yeeoldcacher

The basemap in the Vista can can not be written over by other maps. You can see this by zooming out to a large scale on the map page to see areas outside of the area for which you loaded the topo maps. You can disable the topo maps by selecting the menu icon on the map page and going to the setup map option, then select the circled i and then the menu icon again. If you are referring to the poi database that is in the unit you might look at the Vista's update page for the file to reload that to the Vista.

Your best bet for multipurpose use would probably be Garmin's GPS 10 for palm and pocket pc, which comes with the City Select softare for you to use with the 60 as well. If you want to go with something like the 60 + pda, then you need to get the serial cable and software like rickertk mentioned to make it work. There are a variety of maps to go with the pda(one of which is http://www.mapopolis.com/). You could even look for a bluetooth sirf receiver like the Holux GR-236 which is really nice(Holux 236).

It won't install at all, which is why I was wondering if it has to do with my topo maps interferring. It says it's a CD-ROM, at least that's what I thought. Is City Select only come in a DVD format? When I ordered it off Amazon the title says "CD-ROM". I just want to geocache with my new maps! The newest version of Garmins City Select software is on a dvd. Does your computer have a dvd drive?

I was able to get a lock in PRN-33 this weekend (it's INMARSAT's Atlantic Ocean Region East bird - located more or less over the West Coast of Africa) with my 60csx. Personally, now knowing that Garmin is working the issue, I'm willing to relax a little more. The gentleman that I spoke with this afternoon was infinately more helpful, and didn't offer a snap-reflex stock answer. For now, with a glimmer of hope at the end of the tunnel, I plan on waiting out the move and the PAN-AM sat coming back online this fall.. I was also assured that the tech reps would be providing a more unified front with the answers to our questions. Thanks, Jeff (apparently they do read the forums...) Ben Wow, that's a relief, I thought Garmin would have the WAAS satellites moving all over the place permanently so that it never worked for the gps' again!

THis was available in the 60CS. I'd be very disappointed if the feature was taken away with the CSX. I find it to be very useful. It's already there on the "x" units, just like the 60C/S units. Main menu>setup>page seq.

Do you happen to have a meter to test them with? It would be interesting to see if they truly are 1.5v. My guess is they are not.

Turning your track log to on will allow you to see the elevation plot over time/distance. As the over time/distance implies, the unit is showing the data over that, the only memory allocation in the unit to store this data is the track log, so if it is off, or it has been cleared, then unit will not have a reference for the elevation over distance or time.

With the satellites moving(having a side effect on the signal since the WAAS satellites are not clocked), there is the probability that differential correction will be intermittent at best with Sirf chips, at least until the satellites are again geostationary. You can read more about this below. http://www.colorado.edu/geography/gcraft/notes/gps/gps.html

So after reading the e-mail I went back to Garmin's website and took a look at the product page for the 60csx, and yep, sure enough, there was an icon on the top that hinted that the unit was "WAAS Enabled". The WAAS functionality was also listed as a primary product feature. Oh, and wouldn't you know it, the box for the unit has the same things noted. I replied to the e-mail above voicing my concerns and asking how Garmin could legally sell the unit as a WAAS capable unit when their tech support seems to be OK saying that it isn't. Here's the reply to that e-mail: I'm sorry, but this doesn't cut it. If you advertise the unit as WAAS enabled, sell it as such, you should support it as the same. When a customer asks a question about a problem with one of the features don't explain it away or downplay it's importance. Seems like a classic example of bait and switch and false advertising. Not to mention that my primary concern with the unit's performance is the positioin wander that I experience, above and beyond what I get with an e-trex Vista. WAAS capability would help correct the 1/4 mile hikes that my unit takes while sitting stationary with a clear view of the horizons. Garmin needs to send their engineers back to the drawing board to correct this, and their sales department needs a wake-up call. I urge any of you out there that have notice the same thing to contact Garmin and ask them to correct this, and also forward your concerns to the FTC. We paid too much money for a WAAS enabled receiver for Garmin to try to downplay it's importance. I don't know if I got a bum unit on top of the fact that I'm more than a little miffed at the bait and switch, but I can't help but feel I got swindled. We shouldn't let them get away with this. AKDUB I think you need to read this thread to get a better understanding of the current problems for WAAS and how they affect the Sirf receiver. Also, for what it is worth, my 60Cx gets an accurate enough signal for me without WAAS. http://image-hosting.hostwire.com/images/h.../60cxscreen.jpg

Actually it can, it is just that it won't right now due to the WAAS sats. moving. I think the Garmin rep. that provided you with that information may be confused.

After installing both the topo and City Select to the unit, go to the map page and press the menu button 1x, select setup map, then highlight the encircled i and press the menu button 1 more time. You will see the menu to enable/disable maps on that menu.

Yes, I found those same options last night on my unit. I even changed it to look like I'm driving a truck (vs. car or motorcycle); I also checked the box to say to keep me on a paved road. It's still taking me through places that I'm pretty sure there's no road.... tho, I did just move here 7 months ago.... I may have to check these "roads" out! My husband might want to play on them in his jeep!!! I'm pretty sure, after reading all of the help you all are giving me, that those options are for the gps unit itself and the topo software really doesn't care and will send me wherever it wants regardless. I'm sure this will all be worth good laugh after I get the new software. Actually, Garmin's Canadian and British topo are routable like the US City Select due the mapping data provider for both of those products.

Agreed, the 2.62 beta seems safe enough so far for off road nav, and like you said, you can log the tracks to the card.

In the beginning there was no POI for 60CS, but there can be now. It was the same as you said for the 60CSx, you got some extra after you have ordered you 60CSx I do not see any reason to continue this discussion, and hope many sends a request to Garmin. The poi that you are referring to for the 60CS has always been available on the 60CS(and C),in fact, it comes preinstalled on the unit out of the box. It is actually a map file containing this data, not a seperate type of file that is accessed,stored, or written any differently than a detailed map that you can load to the unit. This is why this poi file is deleted when you load any detailed maps to the unit. It is also similar to the other poi files that is currently factory loaded to many of their Marine units. It is not a special file that requires any particular code for the unit to be able to read.

While we're at it, I want the dvd+-rw drive that I bought last year to burn at 16x instead of just 12x, I mean Plextor makes a drive that has that speed, why can't they update mine to do this. Right, if they were to do this why would anyone buy the 16x drives, just go buy the oldest 2x drive and whine for free update to 16x.

I wouldn't be opposed to using the MapSource program to read/write the sd card as long as I had control over where the data was put. At least that way MapSource could quality control the data before it gets written to the card. I would want nested levels of directories for most types of data. But have top level directories like MAP, WAYPOINT, TRACK, POI, CACHE that I could fill up to my hearts content. Garmin could publish their requirements as to what each class of data needs to look like. I guess we need to be patient and see what they implement. Hopefully I'll be able to use WAAS and the SD card some day. I do realize that the positions of the WAAS satellites are out of their control. I agree that WAAS is nice, but when I compare my 60Cx to my 60CS, in the same environment/time period, I get results like this.

Sigh. I keep on trying to explain why the comcept of D's applied to individual satellites doesn't make much sense, yet people still seem to think WAAS is a per-satellite correction. What am I doing wrong? i can FEEL your frustration but remember 35 will be in its new location soon and everyone will think they recieved a magical fix for their GPSr Yes, as soon as #35 is "firmly" in its new location(approx. April 1) all of the X unit users will see differential correction for their units just like non X units. http://gps.faa.gov/programs/waasnews.htm While Garmin or Sirf may provide an update to address this, I can't see why they would want to address a temporary issue. The issue seems to be related to the fact that the WAAS satellite is moving currently, but as we know, the WAAS sats. are meant to be geostationary, so this won't be a consistant issue, only intermittent when they need to be moved. In the meantime my 60CSx still provides only 1-2ft less of accuracy than my other units even without WAAS corrections.

Neo_Geo, I just wanted to thank you for the aviation poi files, they must have taken a lot of work.

Are you sure that the disc isn't a dvd and not a cd? You may want to make sure that you have a dvd drive on your pc.

Saying that you can get altimeter readings with the cx vs csx is like asking a one legged man to run a race against a marathon runner. GPS readings without the use of a barimter is like betting on the one legged man. First, The shape of the earth (geoid) does not exactly match the WGS84 theoreticaly elipsode. This causes most points in the USA to be about -125 ft below the GPS calculation. The built in barimter works with the GPS unit to establish a very good correction to give actual elevation. The barimter is constantly calculating the pressure variations to establish the correct elevation in conjunction with the GPS reading. Second, I agree that the compass falls short. Most people like to move or walk when using a compass. But like I said in my previous posts, if you can't get a true elevation vs. distance profile using DEM mapping, this makes the altitude capability good only for getting spot shots, not profiles. Third, I think the x series sucks, I'll pass on it and I'll wait till Garmin gets it right. Make sure to let us all know when you find a gps that provides route profiles. Since that seems to be your one sticking point, I guess all gpsers suck(not one gps has that feature currently), so why bother with one at all?! Also, this is like the second(or maybe third) time that you said you were done.

Well, the problem here is PPPPPPP(or possibly PPPPD).

That's probably your problem. The backlight eats batteries no matter how low you have it set. You may be right. I turned off the backlight and got 18 hours of use. Thanks for all of the replies! Glad to be of service! I spoke with a Garmin rep on Friday regarding the battery life of the new x units. According to them, the battery life is not extended with the compass turned off. Apparently, the new sensors in the x units use minimal power so that the battery life is not affected by the compass/altimeter. He also explained that the reason the unit can not record elevation when the unit is off being due to the type of sensor. The decreased battery life in the new units is directly related to the sirf chip and memory modules.

For those comparing topo, Garmins topo software is not a locked product either, it will work on as many Garmin units as you have.

I can say with certainty(after my hands on with the unit and discussion with a Garmin rep) that the etrex units do not have Sirf. Only the 60x and 76x models have Sirf. I think the tech support person who emailed you may have misread in their documentation.

I met a Garmin marketing person who happened to have one of these. He let me handle it for a few minutes and answered a few questions. The only other thing that can be saved to the card is the track log(which means we no longer lose track data by saving it to the card). Nice units, only 1 significant upgrade with the card for storing more maps. Would have been nice to see some other changes. Maybe other units are in the works that will have some different upgrades.