canuck travellers

Topic is a bit old but here is how to determine if your 60CSX GPS is set for Magnetic, Grid,True or User. Also how to find out if what it is programmed for is close to what it should be according to Government data, BTW my area of Declination is = 5° 30' W changing by 0° 5' W/year, I am in South Central Florida (Sebring Area) Go to Setup/Heading/slide down to "North Reference", in that you can change to True, Magnetic, Grid or User, if you use Magnetic it displays what the firmware is set by Garmin to display in your area, if you want to find out what it should be in your area go here;http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/geomagmodels/struts/calcDeclination If you want to change it just move that "North Reference" to user & it will allow you to put in what you want. If you go back to Magnetic the unit will pick up what it is programmed for. Hope this helps.....Ernie

CN NT See hereMy Webpage

Get the 60CSX * Much much better bicycle mount (Etrex Vista HCX is horrible--see other posts) * Remote antenna interface (Vista has none) * Easier access to "Find, Mark, Page, Menu," etc. * Rugged design as compared to etrex * Better Auto set up * Bigger screen * Faster processor (about twice as fast) Just a few things above I found having both units for several weeks...I bought my daughter a Vista HCX for Christmas, she likes it recognizing the short comings, personally I think the etrex Vista HCX is made for females ie small, delicate, fits in a womans purse, the 60CSX is bigger, rugged, more masculine.

It's more than 'strange' it's impossible. Maybe impossible, however we used the two side by side for two weeks and her batterys ran out as described in my previous post sooner, the 60CSX kept going longer, even swapped batterys after recharging. Back light, waas, etc. all set same on both units. Strange but true.

Quote..... ....and above I read the OP wanted an external antenna. Forget that. It's never needed, ever. Depends what use you want the antenna for....I use an external antenna on the 60CSX to find & plot survey lines on my wood lots, adds needed accuracy to the tracks. If you are simply doing geocaching I agree you would never need an antenna. However "Never" is a long time...............................

Just my $0.02 worth and you'll be very pleased with either unit. One thing that may tip the decision for you is that you really and I mean REALLY want the maps. So if it's a choice of HCx and maps vs. 60 and no maps I'd go for the HCx.Trooper To be fair; How about "if it's a choice of 60CSX and maps vs. HCX & no maps"

Maps are important...unit is (almost) useless without them, I forgot to mention that if you are in Canada that Canada TOPO is routable...a great enhancement, I have the last years version of USA TOPO, it is ok but very dated & not routable. Now Garmin has a newer version of USA TOPO but I think it is not routable either. You can look at their viewer to determine if you want it, personally down here in Florida I use CN most of the time except fishing on the lakes..TOPO shows more accurate details of inland lakes.

Got my v2008 from Amazon.com, quite happy with their service. I have a Vista HCx...does it matter if I buy CN NT or just CN? I bought NT for the Vista HCX, last year bought regular (non-compressed CN) for my 60CSX. Bought regular last year as I could put it on both my 2620 & 60CSX, Garmin does not allow two units on same maps now. NT takes much less space, IMHO it i(NT) is your choice for Vista HCX. Good luck.

Got my v2008 from Amazon.com, quite happy with their service.

I have a 60CSX, had it for over a year now, it is loaded with CN v8, Canada TOPO & US TOPO (although just part of each TOPO) I bought a Vista HCX for my daughter for Christmas, loaded it up with CN v2008 & Canada & US TOPO (although again not all the two TOPO's loaded). Now I have had two weeks to assess the Vista HCX against the 60CSX in the field doing routes from our truck & doing many geocaches. I much prefer my 60CSX as I think the Vista has a slower processor. The reason I say that is when scrolling across the state of Florida (thats where we are for the winter) the 60CSX is many times faster in picking up the new area scrolled to. The Vista HCX sits there with the hour glass on & takes a much longer time to get to the same location. Also it may be my familiarity with the 60CSX but the menu, find, mark etc is much more intuitive than the Vista. My daughter likes the Vista especially the smaller size but she agrees that the 60 is easier to use, the Vista maybe after using it a longer time may get easier. Also the 60 has a far superior bicycle mount than the Vista. Also like the belt mount of the 60CSX. We also got more hours out of the Duracell Rechargeable 2650 NiMi's with the 60 than the Vista which seems strange seeing that the Vista is much smaller. So which one of the two would I personally get again??...the 60CSX. Which GPS unit would I get...I would wait for the new Colorado. Hope this helps.

Second that one, my GPS is a 60CSX lasts about 24 hours or if backlight is on almost constant to about 14 hours, keep a second set with me, can not afford dead batteries as we fish at night on lakes that are 3 miles from the dock...must find way back in fog & rain. Essential to have a great GPS (Garmin) & great batteries (Duracell)

Check this first http://www.duracell.com/precharged/

Thanks dogwalkers2, appreciate your reply....Ernie

Hello everyone & Merry Christmas! Two questions, if anyone can help. 1. I have bought an ETrex Vista HCX for a Christmas present for my daughter, which of the above Garmin products would you people recommend I purchase for use with the ETrex HCX ...CN 2008 or CN 2008 NT? I realize NT is a compressed version. 2. I already have a 60CSX with CN V8 (not NT) on my PC & loaded on the 60CSX unit. Is there any problem loading the new software (CN 2008 or CN 2008 NT) on my PC & loading the maps on her GPS & when my daughter goes home she will want to load the software (CN 2008 or CN 2008 NT) on her PC. I guess the question (2) is does this comprise her use of the software once she is back home? Appreciate any help on this...thanks!

Thanks, Rusty Spinner, appreciate your advise....Ernie

Hello everyone! Two questions for anyone. 1) I am buying a Vista HCx for my daughter & looking for a good case to carry it in, any suggestions? I see two on Amazon, any ideas if these are good, see this....My Webpage and this one My Webpage 2) Can she use a two Gig Micro card in the Vista HCx? Thanks for any help on this.

They appear to only have these for the Garmins? (6) Nuvi 610 Nuvi 660 GPSMap 60CSx Garmin Quest Garmin iQue M5 Garmin iQue 3600

Have it on; 1. My 60CSX....Great! 2. My daughter's Forerunner.....Excellent! 3. My brothers C330.....Good, had a little bit of trouble putting it on but got it on ok. Based on these examples I give them all a thumbs up. Oh ...be sure to wet your fingers with solution as explained in the info before starting.

Interesting....On my unit I can set a Proximity Waypoint as per Page 15 in the 60CSX Manual, I can set the radius of it (It defaults at one mile) this causes a dashed red line to outline around the waypoint, when I get inside this redline the line turn to blue & keeps moving relative to the accuracy or closeness to the waypoint. I will look at the FAQ's also as you have suggested. These units have so many features that one has to be constantly using them to appreciate all their uses. I checked the accuracy of mine by going to the Provincial Survey Grid to get their Lats & Longs for several monuments, by letting the unit average for at least 500 cycles it gets very good accuracy. I think the accuracy depends on your location, time of day, etc. Anyhow I am very satisfied with mine, have had absolute zero troubles with it & use CN v8 (for road travel), USA TOPO & Canada TOPO.

Isn't this your proximity circle? See page 15 in your GPSMAP 60CSX Owner's Manual.

Make sure you have "Lock on Road" option on.

Absoutely pleased, I also put one on my brothers Garmin C330, one on my daughters Forerunner, all fits perfectly. Would not be without the "Shield", saved my unit from scratches, dings, etc.

We have a 2620 e/w bean bag mount & a 60CSX with the bean bag car nav kit, both loaded with CN v8. Coming from Florida to Canada last spring (2200 miles) we set both on the dash. I must say the voice directions from the 2620 was far superior to the beeps from the 60CSX. We found the 60CSX too small a screen to be comfortable with. It is definitely usable but placed side & side the regular car unit is a much more comfortable unit to use.

I think the Shield people would replace free.

Lexar works great, good price at Wal-Mart.