gpsonbike

Count me in. I just bought a 60CSx but if the Vista HCx turns out to be true and ships in the next month I am totally selling the 60CSx. I just called Garmin and even though they didn't know about the eTrex H series, they nevertheless did not deny its existence. One thing that makes me fear that this might be a hoax is in fact the Venture HC. Why on earth would they go backwards and remove the memory card? It sounds really weird to me too and I guess I am about to get an F in marketing ...

I totally agree! Garmin's support was one of the main reasons that made me choose Garmin. I actually called them a bunch of times before I bought my 60CSx and their sheer awesomeness removed any last inhibition. I can safely say that from all the gadgets that I own, Garmin sits at #1 in customer service. Only the fact that they don't ask for phone-numbers, name, address and all that crap makes them the best! Just no-BS help for the current or future customer. Now if only they had a way for us to submit and actually see implemented feature requests, that would be great! They should consider somehow opening up the firmware for more customizations.

Yes, i want to save tracks on µSD and load it from µSD without any computer. Well, we can start a "pinned" thread to collect all the various features/changes 60CSx users would like to see. After we have enough mass we can start calling Garmin and point them to the thread. Who is in???

The new manual of the 60CSx describes the process and I bet it's the same on Venture Cx. Check out this post: http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=162274

I checked it out on National Parks Topo and it works great! Now if only there was a USA 24k Topo (not just national parks) and could use it concurrently with the City Navigator... Even better, a City Navigator with the 24k Topo embedded in it. Of course with Garmin-style pricing that DVD would cost $1299 or something ...

I am totally with you! I would love to have an unobstructed view of the full map when scrolling, no datafields, no pointer coordinates no NOTHING ! I usually have 2 datafields enabled on the map screen and I am having the exact same problem you point out. Now the rep I talked to, suggested to also email new feature requests. You can do that either directly to the email address: techsupport@garmin.com or through the page: http://www8.garmin.com/contactUs/techSupport.jsp. Lastly he recommended using the map error reporting for cases when the GPS crashes during auto-routing or just navigating: http://www8.garmin.com/cartography/mapSource/errorForm.html Seriously, if we make a coordinated effort and collect the specific features we would like to see implemented and then all of us call Garmin, I bet you they will add them to the next firmware. Most of them anyway are a day's worth of coding ... Lastly, I really think that Garmin Tech support is great! I actually told them that on my phone call, meaning that one of the primary reasons I choose Garmin was the tech support. I had already called them a bunch of times *before* I bought my 60CSx and their responsiveness along with the frequent firmware updates made me go for Garmin.

I just wanted to point everyone to the March 2007 revision D of the Owner's Manual for the GPSmap 60CSx. You can download it at: https://buy.garmin.com/shop/store/manual.js...145&pID=310 All the new features are now documented and for example on page 36 you can read how to view "Vertical Profiles of routes" (new in v3.30).

I just got off the phone with Garmin tech support. I requested to make available the GPS altitude as a datafield and the customer service representative said that a lot of people have requested this feature already. He said that they are planning on giving us this feature in an upcoming update! I guess if more people call, they will expedite the process ... I also requested the "grade" of a hill as a datafield. You know, the same one as the Edge 305 has, which shows how steep a hill is as a percentage 5%=5 feet altitude change over 100 feet traveled. The representative said he was surprised that this was not already offered on the 60CSx. If anyone else from this forum is interested, please call and ask for the "grade" of a hill to be implemented as a datafield as well.

I second that, pull out the SD card before updating ... I didn't pull it out and the GPS got stuck. I then removed the SD -> rebooted -> updated and it was fine.

No problem, thanks for taking the time to write back. Now for the million dollar question, what's the best way to request a new feature to Garmin support? And for that matter, other than bugs (such as the Quit button not working on v3.20 of 60CSx --> corrected on v3.30) how many success stories are there on having user requested features implemented?

Exactly, I mean in-unit. When I go home I load the .gpx file in Matlab and do all sorts of stuff with the data. I see your point but I think that even the way it is, the "Outdoor" GPS models are a far cry from being Joe Sixpack friendly. If Joe want's to be simple he will buy the Nuvi and be happy with it no? Well all it takes is to give people some example uses: x/y etc. Moreover I think that Garmin is getting more support nightmares because of all the undocumented features they are introducing in the firmware revisions. For example, does anybody know what "Update data card driver to support SD version 2 cards" means in v3.20 of the 60CSx? Some people think it refers to Sandisk's Ultra II models and some people think it refers to SDHC cards with over 2GB capacities. Anyway, wishful thinking as I said, but I would really like to have such a feature and it would also drive customization and a sense of community around the 60CSx.

Well this is more of a wishful thinking posting but reading this forum made me realize that people need custom/derived data-fields more often than not. One could have access to the raw output of the sensors (or just just the current fields) and then define their own simple mathematical formula for the derived data-field similar to Excel or even an HP pocket calculator. I would personally implement a "grade" field as elevation traveled over distance traveled. I would also calculate various custom averages, deltas and derivatives, such as value x over distance or over time. I wish we could also have access to the raw sensors such as GPS-derived altitude. All we need is access to the current data fields plus support for calculations +-*/ and potentially a few lag elements such as x[t], x[t-1], ... , x[t-n]. Simple RPN expression parsers are so easy to implement. What custom data-fields would you guys like to have? How can one ask Garmin to provide such a thing?

Altimeter calibration DOESN'T do anything inside a cabin. Even if you were to calibrate it once, the pressure inside the cabin would be kept pretty much constant regardless of the altitude changes so you wouldn't get accurate readings afterwards ...

I totally agree with 1) and 4). I wish there was a GPS elevation available as in NYC the barometric pressure changes so drastically that the GPS doesn't auto-calibrate appropriately. Having to press a gazillion of buttons to go into the satellite menu is not a useful way to retrieve GPS altitude. I also agree that the GPS coordinates are a waste of space while panning a map. I notice that at least one other person actually likes it which means that Garmin needs to add this as a selectable option. Lastly may I add a request for a "grade" data field that shows how steep a hill is. The "glide ratio" is useless outside aviation use and either way the 60CSx is not that good in planes

Hi all. I own a 60CSx and I am a bit curious about the "Glide Ratio" data field. I looked on wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glide_ratio and the explanation makes sense. Is it just me or wouldn't a "Grade" field (like the one on Edge 305) make much more sense for general use such as walking or cycling? For that matter is Glide Ratio just the inverse of Grade? Meaning is 5% grade = 20:1 glide ratio? What are the chances that Garmin could add this feature if we request it? Thanks so much.

BTW I am also having the same shutdown while routing problem. I am running 3.30 but I haven't found a solution yet.

It happens to 2-3 autoroutes I tried. The first was from NYC to Cape Cod (just as an indication of distance) and the second was from NYC to NJ (around 50 miles). The NJ autoroute crashes at about 20% I will try to hard reset the unit now since I have upgraded the firmware to see if that helps. Thanks in advance.

Well I am having shutdown problems when I am calculating autoroutes from NYC to Cape Cod. I am running the latest 3.30 version ...

I tried to upgrade from 3.10 to 3.30 directly (no web updater) and the update got stuck. My unit wouldn't even turn on after I removed the batteries. Then I took off my 2GB card and tried again and voila, the device booted and the update worked fine. My guess is that it might have something to do with Garmin updating the MicroSD drivers to version 2 (whatever version 2 means ...) Go figure ...

Was there ever any resolution to your problem? I have a brand new 60CSx upgraded to v3.30 and it crashes always while it is calculating an auto route at around 48% complete. When I reboot it, it automatically restarts the calculation of the auto route and this time it goes all the way to 100%. This double effort to get an auto route is getting really annoying. Any ideas?

I am disappointed to hear that they are incompatible but thanks for the info Slocaus. Is there anything in particular that made you buy the RAM mount over the Garmin one? If I go for RAM I was thinking of getting the RAM-HOL-GA12U, Garmin 60 Series Holder along with the RAP-274 Rail Mount Base W/Swivel Feature. Is this the RAM combo you are using? I've read in other posts that the RAM mount is sturdier, what do you think about that? One more thing, I would prefer if the mount was as short as possible as the 60CSx is thick enough already. Do you know which one, the RAM or the Garmin handlebar mount sticks up the least from the handlebar? Thanks again.

I just got off the phone with a Garmin customer service representative who said that the two items are not compatible. Call me crazy but based on the various pictures I found online I still believe that the combination might be possible. After all, why would Garmin build yet another connection standard? Would they want to segment the Bicycle market and not allow people like me to spend money on a useful accessory? Still hoping for any input ...

I had the exact same dilemma. I first bought a Venture Cx just for my bike but the reception in NYC where I live was really really bad. I couldn't live with that so I returned the Venture Cx and got a 60CSx. Now I have reception everywhere even throughout my whole apartment and I live on the third floor of a 5-story building! In my book the SIRF receiver is definitely worth the money. Of course if Garmin were to put a SIRF on a high-end eTrex it would be a totally different story ...

I am planning on using the 60CSx on my bicycle but I really don't like the idea of having it mounted on the handlebar. I would rather prefer to attach it on the stem of the bike like the Edge series. I was wondering if the 60CSx handlebar accessory 0101045400 would attach on the Edge accessory mount 0101072500. I am suspecting that this can be the case as the interface of all the other clamps such as the 0101049600 (large diameter rail mount) seems to be standardized across all eTrex and 60 series. Can anybody verify that this combination is possible? Thank you in advance for any replies.