Garmin 78 vs. 78sc « WaterTribe Forums

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Garmin 78 vs. 78sc

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Started 8 years ago by Jaybird
Latest reply from KayakVagabond

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Jaybird
Member

West Marine currently has the Garmin GPSMAP 78 on sale for $199 and the Garmin GPSMAP 78SC on sale for $349. Seems the main feature differences are the compass and barometer. My last GPS had the compass so I don't know how much different the functionality would be without it. Are the compass and barometer worth $149? Are there other features I'm missing that would help justify the cost difference?

Are there other handheld GPSs I should be looking at instead of these? Durability and price are primary concerns.

Posted 8 years ago #
BustedRudder
Member

I have the 78sc. The main difference is the sc has bluewater charts built in.

For the EC, it means every channel marker, and the nice red line for the wilderness waterway are on the map view.

Posted 8 years ago #
SailBirdMike
Inactive

I'm seriously considering using a Nexus 7 tablet in a waterproof case (with my old Garmin as backup). It has a built in GPS sensor, so it's not dependent on cell coverage like an iPad. I can use my Casio Commando phone as a hotspot, so I can easily email and text. Plus, I can read a book if I have to hold somewhere!

Posted 8 years ago #
Rowcat
Member

I have the Garmin 78s, not the 78sc. Then, I purchased the bluewater charts chip, so, for less money, I have the 78sc. Also, garmin makes a really great car mount for the 78 series and it is really secure. I mounted the car mount on my kayak, so, while sailing, I can easily see my speed or course.

Posted 8 years ago #
JoeWildlife
Member

I'm still in the dark ages with the 76 models. I have a Map76 and a Map76s, The difference being the sensors (S), ie the compass.

You don't need the compass feature if the gps is moving. If it is moving, it knows what way is north.

So if you are standing still and don't have a S model, the GPS can't tell you which way is which. I've found myself walking in a big circle for a few moments until the GPS can tell which way is what.

However, IN FACT I find the S model is LESS reliable than the regular, non-compass model!

One friend found himself paddling upstream because his unit lost its calibration.

For paddling, I won't have a S model. For fishing brushpiles when the boat is barely moving along, the S model is better for finding my brushpile waypoints.

This is a good thread. Now I know what chip I need to get for the EC!

Posted 8 years ago #
JoeWildlife
Member

Well, NO, I don't know what chip I need to navigate the EC.

Could you tell me what chip and where to get it? I have a couple other GPSs available that will accept chips, since my 76 and 76s will not. I installed a BWCA chip in one last summer and it worked fine.

thanks,

Joe

Posted 8 years ago #
KiwiBird
Member

I have the Garmin GPSmap 76CSx and am very happy with it. I turn the compass off--on, it's quite a battery drain.

I use BlueChart g2 microSD Card, HXUS039R, which is the entire US. Shop around: West Marine currently has the cheapest, at $99.99.

You can sometimes find good offers of the GPS and SD Card combined, such as The GPS Store--it's worth contacting them.

KB

Posted 8 years ago #
RunsWithBeer
Member

re: iPad " needing cell coverage". There is much confusion about "assisted GPS" and GPSA. The iPads with built in CELLULAR all have true multichannel GPS chips in them and the cellular has nothing to do with the GPS. other than " assisting" the GPS with the initial startup and giving it a clue where you are to speed up locating you. Works fine without the cellular, just might take longer if you have traveled far since the last time you used the GPS. I use my GPS equipped iPad all the time and have no cellular plan activated.

Runswithbeer and I will be using the new iPad mini as our main nav in the EC. With Garmin backup of course.

Posted 8 years ago #
ZeroTheHero
Member

I also have the 78s and then upgraded by adding the chart chip so I basically have a 78sc. I thought it was more expensive than just getting the 78sc but that is just my recollection (I messed up ordering). It is great paired with Garmin HomePort on my computer but on the water I wish it had a touch screen. Also the sub menus get confusing a lot. I try and look for something, get lost in the thing, then realize I am in the wrong sub menu! But it seems to function well other than that. Tide and current info is really a plus as well.

Posted 8 years ago #
JoeWildlife
Member

Thanks KB for the info on the chip!

We are actually talking about three GPS units in increasing order of expense, 78, 78s, 78sc.

The 78 being the cheapest. It is a 3X upgrade from my old non-color 76map models in that it is a color screen and can take a chip, and hooks to a computer with a USB cord.

78s has a compass. Like I said, I don't necessarily need the compass.

78sc has a compass and the charts built in. very expensive.

What is wierd is that the S and the C can mean different things in different Garmin models. I think the C means Camera in the 62 model. Beware the 62 regular model doesn't have chip capability. But the 62sx is a very good GPS, we have those at work.

I've heard too many stories of GPS units failing in saltwater conditions, mainly due to saltwater and humidity intrusion due to changing batteries. I plan on running a small 12v battery pack to run my nav lights, bilge pump?, cell phone charger, and gps the entire length of the race.

Joe

Posted 8 years ago #
Chekika
Member

I've had considerable trouble with my Garmin 78 w/ BlueChart g2 microchip. The BlueChart g2 microchip is very good--not perfect, but very good.

When I load my Garmin gdb files of waypoints and routes onto my 78, I must check every route to be sure that it has the proper wpts. Occasionally, the 78 will have the uploaded wpts and route names, but will not have ANY wpts associated with a route name. So, my advice to those using a Garmin 78 is to double check to be sure every route does indeed have all its wpts.

Keith

Posted 8 years ago #
Karank
Member

JoeWidlife....How would you power the 78 directly from an exterior battery? Karank

Posted 8 years ago #
Rowcat
Member

I believe if you peel off the black back on the 78 series, there will be an antenea port, a usb, and a power port. Get the correct plug and it should work with no internal batteries.

Posted 8 years ago #
Karank
Member

Thanks Rowcat, I ordered one three days ago, so don't have one in my hand...yet! That sounds like the answer since I will have a significant battery on board. Karank

Posted 8 years ago #
Danito
Member

Question: I have a Garmin GPSmap 60CSx that just became my spare and my GPSmap 78sc just came in a few days ago with bluecharts g2. For route planning and waypoints I've been using Geo Garage with great results on the GPSmap 60. I just downloaded all my waypoints and routes to the 78 and it seems that just like Chekika mentioned above the waypoints are a little off on Bluecharts??????? they were spot on with the GPSmap 60????? So what program are you folks using for uploading your waypoints and routes then transfering it to bluecharts without issues? homeport?basecamp?geogarage?

Thanks,

Danito

Posted 8 years ago #
Rowcat
Member

I use garmin homeport with google earth. Shown well here in this youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GP74Ak2hbbA

Rowcat

Posted 8 years ago #
BustedRudder
Member

Rowcat, that seems like a lot of work.

The video has the guy copying and pasting waypoints between apps.

With Geogarage http://marine.geogarage.com/ you have chart view and google earth view (slider under USA Noaa). You can create your waypoints in geogarage and export them to your PC directly (lower right corner save as GPX file). The waypoints are saved in the cloud under your "logon" and can be fine tuned at will. I maintain several acccounts for different events. The route feature in geogarage is lacking so once I have the GPX file I use EasyGPS http://www.easygps.com/download.asp to make routes and manage GPS's. I maintain PC based waypoints /routes for different events and also save GPS tracks from events prior to wiping for the next.You can proof the waypoints by loading the GPX file directly into google earth

I have not seen any discrepancy between a waypoint generated from geogarage "google view" and the chart in my 78sc.

Posted 8 years ago #
JoeWildlife
Member

I use MapSource to manage my waypoints. It only has a 100K base topo map and doesn't have any imagery.

I also use a shareware version of OziExplorer, which came with a set of high def sonar images of the bottom of KY lake. Kinda like cheating when you can cruise across the lake, navigate to a waypoint you made over a brushpile and catch a slew of slab crappies in the middle of the lake!

Scary thing is I also use Arcview, a geomapping program I learned how to use at work.

Joe

Posted 8 years ago #
Danito
Member

Thanks for the replies. Here's a not so good pic of the issue. Maybe I'm just not used to the 78 yet. Pic one shows the waypoint flag still on the water instead of the beach. Picture 2 is when I zoom in on the GPS then the flag is on the correct location. Is that normal for the 78?

Thanks again,

Danito

Posted 8 years ago #
BustedRudder
Member

Danito, I just tried that with my 78sc. zooming out and in the mark stays put. Be sure the unit has all the current updates from garmin and then call them. I am pretty sure that the unit will reliably take you to the mark whether or not it lines up perfectly with a chart overlay but it would seem an issue with the calculations the unit is doing to reference a lat/lon with a vector image.

While the charts are great for seeing channel marks and prominent landmasses take them with a grain of salt. They are quite old! Zoom into Cape Romano with your 78. It will look like this image from geogarage.

Same waypoint in google earth view:

Charts have not been updated since the "storm of the century" 1993. From our perspective in small boats in shallow water these are big differences:)

Proof you waypoints in geogarage satelite view or goog earth...

Posted 8 years ago #
Danito
Member

BustedRudder, Thanks I'll check on the updates tonight havent done any yet.

Danito

Posted 8 years ago #
ZeroTheHero
Member

not to sound ike a noob (but I am) to complicated gps routing but how do I get to a satelite view? Or how do I import waypoints to googlearth? I will do my own research but I would love a little help too. Thanks.

Posted 8 years ago #
BustedRudder
Member

Here is a quick demo of geogarage. Made 2 waypoints

Chart view. Note slider position

Satelite view. Note the difference in the northern waypoint. Charts are great for fixed land mass but drifting shoals NOT.

Save the waypoints made in geogarage to your PC. If you create a login they are saved in the cloud as well.

It will save the gpx to the default download location of your browser

Open GPX file in Google earth(file/open). GPX is not the default file type so adjust as below. Not really necessary but if you have a lot of waypoints it is easier to use google earth to fly around.

Google view

There may be easier ways, I just fell into geogarage based on posts here a few years ago. The ease of loading up waypoints in geogarage is unmatched and it is free as is easygps to manage your growing library.

Posted 8 years ago #
Danito
Member

BustedRudder- Thank you problem solved. Deleted all routes and waypoints then updated my GPS. Exported the gpx file to my PC. Uploaded the file to easygps. Then uploaded all routes and waypoints to the gps. Problem fixed. everything is were is supposed to be. Thank you.

Danito

Posted 8 years ago #
Santiago
Member

Here's a question for those of you who have the Garmin 78 series...

I found a used 78sc on Craigslist. The guy threw out the box, manual and cable. He says it uses a standard USB cable. Is that correct?

Also, I want to load waypoints and create multiple tracks/routes. I've done this on my old DeLorme GPS using DeLorme's Topo USA software on my computer, then syncing it with the GPS. Is that how it works with Garmin? Will I need to purchase additional software, or perhaps was there software included with the original purchase (which, the guy would have thrown out with the box)?

Ideally, I would like to export my DeLorme waypoints and tracks to the Garmin. Is that possible, or am I dreaming?

Thanks!

Posted 8 years ago #
Ridgerunner
Member

I have a 78sc. It has performed flawlessly through 5 Watertribe challenges. I use Garmin's Homeport (extra charge to purchase) to work on routes on my computer and to move info to and from Google Earth. BE SURE you either have Blue Chart installed or a Blue Chart card comes with it. Otherwise, it will be another ~$100.

I have had no problem with this or its 76 predecessor, but I always put dielectric grease in the USB port and around the battery case gasget before going on salt water. It uses a regular USB cord, not the mini-USB used on many phones.

Posted 8 years ago #
Santiago
Member

Thank you Ridgerunner. Good info. I see the Homeport software is only about $30, which isn't bad at all.

Posted 8 years ago #
KayakVagabond
Member

I have two 78 units (A 78sc primary and a 78 as a backup).

The 78sc has a mini-USB port under a rubber flap on the bottom of the unit. The cable that comes with it has a regular male USB connector on one end (to connect to your computer), and a male mini-USB port on the other end to connect with the GPS. Just to be sure, I checked the manual and it refers to the port as a mini-USB port.

I'm not familiar with the Delorme software, but if it supports the common GPS file formats, I expect you will be able to export your data, and import it into the Garmin. There are shareware file converters on the Web.

As far as route planning, for the 78sc I recommend that you buy a copy of Garmin Homeport. It's $25.00 well spent.

Greg

Posted 8 years ago #
Ridgerunner
Member

I think KVB is right. Those are mini-USB and the newer stuff is some sort of micro-USB.

Posted 8 years ago #
JoeWildlife
Member

I just wanted to comment and agree, the Geogarage seems to work great for waypoints but to create routes, it seems very cumbersome...especially to create 200 miles of routes. Not sure if I will attempt that or not, regardless of program.

I'll have to check easygps.com and see how that works.

I'm going to be using a 78 with Bluewater chip, and a 76csx as a backup. Tempted to throw an old 76 with waypoints deep in a drybag, as a third gps for peace of mind. Or to give to Cwolfe so he doesn't keep crashing wedding parties on the keys to the southwest of Key Largo, thinking they are the finish!

Joe

Posted 8 years ago #

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