nathantw

You're correct about that. I have the 1GB chip installed and my system has gotten to a point that it takes a while for the cursor to move when choosing options in the FIND area. When you choose, say restaurants, it does take a LOT longer than it did with the 64meg chip. It's frustrating at times because I think the system is locked up, but it's waiting for the data to catch up.

You'll find that it'll still lose the satellites every now and then when exiting the tunnel. I would say it happens maybe 20% of the time.

With all the talk about the bugs in the 60CSx (and 76CSx) you'd think that everyone hates their GPS units and that potential buyers should steer clear. Well, I thought that I'd let you know that I had a great experience with my unit today, though it wasn't with geocaching but with biking. I've taken the gps on the same bike route previously and the accuracy was all over the place. I put the track in my computer and found the altimeter took me to 98,000 feet and the tracks showed that I rode an excess of 180mph on the adjacent freeway. That particular saved track didn't make me happy at all. Today I took the GPS with me on the same route with all the latest firmware/GPS software fixes and had a totally different experience. I made sure the routing was on bicycle and that the map was set for not locking on the road. WAAS was set on (couldn't do that before the firmware update since I'd lose satellite signal). I rode the route, came home and uploaded the track onto my PC. I used a saved route so I have no idea what my speed was, but it appeared my altimeter worked perfectly without taking me out of the atmosphere, though it had a 10' discrepancy at the start and end of the ride. The best part was when I superimposed the route with the satellite images on Google Earth. It showed that the gps was so accurate that it displayed which side of the bike path I was riding on. In fact, it even showed the little maneuver I did in a parking lot. The tracks weren't all over the place as my previous experience except where it was expected to go nuts (under the freeway). So, the accuracy was much better than the displayed 11' or 25' that it normally shows on the satellite screen. The accuracy had to be closer to 2 or 3 feet since the path isn't more than 7' across and it accurately showed which side I was traveling on when superimposed on the map. So while we obsess about the bugs in the unit's firmware, it's always nice to find that when you actually go out and use the unit that it's still a very capable GPS receiver.

Mineral crystals? I want my GPS to say "Swiss Made" on the bottom. Then we'd have to pay that VAT that normally sends watch prices through the roof. All seriousness, though, I'd love that but I don't think it would be feasible. We can always hope though. Here are a couple methods I found that I might try on my watches first, then if that works my GPS and finally my son's Ipod and Sidekick. It appears that people's suggestions about Brasso and Novex are pretty popular. So now I need to at least try them. ============= http://forums.timezone.com/index.php?t=msg...&rid=0#msg_2267 complete with pictures ============= or http://www.diyfaq.org.uk/decorating.html REMOVING SCRATCHES FROM PLASTIC By Donald Gray 10/5/1996 You can do a great job re-polishing plastics, especially harder plastics like Perspex. It depends on the depth of scratch on which technique to use. Deepish scratches:- 1. Start off with "Wet & Dry" paper (say grade 600) using a soapy water as a lubricant. (The water is vital to keep the paper grains free.) Gently "grind" away at the area until you cannot see the original scratches. (The area will go like frosted glass, but don't worry at this just yet!); 2. Change grade of Wet & Dry to 800 and do the same; 3. Change to grade 1200 wet & dry. do same grinding... (The basic principle behind this is to substitute deep scratches with shallower and shallower ones.); 4. Once you have got through the 1200 grade process, thoroughly clean &dry the area; 5. Use "Duraglit" or "Brasso" BRASS polish to remove the "frosted" effect; 6. Once this looks nice and shiny, use a SILVER polish to give a final finish. For fine scratches, start at 4) above. SECRET: Take time; don't rush it. Even when you think the scratches have gone, give the process a bit longer. There are NO short cuts to polishing, but it can be done in less time that one thinks.... Most DIY or car maintenance stores now stock the finer grades of "Wet & Dry" papers. (Tip: I keep a penknife razor sharp using 600 & 800 grade!) Don't forget: Soapy water is ESSENTIAL. ===============

THANK YOU!

Back to the topic at hand, I don't seem to remember seeing the 60CSx showing the GPS elevation option before, but if you're in the satellite screen and press menu you'll see "GPS Elevation" now. __________________ Sorry, I just checked the manual and this has always been there. I thought perhaps this was a new feature.

Yeah... I'd say you pretty much DON'T understand GPS Besides that, I'd say you're a bit of a... - somebody help me out here... what's the word I'm looking for...? And are you going to explain why #35 is so important or are you just going to pass judgement on people and not explain your reasoning? Until someone explains why a single satellite, particularly this one, is so important when there are numerous others that can be used in a similiar fashion then I'll keep watching obsessed people like you get irritated about tongue and cheek joking. I'm assuming you haven't gotten your fix on that geocache that only #35 can give? Don't be shy. You can tell us.

Okay, maybe I don't know the secret handshake or anything, but why is everyone making such a big deal about satellite 35? So what if it doesn't come in. Is #35 the magical one that gives you everything from WAAS, SiRF, Desperate Housewives, today's winning lottery numbers and the nuclear weapons codes? Is it a show stopper if it doesn't come in? Perhaps I don't understand the way a GPS system works, but from what I've read and learned it takes 3 satellites to give you location through triangulation. If what I'm reading here is correct, everyone is getting bent out of shape because ONE SINGLE satellite is being moved from one location to another and it's not being picked up on their GPS. Is it that nobody's GPS is working now because the magical #35 isn't working? That everyone has only ONE satellite bar showing on their screen? I guess I should feel pretty special because from where I live we get at least 8 satellites to lock onto. I can't believe that you sit there looking at your satellite screen all day hoping that #35 shows up. Personally I look at that very screen, see 8 satellites and perhaps one empty rectangle that I could care less about, see that I have 8ft of accuracy and off I go to use my GPS. I should join all of you and pray that the almighty satellite 35 will make its triumphant return and point us to Mecca and all those Desperate Housewives. Then I guess I'll see the light. Oh mighty #35, fill ye satellite bar on ye GPS so you may be able to fill my soul and guide me to the winning lottery numbers.

currently own a 60csx. Owned gps V.

Okay, here's a report about the actual firmware fix. I upgraded and decided to check out the WAAS/Satellite problem. I put a route while in an underground garage (no signal). When I got to the street it got a signal (78 feet) and then went on my merry way. I made it recalc and while sitting at a stop light the satellite signal dropped. I had to turn the unit off then back on. I then went through two tunnels while I was on a route and I lost the satellite signal (expected). When I came out of the tunnel I got the satellite signal back and it stayed there. So it worked through tunnels. I don't know what happened the first time when it dropped and it needed a reset. The altitude thing appears to work. Yea! Not one single ---. I'm going to try the routing on the freeway tomorrow so I'll see if it gives me the weird routes again. I'm anxious to see how well it does.

Hey, we got ripped off! I want my money back.

I'd be very, very careful with that unit at the pawn shop. Chances are it was a stolen unit and there's a possibility that the former owner reported it stolen to Garmin. If that's the case then no matter what software you buy it won't work since Garmin won't unlock the software for you.

I compared the electronic compass with my handheld compass and they both matched. The gps has a message that pops up if you don't hold it level. I was very gung-ho about the 60CSx before and after I bought the unit. However, now that I've actually had it for a month I'm really wishing I bought the 60Cx instead. The altimeter was pretty accurate until a couple weeks ago when it started showing the "___" consistently and constantly. The routing is frustrating because the unit "thinks" the streets are faster than the freeway. Not being able to use WAAS consistently is pretty bad. Then I found out the screen can scratch a lot easier than the GPS V and it'll cost $175 to fix. To top it off a beta version of their firmware has been available for more than a month, meaning their true release is a lot older than that. The oldest Beta I saw was from December of last year and it was just updated recently. So we can see that it might be a while before a new firmware release is available. I'm just disenchanted by the whole thing. When I buy something for so much money I expect it to work and not be a beta tester for a new product. Garmin should have tested their units extensively before releasing the 60CSx/76CSx units. Instead they figured that they'll let the public be their paying beta testers (not paid beta testers mind you). It's really frustrating.

That was exactly what I thought. Why should I need to go out and buy something to protect the screen when the screen should be durable enough to withstand even the softest bump. My Blackberry came with a clear, plastic protective adheasive and it cost less than a 60CSx. To the person that gave the idea of putting the protective layer over the GPS screen thus maybe hiding the scratch, unfortunately it didn't work. I guess my scratches are a little deeper than normal. I may try the brass cleaner, but we'll see. I don't like the idea of perhaps adding more scratches since it's an abrasive. I may just live with the scratches or wait until my unit needs to be replaced because of some unknown problem.

I noticed that the GPS remained locked on the road even after setting it for off-road after I was biking and I loaded the track onto my computer. I put the track onto google-map and saw I was riding on the freeway. I went to change the Guidance method from off-road back to on-road and it was set for prompted. Well, if that's not a bug I don't know what is. I noticed you need to go to "map setup" from the map screen and set the "lock on road" for off. Having 2 different methods of "off-road" is very confusing. However, one is for guidance and the other is for mapping.

Can someone confirm that he has fully loaded a 1GB card while it was in the GPS? I have 980megs of data on my 1GB card and it works without a problem. However, I used an external reader/writer before putting it into the GPS.

Actually it cost me $500, not $400. I actually had my GPS V for 4 years and it never got a scratch on the screen. I had the 60CSx for a month and already it's scratched with a $175 repair (if I choose to do it). Why didn't I use a screen protector? Well, mainly because I never thought about the screen scratching (my experience with my old GPS unit). Now that it is, well, then I started thinking of those screen protectors, but I'd like to get it polished out first. I left the screen protector that came on my new Blackberry and I'm sure it's protected it pretty well. My boss, on the other hand, proceeded to put a HUGE scratch across the face of his not more than a day after he got his. So right now, $175 for a repair. Hmmm, maybe I'll try other methods before I go that far.

I just got a message back from Garmin. No warranty repair. In fact it'll cost me $175! That's their flat rate. Wow! I think I'll try the brass cleaner method instead.

I just took my GPS 60CSx with me on a little trek. I had to find my way back so I let it hang on its landyard from the outside of my backpack. Since I was climbing on sharp rocks near the ocean I did something dumb and not think about scratches. So it scrapped up against rocks and ended up getting scratched and nicked...of course all over the middle of the screen. Is there a way to buff those scratches out? I tried the toothpaste method without luck. Do you think Garmin will replace the screen...with a payment, of course?

I'm sure you'll hear from Garmin eventually, Brian. Sometimes it takes a couple days. I actually don't think the air pressure has anything to do with the unit altimeter dying. I noticed that yours only went up to 29,999. I just looked at mine and it was up to 98,381ft. It is a little hard to breath while I'm up this high, but I somehow manage. I swear that in a month I hadn't had any problems with my unit. It wasn't until I put the red light camera POI, the tide charts, and the 1GB chip in the unit that it's started to freak out. Now the problem is very consistent and happens quite frequently. How irritating. So, now we have two things we can't keep consistently on. We can't leave the barometer on auto-calibrate or we'll be flying up to 100,000 ft and we can't leave the unit's WAAS on. If we left WAAS on and went through a long tunnel we'd lose the satellites. It definitely appears that Garmin was in a rush to bring out this unit because they were excited about SiRF, using SD chips, and they had to reach their 50 - 60 product release quota for the year. It really doesn't appear they tested this unit before it went out the door.

The last note I got from Garmin appeared to be all cut up like they took a bunch of things out of it. The altimeter part was interesting because they basically said "turn auto-calibration off." Then they said that a patch is in the works. Keep your eyes open for it.

If mine wasn't stolen I wouldn't have upgraded and I probably would have been happy. The GPS V has features that the new gps units lack. The only one that comes close to the features is the 60/75 series, but then you find out all the shortcomings. There are a few features I'd that are on the GPS V that I wish were on the 60CSx. I wish Garmin would come out with a GPS VI, but their other products would definitely lose business since it was a GPS of all trades.

I may be grasping for straws but my unit never had this problem until I put the Custom POI in it. I'm wondering if that may have something to do with it? On another note, the problem is happening more and more frequently and it's getting annoying as heck. This morning the gps was reading _ _ _ so I changed the Altimeter setting for Auto Calibration to OFF. Once I did that there was an altimeter reading again. I'm going to try it with Auto Calibration Off for a while to see if it comes back.

When I save a track in my 60CSx and then download the track to MapSource, I see two track logs under the "Tracks" User Data Tab on the left side of the screen. If I highlight and view the properties of the "ACTIVE LOG," I see readings for "Elapsed Time" and "Avg. Speed." The track that I saved doesn't show these readings. TracknQ Thank you! That did the trick!

Wouldn't it be interesting if Garmin brought out a 61CSx/77CSx instead and didn't offer any type of rebate or recall?