drbugs
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Posts posted by drbugs
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I got a response from Garmin about my WAAS/sat 35 query. FWIW, I get 35 quite a bit with good reception, just no 'D' on the sat page.
Here it is:
Thank you for contacting Garmin,
I am happy to help you with this. 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. Your location in MN also inhibits the
reception. Our Northern customers have a more difficult time picking up the
WAAS signal because the satellite is low to the horizon. If you have any
additional comments or questions, please do not hesitate to contact us via
email or call our customer service number below.
Have a nice day!
XXXX XXXXXXX
Product Support Specialist
GARMIN International
1200 E. 151st Street
Olathe, KS 66062 USA
800/800.1020
913/397.8200
913/397.0836 fax
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Hi,
A couple of weeks ago someone posted about actually deactvitaing a code through garmin, therefore freeing it up for a new unit. I did a quick search with no luck.
What I'm hoping is that the person who posted the method will see this thread. Good luck!
Randy
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To follow-up on planewood's point, the primary reason I bought from GPSDiscount.com was for their deal that bundles in the Auto Navigation kit. That package seemed to be the best overall price I could find. DrBugs did the same. However, if you are looking to buy just the handheld unit (and not a package deal), then there are definitely other websites that are cheaper (such as Chumbo, as planewood has stated).
Ditto. The autorouting was a key requirement (and one reason I chose garmin over magellan). A lesser concern was them being an authorized dealer, since I didn't want to worry about warrenty stuff (which may actually be moot. From what I've read on previous posts is that garmin has honored warrenties from ebay sellers, and other lesser known shops). The way my luck sometimes goes I would be the first one they would hit...
;->
Here is were two of the shops on my list: The Twister Group which has the 60cx for $369. Good reviews according to froogle too. Here is another one I looked at that has the 60cx for $362. Again good reviews, but I can't speak to either.
Hokiebird, hows your device going? I've found 4 caches so far, and actually used the autorouting to bypass an accident on my normal route home. It rocks!
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...snip...
Here is a photo as of 9:07 pm and 35 is still there
Chris
Where 35 is on your page is where it was on mine before it started it's move, as viewed from St.Louis.
Here is where it is today:
Thats interesting where you see 35. I see it in the SE on my 60cx, about the same elevation (I'm in minneapolis). I need to find a good view of the south/southwest and try again. My unit sees 35 all the time now, just no correctioon info. I just have a blinking 35 sat. I get great errors (on the freeway I see +/-8
FWIW I grew up about 60 miles SE of St. Louis. When I visit family, I plan on checking out some caches in the area.
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My deck has a clear view of where 35 is, so I put my 60cx outside, and it saw 35 no problem. After about an hour I routinely get 35 now, even inside near a window (8 foot or so). Problem is no 'D' indication. It just flashes. I'm in the Minneapolis area. I've zapped garmin an email, so when I get a reply I'll post that too.
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I took my new eXplorist 500 out for my first find today (Sunday). The unit appeared to work flawlessly around and inside the house since the unti arrived (Friday night).
I loaded a few caches and Mapsend detailed maps for my area and off I went. The weather was nice and sunny, but a little brisk @ 40 deg F and a bit breezy.
Within 20 minutes of circling the cache the unit began to spontaneously reboot, only staying on for 30 seconds to 1 minute. After several of these reboots the unit booted to a "Configure NAND" screen, then a white-screen-of-death complaining that "No Map Data Exists" message. No cache, no love!
I did find a post in the Magellan BUGS post describing the same scenario. SO, I got into the "secret menu" number 95 and reformatted the flash. Then I reloaded the basemap to the internal memory.
All seemed well, so I went back out to find that first cache. Well, if FOUND IT this time. As I looked for the next nearby cache, the unti started the whole reboot thing. UGH!!
Looks like I have a repeatable issue, so I vote there is a hardware fault. DO you agree?
Sould I return this unit immediately or simply wait for warm weather.
I bought this unti from LLBean (mail order); should I persue from them or go directly to Magellan? I have not read good things about Magellan's support lines and I have had very good experience with LLBean's return policy.Suggestions to correct my problem, or on returning the unit?
Thanks!
Mark
Hi,
I've seen some discussion on this topic cold weather shutdown of explorist post. Others have reported some info about this too. Worth following up.
Good luck!
Randy
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I've got my 60cx outside now, and it is showing 35, but it blinks, about every 3/4 of a sec or so, both the sat logo and the signal strenth bar blinks. I've got min of 4 lines of signal strenth. No 'D' yet on anything. Any clue on what the blinking sat means? Does it mean it is reading the almanac (or ephiderides?)?
FWIW, when I'm driving on the freeway, I often get +/- 8 feet. Not bad.
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one of mine did that awhile ago. I started it up with out a clear view of the sky. I did a master reset and when starting up first time after I brought it too a place with a clear view of the sky.
If you don't do a reset try leaving it on for hours undisturbed with a clear view.
Thanks Capt! I have left it outside for numerous hours and still no lock. Which satellite numbers have the WAAS signal? I see 35 only briefly (I understand it is being moved).
Same issue here. I'm in central Minnesota (minneapolis area), and I do occasionally see 35, but for seconds at time, sometimes maybe for a minute or so.
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DrBugs -
I went with the 60CSx deal from GPSDiscount. Should arrive early next week. How is the learning curve thus far? Any out-of-the-box advice?
Awesome! Post when you get it. I think you'll be happy with it.
I REALLY like the cx. Very easy to use too. I've loaded 30 map segments (CS7) of Minneapolis, duluth, northeast wisconsin, south western Il, and quite a bit of San Francisco (I'm going to a conference in may) and it takes 45mb. Mapsource is easy to use.
One hint is to update mapsource, since the one on CD doens't recognize .loc/.gpx files. 6.9 does. Update by selecting help->update.
This device is really amazing. The autorouting is surprisingly (to me at least) good. I've tweeked it to Best quality for route generation, and it is still fast. I've only used it on routes that I use (work), and it's been good. A bit different since it doesn't know about traffic, but good. I ignore the turns and it recalcs without me doing anything.
One thing I wish it did would be explorist style folders/files for grouping waypoints. I'm gonna look into the POILoader util to maybe manage this.
I'll post more after I've had time to use it a bit more. Nice unit.
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It pays to shop around. The deal you got on the 60CX from gpsdiscount.com is smoking. They beat getfeetwet.com on that deal.
However, on a Garmin 2610 refurbished......
getfeetwet.com - $449.99 plus shipping (2-year warranty)
gpsdiscount.com - $492.45 (includes ground shipping....1 year warranty)
Bottom line....shop around.....
Excellant point. It all depends on what you are looking for. Nice deal on the 2610, and nice gpsr
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DrBugs - Please be sure to post when you receive your unit. I'm thinking of purchasing some items from them.
Got it! I stopped by the fedex facility on my way home, and the allowed me to get it. They had pity on a poor geek!
I have nothing but good things to say about gpsdiscount.com. Great price on the package (I got the autonav kit), and they tossed in a nice t-shirt too. Free 2-3 day shipping is nice too. My total cost was about 490.
So far I'm very hooked on this unit. Autorouting is turning into an addiction!
Let me know if you buy through these guys.
Good luck!
Randy
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DrBugs - Did you get your unit yet??
Nope. I'm bumming. It's in a fedex building that is on my drive, but they don't allow pickups until first attempted delivary. I have to wait until tomorrow. Major buzzwrecker!
I figure that today I'll be productive to make up for my sudden dip in productivity tomorrow. Fortunatly I sit next to a window, so I'm hoping that is adequite for the unit to find itself.
Man, it went bad to worse. Apparently it got routed to the south metro distribution center, and I'm in the north metro. It just arrived in the north metro distribution center, about 3 miles from where I am now.
I'm gonna stop by, see if I can convince them to let me pick it up. IOW, I'll probably have to wait till tomorrow morning. I hate waiting....
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DrBugs - Did you get your unit yet??
Nope. I'm bumming. It's in a fedex building that is on my drive, but they don't allow pickups until first attempted delivary. I have to wait until tomorrow. Major buzzwrecker!
I figure that today I'll be productive to make up for my sudden dip in productivity tomorrow. Fortunatly I sit next to a window, so I'm hoping that is adequite for the unit to find itself.
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Cool stuff Kevin. I ended up getting the 60cx instead of the explorist XL. The receivers seemed to be compariable, but the autorouting was the clincher for me.
Enjoy, dood!
Randy
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Thanks for the responses folks. You've pointed me in the right direction. I think Geo-caching will be a hobby myself and my two young Sons will enjoy.
GU
This forum has been an awesome help for myself. My two kids (5 and 3.5) are very excited about doing a treasure hunt. Good family outing type of stuff.
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I ordered a 60cx sunday night from gpsdiscount.com, and had the shipping number (free fedex saver) by around noon monday.
The price for a 60cx is the same as anyone else (ie about $449), but if you buy a package deal it is a really good deal. I got the autonav kit for $488. The Auto Kit, contains the following: Bean bag mount, dash mount, cigarette adapter, North America City Select DVD v 7.0 w/full unlock code.
I figure for 39 bucks over the list of the gpsunit, I got the maps and mount. not bad. It's on it's way, so I'm hoping tomorrow.
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Garmin 60cx, due to arrive tomorrow or the next day. Waiting is simply no fun. I feel like a kid about a week before christmas... FWIW, it's my first GPSr
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How does the garmin upgrade plan work on software, ie from the date of purchase or the date of first unlock?
In the past it's been based on the date of first unlock. Last year (with CN-NA, v7) the critical date was June 1st.
I'm not that patient then. Do they prorate the upgrade, ie if I skip the next upgrade, and do the one after that, do I get some discount?
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DrBugs, Mastiflover, or anyone else -
Since you bought the autorouting kit with City Select, what are your plans (if any) to upgrade to City Navigator v8 when it comes out? Is it better to delay unlocking the software until closer to the window when an upgrade to CNv8 might be free?
ya know, that is a GREAT question that I've not thought about. I doubt I can be patient enough to not use it, since we are taking a trip to northern wisconson this weekend to visit family (very dense tree cover too). How does the garmin upgrade plan work on software, ie from the date of purchase or the date of first unlock?
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Don't know if you want software but if you do, I got the 60cx with the auto kit that comes with 2 car mounts, cigarette lighter power cord, and city select v7 for 390.00 shipped from GPSdiscount.com. Free Fedex shipping upgrade and free Tshirt. I'd buy from them again.
Dood! $390! I just ordered the same kit for 490! Did I miss a link? If so, PLEASE post info, since I ordered it last night, and will call to fix this.
TIA!
Randy
edit: Add link to CX
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I posted some on this HERE.
Short summary is that all but the Canadien metroguide software doesn't autoroute on the gpsr.
HTH!
Randy
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Metroguide 5 & up do not autoroute, you can do a goto, but it will be a straight line. I sold mine & bought CS7.
From the garmin site:
MetroGuide® - This CD offers similar coverage as City Select, including points of interest. MetroGuide North America and Europe provide automatic route calculation for select products on the PC, while MetroGuide Canada offers autorouting on both the PC and compatible Garmin units. The main difference is its compatibility with Garmin units that do not have automatic route capability.
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I just noticed amazon has the 60cx listed for $394, but it isn't amazon that actually ships it but another outfit. The 6 month feedback on this company 1800 reviews, 93% positive. I can't speak to it though since I've never ordered from them.
As mentioned earlier, lakepowellmarine has a 50 buck gift card good at several stores and free overnight shipping, and gpsdiscount.com has nice deals on packages (488 on the cx, autonav kit). I've seen some a bit cheaper for a 60cx, but from places I've never heard of (found some good prices on pricegrabber.com and froogle.google.com, searching for a 'garmin 60cx'. Some of the lowest prices were around 469, but again I don't know how good the stores are.
I bought this unti from LLBean (mail order); should I persue from them or go directly to Magellan? I have not read good things about Magellan's support lines and I have had very good experience with LLBean's return policy.
Waas 35
in GPS technology and devices
Posted
http://gpsinformation.net/exe/waas.html and pagedown a bit.
wierd part is that there are 2 listed as 48, but both are in the pacific.