Garmin 78 - still a good candidate for an off road GPS?

Yes that 12V plug has been standard since my old 76 without C 10 years ago.

And what happens if you are on tough single track and don't look at screen for 2 miles? No good reason why the 78 is not as good as tried and true 76. This is first of several downgrades with 78.

MBD, this is my first cut at 78 set up instructions for my web site, please comment.

Garmin 62/78 Setup Settings
Welcome Message
Unlike 60/76 which is very simple, you need an advanced degree to follow this crap.
Plug GPS into PC with USB cable.
Use Explore to find your GPS, click on it, click on the “Garmin” folder, click on “Startup Text Document”, It should just open with “Notepad” application
Change the “display = 0” to “display = 3”
Type your name and phone number after the last line.
Go to “File” at top and click “Save”
Unplug GPS (it will power off), Power GPS back on and continue
Set Backlight Timeout & Style
Menu, Menu, go to Setup & Enter, go to Display & Enter, go to Style (4th box down) & Enter, set to Grid 12 Items, go to 1st box, set Backlight time out to 2 Min.
Page Sequence & Ribbon Settings
Menu, Menu, so to Setup & Enter, go to Page Sequence & Enter, Menu, go to Page Ribbon Display & Enter, Set to “Off”.
Menu, Menu, so to Setup & Enter, go to Page Sequence & Enter
Go to a page you don’t need while riding (Compass then Main Menu) & Enter, Remove, Enter
Go to Add Page & Enter, go to Track Manager (at bottom), Enter
Go to Track Manager, Enter, go to Move & Enter, move to 2nd from top, Enter
GPS will boot to the Map page, Page button will go to Trip page, Quit goes back to Map, Quit will go to Trip Computer page, Page button goes back to Map page.
Set Profile
Menu, Menu, go to Setup & Enter, go down to Profiles & Enter, set to Classic
Set Backlight Level
With unit on, push Power, use curser to move bar to far right. It will now stay there.
Time Settings
The Time setting defaults to 12 hour and Time Zone “Automatic” which is what you want.
Tone Settings
Menu, Menu, go to Setup & Enter, go to Tones & Enter, go to top box & Enter, move to “Off” & Enter.
Power Settings
Menu, Menu, go to Setup & Enter, go to System & Enter, set Battery Type, Unlike 60/76, there is no set External Power Loss to “Stay On”. Design Flaw 2.
Trip Computer Page Settings
Go to Trip page, Menu, go to Change Data Fields & Enter; go to “Stopped Time” & Enter, go to “Speed” & Enter, go to Overall Average & Enter, go to “Time of Day” & Enter.
Now when riding, just push “Quit” to see “Speed” and “Time of Day”, push “Page” to go back to Map
To reset Trip Data, push Menu, (curser should be on Reset) Enter, (curser should be on Reset Trip Data) Enter, this will reset all trip data but not Odometer.
Map Page Settings
Go to Map page, Menu, go to “Setup Map” & Enter, go to Advanced Map Setup (4th box down) Enter, set Auto Zoom to “Off”, set Detail to “Most”.
Track Settings
Menu, Menu, go to Setup & Enter, go to Tracks & Enter
On many Dual Sport rides, it is very confusing have your Current Track (Active Log) of where you have ridden is showing on the map page. If so, set top box to “Do Not Record” or Record, Do Not Show”.
Make sure 2nd box is set to “Auto”, and set 3rd box to “Most Often” & Enter.
Set 4th box to “Daily” & Enter. A daily backup of your Current Track (Active Log) will now also be recorded in “Archived Tracks” and will not erase if you “Clear Current Track”.
You can retrieve your Active Logs before clearing using MapSource or you forgot and cleared them, you can retrieve them using Explore from the Archived folder.
Set 5th box to a “Red” line or what ever color works best for color of track behind you as you ride.

Comments inside your text...

A number of the suggestions you make are your own arbitrary choices and may or may not be useful to others, so I would suggest you add a note to the text saying that these are your choices, and ways you think work best, but there are alternatives which can be equally useful. For instance, the "Classic" mode helps 60/76 users, but once you're used to the Ribbon mode, and it's configured properly, it actually works quite well.

Jerry, do yourself a favor and stop comparing the 78 to the 76 in every possible way. It's different, yes, but it's not all bad.

On my brand new 78, the file is startup.txt, in the Garmin folder.

I edited that file with Notepad to look something like this:

Code:

[COLOR="Orange"]<!-- Edit this file to display a message while your unit is powering on                -->
<!-- Allow one full power cycle after editing for your message to be updated           -->

<!-- Set the display number to the minimum number of seconds your message is displayed -->
<display = 3>

<!-- Type your message on the next line -->
Please return to Scott Whitney (310) XXX-XXXX[/COLOR]

I knew it was something like that. Forgot the exact name.

Thanks guys. How the hell did you stumble on this?

See edited instructions above.

EMBD

Thanks for pointing out difference in backup Active log, I did notice they were there after two days and I don't have data card yet. Wondered what was up with that. That is good for guys who switch maps by switching cards but bad if GPS craps out. You can't just remove data card and get to your back up active logs, they are lost forever.

Currently >95% of my customers use 60/76, this is the standard that every one knows. Riders are just starting to move up to 62/76 and there are two types; guys who had 60/76 and have had to move up because they lost/broke/whatever their old one, and 1st timers. The 1st timers will be riding with someone who probably has a 60/76. That is why the closer the 62/76 works to the 60/76, the less confusion. Newer riders are always asking older ones for GPS help, it is much better if they are all setup the same.

These people do not have a GPS because they want a new thing to play with, they just want to turn it on and ride with no thinking (as if that were really possible in most cases).

I would imagine that there would be people who'd forget their gps on, and it would kill the battery, and then they'd be stuck with a dead gps, perhaps out in the middle of nowhere. I think having 30 seconds to choose to keep the gps on with battery power makes more sense than having the gps stay on.

What do you mean "forget"? This is for when the external power fails and GPS goes to back up internal battery. I do not want to loose tracking just because I did not look at screen for 30 seconds. Another issue where Garmin again took away user choice.

The internal (AA or rechargeable) batteries in the gps. If your bike breaks down and you need to leave it, you don't want to find out then that your gps batteries are dead so you can only use your gps if it's plugged into the bike. Say your bike breaks down so you start working on it, forgetting that your gps is still on, using up its internal batteries because you set it that way, and by the time you realize your bike is dead, so are your gps batteries. It's happened to me but I was at home when the batteries died so it didn't matter, except I now had dead batteries in the gps. If I hadn't noticed, I might have gone out and not had a charged set for backup, though.

Or you fall off your bike and are knocked unconscious for a while, and when you wake up, your bike is out of commission, and so is your gps because it stayed on.

These are unlikely, but they may have factored into why Garmin chose to make the setting.

I don't mind having lost that particular choice.

You really believe Garmin spends 2 seconds with this type of thinking? More like dart board system design, they do not demonstrate any logic in they design progression.

I understand you may prefer this only choice (people liked Black Model Ts also) but there is no rational for deleting other choices. I would add a 1 hr option which I would use to protect internal batteries. My problem is loss of external power from cig lighter in motorhome when parked or PC at my desk.

Not clear, did GPS run down bike battery? This should take several days if not a month. Or did bike battery system fail, you parked bike with GPS on, and ran down GPS batteries.

Because I use GPS for business, I use as much backup as possible. I run GPS off bike, have lithium backup batteries in GPS, and two Alkaline batteries in pocket. For really remote track recording. I also have back up GPS.

You really think Garmin leaves their decisions to chance?

People who like the Model T of gps units, the 60/76, prefer a gps which stays on when the power goes out, obviously.

GPS (a 60CSx) did not run down bike battery; it ran down its own internal batteries, so it was not ready to be a reliable backup the next time I went out on the bike, but I had no way to know that until I turned the bike off, and the gps didn't switch to batteries because they were dead.

I just got my RAM mount for the 78, and am a little disappointed!

It blocks the 12V power plug, so you can't have it mounted and plugged in at the same time, one of the main draws of the 78!

Mine doesn't, at least if you're using the four-prong plug on the back of the unit. Don't use the USB for 12v. When it gets wet, you'll kill your unit.

No problem here. Real easy access to the round 12V, USB and external antenna plug-ins under the covers.
No need to remove it from the cradle to transfer data, only to change the batteries.
Are you sure your cradle is for the 78?

Yup, the official RAM mount for it.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00443RVCO/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

OK. Same mount as mine, yet my round 12V cord plugs just fine. Maybe it's the cord. When plugged in my cord points toward the bottom of the 78 vs either side or up. Can't recall where I got my cord, it doesn't say "Garmin" on it.

Interesting, all round plugs I have ever had point down to right at 45 degrees when viewed from the front but the 78 does point straight down.

OK got a data chip today. Downloaded my Topo and R & R.

Go from Map page to menu, Setup Map, Select Map:

I see:

1) Worldwide DEM Basemap, NR
2) Eastern Sierra
3) Digital Globe Demo.jnx
4) USGS Quads

Each can "Enable" "Disable" and 3 & 4 have brightness settings.

Questions:
I assume Basemap is same old thing, leave it on?

USGS is actually all my topos that all turn On/Off with this control?

"Eastern Sierra" is the R & R map I am located in now but it turns On/Off all R & R map sections?

What is Globe Demo?

Basemap is the same old thing and needs to be left enabled or else the gps will run more slowly than it should.

Globe Demo is this: "You may have noticed that your Garmin outdoor GPS may contain a demo map called Digital Globe. Digital Globe is our provider for our BirdsEye satellite imagery and if this mapping is present, a small portion will be viewable on your device's map page." From Garmin's Birdseye help page)

Back to maps,

Data Chip cover was not clicked, Downloaded R & R adn Topo again with MapSource and now see what looks map files in Garmin folder when viewing GPS from PC?
There is a GMapBMap Img File and a GMapBMap.sum Sum file (assume is Base Map)
There ia a GMapSupp Img File of same size as my MS file but no .sum for it

I remamed GMapSupp as GMapSupp.img

Now I see it under Map Setup, Select Maps to turn On/Off? Only see R & R with no Topo on Map. Will download each seperate and see what happens.