Garmin 66i

I was unable to find any Garmin marketing literature which claims that the 66i has a camera.

With regard to batteries: This is because the unit you purchased has an Iridium satellite modem for emergency communication. As I understand it, replaceable batteries cannot provide enough current to power the modem. Only LiIon chemistry provides enough power. Some units, such as the Montana 750i (which does have a camera, by the way) have a swappable LiIon battery pack. But the Montana 7x0i are the only units with this feature.

Routing depends on the several factors, including the maps installed on the unit and the routing method you choose. This feature IS confusing. It is likely to require some practice on your part to get the desired results. There have also been a number of forum posts complaining about route calculation which never completes. So there may also be bugs.

I am confused regarding item 3. It sounds like you are starting on the waypoint list and searching the list by name. In order to actually NAVIGATE to a waypoint from there, you must select the item in the list, Enter (which shows the waypoint on the map with a Go button at the bottom), Enter (to "click" the Go button). Depending on how the device is configured, there may be additional interaction to select the "activity" (which controls the routing mechanism used). If your unit does not behave this way, you should probably open a support ticket (see below).

With regard to distance - there's not enough information here to tell what is going on. This is PROBABLY due to the fact that the device is doing "road routing" rather than "direct point to point". Distance was likely 6.5km via the road. You should have bene able to see the route on the map to confirm.

With regard to marking a waypoint using the Mark button. If you are viewing the map, and if you have PANNED the map, you will mark the waypoint at the location of the white panning pointer, not at your current location. The unit does not exit panning mode until you explicitly request it. So going in and out of the map does not change this setting. This is the intended behavior. It has been this way on every Garmin handheld as far back as I can remember.

Garmin does make it somewhat difficult to open a support ticket. They make a mess of the process of selecting the device before you can open a ticket. This supposedly ensures that you reach the correct support organization. What it REALLY does is to discourage anybody from trying. For the 66i in the US, use the buttons at the bottom of this page:

https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?contactOverride=true&productID=623975&tab=topics

Depending on time of day and location, you will have the option of one or more of: chat, call, email. If offered the option, use call or chat. Based on forum feedback, email is not an effective channel.

1. It does not take batteries. How is this helpful?

All Garmin units with inReach technology come with a built-in internal battery this is advised in the Spec prior to purchase - as per spec shown below

From what I have read the inReach Iridium technology would not receive the power required from AA batteries.

The GPSMap66s none inReach model does take AA batteries as clearly show in the spec as follows:

I have had great battery life from my unit and for emergencies just carry a lightweight small 6500mah powerpack

2. When I navigate to a waypoint, the gps tells me it is calculating. Normally this does not take long but sometimes it goes on and on trying to do this calculation. Previous Garmin gps did not tell me it was calculating. It just gave me an instantaneous bearing and distance to the selected waypoint.

Older GPS devices did not tend to have automatic Routing to snap to trails or roads giving you turn left turn right directions like a Car GPS experience, the newer range of Garmin handhelds with the correct mapping will do this, you unit as default is set to do this , for direct routing i.e. a Straight line navigation you need to go into your Setup Menu - Routing and change the top choice from Hiking etc to the option that says direct  

3. When I want to select a target waypoint for navigation, I have to type in the number or name of the waypoint using the cumbersome type writer. But then, having typed in the waypoint and pressed go to, I am taken to the end of the waypoint list, not to the selected waypoint. Instead, I have to scroll back to the waypoint I selected.

When you use the mark button to Mark a Waypoint at your current location make sure the map page has not been moved using the up down left right arrows otherwise that is the location you are marking, when you move the map using the arrows you will see a white box along the top of the map with info about where you have moved the cursor on the screen - if you do see this box at the top of the screen simply pressing the quit button takes the map to your current location.

When you then press mark and save the waypoint it will be saved with the next number unless you choose to rename it.

To then find a saved waypoint to navigate back to simply press the Find button - Select Waypoints - your waypoints are then listed by default in order of the closest waypoint to you at the top of the screen, if you press the menu button you then have an option to spell search or select this list to be Alphabetical rather than closest at the top.

 4. MOST EGREGIOUSLY, after I selected a waypoint that I wanted to revisit, the gps told me it was 6.5 km from my present position and that I should go via “Wongawol Road”. I knew that this road was somewhere in the area but had never been on the road or knowingly viewed the road since I had arrived by helicopter. I knew that the point I wanted to visit was only about 600 metres away, not 6.5 km and reverted to my compass to get there. This sort of misleading response from your product has the potential to put my life in danger, so it made me very cross.

 As per point 2 this will be because Routing is set to try and snap to trails or Roads and needs to be changed to Direct Routing

Regarding the unit taking pictures I have never seen any marketing literature or specs anywhere that advise this, as far as I can remember Garmin have not produced a Handheld Push button with a camera since the GPSMap62stc version many years ago.

You can download the full manual for your unit from this link - GPSMAP® 66i | Garmin Customer Support

This page explains about the Routing settings - GPSMAP 66i Owners Manual - Routing Settings (garmin.com)

Hope this information helps.

Thank you twolpert and Andy for the feedback, which was a considerable help. I have changed the settings on Routes so hopefully won't be asked to walk 6.5 km rather than 600 metres again.

Correctly interpreted, yes, I should read up more carefully about my purchases, but I did see somewhere a statement that the 66i "takes pictures"; I can't find it now. Never mind; my fault. I should have chosen 66s perhaps. I would rather have the battery option than join the InReach club.

Yes, I have noticed that white box with coordinates at the top of the map page but not understood it - it was not a feature of gps64 I think. So, good tip. Thanks. 

But finding a waypoint is a pain. Lets say I have 345 waypoints saved. Find waypoints takes me to the complete list, staring at 001. perhaps I want to find waypoint 110. I could scroll through the list until I find 110 though this takes some time to complete. Alternatively, I could press Menu and select Find in List, and type in 110. Dos that take me to waypoint 110? No. It takes me to waypoint 345 and I have to scroll backwards to find 110. Surely, the gps was not designed to work this way.

Much appreciated

Walter

The modern 21st century method to charge portable devices when you’re out in the field is to use a portable battery charger(s)—a/k/a power bank. They’re pretty small and lightweight and not that expensive.   Example in the link below.  

technicallywell.com/.../

Hi Walter I am pleased that I could help, 

I think you finding a waypoint option must have a bug in your unit as the process of typing in the waypoint that you want to search for is working fine for me as follows:

Press your find button - select waypoints - press menu button once after full list of waypoints stored is displayed - select spell search - type in required waypoint name or number and select done - on my unit only the waypoint name you have search for is displayed.

My unit is a gpsmap86i but the principle should work exactly the same for the GPSmap66 units , hopefully someone else on this forum will. E able to clarify this.

Kind regards 

The only thing I would add is that some units limit the initial list of waypoints to a reasonable proximity to the current location. 50 miles comes to mind. Can't say I've ever tested it with the 66i, though.

Hi Walter,

The fact that the 66i makes the MARK button either use "current location" or "cursor location" to create a waypoint, without any warning to the user, is a serious safety hazard. Boosted by the User´s Manual explicitly stating that "current location" will be saved.

Even Garmin old timers can be fooled by this. Going 2 decades back for the GPSmap 76S, one could always be sure to mark the "current location" irrespective of panning mode. One just had to make a long press as described in the manual. This became an unconscious habit, albeit useless with 66i.

How will newcomers cope, given the 66i manual?

See my plea for making 66i safer to use on mountain some 3 weeks ago on this forum, and further down the thread on the GPSmap 76S.

Villi K

For as long as I can remember, Mark has operated in conjunction with panning mode on Garmin handhelds. It is considered a feature, not a bug. You want a way to use the map to mark a distant target for subsequent navigation. I know it's confusing. I don't know if really old devices like the 76s were different. All fairly recent devices are like the 66i.

If you would like to get the manual corrected, best bet is probably to open a support ticket.

If you want to try to change the device behavior, you can post a suggestion here: https://www.garmin.com/en-US/forms/ideas/

Forum feedback seems to indicate that the suggestion page is useless. I have no idea, but that (and support tickets) is all we have.

Thanks Villi. You have to wonder who these people are who update designs and functions, and if they've ever gotten out of bed, let alon used a gps

Walter

Thanks again twolpert. Garmin have gone the way of most tech companies. Sell the complex product, then abandon the customer to a confusing and ultimately useless list of videos, on line manuals and "support " sites where direct contact with anyone from the company is discouraged if not prohibited. I have trouble accepting that they act this way, with utter contempt for the customer, and that we let them get away with it. Hurruamph (Grumpy).