drbugs
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Posts posted by drbugs
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This may be a redundant question, but perhaps long time users of the GPSMAP 60C/S/x range have an answer.
I've been a GPSV user for many years. I've noticed the following on my GPSMAP 60CSx. When selecting to navigate to a waypoint, if I select "Off Road" the road lock remains on. On my GPSV the road lock would be on when I routed via Faster Time/Shorter Distance, but if I selected Off Road, then the road loack is automatically switched off which makes sense. Why does the 60CSx not do this? Surely if you travel Off Road, by implication you do not wnat the Road Lock to be active. In the interim I switch this off manually, but it is very irritating.
I've had this issue sporadically. the map screen will lcok up (not turn no matter how I change my orientation), but the distance to target numbers are updated. If I toggle the power (or usually just turn the receiver off/on from the sat page) it will fix itself. I've contacted garmin about it.
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Hi,
I've emailed garmin a couple of times on this, nothing definitive.
Last mail received 4 may 06
While I'm submitting this, I have a couple other questions.
1. Any word on the next firmware patch will go production?
Answer: I am not sure when this patch will hit the web site. We only find
out when it appears, they don't let us know ahead of time.
2. WAAS issues. Will the next patch address any of the WAAS issues that
have been noted with SIRF III?
Answer: The patch should correct some issues with Sirf and WAAS but I really
can't be sure what or if any solutions they will have for this.
Another one, received 3 May -6 (they were actually submitted about a week apart)
1. Any word on the WAAS updates/problem definition for the 60cx?
This is an ongoing thing as we work with SiRF to try to get these kinds of
issues hammered out. I have heard reports of more success with the newest
firmware, I'm pretty confident that this will be corrected.
28 april 06 requesting info on when the prod patch may be released:
I am happy to help you with this. I would think that we will see the full
release within the next few weeks, but at this time we do not have an ETA on
the release. Thank you for your patience.
11 april 06 requesting info when prod patch may be out:
I am happy to help you with this. We all have our fingers crossed that they
will post the update very soon. I appreciate your patience. If you have any
additional comments or questions, please do not hesitate to contact us via
email or call our customer service number below.
9 april 06 question about WAAS and sirf
The new Sirf receivers are having some
trouble downloading the data from WAAS. Satellite 35 is also in a transition
period and being moved to a new location. This may be effecting the
reception also. The engineers are working on this issue and hope to have a
solution soon. I would keep an eye out for a new release on our web site
within the next couple of weeks.
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Good luck with the polish approach. I've heard from various sites that it works (ipods, ipaqs, etc).
Once you get your screen fixed, check out this link to a very good screen protectors. Cost ten bucks, and they are supposed to be originally designed to put on helicopter blades. I like mine a lot.
again, good luck, and post your results.
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my 60cx did that. There is a setting either in mapsource or the device (I don't have access to either right now) that you can set.
I THINK that there was a checkbox on the transfer dialog on mapsource.
EDIT.
I got cityselect 7 as part of a package with the unit at gpsdiscount.com. Some other places to check are tigerdirect.com, megagps.com, lakepowellmarine.com and several others.
Thanx for the prompt answer!!! i'll look around as it's probably my enthusiasm that's causing me to miss the little things.
have a great weekend!!!
Dood! I was the same way. these toys are a lot of fun!
enjoy. This forum has/is a great help. lots of good people here.
Hope you get out and get some caches this weekend!
Randy
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my 60cx did that. There is a setting either in mapsource or the device (I don't have access to either right now) that you can set.
I THINK that there was a checkbox on the transfer dialog on mapsource.
EDIT.
I got cityselect 7 as part of a package with the unit at gpsdiscount.com. Some other places to check are tigerdirect.com, megagps.com, lakepowellmarine.com and several others.
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I emailed them today with a bug report (map screen freezes), and I added the following enhancement requests:
Some suggested enhanchements.
1. Geocaching information. It would be AWESOME if the units with expandable memory
had enhancements to allow much more information to be uploaded to the device via gpx
files. The premium membership at geocaching.com allows the entire cache page to be
downloaded (including cache info, hints difficulty, and the last 5 comments from cachers). it would be very cool if I didn't have to use my ipaq to show this information, so I could just use my gpsr.
2. A system similer to the magellans for waypoint management (similer to the
POIloader in some ways, but more flexible). On the magellans, you can have multiple
files, and use directories to organize waypoints (again, sorta like the POIloader).
It would be nice for these to be read/write on the gpsr (mark cache as found,
delete/add on the gpsr).
3. I liked the tracklog improvements on 2.62 beta (using the external card to store
it). I couldn't get at it from mapsource (or at least couldn't figure out how). It
would be nice to be able to load it in mapsource without having to use an external
card reader
EDIT. forgot about a previous request from garmin that I just heard back on:
I have a 60cx, with cityselect v7. When I select Find->Fuel Service (and I
expect other finds are similer) it does show gas sites that are in order of
closest to furthest. Problem I noticed is that the closest may be a gas
station I just passed, and doing a U turn is disbled in my routing. Is it
possible to have it show me the closest POI that is based off of my travel
direction?
No, the unit searches in a radius of your current position only.
Also of interest (WAAS and future fix):
Any word on the WAAS updates/problem definition for the 60cx?
This is an ongoing thing as we work with SiRF to try to get these kinds of
issues hammered out. I have heard reports of more success with the newest
firmware, I'm pretty confident that this will be corrected.
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I very occasionally have something like this on my cx. I first noticed it with 2.62, but this weekend it happened on 2.60 (I downgraded, hoping to address this).
My pointer will stop turning, ie just keep pointing upwards, no matter which way I turn. poweroff/on or simply turning off/on the gps receiver (from the sat screen) will resolve this. the distance to cache field will be updated. If/when this happens again, I'll toggle to the compass view and see if that is locked up too.
I've notified garmin of this twice (when I was running 2.62) and once with 2.60.
Little inconvient, but so far it works really good overall.
I notice you used the word "UPWARDS"in refering to your compass pointer.......
The compass must be held flat and level to function.It will not work when held vertically.
I should have been clearer, I have a cx, no compass. When I first posted I wasn't paying as close attention as I should have, since my problem isn't related to the magnetic compass, which the OT seems to be. Mine is something related to updating the map page. the screen freezes, with the pointer stuck pointing to the top of the screen (track up). The distance to waypoint updates as I move, but the screen will stop turning, or zooming in.
my bad!
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Remember, the Cx units do not have an electronic compass and you must be moving (usually at least a couple of steps) for the compass to indicate a correct direction. As soon as you stop it will freeze, or maybe move erratically due to small random velocities, but will not indicate a correct direction. Simply turning will not work, you must be moving. I have a CSx unit with the electronic compass that I find helpfull for caching but it requires more frequent calibration than the older non SIRF chip units.
yup. The problem is the cursor on the map screen freezes up. If I move around, the distance indicator works fine, but the arrow will not turn. It shows best on the map screen. Usually when I move around a cache the map moves as I change my direction relative to the cache (track up). Sometimes it freezes up. When this has happend, I didn't think to check if the compass has locked up too.
I'm figuring it is probably a firmware bug, hopefully something garmin has figured out.
I'll pull this into a seperate thread, since it seems that this threads problem is probably due to the csx calibration of the magnetic compass.
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I very occasionally have something like this on my cx. I first noticed it with 2.62, but this weekend it happened on 2.60 (I downgraded, hoping to address this).
My pointer will stop turning, ie just keep pointing upwards, no matter which way I turn. poweroff/on or simply turning off/on the gps receiver (from the sat screen) will resolve this. the distance to cache field will be updated. If/when this happens again, I'll toggle to the compass view and see if that is locked up too.
I've notified garmin of this twice (when I was running 2.62) and once with 2.60.
Little inconvient, but so far it works really good overall.
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Thanks for the responses. I'm not too concerned with fitting it in my pocket, though I often wear BDU style pants and I could put it in the cargo pocket. I just wanted something to compare the two side by side. Thought about the Vista, but don't think I need the compass or the altimeter. I know I need the street software, and was looking at getting the unit with the auto nav kit. I can get the 60 cx w/autonav kit for under $500 at GPS Discount. As far as battery life, I was just curious if Garmin's specs were realistic with the two unit.
Hi,
I got my cx with autonav kit at gpsdiscount. great place. I use NIMH's, and get roughly 14-18 hours of use. I use minimal backlight (i use the unit a lot when I bike at night, and wear a LED headlamp which works fine), and most days it is easy to read (unless it's rainy/overcast). I always carry a spare set of batt's with me anyway. When I'm in my car, or in my wife's van on long trips I plug it in (the carnav kit comes with a cig lighter adapter). I do use batteries when we take the family out caching just because I'm lazy.
I cache with a bud who has a legendcx. It is a very nice unit, but some of the complaints he has menitoned include
- bit cumbersome to use while driving since the buttons are on the side
- under cover reception is ok, but compared to the 60cx, noticibly different
- screen is a bit hard to read while in the car
HTH!
just his notes. overall it is a sweet unit.
- bit cumbersome to use while driving since the buttons are on the side
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I recently created a cache on Tillamook Head near Seaside in Western Oregon. The tree cover there is very extensive. My goal was to create a 3-point multi cache. Using my 60cx, I found and recorded the coordinates for a few likely cache locations. Then I tested one by trying to return to it. When I got to the cache site, my unit still read about 500 feet. I then picked some other locations that had a little better view of the sky (but still pretty heavy cover). I spent some time averaging and then averaging averages, etc. It worked much better. I was able to get within 15 or 20 feet. I included some extensive hints in the cache listing to help compensate for the reception problems. All in all, I'm very satisfied with the 60cx. I'm not sure any other unit could do better. If you are in the Seaside area, I'd love for someone to try this cache. The title is Hikers' Heaven. No finders yet. Good Luck!
I just put a watch on it. Bummer that I'm a couple thousand miles away though. Sounds like a great location from the description.
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Hi,
I'm just gonna post my experience with my 60cx, since I haven't cached with someone with an explorist. I've had pretty good results caching and driving under moderate to heavy cover (northern wisconsin pines). It sometimes jumps around a bit, but nothing that I would really complain about since it is in the tolerable range. I expect this is normal. I find it is better when it is held vertical (I assume this is due to the quad helix antanne).
On several roads in the boonies, 60-100 foot pines on either side (the only sky visible was directly above me, ie a very small field of view), the device claimed epe of 35-45 foot. It was still able to plot accurate enough that it warned me well in advance of turns, so I tend to beleive it. it typically had 6-8 sattelites locked at this time, most with good signal. On some other roads that are complete covered by birch, and some pine (much less leaf cover, but lots of branches), it was dead on too. I get 6-8 sat signals in my garage, with the doors closed (wood roof, so that doesn't mean much).
It does use batts at a fairly fast clip (I use energizer NIMHs), so I always have a spare in my pociket, but it is again tolerable.
anyway, just a few non-scientific datapoints. Hope it helps. One thought is to post the region you are in, maybe someone with a 60c(s)x can hook up with you on a cache trip.
good luck dood.
Randy
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Nope. The microSD fits into the 60cx without the adapter.
I just now took the little MicroSD out of my 60Cx for the 1st time. Oh yeah! Now I see... Man - that is a tiny little memory card isn't it?
What I realize now is that I'll need the micro/SD adapter to fit into my SD/Compact Flash adapter to fit into my Compact Flash/PC adapter.
You realize it's ineveitable that one day soon we'll be able to change out a little memory chip in the back of our own head. Now that I think about it, maybe I need that.
yah, it's a tiny little thing. Usually it takes two or three tries to get it seated properly.
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wow. thats great news. I have the same thing on my 60cx. pretty good stuff, and nice to hear that it works as advertised.
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I'm just using the included 64MB chip until the 2GB chips are out and the price drops. I may pick up a 512 or 256 if I can get one very cheap between now and then.
Even though it is nothing to brag about, the slight increase over my 60CS is pleasant enough as it allows me to load some additional topo maps along with the street maps I normally keep loaded.
It's ok since I am not going to be doing a LOT of travelling over the next few months and don't really *need* the higher capacity.
I am very much looking forward to dumping vast quantities of both CS/CN and topo maps onto it though.
That was my thought. I managed to get lucky and get the 128mb sandisk at circuit city for 5 bucks after MIR. I thought it was too good to pass up.
In all honesty, most of the maps I have loaded I don't need, since I go to SFO, texas, st. louis/southern IL once a year. Having the space makes it nice from the lazy perspective. I am contemplating getting topo maps, so we'll see how I feel then.
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60cx, 128mb uSD. I have 1/2 (duluth down to the lacross/rochester, west of the twincities) of minnesota, about 1/3 of northwest WI, st. louis, southern IL, austin tx, part of iowa, and lots of downtown sanfrancisco. Using cityselect 7, and maps take about 72MB
Here are the details taken from mapsource
Alton, Illinois City Select North America v7 559 KB
Apple Valley, Minnesota City Select North America v7 295 KB
Ashland, Wisconsin City Select North America v7 1.62 MB
Austin, Minnesota City Select North America v7 962 KB
Austin, Texas City Select North America v7 2.69 MB
Ballwin, Missouri City Select North America v7 1.67 MB
Belleville, Illinois City Select North America v7 2.34 MB
Bemidji, Minnesota City Select North America v7 557 KB
Brainerd, Minnesota City Select North America v7 953 KB
Brooklyn Park, Minnesota City Select North America v7 2.61 MB
Cambridge, Minnesota City Select North America v7 297 KB
Cape Girardeau, Missouri City Select North America v7 3.51 MB
Catawba, Wisconsin City Select North America v7 493 KB
Chaska, Minnesota City Select North America v7 909 KB
Concord, California City Select North America v7 1.47 MB
De Soto, Missouri City Select North America v7 724 KB
Duluth, Minnesota City Select North America v7 1.10 MB
Eau Claire, Wisconsin City Select North America v7 1.45 MB
Elk River, Minnesota City Select North America v7 774 KB
Fairmont, Minnesota City Select North America v7 773 KB
Faribault, Minnesota City Select North America v7 479 KB
Farmington, Missouri City Select North America v7 2.78 MB
Florissant, Missouri City Select North America v7 582 KB
Grand Rapids, Minnesota City Select North America v7 504 KB
Hayward, California City Select North America v7 1.20 MB
Hibbing, Minnesota City Select North America v7 652 KB
Kirkwood, Missouri City Select North America v7 2.24 MB
La Crosse, Wisconsin City Select North America v7 2.50 MB
Mankato, Minnesota City Select North America v7 494 KB
Mason City, Iowa City Select North America v7 0.99 MB
McGregor, Minnesota City Select North America v7 540 KB
Milaca, Minnesota City Select North America v7 219 KB
Mill Valley, California City Select North America v7 550 KB
Minneapolis, Minnesota City Select North America v7 1.77 MB
Mt Vernon, Illinois City Select North America v7 1.35 MB
New Ulm, Minnesota City Select North America v7 951 KB
North St. Paul, Minnesota City Select North America v7 1.50 MB
Oakland, California City Select North America v7 2.18 MB
Oakville, Missouri City Select North America v7 968 KB
Prior Lake, Minnesota City Select North America v7 366 KB
Rice Lake, Wisconsin City Select North America v7 937 KB
Rochester, Minnesota City Select North America v7 1.95 MB
San Jose, California City Select North America v7 2.88 MB
South San Francisco, California City Select North America v7 1.48 MB
St. Cloud, Minnesota City Select North America v7 1.44 MB
St. Louis, Missouri City Select North America v7 1.15 MB
St. Paul, Minnesota City Select North America v7 1.51 MB
Sunnyvale, California City Select North America v7 1.80 MB
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Using the standard SD memory cards, would have caused Garmin to start over from scratch, but with the tiny microSD card, it was only a small modification of the current GPS units.
A standard SD card is HUGE compared to a microSD card. By using a microSD format, Garmin has kept the small size of their GPS units while adding expandable memory.
I'm at work so I can't just look at my GPSR. Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't the microSD card still have to be inserted into the regular-size SD card "adapter" before it can be inserted into the 60Cx and 60CSx? Thus, the reasoning behind my question – Why not just use the regular-size SD card to start with? It still takes up the same amount of space inside the unit.
Nope. The microSD fits into the 60cx without the adapter.
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ok, I'm just scatter brained today. The external antannae may be useful in a 5th wheel. I'm not sure how all the metal would affect reception. You can get some nice amplified antannaes that you can mount on top of the vehicle so you get great reception.
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Hi,
I have a 60cx, and have cached with a freind who has a legend cx (very similier to the venture). Both are good units, but the 60cx gets noticibly better reception under cover (trees, downtown minneapolis, etc). The 60cx is a bit big to put in a pocket, but it comes with a belt/pocket clip identical to the ipod, and it works very well. I use that on bike rides until I pick up the bike mount, when I hike in the boonies, etc. It keeps the antannae pointing up which for this type (quad helix) is better than horizontal. I use it with autonav too, and the bigger screen helps a bit (though the legend is perfectly usable).
I don't have the compass, and for the most part don't miss it. The only time I do (slightly) is out caching when I stop moving, but turn without noting my oreintation first (it will still point to the cache). Plus the compass is a 2 axis, which means it has to be horziontal, but the quad helix gets best reception vertical. A freind on the other hand has a unit with a compass, and swears by it. Personal taste I guess.
I got mine at gpsdiscount.com, $488 with the autonav kit (not sure what it is now). this included the beanbag mount (surprisingly stable), dash mount, city select 7 dvd, power cable. I use the autoroute a lot, and it is really addictive once you start using it.
When we went to visit inlaws up in northern wisconson in the boonies, I got killer reception, even in areas where the only sky you can see is over the road in between the pines, and it had all the roads, so I could take shorter/faster paths than I would without the unit (too easy to get lost up there, so until I had a gps, I didn't go on any road that I wasn't 100 percent postive about).
I think no matter what unit you choose you will be happy. they are all good units. when you figure it out, post your decision.
HTH a bit!
EDIT:
Good point on the buttons on the front. My friend with the legend does complain a bit about the buttons on the side with respect to autonavigation.
Edit part deux.
Just checked gpsdiscount.com, still $488 for the 60cx with the autonav kit, which is a pretty good price considering the autonav kit is usually around 115 or 120.
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I was thinking the same. It looks good:
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Tx for all the replys! I'm kinda bummed, I've been using linux as my primary OS for 10 years. I hate dualbooting my laptop, so I may explore using vmware. Still painful though.
I've put in a request for linux support, but I'm not gonna hold my breath.
moonpup, I figured you for a linux user from the first time I saw your avatar. nice!
Randy
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has anyone got waas corrections running 2.62? I've gotten it with 2.60, but never with 2.62. I still see 35, but in the SE, not the SW (I'm in minneapolis).
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I just noticed that too. At first I thought it was something with our work internet connection.
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Some questions:
1. Did WAAS work for you before the feb 1 sat move?
2. How did the waas sats look (ie solid bars?)
3. Does WAAS work for you now?
4. GPSR make/model
Forgot to add the device
Scratched 60csx Screen
in GPS technology and devices
Posted
Agreed with sergerguy. I had a minor scratch in the upper right (not in the viewarea) within a week with little use (actually putting it in my lunch bag). Now that I have it, it gets pretty crudded up sometimes (yesterday got mud on it. whoohoo! not a scratch, just wash it off.