I have 4 garmins for my boat, dingy and car. I have owned 7 garmins in
total for the past 10+ years. I rarely use the input on the front
panel... instead I use the Garmin software and upload and download my
waypoints with my computer. This allows me to sync all the boat/dingy
GPSs with minimal effort and it allows me to make backup and archive
copies. There are also third party software and Free-ware packages to
do this with Garmin or Furuno. Just make sure your unit supports
uploads and downloads and either comes with a cable or they are EZ to
get. (Many of the new small cheap garmins that they sell at Circuit
city etc for 200 include cables) For my fixed mount unit(2006) I built
the cable into the boat and I just go into the cabin and connect my
laptop to it.




Chuck Bollinger wrote:
At the Work Boat Show (Seattle) on Friday I was looking for a fixed
mount GPS to replace my beloved Micrologic Mariner which is showing some
senility. I found the Garmin GPS 152 and the Furuno GP-32 and 37.
They'd probably do the job.

Thing is, though, neither of them has a keypad. So I'd like to know
from a user just how, and how quickly, a waypoint can be entered. Ever
since I had a laptop disaster I've taken to putting waypoints in
manually as I need them rather than storing more than a couple. It
takes less than 10 seconds on my Mariner. How about either of these two
units.

Alternatively, can someone recommend perhaps another unit, like these
two, that does have a keypad entry?

Thanks