MajBach
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Posts posted by MajBach
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- All this indicates is that you switched on the unit [in your home] prior to to your walk! < If you say so.
- The details circled in red are not really the track but the record of the unit in the home! < If you say so.
- Your later posting showing the Legend shows a less acurate track, < If you say so.
- unless you always walk in the middle of the road < I did at times . . .
- and only proves that you did not switch the unit on so early, before stepping out to complete the walk!! < If you say so . . . and what's with the "!!"?
To me the 60 gives a more accurate track record of your progress around your neighbourhood! . . . If you say so.
Why are you coming across so aggressive?
Peter
Becasue you are being objective where many others are being subjective. The latter often leaves the ego a little vulnerable.
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LOL this makes me laugh so much.... ALL GPS have wandering tracklogs in poor signal areas(magellan, Lowrance, and garmin it doesn't matter). The reason you notice it more on the 60cx is the unit updates it's position much more frequently than most receivers.
looking at the picture in your first post looks exactly like when I leave my 60cx on sitting on my desk......BUT if I look at the average coordinates I am getting It's usually within 10-20 feet of the actual coordinates. it's only a few minutes every hour it is off by more than that.
The easiest fix for the wandering tracklog is to turn down the frequency of how often it makes tracks.
I fail to see how this is at all relevant. An more frequently updated track only serves to emphasize the error. My old Lowrance could update just as fast. The point is, it didn't wander. Actually, it did, but it had a funtion to eliminate this because the designers anticipated low signal and reflection. Imagine if your FM radio picked up every sky wave signal on the frequency it was set to and you had to lisen to several stations at once. Hmm, I think they built something into radios a long time ago that eliminated weak/errorneous signals. Garmin should have done this too.
I believe for the total $$$ I have spent on the unit, I should be able to leave it stationary in the open and NOT see the odometer slowly climb when the unit never moved.
Don't get me wrong, I don't even touch the Lowrance now that I have the 76 - the two don't compare. But this is a predictable, fixable result that should have been addressed by Garmin because in this partiucular instance, the outdated competitor's technology is superior (or at least more useful) than Garmin's.
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Thanks everyone for the responses. Real eye opener. I have decided to return the 60cx.
"Hiker2008" . . . I was drinking last night after our geocache (Moslon Canadian, eh). But I was very sober this morning when the readings went nuts!
"strumble'. My neighbors are too busy watching for bears coming in the backyards . . .
"PDOP's" . . . nice site you have there! My son lives in Calgary so we will be visiting and will check out some of the caches you have posted . . .
"imajeep" . . . I did start fresh when I started my walk. The extra readings came during that walk. When I got back I received numerous other tracks while the GPS was sitting on my desk. I didn't include those in the screen shot . .
"TrailGators" . . . that is the main reason I am returning the 60cx. What's the point of a GPS unit if it doesn't give accurate information or questionable information? I know the 60cx has very high reviews and it is a nice unit. However, when paying top dollar I want something that won't cause me confusion
Thanks again . . .
Peter
I agree with you. My 76 CSX does the same thing and I don't like it. I would have accepted it as the nature of the beast if this was the first GPS I had ever owned but when the 7 year old Lowrance I replaced with it never did this, well, I'll think twice before I shell out all that cash for a Garmin in the future. Unfortunately, I invested too much $$$ in mapping before I realized the 60/76 series do this inherently and consistently.
BTW, nice pic. I have one from the same spot from the last time I was out there.
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I found I could create a larger map with more segments if I targetted the SD card directly instead of the unit when making the map.
I too have had success with this.
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OK - I was not clear on this. I know what tracklog you have doesn't go away with dead batteries..... But if you are not watching the GPSr and the batteries go dead - you could be a few miles down the trail before you see that - and lose the MAKING of a complete tracklog for that time the batteries were dead and you didn't see it.
20 hours it seems.... well - I don't usually hike 20 hours at a time....... not sure if I could anymore... but there were times when I was in the army.
Thanks.
Ironically, I just made a post about interpreting track logs as I did a 3 day boat trip last weekend. From what I can tell, the fact that the batteries die during use has no impact on the track log except that internally (and non-user noticeable) the track log gets split when the batteries die.
My take on battery life is well...it's a miracle!. Being a former Lowrance user, my GM100 would get maybe 8 hours on FOUR brand new alkalines. I used 2500 NiMH last weekend and saw only about 12 hrs but I do not think those were at brand new capacity. Alkalines faired a little better - didn't time them - but used the backlight and function keys extensively for both.
There is a setting to tell the unit which batteries are in it and I also found if you put near-dead batteries in the unit and will show a slightly optimistic charge in them and die very suddenly. The unit just fades as the batteries die. My GM100 gave a low warning voltage and then also gave an audible alarm 3 seconds prior to shutdown, this unit does not.
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EXCELLENT!! Thank you!
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I recently used my new 76 CSx on a 300 km boat trip from the Kawartha Lakes to Lake Simcoe via the Trent canal. This marine use application was 95% of the reason why I purchased this unit. For the past couple of months I’ve been using it in the car for routing and POIs (especially the Tim Horton’s custom POI
and have been amazed! by the accuracy and wealth of info. Sadly, this was not the case with the Bluecharts. The first error I noticed was the inaccuracy of the locks and the narrow portions of the canal. Almost every lock was off by between 50-150 meters parallel to my actual position down them. In essence, as I was driving through the canals, I was boating on dry land! I considered a signal fix error until I switched over maps to Topo Canada and even Metroguide Canada which both showed me smack dab in the middle of the canal every time. There was also a plethora of times where channel markers were way off – not along the line of the preferred route but skewed to the right or left so much so when I actually traveled between a green can and red buoy, the GPS had showed me out of the channel completely! This was not due to the markers changing their annual position.
Finally, there were several spots where the charts joined where the seams made no sense. In on spot on the north side of Kempenfelt Bay east of Barrie, there chart seam changed from 50’ spot sounding to ‘max 6’ depth.
I know that there is a disclaimer that the charts are not to be used solely for navigation or whatever and I would never blindly follow the GPSr through the fog, but when navigating through hazardous water like the eastern shores of Georgian Bay where there are no channel markers, these maps would appear to be as much of a hazard as the rocks! Has anyone else experienced this?
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Finally used my 76CSx on its first real practical trip – boat trip – and after downloading the tracks and going through the manual several times, I am still left with a few questions I need help with.
First, I have the unit set to ‘wrap’ track logs and to also store tracks to the card. Also, before downloading the tracks onto the PC, I removed the memory card. I had already uploaded 19 different track logs recorded on a different GPS and converted to Garmin before the trip commenced so I figured I only had room for one more track log but much to my surprise, 34 tracks appeared in Mapsource when I received the data from the unit. At first, I found it strange that the tracks were broken down into various sizes over the course of a full days travel from point A to B but then I remembered I shut the unit off several times and concluded this was the reason. However, I still didn’t understand why there were 14 active logs (for a total of around 2800 track points) in addition to the 19 tracks already in the unit. I then deleted a couple of the short ones and uploaded the same tracks back into the unit and again downloaded them. Once again I was surprised to see these tracks were duplicated and the ones I had deleted in Mapsource remained in the unit for a total of 50 tracks. I then picked the GPSr and went to the Track screen and it showed only 1 track being active. When I saved the track within the GPSr and then downloaded it onto the PC, ALL the active track logs were STILL there plus one new one (totaling 500 points and named today’s date). This new track was all the active tracks stiched together and whittled down to 500 points.
I then put the memory card in a reader and download the tracks auto stored by the GPSr and saw all the same active track logs that were in the GPSr stored on it but each one was one track point smaller.
So, here is what I cannot understand:
1. How many active track logs can there be stored in the GPSr?
2. Why can they not be seen on the unit as separate tracks since they are stored in the memory that way?
3. What happens when the active track log reaches is maximum (3000 or 10000?)
a. Are the individual track log parts stored in the unit deleted as a whole or individually or overwritten one point at a time
b. Whats the difference with the stored data specifically between ‘wrap’ set to on or off?
4. when the GPSr is set to store track on the memory card, does it store them identically to the way they are stored on the unit (except in a different file format)?
A lot to answer so I appreciate the input as well as any other useful info you know that Garmin didn’t cover in the manual.
MajBach
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I'm not sure floating is such a great thing.
<snip>
It's a good thing if you are in a boat and you drop it overboard in 100' of water!
The 76 vs. 60 topic is starting to get ridiculous - like a debate not unlike 4 stroke vs. 2 stroke outboards or PC vs. Mac. Didn't someone already do a Q & A on this subject that is at the top of the forums list? Maybe it should become it's OWN forum so we owners aren't so compelled to answer the seemingly endless questions regarding the two.
Just a rant - got a bad sunburn today and ran out of gas in the boat (4 stroke).
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Hi Lechwe
The 60CSx will also float, use Litium batteries and it floats, as proven here in the forums some time ago. Use a larnyard and it will never need to float.
Use a compass, map and peice of paper and you will never need a GPS - lol.
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From an ergonomics standpoint I'll take the 60 over the 76 for my use on the trail. The 60 fits my hand much better and my fingers/hand don't block the screen when I am using the keyboard like on the 76. The 76 seems better suited mounted on the dash of a car or boat.
What he said only reverse the 60 and 76 to get my opinion-lol.
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Has anyone heard anything from Garmin on this?
GC:
Do you ever use BLuecharts on your GPSr? I just recently purchased a 76CSx and returned home from a lengthy trip down the Trent canal - my first real use of the unit. I am appauled at the inaccuracies with the maps as to the positions of the man-made portions of the canal - particularily the locks - and seams at chart transitions where the depth goes from 50 feet on one map to 'max. 6' direcectly adjacent on the next map. I bought this unit entirely to eliminate the need for me to stop and look at paper charts every 10 minutes but the basemap of my old Lowrance GM100 was more accurate for the canal than this Garmin.
Just got home so I plan to make a lengthy post once I unpack to see if others have noticed this.
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just a link to the other related story from yesterday....
I haven't experienced this with my 76, but I haven't had it for very long. But I have had this problem several times with my old Lowrance - often with outrageous speeds and elevations. Sometimes powering off/on worked sometimes the error lasted minutes or even close to an hour. I soon realized that it almost ALWAYS had something to do with a magentic storm (northern lights).
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Tell me why the 76csx is cheaper than a 60csx? It seems to me that the 76 has everything that the 60 has got, but the 76 floats. THat seems to make the 76 better in my opinion (I'm a canoe'r.)
Could someone shed some light on this subject. (This is my first post here.)
Thanks, Jeremiah.
For me it's like VHS vs Beta or Mac vs. Windows. Popular opinion influences choice but doesn't necassarily always indicate superiority.
Not trying to nitpick, but a more correct comparison would be two different models of the same brand--such as 2 different Panasonic VCRs.
Garmin vs Magellan would fit the VHS vs Beta, Mac vs PC comparison.
You're right, that is nitpicking - it's the same point regardless.
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Tell me why the 76csx is cheaper than a 60csx? It seems to me that the 76 has everything that the 60 has got, but the 76 floats. THat seems to make the 76 better in my opinion (I'm a canoe'r.)
Could someone shed some light on this subject. (This is my first post here.)
Thanks, Jeremiah.
For me it's like VHS vs Beta or Mac vs. Windows. Popular opinion influences choice but doesn't necassarily always indicate superiority.
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Hi again. Yet another question I cannot find the answer to using the manuals. I am importing tracks obtained over the years from my Lowrance into my Garmin but I am wondering about the datums when viewed in Mapsource and on the GPSr using BLuecharts. My Lowrance was setup in the WGS 84 datum so tracks were recorded as such. Using G7toWin, I can easily load those tracks an send them to Mapsource. Normally, Canadian nav-charts are in the Nad 27 datum; i cannot setermine if the bluecharts are also. Regardless, do I need to change my map datum in Mapsource to Nad or leave it to WGS? The two factors to consider are they were recorded in WGS 84 but the BLuechart is in Nad 27 (assuming) or will it make a difference?
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MajBach
When you edit a route the way you have, you have created a Via Point, not a Waypoint, and this exists only as part of the route.
To resolve the issues you have with other software it looks like you'll need to use all waypoints and this is done by creating another waypoint, right click on the route and select Route Properties and here you should be able to insert the new waypoint and edit its position in the list.
Thanks Frabble for tht info. Wy is tis time I have heard of this? I do not recall reading it in the manual. I would like to know more on the differences between waypoints and viapoints. For example, are viapoints stored as part of a route or as a waypoint? Do they take up memory space dedicated for waypoints or for routes? In the GPSr or memory card? I have already noticed that if I select 'delete all symbols' in the waypoints menu on the GPSr, all routes containing only waypoints also get deleted but routes containing viapoints remain. I just feel this is a significant feature but I find it surprising that there is little info on it.
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OK, just to eliminate speculation of possible causes, I just formatted the memory card and am starting from scratch but still getting the same problems. I have found no reference in the manual regarding this topic either. Here's what's happening: Create a bunch of waypoints, connect them into a route (non-autorouting). Simple so far. Now, I go through the route and realize I want to add something so I highlight the route and right click (Mapsource) and select 'insert route selection' and click on the position of the new waypoint. But this waypoint is different than other manually created waypoints. First, it cannot be customized in any way - including name. It does not show up in the waypoint list. It only appears in the route list on either Mapsource or the GPSr but DOES not appear on the GPSr map unless that particular route is active. WHY??!! This is also causing problems in G7toWin and Expert GPS. When I try to recieve data from the GPS, G7toWin reports and error 'route waypoint not in regular list' several times then crashes. ExpertGPS (after deleting all waypoints in the GPS) say 'no waypoints on GPS but then downloads a whole bunch of waypoints. Another problem with G7toWin: Whenever I download from the GPS (even after formatting the card and sending waypoints from Mapsource to the GPSr)it duplicates ALL the waypoints that are used in routes.
I cannot make heads or tails of what is going on - hoping someone here can.
Regards
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My Mapsource Maps sure have a lot of icons to choose from, so I guess I don't understand the problem you are having. And, you can create custom icons for unique places, like a specific brand of gas station. Do a Search of the Forums to see some cool examples of those.
Let me elaborate: While working in Mapsource, I see an icon that suits a waypoint so I select it. When I upload it to the unit, a different icon is displayed because the GPSr doesn't have that icon. The reverse is also true. When I download a waypoint from the GPSr, it is displayed in mapsource as something different that the GPSr since Mapsource doesn't contain all the icons in the GPSr - and I am not talking about custom icons. Hmmmm
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I think what you are saying is that you want all the Waypoints in the various files to be in a single file. Correct?
Just open all the multiple instances of MapSource. (You can have more than one open at the same time.)
Select the Waypoints you want to copy (highlight them in the Waypoints tab).
Right click and select copy.
Go to the MapSource file where you want them to be and right click and select Paste.
Repeat as needed.
Thanks-Duh!! You think a former computer business owner could have figured that out!
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Maybe I need to have a nap or something but I just can't seem to figure this out: After 7 years of GPSing, I have quite a database of waypoints. I've spent a couple of days going through them, renaming, changing icons etc. and now have several files that I want to combine so I can upload into the GPSr (76CSX). Even with Ozi, G7toWin, ExpertGPS, and of course that pitiful excuse for proprietary software - Mapsource, I cannot figure out how to import or append waypoints. What am I missing?
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I hope I am missing something here but I find this Mapsource software the pits!!! I am using the most recent version of it and I am doing a lot of work with waypoints I have imported from a different brand of GPS. Mapsource shows only a fraction of the available icons that are on my unit (60/76CSx) and a whole sh*t load of icons that are not. How am i supposed to know which icon is what and what will appear on my GPSr if I select an icon that it doesn't use? You would think the industry leader would have better developed software and no generic crap!
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I too am loving my 76. I used to (well, still do) use a Lowrance GM100 which is state-of-the-artifact technology by today's standards. The functions of the 76 Cx are simply amazing but there are a few things lacking IMO and others that have left me slightly disappointed. I chose the 60/76 family when i purchased this Garmin due to the raves I had read on the receiver. I was always very impressed with the performance of my GM100 - especially when compared to some of Garmin's lower units 7 years ago and even today. With the exception of the warm restart lock on the 60/76s which is a matter of seconds or less, I prefer the performance of my OUTDATED Lowrance. The most annoying problem is the wandering on the 76. The Lowrances have a toggle function called 'pinning' in which the GPS will not show slight movements below a certain speed. Extremely useful when in areas of high cover or reflection. I used my 76 the other day for the first time when walking long distances for geocaching (WOW has geocaching changed since 5 years ago!). I actually had to set the GPSr to North up instead of track up - which I prefer -because it was SO annoying watching the screen rotate every second or so. I also left the unit sitting on an outside table for a couple of hours and it reorded something like 11 kms of travel! This doesn't happen with the Lowrance.
I also miss the configuraabilty of Lowrance. I again have read others rave about how the 60/76 is so configurable but I find it VERY lacking. The Lowrance had 16 difference screens in 3 different categories. One of the categories allowed for 10 different screens showing WHATEVER info the GPS read out - even two different maps on the same screen each individually configured. I liked this especially as I often found that I want a map screen that includes headings etc. in the data fields as well as a map screen displaying time distance pointer etc. Obvioulsy that would be too clutterred all on one map so with the Lowrance I could have one page displaying one set of info and the next displaying a different set - each with a map and I could simply switch back and forth. Also especially useful depending on whether I am flying, boating or driving. So far, when using the 76, I find myself constantly changing the data fields on the map screen while driving.
And I HATE the pan mode on the 76. Being able to remove the coords at the top is a necessity but I also wish there was more configurablity as to what detail is shown. Seems like no matter what zoom levels I set the Map points etc too, there are ALWAYS too many airports and hick-towns cluttering the screen. The declutter removes too much.
OK Ok, sounds like a rant. I really do like the unit and I am glad I purchased it - wouldn't give it up and I did compare it extensively to Lowrance before making the purchase so I do prefer it overall. Just hard to adjust I suppose to a different brand name after 7 years. Besides, I am sure Garmin techs factor in this stuff for firmware upgrades and newer lines.
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Finally figured out how to use X Image, POI Loader etc to create custom Icons and POIs. One thing I still haven't figured out yet however is how to use the built in icons for my own POIs. For example, I am using G7towin to download all my 'events' (waypoints without names or details) and convert them to a CSV file and then upload them to the Garmin. I know how to use my own BMP image from icons i have d/l 'ed from others etc. but how can I use an icon that is built into the GPSr itself. Is there a way to transfer all the icons to the computer? Actually, I would REALLY prefer a image set of tha actual icons built into the unit but I haven't been able to find a list on-line. any thoughts?
and have been amazed! by the accuracy and wealth of info. Sadly, this was not the case with the Bluecharts. The first error I noticed was the inaccuracy of the locks and the narrow portions of the canal. Almost every lock was off by between 50-150 meters parallel to my actual position down them. In essence, as I was driving through the canals, I was boating on dry land! I considered a signal fix error until I switched over maps to Topo Canada and even Metroguide Canada which both showed me smack dab in the middle of the canal every time. 
GPSMAP76
in GPS technology and devices
Posted · Edited by MajBach
I have noticed the same on my unit. The total amount of maps on the memory card (even if they are turned off) seem to slow my unit down. Turning the detail from Most to Normal makes a difference (I leave mine set to Most to all land navigation but Normal for marine - I find I don't need the detail until I am zoomed in), but to really speed things up, turn the spot sounding off - a world of difference. Unfortunately, you wont have depth info, which is crucial where I boat so I dont exercise that option unless I am programing the GPSr but leave it on when boating. This is why I need to set the detail to normal b/c the sounding that appear as dots until you zoom in will disappear until you are at a more manageble map zoom.