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I don't mean to dispute your claims for this charger, but $63!!! Unless you're a wedding photographer with heavy flash use or a similar needs, that charger is insane. I had a hard time justifying the very good Maha 204F at ~$20. You'd have to go through many dozens of AA's per week to get even close to getting a payback on $63. Your money, your choice. Hermit Well I have over 30 battery (AA & AAA) and I think spending $60 on a charger is worth it. I have use in the past a Energizer 30 minutes fast charger and it just kill my battery. Since I have bought the Maha charger I have been able to recover 6 of them ($20 bucks saved) with the charger. So actually this charger is costing me $40. I also really like the feature to get battery capacity. Look it this way $60 is not the end of the world and this charger is very good and also 3 years warranty ! Just my opinion...

Yes. Actually I am giving my batteries some run and they seem to improve the more charges I put on them. Do you think that batteries need burn in? Yes of course NIMH battery needs a few charge and discharge to get full capacity. If you can afford buy the new Maha charger MH-9000. I bought it and I really like it. You have an option to break-in new battery. Also if you want to check your battery capacity you can do a Refresh & Analyse and at the end you will get the real capacity. Here what I do for new battery 1) Break in mode (could take up to 40 hours) 2) Then I will make 3 to 5 cycle (charging at 1000ma and discharge at 500ma) Now the new battery should have reach their best capacity. Try also to charge you battery in slow charging from 2 to 3 hours charging time. You will get better charge and will be less hard on the battery. Once in a while you could use fast charging. Hope this help !

I did the "setup.exe" succusfully... wouldn't that install the drivers? You should go in the Device Manager of Windows and GO check the COM Port that the USB to serial cable is set to. By default I think it is set at COM 5. You can change it but you should leave it to COM 5 because it is a serial port not often used. Then You need to specify the same COM port in Mapsource to find the GPS.

You get me wrong or maybe I didn't explain it clearly. I have use Spanner with the 60 CSx using the GPS USB cable and it work but for a reason it randomly loose connection between Spanner and the 60 Csx. What I was saying is that with my Serial to USB adapter and using a serial cable on the GPS this setup work flawlessly and never had problem on connection between the GPS and the laptop. So it is not the GPS or the laptop or the software causing the problem. In my case it is Spanner. I have to say that with Spanner I had the GPS set on NMEA and never tried it with the Garmin sentence. This I will need to try it. Maybe that what is causing the connection lost with Spanner. OK, I admit I haven't tried Spanner yet myself, so this is just my interpretation of what I've read... Spanner takes the Garmin data stream broadcast by your GPSr through the USB port and converts that data stream to NMEA format. So for Spanner to work as it should, it NEEDS TO RECEIVE ITS DATA VIA THE USB PORT ON THE GPSr IN GARMIN FORMAT. From what I think I gathered from your post, you're taking native NMEA data over the serial port, plugging it into a serial to USB converter then running that through Spanner. So Spanner thinks it is getting Garmin data stream data, which it isn't (its already NMEA), and is trying to 'convert' it to NMEA. Also, if you use the straight USB cable, the laptop will power the GPSr. Let us know if this works.

I have tried GPS Spanner and it work for my 60 CSx but for some reason it loose the connexion from the GPS to Garmin Spanner. To make it work with: S&T 2006, SA watch here what I did. Set the 60 Csx to send NMEA sentence by pressing (Menu, Menu, Setup, Interface) Set the Serial Data to : NMEA In/NMEA/Out Baud : 4800 Start Garmin Spanner ADD COM5 virtual port (this is for me) Add a Com port that the PC is not using Press start Then I go in S&T 2006 and use COM5 as serial port It work good but once in a while Spanner for some reason loose the communication from the GPS and I need to press Start again to make it work. I have bought a Belkin Serial to USB cable and I never had this communication problem. But i need to use a serial cable to plug it in the 60 Csx and then to my Serial to USB cable and this cable to the computer. The only thing I dont like about this setup is that I cannot power the GPS from the serial port. With the USB cable I can then get power from the laptop to the GPS and I only using a single cable. But for now Garmin Spanner seems to be a bit on the buggy side (loosing connection) so I will stick with my serial to USB cable for now until Spanner gets an update. Anyone else is getting the same connection failure with Spanner and the GPS (60 Csx) ?

Yes it is I have a 60 CSx. Soon I will have 2.

I presently have City Select v7 and I was wondering if it worth to upgrade to City Navigator 8 or City Navigator 8 NT ? Since I have 2 GPS will it be possible to register CN 8 or CN 8 NT on both of my GPS if I buy the full version not the upgrade version ? I am wondering about the CN8 NT version over the CN8 version. Since the maps are more compress does it going to affect the redraw speed on the GPS Screen ? I their semeone who have both version and made some test on the GPS to see if the NT version is slower to PAN and Zoom and to redraw compare to the CN8 version ? Or if their is a web site who test both the CN 8 version ? Thanks

I have 2 pocket query to run everyday. One for traditionnal cache and another for caches with travel bugs. When I create these 2 pocket query I got them in my email a few minutes after. The last time I run & create the 2 pocket query was the 19 of july and since I never received any pocket query and I should get it everyday. It's about a week I notice that I never received pocket query. Is their a problem on the server of Groundspeak ? Any hint or trick ? Thanks

Don't forget 15 minutes charger are very hard on the battery and should only be used to charge battery when a quick charge is needed. I had bought 1 year ago Energizer 2500 Mah with a 30 minutes charger. The charger detect charge of the battery on the 4 battery bay and after charging will go in trickle charge. With this charger the battery comes very hot ! Way too Hot ! i recently bought a Maha C808M battery charger with 8AA Maha Powerex 2500 Mah and this charger is remarkable ! Fast charge is a bit more than 1 hour and slow charge is a bit more than 2 hours. But the big difference is that the battery are barely getting hot ! Also the charger has a conditioning features that will : charge, discharge, recharge in one step. With this charger I can charge up to 8 (AA,AAA,C,D) and i usallly use the soft charging because I know this is the best method for keeping the battery in good shape. For people with very fast charger (15 min, 30 min) I will suggest to use a slower charger (5 hours or more)for every 5 cycles of fast charging. Discharge the battery to around 1.0 volts (don't go below 0.9 volts) and then do a slow charge with a charger that will detect charge. Avoid timer based charger to prevent overcharging ! Maha make some less expensive model that will charge the battery in 4 hours if I remember. Also when using new battery it could take up to 5 cycles (charge & discharge) to get the battery at their best performance. Hope I help !

For all of you who want a good program to make custom Icon for wayoint for the GPS Try out this program: Axialis Iconworkshop 6.0 it is available as a trial and I tried it and is it way better than using Paint and you can made very nice icon. http://www.axialis.com For waypoint Icon for the GPS here what it need: 16x16 pixels 256 Colors Transparency use the color (RGB, 255,0,255) violet To transfer your custom bmp to the GPS you need to download Ximage program from Garmin. Make a search for Ximage at garmin website. Hope this help

Thanks for the reply. I just went to Bureau en Gros and bought a Belkin serial to USB cable and it work no problem. Going to make a test now with the 60 CSX & WAAS active to check accuracy.

Well a few years ago when I had my Garmin GPS III SA availability was still active and the accuracy at that time was ± 100 meters 95%. Now since SA availability is inactive we are suppose to get ± 15 meters 95% of time. On the 60 CSX we have a EPE (estimated position error) and I see many people using this to say "hey i'm within 2 meters accuracy ! " don't get wrong this is just an estimated and sometimes you can get off as far as 50 meters ! OK, I have the SA Watch program which is a NMEA logger so we plug the GPS in the serial port of the PC or laptop and this program will get data and will display in real time every location points the GPS is sending to SA Watch. I was using that program with my GPS III but now I have a 60 CSX and my laptop doesn't have serial port and this program only work with COM ports. Is a serial to USB cable the only solution to make this working ? I also tried GPS Gate to emulate a serial port from a USB and it doesn't work. Well I couldn't make it work. Does the 60 CSX sending NMEA code through the USB port or only from the serial port ? (maybe that is the problem). Last question: Is their any other software that is doing the same as SA Watch but would be more up to date and working with the latest GPS on the market ? Thanks

Well here in Montreal I pass through a tunnel everyday to go to work. Yesterday I update the GPS Software v2.60 and today I get WAAS #51 and I pass through the tunnel for about 1 minute and when I get out I get the satellite back no problem and the GPS didn't lock. I was also having that problem prior to this new GPS software v2.60 Working good !

Yes me too ! Because the EGNOS #33 is getting over the WAAS #35 and it always kick the #35 and like you said EGNOS is not accurate for here in Canada. So we should have these option for WAAS/Egnos WASS Only Egnos Only Both (WAAS & Egnos) Pretty sure that Garmin could implement this feature in a futur update which will solve the EGNOS here in North America.

Well this GPS can't lock to the WAAS #35 but it can lock on Egnos #33. What is strange is that with my GPS V can get WAAS #35 but with a hallow bar. On the 60 CSX I get a full bar with "D" and full lock on Egnos #33 ! I also often have GPS PRN #25 only in hollow bar and it is always on the horizon and on North on the satellite page. Could it be that the SAT #25 is ( Anik F1R or Galaxy 15) and as long i'm not going to get the WAAS almanac I will never get these WAAS Sat ? From where I live (montreal) I should get WAAS #35, 48 and 51. I use Orbitron and all these 3 WAAS are visible from my home Location. What the hell is going on with Garmin with their X series and the super SirfIII chipset ! Hey Garmin don't tell customer that it is because the WAAS #35 is moving because my 3 years old GPS V can find it and I can get the WAAS correction but with no ranging for the moment. The 60 CSX see it and after 10 seconds it disapear and after come back and go again. But it is showing the WAAS #35 in ESE and it shoud be WSW like the GPS V is showing it on the satellite page. Garmin is it that hard to update the WAAS almanac for the 60 CSX and give the proper location of the WAAS #35 so the stupid 60 CSX can lock on it so I can get the WAAS almanc so I could probably use the other WAAS bird ! Boy they have a hard time with this one, and if their is no solution to this bug with the WAAS then I want my money back ! This GPS should work with WAAS because it is describe as WAAS capable. Garmin go back to the drawing table and go back to work and on the next update fix the god dadgum WAAS problem and also the bug with the lost satellite reception when the WAAS is enable. Feel better now !

For everyone using Nimh rechargeables it is important to use a good charger. Alot of chargers are based on a timer which is not good for overcharging the battery. I have a few set of Energizer 2500 mAh and a Energizer 30 minutes charger that was detecting when the battery where charged. I found that this charger is pretty hard on the battery and they come very hot when charging. Once in a while I was discharging my battery with a 500 mAh light bulb until the battery get to 0.9V which is the minimum discharge the battery should go. All this process is boring but it is critical to keep your battery in good shape. Well this week I bought a Maha 808M battery charger and this charger make everything. Slow charge, Fast charge, Conditioning (charge, fully discharge and fully recharge in one step) and the good thing with this charger is that the battery is only warm to touch when charging compared to my Energizer charger. A nice feature is that all battery channels are independant from each other. Fast charge is 1 hour for a 2000 mAh. Slow charge is 1000 mAh. This Maha charger is expensive but it worth the money spent ! I will probably still use the Fast 30 minutes charger when going away from home but the Maha will be my master charger. http://www.mahaenergy.com

Here is the respond from Garmin to my email: Thank you for contacting Garmin I'll be glad to help. I understand that there is a lot of concern about WAAS and the X models. Reception seems to be spotty depending on location. I do not have an exact answer to what the issue is, but my understanding is that it will be corrected when possible with firmware updates. If you need further assistance, please reply to this email or contact our 800 number listed below. Best Regards, Brock Ainsworth Product Support Specialist Garmin International 1200 E 151st Street Olathe, KS 66062 www.garmin.com 1-800-800-1020 techsupp@garmin.com

Well tonight I take time to write to Garmin about all the flaws the 60 CSx and I wanted to share what I wrote to Garmin and I will also post the respond in a few days. Here is my letter to Garmin: Just update my 60 CSX to the latest version 2.70 and also the GPS SW v2.50 I then made some test to try if I can get the WAAS. Well I never get WAAS (35, or either Anik F1R or Galaxy15) and I should get at least one on those from my location in Montreal. I get the Egnos on Friday with full lock and all the litle "D" but never WAAS. This is very strange because my brother 60CS we can pick up WAAS 35 and others in test mode too ! Also their is a serious bugs to mention concerning WAAS when enable. If I go through a tunnel and lost satellite signals then when I get out of the tunnel I will never get satellite signals after I lost reception. I need to power OFF and ON the GPS to get satellite reception again. If WAAS is disable then I don't have this problem ! So their is something wrong with the WAAS option and the lost reception problem. My last question is: Why the new X series has problem to get WAAS so hardly ? Is this a software problem or hardware ? If it is software then why GArmin is not putting all WAAS almanac in the next update so at least the GPS will have the WAAS almanac and will have the WAAS birds in proper location to find it ! Also it will be nice from Garmin to make a news or an information about the problem concerning WAAS and the X series. Their is alot of speculation on the net about GArmin will never fix the WAAS problem and it is a hardware bugs with the Sirf III chipsets. This is not good news and Garmin should give us feedback to their customers about the X series flaws. Thanks

For all, GSAK as been update to a new version and it include the GPSBabel Beta to make GSAK work with all the new Garmin X series ! Well it works great with my 60 Csx !

Me I have bought a 512 Mb memory (Sandisk) and it came with a SD Adapter and I have a 7 in 1 card reader. So I loaded the memory card in my card reader and their is 2 files on the memory card and I erase the POI file. Put the memory back in the GPS and no more Custom POI.

Yes you can. City Select will always be the main map and will always be on top of Topo or other maps. When i do autorouting I always use the Show All maps option and when I geocaching then I hide the City Select and the Topo is now the main maps. Is that what you are asking for ? Here the steps. - Go to the map - Press Menu - Setup Map - Browse the top Icon and select the i in a circle (Information) There going to be a list there with all the maps loaded - Press Menu - Now you will have these options: Restore Defaults, Show all, Show none, Hide basemap, Hide Americas Marine, City Select and topo and also other maps you have loaded So me what I do to get the Topo maps I select Show none, press Menu and select Topo. This way only the topo maps are loaded. That's simple !