roybassist

I have not updated. Chipset firmware version 3.00 is the correct version for use with unit firmware 3.70.

A user in the 76C Yahoo group reports that his unit successfully recalculated a route without any problem after upgrading to 3.90. Any chance your problem could have been low batteries?

That seems to be the purpose of the update. Since no new size limit is stated, the new limit on file size will probably be the 4 GB limit imposed by FAT32 formatting. There is no mention of a change in the number of segments limit, so presumably it is still 2025.

I’m pretty sure the eTrex units have the same limitation on map sets as the 60/76C(S)x series: maximum of 2025 map segments and approximately 2 GB total size, whichever you hit first. I believe it is a unit firmware limitation, not a consequence of FAT32 formatting. My 4 GB card, formatted FAT32, has no problem with files larger than 2 GB for purposes other than maps.

If by “standard” you mean not high-sensitivity, then no, that is not correct. The SIRF chips in the 60/76C(S)x series are high-sensitivity receivers. Earlier, non-x 60/76 models were not. Maybe that’s what you were thinking of. When Garmin started putting other (non-SIRF) high-sensitivity chips in their H models, I saw several reviews comparing the performance of the new H receivers to the 60/76C(S)x series. I don’t have time to look for them now, but you can probably still find them with Google. As I recall, they pretty much unanimously concluded that if there was any difference in performance at all, it was very slight. In some cases the H units would do better than the SIRF-powered units, in other cases worse. So although the high-sensitivity chips that Garmin is putting in its newer models may be newer, they aren’t necessarily better. There has been much speculation that Garmin switched the type of chips, not because of any difference in performance, but rather for cost savings. Many who have experienced the “drift” problem with Garmin’s newer receivers have expressed the wish that Garmin had stayed with the SIRF chips, which have never, to my knowledge, exhibited that problem. This may be part of the reason for the almost fanatical loyalty that many have for the 60/76C(S)x series.

I haven’t noticed anything of the sort, and I haven’t seen your previous posts on this. Please explain.

MENU>MENU>Setup>System>MENU>Software Version

Garmin has improved the technology used for the compass in their newer models. They draw much less power than the earlier electronic compasses. Annoyedone in the 76C(S)x Yahoo group is an electrical engineer who designs electronic devices for a living. He made measurements of current draw with and without the electronic compass. Here is what he reported for the 76CSx. The numbers are one-minute averages. GPS off, compass off: 36 mA GPS off, compass on: 37 mA These results are very different from the older 76CS: GPS off, compass off: 67 mA GPS off, compass on:107 mA

That’s the official Garmin line; however, it is incomplete, and in the case of SDHC, it is inaccurate. Support for SDHC was added quite a few firmware versions ago. As for the size, cards larger than 2 GB will be recognized by the unit and all of the card can be accessed. However, there is a limit in the unit firmware on the maximum number of maps (2025) and the maximum size of map file that will be recognized (about 2 GB). I suspect that Garmin doesn’t want to say that cards larger than 2 GB can be used, because some people would miss the bit about the 2 GB map limit and complain when they couldn’t use the whole card for maps. Any free space on the card can be used for recording track logs or for carrying around any files that the owner might want. Since the unit can be used as a (very slow) usb card reader, the files can be anything. They don’t have to be related to GPS. Some people create different mapsets of the maximum size and store them under different names on the card. They can then change mapsets quickly by connecting the unit to a computer and simply renaming the files. The unit will recognize only one map file at a time: the one with the default file name. (I forget what the name is, but you can see it on your card in Mass Storage mode.) I personally have a 4 GB SDHC card in my 76CSx, because it didn’t cost much, and I figured the extra space might come in handy for something.

You can't perform a search on "6.15.3". not on this site but.... 6.15.3 results. Nice tip! I knew you were supposed to be able to search a specific web site with Google, but I hadn't been able to get it to work. Maybe I didn't have the syntax quite right. I've filed this away for future reference. Many thanks for posting this!

I dunno...seems like your cat loves your GPS. Maybe it tastes like chicken.

For experienced users, whether they show up on a map screen is immaterial, because seeing them on the screen is of little practical use. You can't tell anything about a POI by seeing it on the map except what broad category it’s in. A shopping cart icon may indicate a grocery store, a clothing store, a book store, or many others. You can get detailed information by selecting a POI and pulling up a page of detailed information, but if you are trying to find a particular item, looking for it that way on the map screen would take forever, if you succeeded at all. Experienced users search for POI using the FIND function. That gives much more information, much faster and more easily. That’s why I’ve never paid any attention to what POI show up on the screen in MapSource or on the unit. I strongly suspect that if you use the FIND function on the unit, you will discover that all the POI from MapSource transferred; and if you use the Find feature in MapSource, you will be able to find any POI that you see on the unit. I have never, ever had any problem with data from a map product in MapSource not transferring to the unit, using every version of City Select, then City Navigator since 2004. Not necessarily. On the PC the display of POI is controlled by level of detail settings, ranging from Lowest to Highest, with seven levels. On the handheld it is controlled by a zoom scale setting. Obviously, they do things in different ways. Different results should not be surprising.

Changing positions relative to the satellites because you are moving around has nothing to do with it. The satellites orbit the earth at 11,000 miles and complete an orbit in just under 12 hours. (Reference link) If I’ve done the math correctly, that means that the satellites are moving at about 5800 miles per hour around the earth. Depending on where you are on earth, the earth’s surface may be moving in the direction of rotation at up to 1000 miles per hour (at the equator). So even when you are stationary on the surface of the earth, the position of the receiver with respect to the satellites is changing at thousands of miles per hour. Any velocity you might add by moving on the surface of the earth is insignificant by comparison. twolpert got pretty close to the correct reason. He just didn’t give the whole thing. The following quote from this page explains why it takes longer to lock if you’re moving. The article was written about an old model of receiver, but the information regarding ephemeris data is valid for any receiver. My understanding has always been that this is insignificant unless the distance is several hundred miles. Given that the satellites are orbiting 11000 miles above you, moving a few miles doesn’t change your position relative to them much at all. I respectfully disagree. It is for the reason stated in the last paragraph of the web page quote above: the potential interruption in the reception of ephemeris data. If the next time you use your car is soon enough that the unit has fresh ephemeris data for enough satellites to calculate a position, that would be true. If not, it may take longer to gather the ephemeris data and acquire a fix. My own experience bears this out.

The Garmin "official line" notwithstanding, others have successfully used 4 GB SDHC cards in a Vista HCx. I don’t have a Vista, but as far as I can tell from reading the posts in this forum, they seem to handle large capacity cards just like the 60/76 series.

So did you intend for your subject line to read “60CSX OR CS”? From the subject line, it looks like you’re comparing a CSx to a Cx. But from what you wrote in the body of the post, it looks like what you really are asking about is a CSx compared to a CS. You might want to clarify what you really mean. If you are really comparing a CSX to a CS, then yes, it’s worth the extra cost. Garmin hasn’t been very good about being consistent in naming its units. In all units the x does mean extended memory, but in the 60 and 76 series it also indicates a high sensitivity receiver. So the CSx has a high sensitivity receiver, the CS does not. That’s why the CSx is worth the extra cost. You would notice a big loss in performance (satellite reception) if you went from a Venture HC (the H indicates a high sensitivity receiver) to a 60 CS. The 60 CSx will perform about the same as the Venture HC. Here is a feature comparison between the Venture HC and the 60CSx (link). The things that are different are shaded in grey. If those differences aren’t important to you, stick with your Venture HC and save your money.

It must be Topo, because I have CNNA 2009, and it works fine with 6.13.7 without any patch.

If accurate elevation information is important to you, it's a good idea to calibrate the altimeter manually when you first turn on the unit, but after it has acquired a good lock. Some say that the elevation affects the horizontal accuracy, but I have never seen any evidence of that. If you have auto calibration turned on, it will normally get your altimeter within about 30 feet of the correct elevation within about 30 minutes after you turn the unit on and it acquires a lock, faster if you have been using the unit within a few hours previous. However, auto calibration can only work when the unit has a lock; so if the unit is off over night, the elevation may be hundreds of feet off when you first turn it on the next day. If you know your elevation, even if it’s just from a topo map or from the elevation reading you noted at the end of the previous day, calibrating to that will generally give you the most accurate calibration. If you know the actual elevation, so much the better. If you don’t, you can calibrate to a barometric pressure reading within about 25 miles to get a pretty good initial calibration. If that isn’t available, calibrating to GPS elevation (one of the options offered) will get you “in the ballpark” more quickly than just waiting for auto calibration to do it. Anyone interested in more information on this topic might want to search for the many excellent posts by julianh, which you can do from a link on his profile page.

City Navigator is locked and, AFAIK, is limited to one unit unless you purchase an additional unlock code from Garmin. At least that's how it is with the North America version, and I haven't heard of any versions (such as Europe) that allow two devices without the purchase of another unlock code. U.S. Topo is not locked and can be installed to more than one unit. My understanding from what I have read is that the Great Britain Topo is locked. Don't know how many units it allows without an additional unlock purchase.

It's been a really, really long time since I used my III+. Is it possible there is a setting to hide the basemap, as there is on newer units? If so, maybe it got toggled inadvertently? If not, I think I remember seeing a post once from someone who thought he had erased the base map from his unit (not a Colorado or Oregon, where I gather it is actually pretty easy to do). IIRC, when he did a hard reset, the basemap came back. Worth a try.

You just tell the unit to log tracks to the card, and send custom POI to the unit using Garmin's POI Loader. The unit knows where to put them. I am not familiar with the eTrex series, but on the 60/76 series you set up logging tracks to the card by selecting Data Card Setup on the Tracks page, then checking a box on that page. I expect the eTrex units work similarly.

In this post, annoyedone in the 76C(S)x Yahoo group says: The firmware he refers to is for the 60/76 series, but my understanding is that current firmware for the eTrex units works similarly. He describes himself as My experience in reading his posts since 2004 is that if he tells you something, you can trust it. BTW, the 4 GB SDHC card in my 76CSx is formatted FAT32, and the unit accesses it as described:

You can set your coordinate system to MGRS, Military Grid Reference System. If you then set your North Reference to Grid, north would be based on the military grid. I think the person who called it military magnetic north was confused.

Actually, there is. From the pull-down menu, select Edit>Preferences… Click on the Routing tab and under Route Style, check Use Direct Routes.

I don’t know what I have said that makes you think that. I strive for a polite, matter-of-fact tone in my writing. I don’t see anywhere that I’ve been particularly emotional. I’ve certainly seen threads in this forum where people really became emotional and made personal attacks. Yet I don’t recall anyone accusing anyone of being “touchy” in those cases. Maybe you thought the first couple of paragraphs in my previous post were directed specifically at you. They weren’t. It was more about explaining myself, and what I thought might seem contradictory. Maybe I should have written that in a separate post, if at all. If you thought I was making a personal attack on you, my sincere apologies. Which is the reason I posted the link to the actual regulation first. I absolutely agree. A complete technical explanation of exactly how personal electronic devices may interfere with aircraft systems is not as relevant to me as the technical papers that have been referenced that address: has it ever happened, if so what happened and what type of devices were involved. I think most of the referenced pages are written in a way that most ordinary people without a technical background can understand.

First let me say that I hope it’s obvious from my first couple of posts in this thread which side I’m on in this discussion. I’m a GPS user, and I love using my handheld on flights to determine what I’m looking at out the window, etc. I do not believe that use of a GPS receiver on an aircraft above 10,000 feet poses any safety risk. But I try to be objective and rational, so when someone makes a statement that I feel may be overlooking some of the information that is available on this topic, even if we may be on the same side of the argument, I try to provide information to keep the discussion real. One doesn’t persuade anyone by overlooking facts that don’t support your viewpoint. That’s why it may sometimes seem that I am posting information that works against my own goals. I’m not trying to be contrary; I’m just trying to be realistic and factual to the extent that I can. Actually, I believe that if all the known data is presented, it is self-evident that there is no reason to prohibit GPS use in an aircraft above 10,000 feet, when other personal electronic devices are permitted to be used, because the other devices have been suspected of causing interference with aircraft systems, while I have not been able to find documentation of a single instance where a GPS receiver was suspected. It isn’t as simple as “you turn on your device and the plane crashes.” Imagine a plane making an instrument approach (translation: the pilot can’t see squat out the window until the plane is practically on the runway, and is relying on his instruments not only for guidance, but also to keep the plane right side up), in an urban environment with tall buildings and towers. Now imagine that interference from, let’s say a laptop computer, since they have been suspected of causing interference, causes an uncommanded (by the pilot) turn. This is one of the kinds of interference that personal electronic devices have been suspected of causing, based on actual observed incidents. (Reference: links posted previously) It seems really obvious to me that could be dangerous in that situation. This is why all personal electronic devices are supposed to be turned off during takeoff and landing, and any other time the pilot says so. I think that is a reasonable rule. The problem I see is that the assumption seems to be that the passengers will do as they are told. I know that isn’t always the case. But it may be that as long as most passengers turn off their devices when requested, the few remaining violators are not sufficient to cause a problem. I certainly hope so. They have. That is exactly what this is from Boeing, in keeping with what has been observed and is known. Here is the actual FAA regulation, and here is the FAA’s Advisory Circular to offer guidance to aircraft operators regarding what constitutes compliance with the official rule. The fact that the manufacturer’s recommendations and FAA regulations don’t totally prohibit the use of all personal electronic devices doesn’t mean that there isn’t a valid concern. It is an indication that the devices are considered acceptably “safe when used as directed,” based on what has been observed and what is known.