of 2008. Still, the basic stuff is there, the channels I use are (mostly) accurate on the Blue Charts, and the land masses won't change much over time.

Although I haven't called yet I understand from Garmin that they will upgrade your older-dated Blue Charts to the most recent version for 50% of the stated current retail. This seems like the same program for updates that I've done for years but I'm not at all sure how long they will continue to do this so I'm gonna' jump on this right away. With the Blue Charts now considered "obsolete" technology it's safe to assume that Garmin won't continue this program for much longer. You can still buy new (the latest revision, anyway) Blue Charts for full retail as an "aftermarket resource."

Such is the price of "progress." I guess.

FWIW
________
Ford Taunus Picture

[Dean Abramson]

Simply find a someone whose (older) computer has a serial port.

Andy, I did! (We will call that Computer B) But we had already downloaded the charts to a different PC (Computer A) which does not have a serial port. And Blue Chart has it rigged so that you cannot copy the file from one computer to another.

I never thought that I first needed to look in the box to see if the damn thing did not have a modern connection, since it was bought a few weeks ago new.

Anyway, my awesome local Radio Shack guy is lending me something to try. Stay tuned.

Dean

[Andy Denmark]

Dean,

I could be happy with the 182-D forever but for one thing. It does not accept data from an AIS-B transponder. Why is this important, you ask? Well, from numerous reports I get from friends who sail a lot offshore they seem to think that AIS-B and a GPS can provide better and more uselful info than radar alone. Certainly the AIS info is more detailed than a blip on a radar screen. With the AIS data displayed on your GPS or chartplotter and the warning function activated you've achieved a better picture of what's in your nav area than radar alone can provide. Besides, it operates in rain and heavy fog both of which can which obliterate radar returns.

IF I decide I'll do any offshore stuff on my own boat in the future I will definitely go this route. Battery drain by itself is a deciding factor. A couple of solar panels alone can meet this amperage load (w/o refrigeration).

At my age (72 people years) it seems highly unlikely that I'll ever do any more serious offshore sailing so the point is largely moot. Food for thought, though, for those with better wherewithall (sic) than this old guy for such endeavors.
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VOLCANO REVIEW

[Joe CD MS 300]

I bought a Garmin GPSMap 76. Also bought the CD for accessing the BlueCharts.

Found disk doesn't work on Mac. Went to friend's house, got on his PC. Downloaded maps, and "unlocked" the one of my choice using the access code.

Went to transfer data to the GPS, and found that the cable provided is a Serial cable with nine holes for pins on the computer end, with a cylindrical plug on the GPS end which has holes for the four pins on the GPS. There are no other ports on the GPS, just the one with the cylindrical cavity and four pins.

There are no USB ports on the GPS. There are no Serial ports on my buddy's computer (or on mine, for that matter). Tried to write the map document to a disk to transfer it to another, ancient, computer with a Serial port. BlueCharts apparently does not allow the document to be copied. So I am f@*#ed.

So I now have a $140 chart file sitting on my buddy's computer, with no way to get it on to my GPS without, it seems, buying a $60 adapter cable from Garman.

Questions:

How can it be that I buy a brand-new unit at Hamilton less than a month ago, and it has a serial cable, which is basically obsolete.

If I spring for this $60 cable adapter, what are the chances it actually works?

Is this typical of Garmin? (I am not impressed.)

What suggestions does anyone have?

I am hoping that my normal Go-To Guy, Rich Abato, has one of these cables which I can borrow. (I need to have one of these suckers to make one single transfer.) But Rich is out sailing. Does that seem fair?

This was to be my backup plotter. Now I am thinking of kissing the $140 (for the BlueChart) goodbye, figuring the GPS at least shows lat/lon, pressing on as is, and never buying from Garmin again.

If you read between the lines, you will detect one pissed-off SOB.

Dean

Dean,

I had a GPSMap 76 for years and found it to be a great unit. However it is a stale product in that it has been on the market for probably 10+ years. On the flip side the Garmin list price of $199 is less than half of what I remember the original list to be ($400+) when I originally bought mine. You are getting a pretty capable unit for a reasonable price.

I have also found Garmin's support to be great having owned 7 Garmin units (GPS 12, GPSMap 12, GPSMap 76, GPSMap 478, GPS Map 3006, NUVI 205, and an Oregon 400c), 5 of which I'm still have and continue to use 4 of the products. Their website info the GPSMap 76 pretty clearly says it comes with a serial cable so I not sure how you can blame Garmin for selling what they tell you is in the box.

Can you return the the unit to Hamilton? You might be happier with the Oregon 400c. It has a color screen and is preloaded with every US coastal chart. West Maine was selling them for $299 which I think is a great deal. Not sure if you can still get it from them at that price. It lists for $499. IT comes with a USB cable which would be used primarily for updating the unit software as you should have all the charts you would need.

Joe

[Dean Abramson]

Joe,

I am pretty unhappy with the salesman at Hamilton. (I bought this in the store in Portland.) He said "you just download the chart and install it in your computer." The box says nothing about a serial cable, or (on the packaging for the BlueChart disk) that it is PC, not Mac, only. The salesman did not say, "I hope you have a really old computer."

I do not expect when I buy a new piece of electronics that the connections will be from a past decade, and it never occurred to me to research this. I did not open the box until yesterday, which I guess is another mistake.

Anyway, it is what it is, at this point. I am hoping Garmin can help. My attempt with the borrowed Radio Shack cord failed.

I appreciate everyone's input.

Dean

[Al Levesque]

This thread comes at a good time. I have just been trying to migrate my BlueChart to my laptop from my old PC but needed an update to be able to use Vista. I didn't catch on to the need to pay for the update and spent half a day trying to make it work. Now that I know I would have to pay for it, I can find equal ways to do planning for a lot less.

Many software providers automatically update what they have sold but it looks like Garmin isn't like the rest, even if their software had errors or shortcomings.

[sharkbait]

just wait until you find out that your USB DB9 adapter unit doesn't work with Win 7. If you are lucky you can download a new driver. Or, if you have my luck you have to buy a new unit for your new OS.

PS Your new adapter is not backward compatible with your older XP pro OS.

[Carl Thunberg]

Dean,

My GPSMap 76CX came with a USB cable. I bought mine three years ago. Something is not right here. I'll bring my cable on Saturday, so you can see what I'm talking about. See you then.

[bottomscraper]

Well there is a significant amount of history there. The old 9 pin serial port (RS232) was more or less electrically compatible with NMEA-0183. A GPS that comunicated via the old standard RS232 serial port interface could also talk to auto pilots, DSC radios and computers with navigation software. I'm not sure when the GPS Map 76 came out but it's at least 9 years ago. Back then USB was new, few computers had it and even those that did had many problems. MAC's as nice as they are still only represent less than 10% of the PC market, software developers will go for the low hanging fruit.

The good news is that you can purchase a generic USB to serial adapter for less than $20. Just make sure it works with the version of Window's you are running. You may find some old ones that won't work with Vista or Windows 7.

Here is one on Amazon that looks ok on paper for about $15.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0007T ... 9JW5CJYZV3



Dean I do have one of these adapters (older model) on the boat (for my old laptop that died) but I'm not sure it will work with my current laptop (Vista 64) , something I should really check.

Carl, the Map76Cx has a USB cable, the Map76 doesn't.

[Joe Myerson]

Hi Dean:

I've been using my GPSmap 76 (with a plain old 76 as backup) for years. When I got a new computer, I ran into the same problem you had.

I bought a generic Serial-to-USB converter, like the one shown in Rich's posting, and it didn't work.

After a call to Garmin's excellent customer support people, I ended up buying a Garmin-made USB compatible cable, for about $60. Everything has worked beautifully since then.

However, I've gotta agree with Carl that Hamilton should not have sold you a unit that came packaged with a serial-port cable. I'd take up the issue with Hamilton--they've always done right by me, and most other customers.

You'll get lots of miles out of your Garmin.

In fact, on the way back from Bermuda, George Van Drasek's Raymarine chartplotter crapped out. So we did most of the navigation on his backup -- an old GPS76. They're terrific little units.

Best,

--Joe

[Jeff G]

I have a Mac and a 76map GPS. Here's how I got it to work
1.) Purchased VMWare Fusion software to run Windows OS on the Mac
2.) Purchased serial to usb converter cable. I think it was a Keyspan cable.
3.) Instal the Garmin software in the VMWare session and plug the cable in to the USB port.

This configuration has worked for me. All charts and firmware updates have worked. I've never been able to figure out why Garmin refuses to support the Mac OS.