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Tactix 8 issues and suggestions

julienvm
4 days ago
The Tactix 8 is a great watch and I love it. The aviation mode is very disappointing when compared to the Tactix 7 (let alone the D2 Mach 1 Pro).
 
There are many items to report so it's a very long and unreadable post. Let me know if there is a better way - happy to do any work to ensure Garmin can take this info into serious consideration.
 
I had to split my post in 3 sections (see 2 replies below) as I wasn't able to post otherwise.
 
Background
I am a professional pilot, recreational diver, and a long-time user of Garmin handhelds/watches: eTrex, D2, D2 Bravo, D2 Charlie, Tactix 7 Solar, Tactix 8 AMOLED.
 
My main use case is aviation. I always favored MIP because of battery life. This is the reason why I was forced to move from D2 series to Tactix 7, as MIP was discontinued after the D2 Delta.
 
With the Tactix 8, recreational diving is included so I had to upgrade as I needed a dive computer. AMOLED is much more suitable for diving, so I switched from MIP to AMOLED.
 
Note that currently, there is no D2 series watch with recreational diving and speakers. Also note that there is no Garmin watch that can do both serious diving (with subwave like the Descent Mk3i) and serious aviation (like the D2 Mach 1 Pro), and also contain the Fenix 8 improvements (speakers...). I would buy this regardless of the price.
 

-- AVIATION ISSUES --

 
Critical issues
The Tactix 8 is missing a number of critical aviation navigation features vs. the Tactix 7.

Feature  Tactix 7 Tactix 8
Multi-GNSS Multi-Band receiver working reliably in the 737 flight deck YES NO
Airports appear on map YES YES
VOR/NDB appear on map YES YES
IFR waypoint appear on map YES YES
Direct-to airport (by 4-letter ICAO ID search or nearest) YES YES
Direct-to VOR/NDB (by 3-letter ID search) YES NO
Direct-to IFR waypoint (by 5-letter ID search) YES NO
Get airport information YES YES
Get VOR information YES NO
Add airport to flight plan/course YES NO
Add VOR/NDB to flight plan/course YES NO
Add IFR waypoint to flight plan/course YES NO
Add a pharmacy or church to a flight plan/course (obv not useful) YES YES
 
The most frustrating part is that all the VOR/NDB/IFR waypoints are in the memory because they do appear on the map. The software can access them because when you start a flight activity near an IFR waypoint or VOR, the activity is named after it. However they can't be selected to navigate to or get information from.
 
The Tactix 8 has many critical aviation features removed, making it of little value as a navigation tool or back-up. It has become a gimmick barely able to navigate to an airport, and I hope Garmin is working on bringing back these features soon. The Tactix 8 is still marketed as having the same aviation features as the Tactix 7 (seen when comparing the specs pages).
 
Suggestion to add features from D2 series

Aviation features available in the D2 series but unavailable to the Tactix Series:
 
Feature D2 series Tactix 7 Tactix 8 Add to Tactix
Aviation watchface YES NO NO
Flight plan sync with Garmin Pilot YES NO NO YES
Flight plan sync with equipped aircraft YES NO NO YES
Emergency mode YES NO NO YES (safety first)
Altimeter view
 YES NO NO
MOS YES NO NO
IFR routes NO NO NO YES (and to D2)
 
I find it unfortunate that the Tactix doesn't have flight plan transfer from Garmin Pilot, as creating a flight plans on the watch is really annoying. Basically with the Tactix 7 I rarely used the aviation mode because it's too just much work to type in each point of the route. With the Tactix 8 inserting points is no longer possible anyway.
  • 0 4 days ago
    Aviation non-critical issues or suggestions
     
    IFR waypoints truncated on map
    IFR waypoints with 5-letter are truncated at 4 letters
    ABERU->ABER
    DF612->DF61
    DF613->DF61
    This can be an issue because it's not possible to tell which waypoint is which when the only distinctive value is the last character (like many waypoints around airports).

    BAROSET
    "BAROSET" takes too much real estate and isn't showing if the setting is automatic or manual. Instead of BAROSET, the label should be:
    if manual QNH: QNH 1023mb
    if manual standard: STD 1013mb
    if automatic: LFPG 1023mb
     
    Barometer setting bug
    Barometer manual setting doesn't work in millibars but works correctly in inHg. When the unit is set to mb, manually inputing 1014mb will not actually set 1014mb but 34338mb. This is likely due to inHg being assumed as the input unit and converted to mb.

    Nearest METAR for altimeter setting bug
    Using Nearest METAR for altimeter setting doesn't work. Previous altimeter setting is used.

    Runway length unit
    We need a new aviation unit setting for runway length. Feet is the only unit currently available, we need meters too. This is applicable to airport filters and airfield/runway information.
     
    Visibility unit
    It is indicated in statute miles in the TAF, but should be km if this unit is selected.

    QNH settting shortcut suggestion
    We need a shortcut (button combo) and a menu item in aviation mode to set the baro. Can't dig down menus for that, as the QNH changes frequently and needs to be set quickly.
    I suggest the following interface:
    Long left button press > Set Baro > QNH / STD / Auto / Change unit
     
    Map distracting movement
    Map stutters (2 steps forward, 1 step back). When moving on the map (tested at 850kph) with 2km zoom level, the map advances two steps and then goes backward one step. >><>><>><>><>>< This is pretty distracting.
     
    Unwanted navigation line to an inactive course
    When refreshing the map page (by returning to it), and with a course set to "display on map" but not navigating to it, a red line to the course will display from present position for a second and then is removed. The correct behavior should be that it is not displayed in the first place. Only the course itself should be displayed. 

    Map 6-field configuration issues
    Fields are upside down on screen bottom half (unlike watchfaces) making them unreadable

    Map 6-field improvement suggestion
    Large black radial band (text background around the bezel) wastes valuable map real estate. Instead, keep less margin above and below text. In other words, text should be placed closer to the screen edge and the black background band should be thinner. The margin should be 1 pixel between text and border, and 2 pixels between text and map area.

    Suggestion for additional fields
    Below items are related to the map view with additional fields:
    Offer Map 7-field and 8-field options with fields just placed around the bezel (users can decide if that's too many for them and select a lower field count, but give them the option)
    Offer Map 7,8,9,10--field options with 6 to 8 fields around the bezel and an additional 1 or 2 fields on the map.

    1 field on the map is well implemented (at the bottom).
    2 fields on the map is not ideal, as the positioning is disruptive. Consider to reduce the font on 2 fields
    3 fields on the map would be an ideal configuration, with 1 field at the bottom and 2 fields just above that field. Least disruptive considering 3 fields. User can set track up to place the aircraft at the center of the screen, having a 180 degree unobstructed view in front, and behind the aircraft is obstructed by the 3 fields but that's less important because it's in the back.
    4 fields on the map would be an appropriate variant, same as 3 fields variant but with an additional field at the top of the screen.

    The map variants with half the screen blacked out for fields aren't helpful because you lack situational awareness with such a narrow field of view.
    This is important because in flight, you don't want to navigate different pages. I keep everything on one page and don't touch the watch. Map + 8 datafields around (closer to the edge and using less wordy labels) and 2 datafields on the map would be perfect.
    To support this claim, here are useful fields and why:
    1. GS: Ground Speed is a critical info
    2. GPS Elevation: actual altitude is a critical info
    3. BARO Alt: cabin altitude if pressurized (very important safety feature) or aircraft altitude if not (needs BARO setting)
    4. BAROSET: sets the baro setting to get a correct altitude in field 3
    5. Pulse OX: similar to field 3, this is useful to track oxygen level (very important safety feature)
    6. UTC time: obvious
    // this already takes the entire 6 fields around the bezel with no navigation data available
    7. Next WPT: name of next point
    8. ETA Next: time at next waypoint
    9. ETA Dest: time at destination
    10. TOD: time to top of descent (expected rate of descent should set in a new setting in the Aviation menu) / This field becomes ROD (required rate of descent) after the TOD time is passed
  • 0 4 days ago in reply to julienvm
    -- GENERAL ISSUES --

    Brightness and battery life
    Only 3 brightness levels are available in general mode. I would prefer to select less brightness to increase battery life, so an additional 2-3 lower brightness levels would be great.
    On Always-On-Display mode, there is no option to reduce energy consumption by going low power mode. In AOD, the watchface is virtually the same, just with less brightness. I would welcome a deeper low power mode with even less brightness and a simplified watchface with only time displayed, like in the sleep mode?

    Display ON/OFF mode
    Display ON/OFF toggle is confusing because it seems to replicate the AOD toggle, but isn't the same. The manual doesn't really explain how it works.
    There is a Display ON/OFF shortcut, but no AOD shortcut. An AOD shortcut may be useful.
    When "Display OFF" is selected, the battery life estimate doesn't change.

    Flying activity accent color
    Flying activity doesn't have an accent color option as opposed to other activities, meaning it has to be light blue.

    -- "PORTAL" WATCHFACE DESIGN --

    The Portal Watchface got significantly downgraded from the Tactix 7.

    Datafield count
    It used to contain 12 datafields (thanks to the 3-field options above and below the time) and now it contains only 8 datafields.

    Status datafield
    One of the available datafields was the watch status (bluetooth, alarm, etc) in a single datafield which was great. Now this specific watch status datafield no longer exists.

    Some datafields can't be displayed radially (around bezel)
    Also, some datafields are present only as a graphical one as opposed to a radial one (around the bezel), such as Pulse Ox or Alternative time zone. In other words, we can set Pulse Ox above or below the clock, but not around the bezel. This means there are only 2 spots available for some of the items.

    Alternative timezone
    Only the favorite alternative time is now available, as opposed to all selected timezones. I need to have several timezones (not just local and UTC and favorite alternative) on my watchfac
  • 0 4 days ago

    This is not only disappointing but actually misleading. Tactix does no longer show up on www.fly.garmin.com and not in the Aviation Database manager software: https://fly.garmin.com/fly-garmin/garmin-aviation-database-manager/ , i.e. does no longer receive the official aviation database updates apparently. Why? If you google "Garmin Tactix 8 Aviation Database Update" you end up with a page not found error: https://www8.garmin.com/manuals/webhelp/GUID-EA668398-46E4-42E4-8163-12F6CB299F0E/EN-US/GUID-782455CA-881F-4F97-B4BF-888FB77683CA.html Garmin PLEASE respond and restore the aviation features ASAP.

  • 0 4 days ago in reply to de386736930040abbaa8aebc65626165

    FYI: Aviation database updates are now handled through Garmin Express - overall much easier than having to log into the database manager program.

    HTH

  • 0 1 day ago in reply to de386736930040abbaa8aebc65626165

    I think the Tactix is being degraded to a "cheap" military watch, perhaps to make way to a more expensive one with real aviation and diving options?

    In any case, I'm sure my post is too messy for Garmin to have interest. I am wondering what else I can do? There are a lot of bugs that need correcting, as seen in my list, not just missing features.

    I'm really sad about this because it's such a great watch otherwise and it could be perfect but the aviation feature is just useless now Confused