thefiveofus

well, one thought is that the 60 csx has a feature called 'proximity alarms' for the type of thing you describe below. You identify a waypoint and the radius distance. The GPS will then tell you when you cross that boundary defined by a constant distance from the waypoint (e.g. the circle defined w/ the radius you supplied). However, the radius, as far as I can tell in a little experimenting, is *not* shown on the display, and the only shape proximity that can be defined is a circle. (the alarm works both ways, e.g. crossing outside the proximity, or crossing into it). I think Garmin's intention was a 'no fly' type of application. A red message appears on the screen, an audio tone sounds, and it needs to be acknowledged by pressing enter to remove the message (although I have not waited for it to time out to see what happens if not acknowledged). they are fairly easy to use on the fly..define the waypoint and then enter the waypoint (select from list) and radius on the proximity alarm list page. If there were permanent 'no fly' zones you wanted to see on your map, perhaps there would be a way to do this yourself (but then I believe you could not view your custom map layer and a topo map layer, for example, simultaneously). you can download the garmin manuals on their site also... re new topo maps, I can't say.

true... I guess we all get anxious thinking about new releases and what the s/w could do ... very easy to take the existing code for granted! hopefully the garmin folks lurk on some of these boards to get software feedback so that it doesn't only come from the help desk...

I've been noticing that the warnings seem to be variable, either as a function of the posted road speed or actual speed (can't tell), but on local roads they are say .1 mi then some # of feet, whereas on highways, they are much futher out.. has anyone figured out how it's working? (e.g. speed vs. warning)... (doesn't seem to be user controllable, but is variable.... )

I'm not sure the update will improve WAAS usage unless you are in Japan or that area of the world. From what I read, the MSAS is for Japan. See http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=138897 for a link to an interesting WAAS page I found (hadn't seen it in prior posts). WAAS in US I think is more dependant on the testing schedule for #51, etc. Although, I could be missing something??? I was referring to the 2.9/2.6 that finally 'enabled' WAAS & fixed the tunnel problem. It was at that point that I thought I noticed the slower initial acquisition times. That's why I'm asking if a: 3.0/2.7 initiates lock any faster than 2.9/2.6 and, b: if a hard reset is necessary to improve initial lock times, and if you say yes, are you referring to 3.0/2.7, 2.9/2.6 or both. yeah... people may need a few days to play with the new release to compare the two (although they should have called it 2.95, not 3.0 -- needs more big bang to earn the .0) ... I bought my 60csx only a few weeks ago, so 2.9/2.6 was already out, which I guess is good...can't comment on the hard reset, although one would think (think being the operative word) that if one were needed, either the update would do it and warn you before, or somehow the update would tell you to do it...

I'm not sure the update will improve WAAS usage unless you are in Japan or that area of the world. From what I read, the MSAS is for Japan. See http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=138897 for a link to an interesting WAAS page I found (hadn't seen it in prior posts). WAAS in US I think is more dependant on the testing schedule for #51, etc. Although, I could be missing something???

I found this page to be pretty informative..thought I would post: WAAS and its Relation to Enabled Hand-Held GPS Receivers what it also says to me is the MSAS almanac added to the (edit: garmin 60csx) sirf chipset firmware v 2.7 is for Japan (the page has a map of which WAAS sattellites and systems cover which geographic regions of the world) Mod - if you like this link, would suggest to make it a stickey, although I'm not sure this forum s/w supports them edit: additional link for further technical details on WAAS for Garmin receivers (including suggestions on getting an almanac load when you can't seem to (although there are quite a few steps - may be more work than needed by just letting the unit do what it is trying to do)). this link is in the above but I thought I would add it here as well. http://www.gpsinformation.org/dale/dgps.htm

Yes.!! A few cost cutting tips: - micro SD card.. can go for 512 megs... since 1 gig can't hold the entire US (for example), how much memory you add is kinda arbitrary... depends on your needs, travles, etc. $28 on amazon rather than 45 or $55. - car mount- the ram mounts look way solid, but I have been pleasantly surprised by how much I like the garmin mount..people seem to like the actual connection to the 60csx better than the ram mounts, and it can twist and turn any way you'd like pretty much.. it's a little bouncy, but not because of where the base attachs, but rather depends on how much you extend the 'arm' but it works fine (so far). $22 on amazon. - soft case ... $8 at EMS.. get their soft sunglasses case (black & grey) .. fits the 60 csx perfectly and has a small pouch outside for batteries, etc. - invisi shield ... might be the best $10 I have spent in a while...haven't yet put it to the test, but I feel better already knowing it's on. watch their demo on their site..way cool... - car power adapter... can go without at first if you are cash starved, but have plenty of batts (I did buy one and like that it keeps the backlight always on w/o draining my batts). - city nav / topo ... will need city nav for driving...so far, I've made topo optional, (I guess mostly b/c I know the areas where I am going caching or choose low difficulty ones b/c of the kids, so vertical hikes have not been a problem). hope this helps!

yeah, I thought they looked kind of star wars like too

It does look more like a movie premiere with spotlights than a GPS thing! yeah, someone I know at Garmin told me that the idea would be that if you're geocaching and you can't find the cache, then you might just want to kill a few hours at the theatre with AC, soda and some candy, and that in a subsequent sw release, by clicking on the icon, you'll be able to download a movie to your garmin from the sats and plunk yourself down in the woods and just watch it right there (again, when you can't find the cache). kidding but the icon does have a hollywood touch to it, doesn't it?

it's to announce the release of a new hollywood movie.. whenever a movie is released, the icon will light up for a few seconds..this is why its hard to detect a pattern.

Hi Stepehne - first, I had to get over the 'red sox rules' thing, with a family full of yankees fans. But, we wear our logo stuff proudly when we go to MA altough I think the sox fans are pretty abusive (even to little kids! pretty amazing). however, that said, you can do what you say below. if you become a premium member of geocaching.com ($3/ month or $30/yr), you can create customized pocket queries where you can download files of waypoints to your specs, e.g. where, what kind, along a specific route (new), etc. the thing that will be missing though is all the good stuff on the logs, hints, etc. because that text is too long to store in waypoint notes fields on your GPS. you can either print those out in advance, access them from your mobile phone / device on the road (http://wap.geocaching.com/) (should work in a pinch, but depending on your screen size may or may not be what you are looking for - test first from home), or if you have a handheld device, you can get a PRC file which you can load and read with a reader (palm ... must be a pocket PC version too ..windows OS), or can otherwise use some of the software tools listed on geocaching.com to create a file for your handheld. you'll need to update your files before you go on the road, but should work for you...

send the mapset you want..it should replace the existing ones completely.. be sure to put all the maps in it you'd like, regardless of whether they're currently on your unit. that's how you 'delete' maps, by sending a new set. all that will happen when you upload maps from the unit is that it will send the name of the map, and when you look in mapsource, you'll see them highlighted..it doesn't actually send the map data back to your pc.

does this give you the same detail? http://local.live.com it's MS w/ navteq data..not sure where the images themselves come from.. I'm not an MS fan, but it's pretty cool. edit: btw, try the bird's eye view if the data's avail..it's pretty wild, you can swing around from multiple vantage points (does g earth do that too?). edit: re-added URL (did I forget the first time or do they need to be short links to be allowed in the forum)

I think you can get those too..generic clip for your car dash that the garmin mount slides into..they're sold for phone but the garmin nub looks to be the same size..heavier than phone, but ... but, it would swing around a bit...but they do sell 'em

on the RAM web site, they show a quick release adapter that goes on the back of the cradle (looks like it anyway) so that, I think, you would pull the GPS and ram cradle off, use your GPS, then put the whole thing back on..suppose it has it's downsides too but just fyi.

also, make sure your routing is set to 'off road' (in the system menu, I think under routing, but't can't be sure..but, it's in there... you need to set routing to off road and 'lock on road' on the map setup to off...those are 2 keys to getting proper routing when not driving (I had similar issues while geocaching)..)... this doesn't solve it all, but just wanted to make sure you saw those).. good luck!

Neo Geo - I was looking at the custom icons on a bunch of old posts and thought I saw you post to those.. for the custom geocaching icons that are floating around (some sets have 24 and then there looks like an extended set too that adds a bunch), have you seen anywhere a description of each one? I guess if you've been caching a long time, then it's obvious, but for those of us who are newer, any suggestions? TIA

I checked to see if my NiMH batteries were being charged while the USB cord was plugged in. They don't seem to be getting any of the juice provided by the USB connection. I doubt that the alkaline batteries would be affected by even a non-Garmin USB cord (USB standards apply to all implementations). I'd be surprised if the USB power tried to charge the batts...if the design was that way, Garmin would be sure to make it well known, would be a valuable feature, so they'd make a big deal of it (IMHO).

this was just answered very recently ... search back over the past few days... advantage is it's already on the chip..disadvantage is that you can't use it on your PC in mapsource. I kind of like the flexibility to use it on the PC and download what I want... I think the chip pre-load version is a little more compressed than what the CD does, but w/ memory being so inexpensive, the basic advantage is pre-load if you are on the road or dont' want to deal w/ the PC.

which RAM do you use (twist off or the other?) ... do you use it on the glass or the dash? just curious

Paul - for the automotive units, just be sure you can enter actual GPS coordinates you want to navigate to. If you can't, then you won't be able to use it for geocaching (e.g. like the garmin nuvi, I'm not sure you can actually do that). for the handhelds, the main thing they lack are touch screen and voice prompts, which on the trail don't matter, but they are designed for rugged use and the button interface is very good. and, the car units will get damaged much more easily on the trail. screens may be (not always but maybe) a little bigger on the car units. the car units and handhelds (dedicated, not palm/winos devices) overlap, but are also tailored to what they do (e.g. more driving features on the car units and more hiking features on the handhelds). I think the thing to do is figure out what you *really* want it for .. really mostly car with an occaisional hike, really mostly hiking with the car as a bonus, etc. this will help you decide, b/c just saying 'dual use' won't be specific enough. I selected the 60 csx and use it for both. it's half the price of the nuvi (the other unit I thought about) but as above, lacks voice prompt which can be very helpful in the car. but, i was willing to trade that for half the price and also we love to geocache, and I woudn't take a car unit in the woods (my opinion, of course it can be done and my brother in law uses his winos device when we go together, so it 's just one person't take on life). Hope this helps!!

difference on the car adapter is that it's mechanical connection is much stronger, which will help avoid breaking the USB connector due to stress that probably wasn't intended to be put on the USB connector in the unit. The power cord from the car adapter goes straight down the back of the unit. likely further minimizing the stress. so, it's a little pricey, but you can find it discounted, and to me, if it helps reduce the change that I'll break the usb connector on my new $400 device, I'll go for it... just an addt'l 2 cents.

$130 is near full garmin retail (or maybe $139, I forget). check gpsnow.com (not gps-now, very different), I think they have it for $109 & check their references, I haven't used them. ebay's always a crap shoot but I suppose you stand a better change w/ a power seller w/ good ratings

You are so right, I had to open the hard pack to reveal the rev level 8 on the back of the CD case on the SN sticker. YEEEE HAAAAA! I even found my unlock code in the cardboard within the hard sharp plastic container! Now all I have to do is stop the bleedin so I can handle the CD to download it. Man! They don't take any chances with this packagin, do they! Thanks guys, Rod yeah, that plastic is sharp as a knife when you cut it open... and yeah, I almost threw away my unlock code thinking it was promo literature in the case... (esp. since my ver 5.0 didn't need unlocking)... the packaging is evil !!

hmm... I think my dog did fart just before the compass went out (just kidding, I don't have a dog. maybe the wife? LOL). yeah, maybe they can fix it w/ software after they make the volume user controllable and also the distance to warning beeps. (overall, I do like it though...once hell of a step up from the etrex legend).