mochalatte

Don't forget you can preview Garmin maps at http://www.garmin.com/cartography/

The "SouthPoint Mall" link in my first post is urban area data. Compare that to the "4 years ago" link which is the normal aerial data that ExpertGPS uses. Both are available at terraserver-usa.com. Yes, there is a way to bulk download aerial data in ExpertGPS. Look at its help. Dan told me by email that he is considering adding ability to download urban area data to a future version of ExpertGPS. Still don't understand how Delorme can justify charging so much for satellite data.

I've tried out ExpertGPS and USAPhotoMaps for the ability to overlay GPS tracks on satellite images from the TerraServer database. Both programs seem to be using only the "aerial photos" and USGS topo data, but there is a wealth of better data available for selected areas called "Urban Areas". Coverage is limited, but the data is in COLOR, it is higher resolution, and several years more recent. Here is a zoomed out map showing Raleigh/Durham and Charlotte coverage. In the areas that I am interested in around Raleigh/Durham, the urban area data is 4 years more recent, which makes a huge difference in a growing area like this. For example, SouthPoint Mall wasn't there 4 years ago. I'm just wondering if ExpertGPS or USAPhotoMaps or any of the other programs that use the TerraServer database will tap into the wealth of free Urban Area data any time soon. Also, how does the quality of the aerial images available for download in Delorme Topo 5.0 compare to the TerraServer database? Are they the same images? How recent are the Delorme images, is color available, and how does the resolution compare? For my application (mostly tracking mountian bike trails) $1 per sq. km would become too expensive. How can they justify charging so much for their satellite data in this age of public GIS info?

Yep, that's the way I did it and it works ok. Actually strung it through the little loop right at the crimp.

Hey Kitch, it sounds like you are still smarting from that race that your avatar lost to my avatar.

Ok, I'm not usually such a dimwit, but I pulled a boner with my 60CS by attaching the lanyard to that rubber webbing thing on the top of the unit going between the antenna and the top of the unit case. "Gee," I thought, "seems like a flemsy place to mount a lanyard, but maybe it is reinfoced with a cord inside." No, it isn't. Everything was fine for a couple of months until I snagged a branch with the GPS while on my mountain bike. I didn't even notice the real connection point next to the USB connector until I called Garmin. WARNING: don't attach the lanyard to the black rubber webbing thing on the antenna. QUESTION 1: If the thing is only cosmetic, why would they leave the hole? It is a very tempting place to attach the lanyard especially since it allows the unit to hang vertically, unlike the official mount. QUESTION 2: Now that I have a cosmetic flaw on my unit, what's the chances I would break the water seal if I used a razor blade to cut the thing away? QUESTION 3: Anyone try attaching the lanyard underneath the belt clip post so that it hangs vertically? I use a neck lanyard sometimes, so it would be nice to keep the antenna in its optimal orientation.

Yes, it is a bit of a conundrum that the GPS works best upright but the compass only works horizontal. Remeber that you can buy an external antenna from GPSGeeks for a $score and get everything oriented optimally.

I love my 60CS too. The only thing I want to add to the chorus is that I'm extremely glad that I held out for the 60CS over Etrex to get autorouting. With Etrex, I would still be able to do the same geocaching and bike tracking things I can do with the 60CS, but it is so cool having a little machine that will take me anywhere I want to go in this half of the state at the drop of a hat. I meet old friends for lunch on Thursday and we can hit a different restaurant every week and I don't have to worry about the fact that I'm lame with directions. Another significant factor that I haven't seen mentioned is that if you get City Select (which you have to do for the autorouting), you are almost carrying around a yellow pages because it has phone numbers of restaurants and shops and other POIs. Let me also echo how nice it is to have the compass functionality integrated with the GPS. If you are in a poor GPS reception area, like the woods, it is bad enough zeroing in on a cache with a 60CS. I usually am holding my GPS, a Palm, sometimes an external antenna, a 5 year old's hand, and a camera. If I also had to hold a separate compass and expend the mental energy to reconcile the compass direction with the GPS map, it would be even more frustrating to zero in on the cache.

I've been using my GPS (a 60CS) on my mountain bike for a couple of months now and have tried mounting it both the handlebars and in the hydration pack. When I'm out on my exercise romp on a tame trail near my house, I mount it on the handlebars so that I can keep track of my speed. I never crash on this trail. Well, ok, that's "never" if you exclude the one time I did. GPS stayed in the handlebar mount and fared the ordeal without a scratch. If I ever went geocaching on my bike, I would use the handlebar mount because it is a pain to stop and take your pack off every time you need to look at the GPS. Most of the time, I'm pushing myself on more difficult singletrack trails and I find that attaching the GPS to my hydration pack works out best. When I biff, my body serves as a great shock absorber for the GPS. Also, I have noticed that I keep a better satellite lock since the GPS has a slightly better view of the sky. I mount it in the top of a netting pocket top-center on my pack. The antenna sticks out and the rest of the GPS is in the pocket. I attach it to the buckle for the pocket to keep it suspended. The water bladder is not in the way in this setup. I typically lose lock only once during a trip, which isn't bad for the thick NC forests I ride in. By the way, I would recommend a plastic screen protector if you do anything like this with your GPS because you will eventually dirt between your screen and the pocket. Note how similar this is to taking a random orbital sander to your GPS screen.

Does S&T 2004 cover the US Virgin Islands? I'm taking a vacation to St. John this summer and apparently being a US Territory and in North America isn't good enough to get St. John included in City Select N. America. Ok, granted, not many people need autorouting to drive to St. John. I tried looking at Microsoft's product info and didn't see a list of covered areas. Could someone check S&T 2004? Thanks!

What he said. The brighter the sun, the better the screen looks. The only time I sometimes have trouble seeing the screen is when the 60CS is in it's suction-cup auto mount during the daylight hours. If you are holding it in your hand, there is always a good angle to see the screen clearly. And it looks just as great in the dark using the backlight.

Mocha was here

The latter--they manually typed in diff/terr for the screenshot. If you want to see diff/terr and other info in the note field, try GASK. (The other software options might do it--I have only used GASK and love it.) The default settings in GASK don't put diff/terr into the note field, but it is easy to set it up with the %code tags. Note: if you want GASK to interface directly to your 60CS, you have to get a serial cable (010-10141 compatible) for $8. I don't know if you can get diff/terr in the note field if you use GASK and send your waypoints to Mapsource.

I got the Garmin suction cup mount for the 60CS. Cumbersome is a good word. Wish I could mount and dismount with one hand, but it usually takes two. Based on the enthusiam for RAM mounts, I would look closely at them if I had it to do over again. E.G., read this thread.

I can't comment on whether the Geko 201 will come with a data cable or not, but if you need to buy one get this one from GPSGeek for $7.45. I've purchased 2 of their cables and their external antenna and have been very happy with the experience.

If you do get both GASK and CacheMate, be sure to note that you can use GASK to prepare the database of caches to Hotsync into your Palm. CacheMate comes with a conversion tool, but GASK makes it unecessary. To be more specific, you have to use GASK version 3, which is still in beta (but very stable in my experience). The GASK/CacheMate combo rocks!

Check out Geocaching software links. I am very happy with GASK and CacheMate.

Turn the magnetic compass on & off by holding down the Page key. There is an icon near the top to show you when the compass is on. Remember to hold the GPS horizontal. I had a terrible time getting my GPS to behave on Saturday also, but it was probably due to the thick trees that caches were hidden in. Couldn't find a couple of caches in those woods because I was supposed to look for a fallen tree. You would be amazed at how many fallen trees there are in the huge accuracy radius of a GPS in the middle of the thick NC woods. I wonder if it is possible that we were dealing with a sick satellite overhead on Saturday. (As you can tell, I'm still decompressing. :-)

As far as the 60C/S is concerned, a Geocache is simply a waypoint with the "geocache" waypoint icon. If you take any waypoint and change it's icon to geocache (the closed treasure box in the outdoor section), it will show up in your Geocache list. I haven't tried MapSource 6 Beta, but you've got to be able to set the wayypoint type to geocache there too.

Another map page issue: A menu item to toggle between North Up and Track Up on the map page

Here it is Mapsource "full Install", Full Installation Problems

Odometer tampering usually done in the other direction.

I was testing out the shortest route to our house from the other side of down last night and it took us through a pretty seedy part of town. My wife decided that the third option needs to be "safest route." Actually, if it weren't so politically incorrect, I bet Garmin could do that. Wait a second--now I see what the preferred route option is for in MS-S&T. I too have noticed that fastest route is often not the fastest in our area, but only by a small margin. In my case, however, it is because it favors primary roads too much over the secondary roads.

Check your multimeter to see if it has a battery tester mode. If it is like mine, you will have to move the positive test wire to the ammeter connection. A battery tester measures voltage that a battery can supply while delivering current. I got a cheap handheld multimeter at Home Depot a few years ago and 95% of the time I pull it out it is for checking batteries.

I'm not sure about that. I got a bruised body that says the 60CS will stay on the handlebar mount no matter what...