Most helpful client reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful.
A few annoyances, but a outstanding product!
By Mike Blaszczak
The unit is easy to install, and looks great. It works very well, too. The display is very crisp and easy to see in bright sunshine. It doesn't have much glare, and the unit is easy to use. It's little and lightweight.
It takes a long time to acquire a signal. I have to do not forget to turn it on at least a couple of minutes before we shove off.
The user interface is disappointing. The unit has a great selective information display, including the time of day, battery voltage and heading--plus a bunch of user selectable numbers displayed in huge numbers that you may see from the other side of your boat. There's likewise the map and sounding charts. But switching from one to the other requires four or five button presses. This is unconscionable--switching among each ought to take a single key press.
The will draw a straight line to navigate to a queer point unless the user manually adds turns to keep away from land. In the complex Puget Sound, it's time-consuming to enter sufficient turns manually (and accurately!) to get a sensible course. Garmin requires that you buy an extra map chip in order to get a guided map.
The array of available transducers and sensors is great--but it's likewise rather confusing. Finding data regarding which sensor is best for me and my boat required a call to Garmin's client support. With the sensor I chose, though, the sonar and depth finding is just in regards to perfect.
I've employed Garmin productions for more than 15 years--since I purchased my a hand-held 12XL to take hiking. The productions are bullet-proof, and this product is no exception. I wish these troubles were fixed, but it's actually great product just the same.
3 of 3 humans found the following review helpful.
Love it. They update often
By Bruce Bailey
I have had this for closely 2 years. I have taken my boat to the bahamas twice. It works perfectly. I added a resourcefulness card, satelite weather and a Fuel flow sensor. The satelite weather is splendid but pricey through xm at $50 a month. But there are two lower tiers. They likewise let you cancel off season. You will need a $300 antenna for that. The sonar works great except for high speeds but that is an issue with my boat hull design I believe. The Fuel flow sensor was a huge pain to wire but it is nice to have. I likewise have it hooked to my Marine radio which will transmit and receive coordinates. Great visiblity in sunlight. No complaints. Xm radio controls from unit with weather. A visoin card is key for upper level funtions and routing. Great price for this.
2 of 2 persons found the following review helpful.
keep your 478 if you're upgrading
By flatsguide
I "upgraded" to this 545s unit from the gpsmap 478.. Simply because the connection on the back of the 478 were not up to the task of saltwater spray for both the XM antenna and power cord... I wish i hadn't. Yes, it's a more prominent screen, BUT.. you have to push some more buttons to get to where you want to be on the machine. There is not a simple waypoint entry.. while cruising on a vessel. You have to make multiple entries to save it. The worst loss is of the NOAA forecasts that were on the 478. Now all you get is a little graphical icon and current conditions.. Come on Garmin... make this a utile piece of instrumentation rather of a boat anchor.
See all 4 client reviews...
