Poor Results
Hi, Jim. We bought a 176C and were disappointed in the screen visibility over a broad range of conditions. We have it mounted right at the helm (H340). The screen works in either "trans-reflective mode" (uses sunlight) or internal screen backlight mode. In the trans-reflective mode the screen is just gorgeous and very readable provided that there is direct sun to the screen and the sun and the screen are at just the right relative angle. But change the boat heading more than a few degrees and you need to adjust the screen. And if you happen to be heading right into the sun, forget it. Under a bimini (and we have one and love it) there is not enough direct sunlight for trans-reflective mode to work at all. But on a sunny day the overall light level under the bimini , especially with reflection off the white boat, is still too much for the internal backlight to work. Under a bimini on a bright sunny day effectively defeats both of the visibility modes and you can't read the screen at all. Bottom line: The 176C's screen is great in trans-reflective mode in direct sunlight at just the right relative angle, and backlight mode is wonderful at night and probably (we didn't get to try it) in pea-soup fog. Anything else ranges from marginal to useless for visibility. And all during the month or so that we were trying to figure out how to see the 176C, right next to it was our old trusty Garmin 48 black-and-white screen that we could see very clearly in essentially all conditions. Our tentative conclusion is that black-and-white will be more visible. We had a long talk with Garmin, and they were very good about the whole thing. With some extra money we exchanged the 176C for a 182 B&W. We will be wiring in the new power cord and hopefully trying it out this weekend. We hope that the B&W sceen is indeed more visible. Before investing in any chartplotter we would suggest that you do what we should have done. Go find someone who has a chartplotter mounted at the helm in their boat and get out and see what it looks like. They all look great indoors in a store; what counts is what they look like in outdoor light in the cockpit of a boat. Then there is the other view. Who needs a chartplotter on a bright, sunny day? You really need a chartplotter at night or in pea-soup fog. Under those conditions the 176C, or probably any of the chartplotters, will be sufficiently visible in backlight mode. Good luck! Carl and Jule s/v 'Syzygy'
