Pacific NW

Just bought a Garmin GPSMAP 60Cx here. With the Cx or the CSx (adds elec. compass and barometric pressure sensor) you can't go wrong. I chose the Cx model because I don't need an electronic compass (some users report it's a pain to calibrate & is a battery drain) and I don't need barometric pressure (users report it can't be turned off, also an additional battery drain). It's also a little cheaper. Both the 60Cx and 60CSx have the new SIRF chip in them which means super fast satellite lock and great accuracy. I was amazed at how quick even fresh out of the box. Another +1 for Garmin's customer service and support. I sent them an e-mail with a question one night and it was answered THAT night. I was impressed. Also the online updates and downloads are great.

It's like Chevy versus Ford versus Dodge. I would say go with the Garmin. Good customer service, free online updates for your unit, support from most mapping programs, etc. I had a Legend for years and it never gave me any problem whatsoever. Also I've owned a basic eTrex and a Venture. The eTrex line is very sturdy and performs well. The problem I ran into with my Legend is that it only had 8MB of internal memory. When I finally broke down and bought the Mapsource Topo program I realized I needed more memory -- the 8MB just wasn't enough. (Wound up getting a GPSMAP 60Cx.) The 24MB will give you quite a bit of space, but if you do a lot of traveling you might want more. The new Garmin Venture Cx has a color screen, uses USB, and can take a removable memory card. Price is about ~$180 from Amazon and probably elsewhere. It doesn't come with an included USB cable or memory card, but the next step up (Legend Cx) does.

http://www.gpsinformation.org/ronh/ G7ToWin is pretty straightforward if all you are looking to do is download/upload waypoints to the GPS. I used it with my Legend and it works great. Now I'm using it with my 60Cx and still no complaints. If you're looking to be able to click & download specific Geocaching waypoints, there are a bunch of programs listed on this website that should allow you to do that. I can't comment much on them, as I'm trying to learn them myself. Also, DeLorme software (Street Atlas and Topo USA) and National Geographic (Topo!) will support the Legend, especially for downloading and uploading waypoints. Then there's always Garmin's Mapsource software itself, which is made for the GPS. It's okay, though not my favorite. Give G7ToWin a try, I think you'll like it. The price is right (free) and it has quite a few features.

I can't comment on the Magellan, but I am on my fourth Garmin product now (GPSMAP 60Cx). The GPSMAP 60 looks to have a grayscale display and 24MB of internal memory, along with a regular quad-helix antenna instead of the SIRF chip. If you like in heavily forested areas or canyons you will probably want the SIRF chip units (GPSMAP 60Cx, 60CSx, 76Cx, 76CSx). And on the overseas topic I can't think of a reason why your GPS would not work, but I don't have any experience with that, so hopefully someone else can fill us in. The only catch is that the pre-installed basemap (with any GPS) is going to show country boundaries and simple locations of major cities overseas, if that. If you want more detail than that you'll need to buy additional maps to load onto the GPS (such as Garmin's Mapsource products) which seem to run in the $100 range (slightly cheaper on Amazon). A lot of folks here I've noticed are liking the new Garmin eTrex Venture Cx and Legend Cx. They both take a removable memory chip whose capacity which will far exceed the 24MB of internal memory offered on the GPSMAP 60. The only difference between the Venture Cx and the Legend Cx is that the Venture Cx has no interface cable and no memory chip included. The Legend Cx does come with a interface cable and a small 64MB capacity memory chip. For the money, I think the Venture Cx would be the better buy, as you can snag a SanDisk 512MB memory chip for about $19 or less anywhere. And you might already have a USB->mini USB cable hanging around (especially if you already have a digital camera or other computer accessories). If I only had about $200 to spend I would buy the eTrex Venture Cx. It has a color screen, is small enough to be pocketable, takes a removable memory card (so you can buy and load lots of maps), and has a long battery life. I saw them offered by Amazon for around the $180 range a few weeks ago. It was a toss-up between that and the 60Cx for me when I was recently shopping. I went for the 60Cx because it has the SIRF chip for better reception in tough areas (forests, canyons, tall buildings, etc.). If I hadn't needed that capability, it would have been the Venture Cx. Good luck! Be sure to check out Garmin's website and shop around for a good price (Amazon.com, GPSnow.com, etc.).

I just loaded all of the western states (CA, OR, ID, WA, WY, MT, CO, NM, AZ) which was about 480 MB (~1700 map segments) onto a 1 GB card via the card reader/writer. It took a little under an hour for the computer to "build" the topo maps for those states. But I am using a computer that is about 4 years old. And there is a LOT of topography out west. It took a little under a minute for the computer to transfer them to the memory card via a Sandisk Mobilemate reader/writer. Not too shabby! Thanks again for the help.

Just tried it and it seems to be working. Thanks!!!

Just wondering if it's possible to copy the Garmin Mapsource Topo maps to my 1GB micro SD card via a card reader/writer instead of using the USB cable with the 60Cx. (Hoping this would be quicker.) Can this be done? If so, how would I go about doing it? Thanks in advance!

And I wonder how many of our politicians even CARE what their utility is each month? Answer: Zero. The cost for businesses to put this new DST change into effect has got to be astounding. And it probably rivals or exceeds any savings that was supposed be as a result. For us small-time users the problem was more-or-less easily solved... download a patch to the GPS. For the airlines, companies like UPS and FedEx, maritime users -- I don't even want to THINK about how much trouble they're having.

I was just stuck in this decision myself. Since I have heavy forest and canyons in my area, I went with the 60Cx. No electronic compass or barometric pressure sensor (as the 60CSx has), but those are just extra bells and whistles I will never use. Plus, that takes about $30 off the price. So far, after using my 60Cx today, I am impressed. Gets a great satellite lock with the SIRF, even indoors. Loading my Mapsource Topo maps on the unit was a breeze. If I didn't have the need for SIRF I would have probably gone with one of the eTrex Cx offerings. I had an old Legend and the size was perfect.

Well the brown truck of joy arrived today. WOW - I am impressed! I've run the all of the latest updates (SIRF, firmware, MapSource, USB), downloaded Topos for my area, and downloaded my old waypoints. All very easy with no hiccups. With WAAS on I am getting down to 17 foot accuracy inside. The unit seems a lot smaller than I thought it would be, which is nice. Thanks all for the tips! Now to get started on Geocaching...

Thanks folks for the great tips! I'll have to look into those screen protectors for sure. Also the POI info looks like some good reading. There is definitely going to be a learning curve with this new GPS.

I was on the fence myself... until I realized that the 60CSx has two things I will probably never use: the electronic compass and the barometric pressure sensor. Price-wise, both units are pretty close in cost ($25 difference at Amazon), but I went for the Cx. A little cheaper, and I can use that money to buy a bigger memory card.

I just ordered a Garmin GPSMAP 60Cx. Prior to this I have been a loyal Legend user for years, but the 8MB memory and pitifully slow draw rate on the screen while using MapSource Topo had me wishing for a new GPS. That, and the SIRF should help in the very thick forest / steep canyon areas near me. (Didn't have a need for the CSx model, as I have a real compass and the barometric pressure seems like just one more bell & whistle. Hopefully I chose well with the Cx after reading the reviews...) I understand there will probably be some updates I'll need to perform from the Garmin web site, particularly the SIRF chip update and the firmware update. I've also updated MapSource with the latest version as of a few days ago. Is there any advice any 60Cx users can give me in advance before my new GPS shows up? Thanks in advance! It is tough waiting!