Boat marine Product Review/Test; Garmin GPS MAP 5212

Garmin GPSMAP 5212

This plotter from Garmin seems to be one of the most talked about new navigation devices on the market. The touch screen feature allows for more screen real estate as there are no buttons.

My only criticism is with drilling down into the pages is that its difficult to find out where you are, and how you got there. I found I would get to a place and it would take me a while to retrace my steps. At the moment you can use the home button or the menu button top right on each page and there is a back button at the bottom. I suspect this will not be an issue once you get to know the unit. But for the beginner simple breadcrumbs at the top would let you know where you are.

This is the Menu on the Home page.

Here you can touch the screen and access any of the 8 sections. The touch is more of a TAP, so simply tap the screen to make a command.

Home page Icons;	Features on those pages
Charts	Select for Navigation choices between Navigation & Marine Eye charts
Combinations	Here you can mix Navigation Charts w Marine Eye views
Information	Information on tides, currents, other boats, AIS, DSC
Mark	Your Current position, lat & lon
Where to	This POI feature give you course and distance to local services like Fuel
Weather	Add XM Sirius weather for weather overlays
Configure	This Icon is for system configuration
Man Overboard	Activate for MOB position

To get to the navigate page TAP the CHARTS icon top left and you will get a choice of Navigation Chart or Marine Eye.

Selecting Navigation Chart to get to normal electronic navigation below. The standard chart is Blue Chart g2 maps and comes preloaded for the US Coast.

GPSMAP 5212 in use

This video presentation goes through the features and menu of the touch screen even showing how you can move the chart with your finger.

Garmin GPS Map 5212 video

Garmin on the J/122

Navigating on the Garmin GPSMAP 5212

In the Navigation page you get the following actions

Top left use the Blue icon to take you back to HOME
To create a waypoint quick tap/touch the screen in the desired position.
You will see the circle and cross as the waypoint in the position you chose.
You can drag the circle waypoint to another position using your finger
Once you have a waypoint use the Blue icons "Navigate to" or "Create a Waypoint"
One feature is the little box bottom left corner. This box appear when the waypoint is off the screen showing the vessel. if you pan to the waypoint the box appears showing the boats position.
The plus and minus blue buttons allow you to touch and zoom in and out.

Link to more GPS Chartplotters

Other Features

Marine EYE 3 D

To get Marine Eye you will need to buy the optional BlueChart g2 Vision Card to get the wild underwater and angled views below.

"Where to" Screen for Fuel

garmin 5212

This is what you get when you select "Where To Go" on the home screen. Selecting Fuel we got these offerings of where to get fuel course and distance.

The closest was just the other side of the creek.

Just a quick look at the 5212, lots of cool features and the touch screen feature make the Garmin a really nice navigation tool.

Garmin 5212 review

Garmins Description

This flagship marine navigator is missing just one thing — buttons. The GPSMAP 5212 features an unprecedented touchscreen interface, along with preloaded BlueChart g2 maps of the U.S. coast and a whopping 12.1" screen that makes navigation as easy as pointing your finger. By connecting to the Garmin Marine Network, you can add sonar, radar and weather. For even more advanced features, you can add the optional BlueChart® g2 Vision card.

garmin 5212 screen 4 split View Detailed Graphics and Video The GPSMAP 5212 features highly-detailed BlueChart g2 marine cartography of the coastal United States, including Alaska, Hawaii and the Bahamas. For other areas, the 5212 has a worldwide basemap with high-quality satellite images in place of more traditional maps. With the SD card slot, you can add additional maps without having to connect to a computer.

The 5212s huge XGA screen displays graphics with crisp, video-quality resolution. To keep tabs on your engine room or other area of your boat, you can also connect a live video feed with the 5212s video input/output options.