stevesisti

Well first off something is not right here...it's my understanding that the MCX connector on the 76CS and the 60CS which I have is a threaded connection...in fact I can see the external threads on the jack in the unit...I also can see in the ID of the connector body in the GPS, an insulator which is White with a copper contact in the center. If I didn't know better it sounds like you are just looking at the Garmin connector and the Gilson end is not there. So, you would be un-threading, then lightly pulling to remove the Gillson plug. You might want to doulble check to be sure the Gilson plug is still attahed and post back as it appears if the gilson plug were still attached, it should be very easy to turn and remove with a pair of tweezers or small pliers. I definitely would return the unit to Garmin before opening it up. Again, don't do anything drastic with brute force...this thing should come off very easily if it's still attached.

You should be able to remove it with a small needle nose pliers...you don't say which GPS or which antenna..or if part of the Plug/jack is still in the unit. Don't do anything drastic (like glue if it runs down into the unit), with some info you should be able to remove it.

Yes it overlays on the handheld unit. When in MapSource, you choose what maps sections to load to your GPSr. The procedure to do load sections from both map programs involves copying and pasting one set of sections (TOPO) into the desired list from your other map program (City Select) and transfer this whole list to your GPSr. Different Garmin map programs are chosen throuh MapSource in a dropdown selector window. While using the GPSr loaded with TOPO and CS, both maps are shown - overlayed into each other. You can toggle one or the other (TOPO or City Select) off, leaving only the desired map type on your screen. If you have a choice of only one, get the City Select by all means. You will have an updated, detailed map of roads and addresses and it will still do everything TOPO does as far as getting you to a location. However, TOPO shows elevation and City Select does not. I've got both. That's strange...I though I've always heard that you can only view one mapsource product or the other...not both at one time. "Overlaid" means you can see thru one map and "into" another. In other words, you can see all the street detail of the City Select map, while at the same time seeing the topo contours overlaid on them. You can load both topo and city select for the same area , but it was my understanding you could only see one or the other, depending on which map had "priority", or you decided to turn one or the other on or off in "map set-up".

Personally I wouldn't accept that from Garmin...if they can't get the unit working the way it's supposed to, I would demand a new replacement unit. I'm sure if this was a software glitch, other people would be complaining about the same problem. You were already inconvenienced one time by having to send the unit back. I would call back and ask them to either fix it for sure or replace it.

Maybe you didn't read the posting correctly...the subject was "another" reason for proprietary rechargeables vs AA's......citing another reason will inevitably bring comment on the "original" reasons...seems perfectly normal to me. You're also making the assumption that everyone reads every post...doesn't happen here, doesn't happen in any forum set-up. If people want to coment or recomment, I say let'em go without "reprimanding" them :0)

You might want to make sure there is nothing wrong with your charger. I have a Duracell charger (Duracell 1-Hour Battery Charger (CEF80NC) and it also chargers NIMH AA's in an hour. Either way I don't see much of an argument for either type battery....If you have a rechargeable Lion battery, get a few spare bats and maybe an extra charger and you don't have a problem.

If you are going to give people the information, at least make sure it's accurate.....you must have a real crappy AA charger........current models recharge AA's in 90 minutes, and maintain the charge till you remove them. Another interesting point is that 90 min, or 4 hrs or 8 hrs doesn't really matter....if you didn't put'em in the charger the night before, your not going to sit and wait for the bats to charge the morning you need them.

I live along the hudson river in New York and the Garmin basemap in my 60CS always has me in the water. So few points are used in the basemaps, it's almost impossible for the graphic screen representation to be accurate. Changing to a sportrack will not change that. My coordinate readings however are very accurate, and I assume the same would be true for your situation.

I noticed the same thing traveling through PA.....does using City Select correct this problem ?

Well not quite the same thing but on my 60cs, I could see the plot for barometric pressure, and the plot for altitude over time...but when I switched to altitude over distance the plot would pot up for a second and then would disappear.....if I switched out of ploting over distance and the reopened it when I wasn't moving the plot screen would stay up....however once I started moving it would instantly disappear. I tab through pages very rapidly and I would asuume I overloaded the processor and corrupted something.....I did a master reset and all is well....was about to send it back to Garmin. Actually it seems ecerything works better after the reset....go figure.

I'm going to try loading a transparent map to see the difference....one caveat of loading outside mapsource is you don't actually get to see an image of the particular map sections you are loading...I believe you will be looking at just file names...which is a bit awkward at best if you are trying to load particular sections of a given map product. What would be really nice is if someone wrote a program where you could load the img file and all the registry entries are made automatically....GPs map manager is supposed to accomplish this with just several entries, but there is no manual, and it is less than intuitive.

Didn't know about the drag and drop thing.....but if you already have the mp file on screen in Map Edit , why not just go to "file", "export", " Garmin image" in Mapedit itself and forego the "drag and drop". One thing you might want to consider is that sendmap can only load maps you have created, eg your custom map, and as we know, the upload "erases" your previously loaded Garmin maps from the unit leaving you with your custom map and the Garmin "basemap". There is a way to get Mapsource to "recognize" your map in Mapsource as a "normal" Garmin map enabling you to load your custom map along with Garmin std products but that involves windows registry changes and/or some voodoo undocumented software, either of which is risky. I have created several maps and have never used "transparent". Don't quite understand what that means, but it is my understanding that your uploaded custom map replaces the basemap when it is displayed, and as such you really can't see through to the basemap....waypoints and routes are always displayed on top of and are not a part of any map that is loaded...You can add labels and points to your custom map itself, and affect at what zoom levels they appear, but the display of waypoints and routes are controlled by settings on your individual GPs (map set-up). I would hope to see many people interested in this development....and although it requires a fair amount of effort to create a map, if you have a few favorite places (we all do), the accuracy and detail level you can achieve with the custom map is incredible. Of course all your maps can't show this level of detail or you wouldn"t even be able to get a small county loaded into your GPS without using your 56M allotment(60 CS). 256K allowed me to do an 8 mi lake with surrounding terrain in 24K topo including all surrounding streams, islands, and Ponds (brook trout) :0). It included 2 "paddle throughs" that Garmin topo showed as solid land, 15 or so islands that garmin didn't show, and numerous small bays and inlets that Garmin either "smoothed out" or omitted altogether. When I paddled the lake with my GPS, my map had every little bay and island I came across. Since I spent 5 days there looking for loons, it was worth my time and effort to make a custom map. For general pupose use, the Garmin maps are just fine, and for the price, a very good deal. Steve

Sight and go, and projecting a way point are 2 very good reasons for getting the compass. I was pleasantly surprised by the accuracy and ease of use. Another point to note is that when you are using "track up" and you have stopped walking to take a bearing, turning around in place will leave the display oreiented in the wrong direction (track not up). Having the internal compass on keeps the "track up" oriented in the right direction without necessitating movement on your part for the direction indicator arrow to be accurate. I ususally just turn the compass on when I need it, and off when I'm done. I don't have any problem with holding it level for a reading....you will be happy you got it. Steve

Give them a call and confirm what the datum of the particular maps is. You can change the datum of your 60cs to match the maps they will provide. Go to the 60CS set up menu, then to "units", then to "map datum", and you can see all your choices for different datum. You might be more interested in the coordintes of the "pick-up" point than anything else. I don't quite see the necessity of having the GPS use the same datum as the maps. Regardless of what you have the GPS set to you will see on the topo map, a fairly accurate representation of where you are..EG 1/2 way down the south side of "lost mountain"...by looking at the Gps location on screen and the terrain in front of you, you should have no problem correlating the GPS position to the paper map without necessitating converting coordinates from one to the other. I think you might be reading more into this than necessary. I used my own "homemade" maps I up-loaded to my 60CS in the Adirondacks this weekend and I had no problem using the GPS in WGS84 finding my location on a paper map (NAD 27), over and over again. It was previously stated that all of the US USGS maps are NAD 27...this is not correct. Depending on the area, many maps still remain NAD 27 and some are NAD 83, and many are in the process of being converted to NAD 83. You must check your particular map version to be sure. Steve

What case do you prefer for the 60 CS.

Just picked up a 60CS and so far love the unit...1 little problem though...suddenly the on screen track display has disappeared.....If i use "trackback" it pops up, but under "normal" usage I can see jsut the "triangle" and no track. Might be something silly I have set wrong ...can anyone help.

Watson and Crick would recognize it in a heartbeat !

Don't worry about the Garmin unit...more important is that you learn how to get back into your Kayak when you take a dump. A paddle float placed on the end of your paddle and then under the shock cord on the Kayak makes reentry fairly easy in all but rough waters. Don't mean to nag, but if the waters were not rough as you said.....rule number one would be to get back into the Kayak. As far as "waterproof" goes, I have yet to see a product in any category, that was "bombproof". Even the much tauted Pelican cases and "dry seal" bags" specifically designed for water protection occassionally have a leak. When you are on the water you sort of have to just accept the risk...in your case you have a happy ending with Garmin replacing the unit.

Garmin has an "approved" product for "repairing" scratches on the 60 CS screens...It's called Nova (something). A call to Garmin will get you the full name of the product. I would assume it might be good for "smaller" scratches...those of the "gouge" type...I'd be surprised if it fixed them satisfactorily.

That's an utterly rediculous price to pay for a "screen cover" replacement. Could it be the price quoted is for a replacement lcd and not just the screen? Call Garmin directly....I would be very surprised if it was even $50 for replacement.

Wow...at least the dog will be getting good reception under tree cover and probably will never get lost again

Very interesting info layout...thanks for taking the time to work it up. If one were to make routine trips of this length, and be mostly using the GPS as an autoroute guide..there is a definite advantage to the extra memory of the 76. While you can do basic autoroute with just the basemap, it wouldn't make much sense to not have the more detailed maps to guide you to locations just off of the highway....actually, that's why you want the routing in the first place...to help in case you have to get off the major freeways in an unknown area. My main use would be for hiking, having used both the 60 and 76, I much prefer the layout of the 60. Would have been nice to stick the extra memory in the 60 and the 76. Still am impressed with the amount of info you can load into 56 MB. It should easily cover my weekend trips to nearby states with both city Select and topo maps for the areas.

Are you saying the extra memory on the 76 will allow you to load continuous sections of city select from ND to Tampa....I would be surprised if that were possible, even with the larger memory of the 76 ....The point being that if you expect continuous "detailed" coverage of any and all possible exits along the route, you're probably in a position where you would have to re-load map sections along the way whether you had 56 MG of memory or 118 MG. I would be curious to see someone load the "continuous" city select data from ND to Tampa and it's resultant memory requirement.

I guess there are two important issues here...the bigger physical size of the 76 and the bigger memory it affords. The memory...If you were going from grand forks to Tampa, and wanted to use autorouting, you would only need to load local maps for grand forks and for tampa. The whole way across country, your built in "base map" covers the major interstates. Someone here could confirm it, but I would be surprised if the "City Select" detail for the two cities is more than 15 MB. In practical terms, even the 56 MB limit of the 60C is overkill......you might even be able to load both city select and topo for both of those regions. You could easily generate an autoroute before you left to make sure the 60C base map covers your highway requirements. Physical size/layout...purely a personal choice...I have small hands and the width of the 76 is just a fraction too big for me to get a comfortable and sure grip on. Normally we are much more accostomed to holding things from the bottom...books, sodas, hamburgers, etc. With the button layout on the 76, you reallly must hold it from the top to operate the buttons, leaving your palms somewhat blocking your view of the screen while also creating a "bottom" heavy holding situation. Can you adjust to that...most users say they can...I couldn't. There was an example recently posted along these lines where someone gave the breakdown on loading both street and topo maps for a beginning and endpoint destination on the 60Crelying on the base map to do the major highway routing...it ended all my questions about the 60C being short on memory.

Not sure what you are after, but there are dem (digital elevation Model) maps available for free on the internet. Problem is you then need software to view and interpret the data. Global Mapper has trial software you can dwonload and then find out if DEM data is available for your area.. In GM, you can color code different elevation levels so you can graphically see a general over view of your land....global mapper will also generate contour lines at elevations of your choosing, along with allowing you to "overlay" data from other maps. This however could turn out to be quite a project, and become somewhat involved. Were you to generate your own data, it would be a "really" big project, and certainly more than is required for locating a home site. Personally, If I had 45 acres, I would use the GPS to mark off the corners or boundaries, visibly mark them, and then I would walk the land...45 acres is a nice size but certainly is not too big to become easily familiar with. Also, no amount a mapping and elevation data is a substitute for standing on the terra firma and taking a good look around at the different views from different locations on the plot. Especially if your main effort is to decide the exact location to build a house.