Garmin 376c

I ordered the Garmin unit, and tried it out last weekend-- it's outstanding. Cost about $800 and no laptop is needed. A GPS + radar display in one product, and the XM mariner package is only $30 a month....very impressed...GF
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Im up in the air.. Looks nice.. but is 3.8" diag. screen going to be large enough to see the detail we need to get on the right storm etc?

Really nice unit but is it really for chasers? Can you really extrapulate in a satisfactory manner the information your seeing? Its basically in my deduction a palm pilot with xm weather and gps that sits on the dash.

It is tempting though... Can you give a better review of it Geroge? Anyone?
 
Im up in the air.. Looks nice.. but is 3.8" diag. screen going to be large enough to see the detail we need to get on the right storm etc?

Really nice unit but is it really for chasers? Can you really extrapulate in a satisfactory manner the information your seeing? Its basically in my deduction a palm pilot with xm weather and gps that sits on the dash.

It is tempting though... Can you give a better review of it Geroge? Anyone?
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I've had the unit since last fall. I found it helpful for watching the FL hurricanes - though I wasn't chasing them.

I have yet to try it out in the field (chase mode) but it does seem to a nice job of plotting XM Weather to GPS positioning/maps. I suppose I'd like it better if it offered smoothing of the radar images. The subscription also says I have the echo tops (on the unit) but I've never seen the data. I have the Master Mariner package (though I have no boat). I would also like SPC/MD data but that has never been mentioned as available.

I've already spliced the data cable so I can still use it to connect NMEA to GRLevel 3 and/or SwiftWX as necessary. But given the problems I've had in the past with the laptop connections/ers I'll be happy to try it out solo.

I will say Garmin does an excellent job with its firmware updates. So far I've installed 3 or 4 of them to the unit - flawlessly.
 
You pretty much nailed the description when you called it a PDA + GPS + XM weather.

The display is extremely bright and have no problem reading it while on the move. I velcroed the unit to my dashboard for easy viewing.

Pros: no laptop required, takes up little space, easily portable, bright display, can run battery only. It's GPS+weather, displays and sounds a warning when you're in a county when warning is issued, easy zoom in/zoom out, can be set to overlay nearest metar data, cheaper than WxWorx, radar data is not smoothed, the $30 a month XM weather mariner package is plenty adequate.

I don't think I've ever used storm attributes/ cell tracking features while chasing, I keep it on "Nexrad" and "animate" mode.

Bottomline: works well and quite useful if you are like me and chase in different cars and don't like to be tethered to a laptop. For about $800 for the device, $30 month for data, I'm set! George Flickinger
 
I don't think I've ever used storm attributes/ cell tracking features while chasing, I keep it on "Nexrad" and "animate" mode.

Bottomline: works well and quite useful if you are like me and chase in different cars and don't like to be tethered to a laptop. For about $800 for the device, $30 month for data, I'm set! George Flickinger
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This thing sounds great. Does it show velocity or just reflectivity?
 
This looks great. Can anyone post a photo with you hand for size comparison? Also, do you know if the software is Mac compatiable, or do I need a PC?
The Garmin site says you need the Master Mariner pkg. so can you access all of the pkg screens?

This looks like a better solution for me than buying a PC laptop since I'm all mac now.
 
I've had a lot of PM's about this product:

-No PC is needed unless you purchase the "auto navigation kit" while has a street level mapping disk.
-A standard base map is built in, and has state and US highways. Local roads are available with the auto navigation option.
-Depending on backlight setting, the battery lasts 4-10 hours a charge, and only requires 15 watts of power. The unit charges in one hour.
-I originally ordered the $50 a month "Master Mariner" data package, but changed to the $30 a month "Fisherman" package.
-No velocity products are available.

-and uhm, yes I am chasing now in a VW due to gas prices. 30 mpg highway!
 
Went to Cabelas the other day and looked at the unit.. WOW is it small!

I opted for the Baron to go on my laptop, only reason is the screen size. I must say though, the pics George has there of the unit with the radar looks useable. My fear again was its usability..

Kinda reminded me of the weather radar download on the cell phone.. Trying to chase with that is like trying to watch an Imax film on an old 13" black and white TV and ge tthe same effect..

Nice unit if it was a little larger screen. But again the pics George posted looks good and useable.

Fred
 
The second picture is about +25% actual size. I would prefer a larger screen, but the brightness of the display makes up for it. That, and I've velcroed the unit to my dashboard for easy viewing.
 
Thanks for posting those pictures George. It really helps me get an idea now of size. I think that I'm going to pick one up and try it w/o the car kit for now. I have a mac powerbook I was using for gps and internet through wi-fi stops and sprint. With no grlevel3 products for Mac, and baron products PC only, this will fill in the holes nicely. In doing more research I found a lot of motorcycle sites singing kudos about this product ; apparently cyclists are using them to AVOID weather! What kind of craziness is that :D
 
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