( 25 reviews )
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Posted: Aug 6 2009
I bought the unit NEW from Amazon and received it on Jan 3 2009. The sound didn't work, so after dealing with Garmin's customer service I sent my 12V cord/speaker to Garmin waited three weeks and received a replacement. Still no sound. Garmin then told me to send the unit back to them for replacement. About three weeks after sending the unit to them, I received a replacement, only this one had a loose antenna. The GPS worked fine at first, then it started having trouble finding satellites. Garmin then told me to send the GPS back to them for inspection and sent me a replacement about three weeks later. Now this GPS does not charge. The battery is dead. All of this within seven months of spending close to $700.00 for a NEW GPS and an additional $30.00 in shipping and insurance.
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( 3 of 3 found this review helpful ) Posted: Jun 19 2009
This is the best Sea to Land to Road GPS I have found and certainly the best GPS I've ever owned (and I've had many). I seamlessly use the 478 on my Sailboat, Motorcycle and Car. The XM Weather feature is outstanding, which I use both on the boat and motorcycle. It is an advanced unit and therefore, will take a novice a bit of experience to work through all the sophisticated functionality vs. some of Garmin's mass market-oriented products like the Zumo or Nuvi, but there is no other device that can do everything that the 378/478 units can do, so it's absolutely worth the extra learning curve. Garmin's new 640, which is apparently aimed as a new replacement/upgrade for the 478, is a major DOWNGRADE in functionality - so do not be fooled into buying the 640 (XM only with Marine mode, not Automotive mode. Also, the 640 regrettably removed the critically important Tracks Saving/Routing function, which the 478 has). The 478 ROCKS!
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Posted: May 12 2009
I chose the Garmin 478 chartplotter because I needed a portable unit for my truck and bayboat. Navagating though Louisiana coastal marshes with its maize of cuts and islands is quite challenging.Before going on the water, I made navagational waypoints through established canals and bays easily.There is a good variety of icons you can use for specific routes and then use different ones,labeling for fishing spots along the area. You can zoom to a 2' accuracy which shows movement when anchored. Just a personal preference, I chose not to hard wire the unit on the boat since the battery provides 7-9hrs of charge depending on screen brightness-more than enough time for a day venture. I did buy an extra battery for $21 to provide extra power if needed. You could easily use the charger with the 12v system onboard-but because of water and rain issues-didn't want that extra concern. The coastal maps show only natural lakes-ponds and canals(bayous).Man made oilfield canals and accesses are not shown .So in some instances, your route will be highlighted through land areas. Disadvantage: In remote areas of the marsh the unit WILL loose satellite communication if the WAAS is enabled. In the marsh there is no cover like trees to inhibit the signal.Having it mounted on the console,in my humble opinion should not affect the signal either. I use the WAAS system for vehicle navagation. It's probably better to use the marine system when on the water. That can be changed easily when flipping to the setup menu.( the jury it still out on that issue) If the unit had some type of touch screen (like the Nuvi's) would help "dragging" new way points for marine navagation. But considering the price -the lack of that feature-"you get what you pay for". Other features: You can set several tide stations to view -sunrise/sunset data. I don't subscibe to the XM system. I get weather and warnings off my VHF system. On the "automotive side" you get voice prompts and directions like the nuvi's. Overall: I gave the unit a strong 4 out of 5 considering its cost and wide use. I have used magellan and Lowrance units in the past. Garmin seems to be more user friendly. I'd recommend sitting down before hand and learning the unit before venturing out into the great unknown sipping a cold one and watching another episode of "Lost".
