bgarland
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Posts posted by bgarland
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I have 76CSx and use it for lot a hiking. I have the Garmin Topo maps as well as some custome topo maps loaded for specific areas. To my knowledge there is no autorouting via trails on the topo map products. I usualy plan my trip on my home PC first and if I'm hiking in an area with a lot of trail intersentions or critical turns, I Just add waypoints to importatant intersections to alert me to thier locations.
Also if you use the National Geographic Topo software that has a lot more detail you can sometimes see trails that are not on the Garmin topo maps. In that case you can trace the route you want to follow on the NG topo program and then download the route to your GPSr.
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I have had a similar lock up a few times while hiking and using the topo maps. I will first notice my position is not being updated, then when I look at the sat page, I still have several Sats fully locked on but my EPE keeps expanding beyond 100'. If I power off and back on, my EPE imediatley drops to less than 20' and my position starts to update correctly again. I have only seen this twice in many hours of use and the work around with the power cycle is a quick fix. Seems like a code bug, maybe someday they'll recreate it and get it fixed. In the mean time, it happens so rarely I can live with it.
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I updated my 76CSx to the latest levels and didn't have any problems. The first sat acquisition took awhile but after the first lock, I powered it off and back on and it locked on within seconds. This morning I powered on inside my house and it got a 3D lock in 30 seconds and a WAAS lock in 42 seconds. I didn’t need to do a hard reset. I'm a happy camper. :-)
I'd post a screen shot but I can't figure out how to attach the image file.
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I upgraded from an older 76S to the 76CSx a few months ago. I agree, it was well worth it. I love this unit.
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Companies hire third party rebate services that try to manage down the number of rebates paid out. They frequently try to push you off the first attempt. Just push and you'll get it. I once on cell phones had to threaten to write a letter to the attorneys general for their state before they finally caved in and sent me my rebate.
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I had a similar problem attaching a Garmin 76CSx to my PC. My problem was the unit would not be recognized if I attached it to my USB 2.0 Hub. When I moved the USB cable to directly attach it to the PC USB port, it worked fine. got me why that is, all my other USB devices work fine off the hub???
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I have about 800MBs of maps loaded on my 76CSX and I have not noticed a performance hit as far as using the maps. I havn't tried the find function though.
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My only other guess would be to check that you have the latest Garmin USB drivers installed.
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Be sure your GPSr is attached to the PC using a directly connected USB port, not an external USB hub.
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Yep, same thing I experienced when I first got my 76CSx. Once I loaded City Navigator it has worked perfectly ever since.
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Cause us 76CSX owners are a relaxed bunch and we just wait for all the 60CSx owners to fix all the problems. I have one and I love it! :-)
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I have 76CSx. Go to your main menu and select the display icon. The last entry on the bottom of the list is "Back Light Level". Mine is set to 70% so that's the level my backlight is set to as my default. Check it out and see what yours is set to.
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I do a lot of off roading and I have the Map76CSx with City Navigator and Garmin Topo loaded. Between the two maping software programs it does a great job for me. I would like to see a higher detail topo on the GPSr like National Geographic State Topo but that is not likley in the near future. I do use the NG State Topo to print maps before going out or documenting my detailed tracks after a trip. NG Topo is an excellent map package....too bad you can't load them directly into a Garmin. :-(
I use the Garmin dash mount and I have never had a problem even four wheeling over pretty rough roads.
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I have the Map76CSx and I'm very happy with it's performance. I personaly don't worry too much about WAAS. I live in the SW and always get a good lock on aprox 10 satelites. If I activate WAAS I get Ds on all the displayed satelites. I have not noticed any difference in my EPE with WAAS on or off. Most of the time my EPE is in the 8 to 10 foot range. I don't expect any better accuracy than that.
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I have a 76CSx and I have used the Lithium batteries from day one. I've had this unit for about 4-5 months now. I frequently use the GPSr USB attached and also DC powered in the car. I have never experienced a power related problem, even with brand new Energizer Blue Lithium batteries. Not sure why, but my unit seems to like them as well as I do. :-)
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I have been running 1GB uSD card for the last 3 months in my 76CSx. Works great. No problems. :-)
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I have owned a Map76CSx for the last 4 months. I have used it daily in my work commutes, auto routing to local addresses and out of town trips. I also have used it off road hiking and four wheeling. Other than the early ----- elevation problem that was fixed in the last code upgrade, I have had no problem what so ever and I am totally happy with this GPSr. This is my third Garmin GPSr and this is by far the best one I have owned. I highly recommend it!
PS. BTW...My last unit was the Map76S. The 76CSx model and it's significantly improved receiver is well worth the upgrade. :-)
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Living in Tucson we have major heat. :-) I also do a lot of off road four wheeling so the mount has to be very solid. I tried the Garmin temp sticky mounts and even when the dash was cleaned first with alcohol, I couldn't get them to stick very well. I mounted my MAP76CSX Garmin mount directly to the dash with their permenant sticky pad. Works great but I really don't know how well it will come off. The pad has remained soft so I expect I can take it off and clean the dash with a solvent to remove the residue if needed.
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I have a Map76CSx with 1GB card. I don't know if there is a lower limit but I have loaded all the City Nav 7 and Topo maps for CA thru New Mexico and everything North to Canada. That took 879MB and works great on the 1GB card.
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I have a Map76CSx and I use the Garmin dash mount. It works great and is easy to slide the unit in and out, even with the 12v car adaptor plugged in.
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I noticed somrthing else I think id different from the 60CS. Does it get power from the USB port when it's plugged in to the PC? Because when it is, it shows the AC power icon and the backlight is on.
Yes, when the 76CSx is USB attached it gets it's power from the USB and does not use the battery. The Pwr icon in the top bar indicates when it is using external power or battery. The same external power icon will display when you attach a car 12v power adaptor. The batteres just sit there and wait for the next time you don't have external power available.
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According to GPScity.com. This is the e-mail they sent to me regarding the price:
For your immediate information, here is the pricing information you requested:
Date: 23/05/06 8:00:22
Model: Garmin MapSource City Navigator North America DVD v8 (010-10474-00 v8)
List Price: US$139.27
Todays Price: US$119.95 (Save $19.32!!)
Prices are subject to change without notice.
My questions, I have the new 76csx - does anyone know if this mapping will be available on a memory card or is it just the CD set?
What is the difference between Topo maps and City Navigator (I have topo - and have not used map programs before) all a bit confusing
Thanks for any help.
I have a 76CSx too. I have both US Topo and City Navigator 7. Topo maps are primarily for back country use. City Navigator maps are more for city streets and auto routing. City Navigator maps are also loaded with detailed locations for GAs, Food, Lodging, etc... You can use it to find specific addresses and then auto route to it from your current location. I find that the City Navigator and Topo maps compliment each other perfectly. I have both maps loaded in my 76CSx and toggle between them as needed. To load both types of maps into you GPSr, use Garmin Mapsource and build a single map set with the Topo and the City Navigator maps you want, then load the map set to your GPSr. Once both are loaded, you select City Navigator maps to use them. If you want to see the Topo maps, select "hide City Navigator maps" and the Topos will become visible. I have 90% of the western US, both Topos and City Navigator loaded. It took 879MBs of my 1GB micro SD card.
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Been using my trusty Vista C for about two years now. Only real complaint has been the limited map memory when going on longer trips. (Northeast maps devour memory. Adding the Boston Area for example means I have to remove half the rest of the state.)
So, when the new models with the microSD cards became available, I saved up and got one. Since I like the eTrex Vista C, I got the Vista Cx version.
Now I've hit an issue that I've gone back and forth with Garmin on for a week plus.
Downloading mapsets fails. Somewhere in the download, I get a messge on the screen that there was a communication error and the unit is stuck in the 'transfer' mode requiring a power off and on. Naturally, I find that no data has been transferred to the device. If I use the older saved mapsets that fit into the original 24 meg of the Vista C, they work. In fact, I can successfully load up to about 40 meg before the failures start.
Garmin swapped out the original microSD card. No effect
Garmin swapped out the unit. No effect.
I bought another card locally. No effect.
I installed my MapSource onto my laptop. No effect, in fact, the communication errors were even worse.
Then I started playing around with USB ports.
Found that the downloads ONLY work with motherboard mounted USB ports. Front panel ports that use short wires from the MB fail. Docking stations fail. USB hubs fail. Only three ports on two computers have succeeded. Two are the rear USB ports on the desktop that are mounted on the motherboard. I hate using these because they were dedicated to my printer and film scanner and annoying to access. The other is the lone USB on my laptop that is accessable while the laptop is docked. (I have not tried the two rear ports on the laptop that are covered by the docking station.)
Has anyone else seen this kind of thing? I suspect that there is a severe issue with the Garmin USB drivers that needs to be solved. I sent Garmin an e-mail documenting my findings, but naturally the result was just as productive as if I had just printed it and tossed it out the window.
I can't believe that they have not been swamped with tech support issues on this as I have never had a USB device fail like this.
Anyone else see this happening?
Yes, I have a Map76CSx and it will only connect to my PC if I use the direct USB 2.0 port on the back of my Pc (USB 2.0 4 port card). If I attach it to my 2.0 hub, the GPSr is not even recognized. Got me, I just stick to using the direct USB connection now. On my laptop I only have two direct USB ports, they both work fine.
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With all the talk about the bugs in the 60CSx (and 76CSx) you'd think that everyone hates their GPS units and that potential buyers should steer clear. Well, I thought that I'd let you know that I had a great experience with my unit today, though it wasn't with geocaching but with biking.
I've taken the gps on the same bike route previously and the accuracy was all over the place. I put the track in my computer and found the altimeter took me to 98,000 feet and the tracks showed that I rode an excess of 180mph on the adjacent freeway. That particular saved track didn't make me happy at all.
Today I took the GPS with me on the same route with all the latest firmware/GPS software fixes and had a totally different experience. I made sure the routing was on bicycle and that the map was set for not locking on the road. WAAS was set on (couldn't do that before the firmware update since I'd lose satellite signal). I rode the route, came home and uploaded the track onto my PC. I used a saved route so I have no idea what my speed was, but it appeared my altimeter worked perfectly without taking me out of the atmosphere, though it had a 10' discrepancy at the start and end of the ride. The best part was when I superimposed the route with the satellite images on Google Earth. It showed that the gps was so accurate that it displayed which side of the bike path I was riding on. In fact, it even showed the little maneuver I did in a parking lot. The tracks weren't all over the place as my previous experience except where it was expected to go nuts (under the freeway). So, the accuracy was much better than the displayed 11' or 25' that it normally shows on the satellite screen. The accuracy had to be closer to 2 or 3 feet since the path isn't more than 7' across and it accurately showed which side I was traveling on when superimposed on the map.
So while we obsess about the bugs in the unit's firmware, it's always nice to find that when you actually go out and use the unit that it's still a very capable GPS receiver.
I own a Map76CSx and I have to agree with Nathantw. I went on an 87 mile 4X4 trip this last weekend. When I got home and uploaded the recorded track log to NG Topo, the track log was dead on top of the 4X4 trails we followed. The only time there was any deviation, was due to errors in the map placement of the trails (verified by Google images). When we went out on foot to find an old cemetary I was able to walk right to it following the loaded Garmin Topo maps. When I entered the cemetary, the arrow showing my current location covered the cemetary symbol on the map. I couldn't ask for anything better then the performance I experienced on this trip.
60csx Freezing Position
in GPS technology and devices
Posted
It doesn't bother me that much. All the benefits far outweigh the minor burps once in awhile. For me I might see this freeze once every 40 hours of use. Practically non existent. I guess if you need perfection you can wait for new products to stabilize for a few years before you purchase them. The new technology provides such greatly improved performance, I am OK with putting up with a few code bugs while they smooth it out.