scotthsi

Please explain how you do that last part with a Nuvi 255. Can't afford a cheap hand held GPS? Do you drink/smoke? Eat snacks out of the machine at work? Grab fast food? Any other easily curbed non-essential recurring expenses? Knock that s*** off for a week or three and you can buy yourself a pretty nice dedicated outdoor GPS, then go back to your previous debauchery.

Hmmm.... Can't imagine what would cause the slow screen re-draw other than weak batteries. How does it act when plugged into and powered by your computer via USB cable? Extremely cold temperatures will make LCD screens sluggish, but that probably isn't your case this time of year...and indoors.

But something could have broken INSIDE the GPS unit. That's why I suggested taking it apart and looking. Maybe buy/try another battery. It's out of warranty anyway and these things aren't exactly expensive if you completely screw it up.

Sorry to say, but it simply sounds like it just up and broke when you dropped it. Any way to take it apart and check for loose internal connectors or broken wires?

What do you mean by "refreshing"? Is the screen getting slower to react or are you talking about picking up the satellites when it's turned on? Hate to suggest the obvious, but have you tried new batteries?

I saw some posts about GPS coverage/reception being affected in parts of the country on or around September 11th. Anyone notice such a thing?

Oh, I recommended the 60CSx because you sounded like you might return the Colorado since you said you just purchased it and that it might be "overkill" for your use. Sounded like you might have been wanting to start from scratch again. If you like the Colorado, then definitely keep it and add a Nuvi for car use. Don't know if you have the Colorado car mount and car power cord, but you'll have to factor in those extra costs, too, if you don't. I gave someone a Nuvi 200 last Christmas and it was a whopping $100 at Wal-Mart. I'll bet the Colorado car mount and cord would cost at least, if not most, of that if you went with just that GPS alone. You also didn't say in your first post if you had the actual Garmin City Navigator maps, either. If you don't, that's about another $70 right there. And, I didn't pay anywhere near $300 for my brand new 60CSx about 4 months ago. I'll take the rock solid, proven and ACCURATE GPS any day of the week.

I'd say yes...go with a combo setup. I'm very happy with my Nuvi 660/Garmin 60CSx combo. They are older units (which I got at GREAT prices), but still get the job done very well...maybe even better than the newest units, especially with the Nuvis. Lots of people are complaining about the latest Nuvis giving screwy routing, even with updated maps and proper settings, etc.. And, my 60CSx has the 2010 road map on a micro SD card and can do car navigation, just without voice prompts, which isn't really a big deal. I'd only use it like that in the car if my Nuvi broke or something. So, if I were you, I'd get a lower end Nuvi and a separate hand held. I recommend the 60CSx.

That's not going to work in the field anywhere away from the car, ya know...

Ummm... Wouldn't it be simpler to just carry a spare set of batteries for your GPSr? I was just editing my post because I made the same mistake!

Um, to state the obvious...take the 2 AA batteries and just put them directly in the GPS, perhaps? Seriously, why even have the charger? Hand held outdoor GPS units aren't like Nuvis and other car GPSrs which have internal rechargeable batteries. Instead of the charger, which requires AAs anyway, just throw a couple of spare sets in your pocket, backpack, etc and have at it. A set of AAs lasts me several days with decent (not constant) usage so a few extra spares could get me two weeks or more. My camping/hiking trips aren't that long... Added: Just noticed you said you did have a Nuvi. Well, obviously in that case, user/field replaceable batteries are not an option. I maintain my stance that a Nuvi is NOT a decent (or even good) GPS unit to be using in the outdoors. Except for the Nuvi 500 series, the Nuvis are not shock or water resistant. Get caught in a downpour and it's toast with an exposed USB port, SD card slot, headphone jack, etc. Plus, that LCD touchscreen is VERY delicate should it be dropped on a rock or something. Very limited battery life, especially as it gets older and charged over and over again, is another HUGE reason I'd never use one on foot. Plus, they lack many key and useful features of a dedicated outdoor/hiking/geocaching type GPS unit. I love my Garmin 60CSx for the outdoors and my Nuvi for the car. They each have their purposes and excel at those. Plus, the 60CSx, with the proper map, can do turn-by-turn road navigation just as well as the Nuvi, but without voice instructions, if I need it in a pinch should my Nuvi take a dump.

I think it depends on the area and if there are any WAAS type stations around. Turn it on and do a check in the same area with it off. See if there's any difference. If there is, leave it on, as it can only increase your accuracy. If not, turn it off to save battery usage.

The latest version/update of City Navigator from Garmin is 2010.20. They release updates "quarterly" now about every three months. Prices range from free (with some searching) to $90 or so. Take it from there...

Not much help for you, but I'd never use a car based Nuvi for outdoor uses such as hiking, camping or geocaching. Your 255W is too fragile and NOT weather resistant. I have a Nuvi for my car and love, love, LOVE it. But, it only lives in the car or the house...never on foot. Kind of difficult to swap batteries in the field, too.

You need Garmin's City Navigator North America road maps for detailed turn-by-turn routing. ((Suggestion of software piracy deleted by moderator.)) Works excellent on my 60CSx and gives me identical routing as my Nuvi in the car. The 60CSx is strictly for backup, but it will work just fine if I need it for street navigation.

Your GPS will receive satellites and work (with a clear view of the sky, of course) anywhere in the world, so that's not an issue. The Nuvis will work in "off road" mode, but they are FAR from being a good hand held outdoor type GPS. The are FRAGILE. No weather resistance, either with exposed USB, SD card ports, slots, etc. The screen and case aren't shock protected in anyway and will very likely break (especially the touch screen) if dropped outdoors. The Nuvi 500 series is supposed to be a crossover type GPS for auto and outdoor use, but I have no first hand experience. From what I've read, they just seem to be a "tough" Nuvi and still lack serious outdoor/hiking/caching type features. That is a problem with most car GPS units. I know you said it's not an option (not sure why with the cruise, money doesn't sound like an issue), but I'd really, REALLY get two separate GPS units. I have a Nuvi and a Garmin 60CSx and they are a GREAT combo. The 60CSx will even do turn-by-turn road navigation, same as the Nuvis, but it won't talk. You can even buy road maps for Mexico.

Use a good old regular magnetic compass along with your 60. Seriously. I gave up on using my 60CSx's electronic compass. Just too damned unreliable.

New or used? Sounds like a backlight problem. Doesn't matter about the backlight. Either way, something is WRONG. Exchange that puppy while you still can. The nice, big and clear screen is one of the 60C series' best features!

I have a Garmin City Navigator (North America) 2010 street map file that has no associated codes or is locked to a single GPS. I copied the file on to an SD card for my 60CSx and it works and routes just fine. I have an older Street Pilot 2720 and the file structure cannot be accessed via USB like an external hard drive. Can I have MapSource load this .img file so I can hook up the 2720 and "send to GPS"? Thanks in advance.

Google "nuviperry". I don't have the exact link. He has almost (if not all) previous firmware versions for every Nuvi. You can "downgrade" to an older firmware and your maps will be fine. It will probably reset everything else back to factory settings. It did for my Nuvi 660, but changing to the older firmware worked just fine. JUST BE SURE TO BACK EVERYTHING UP TO YOUR COMPUTER FIRST! That way if you do lose your map for some reason, you can restore it back to the point you are at right now.

You need to ask yourself, "What changed?" Did you do a firmware update or any update from Garmin? Install a new map, etc? Lend it to someone who might have messed with the settings? It shouldn't just "up and change" all by itself with nothing being done to it. Also, this is, yet again, another reason why we back these things up to our computers. If something changes, you can restore it back to a period where you knew everything was working right. I back mine up once every couple of months (or when a new update/map comes out) and keep three previous "rolling" backups where I delete the oldest one when I make a new backup. Being able to do this is great with the Nüvis because you can access it like an external drive via USB. I can't do this with my Garmin 60CSx, but I don't worry about it like I do my Nüvi in the car, which I rely on and use a great deal more.

Another vote for a stand alone purpose built outdoors GPS. I have a 60CSx and it's built like a brick you-know-what house. Not the same for the vast majority of cell phones. I've had several break or fail. NEVER had a GPS unit fail. I still have my original three dating back to the late 90s, a Lowrance Globalmap 100 and it still works perfectly. Can't say that about any cell phone I've owned.

Excellent way to crack the screen, too.

I use a pedometer. --Larry And you're going to tell me that thing is dead on calibrated for your stride, up hill, down hill, when you're fresh, tired, carrying a heavy/light/NO backpack, etc? Hmmm??? What about hiking to a point and crossing water via canoe/kayak? How good is your pedometer then? Not very...

You think that cable/speaker going to provide "talky talk" from a 60CSx? Alrighty then...good luck! Here's a hint. The GPS UNIT ITSELF has to be voice capable. The speaker is just the output device and the data gets sent from the UNIT to the SPEAKER.