DogFleazJR
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Posts posted by DogFleazJR
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After I added 1kg of extra lead weights to it, it became more stable, though.
Wow! I'd like to watch you explain that to the TSA guy!!
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I've been really happy with my 60CSx, despite me knowing some quicker ways around the area than it seems to.
But the other day I was going home, and decided to take the highway instead of it's suggested route (because I knew traffic was backed up).
This is kindof hard to explain, but basically the unit wanted to send me south 4 miles, then east about 10, and opted for east first, then go south.
Anyways, after I passed it's suggested exit, for the next 10 miles, it basically wanted me to get off of every exit and backtrack.
What was really annoying was I got all the way to my exit (a good 10 miles past it's suggested route) and it STILL wanted me to turn around and head back. By this time I was only about 7 miles from home, so it telling me to backtrack 10 miles just so I could be back on it's suggested route was getting annoying.
MY estimated time to my housewas about 10-12 minutes, but the unit was telling me about 30 because of the route it kept recalculating.
Even when I had gone a couple more miles, it was still insisting that I should keep turning off of my more-or-less direct route home and make this big loop back around.
Finally when I had gone a couple more miles and passed the last major road before my house, it finally recalculated correctly.
It was quite annoying. Anything I should've done differently? Granted, I was just more-or-less testing the thing since I knew where I was going, but I'd be quite annoyed if I was in an unfamiliar area and had to drive another 20 minutes out of my way because it doesn't recalculate correctly.
Anyone notice anything similar?
I had this problem once when the unit wanted to send me back an entire exit on the NJTP, just to come back to the exit I was getting off at - a useless detour of nearly 30 miles. Even after I exited the highway, and headed away from the turnpike, it STILL wanted me to go back. I turned the unit off and back on again and reselected the waypoint. It was fine after that. I only ran across this that one time.
I'm still using my old CS v4 from 2002. I chalked it up to that. Maybe something else is going on...
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The suction cup does represent the most versatile solution. On the negative side, the suction cup type of holder takes up the most packing space. Seems each solution has its pros and cons.
How about the vent-mounted holders? Has anybody seen one that has hooks that go into the vent and a connector to fit the belt clip button on the GPS? That would be a real small device which would take up very little packing space. I would be interested in any comments about vent mounted holders. How good? How adaptable to different grilles? etc.
I am a frequent business traveller and I take my 60CSx with me always. I carry the Garmin suction cup mount. It is easy to stick on, easy to remember to take with, and is light weight. I "unfold" the mount so it is long but thinner and stick it in the end pocket of my carry on. With the new Garmin design, it has not fallen off yet.
RAM mounts are also very popular and have a very loyal customer base. There are recent threads on the forum that outline the specific parts you need to buy. For me, the Garmin was just an easier purchase.
Windscreen mounts are illegal in California and Minnesota.
I have never tried the vent attachments.
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so we were out geocaching and the unit said the cache was 28ft north. we took one step in that direction and all of a sudden it said it was 40ft south east! is there a setting i may have screwed up or something? i do have WAAS enabled but that should make it more accurate, shouldn't it? thanks for any help!!
What you describe is not unusual. The 60CSx is an excellent GPSr, but all GPS units have limitations and are affected by a number of variants that can cause confusing results. You don't describe the conditions of where you were at the time, but 30 ft is getting close to the accuracy of the unit.
One suggestion, make sure the compass is turned off by holding the Page button down. The compass does not work if you are holding the unit up at an angle as is typical when walking. I find the compass is handy when I'm within 100 ft or so of the destination, I then turn it on to get a bearing and then off again. I then use the GPS to narrow down the distance. If you use the compass, make sure it is calibrated and make sure you hold the unit flat and level.
I have also found it helpful to stand still for a few minutes when I get close to the cache location to let the unit settle down.
Happy trackin'
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Hi, what software is used to creak track images like http://img.geocaching.com/cache/log/723ec0...287db4d3f1a.jpg ?
I know how to download the tracking info with gpsbabel, but dont know where to go next. Mac software a plus..
The link you posted is a screen shot from MapSource, probably CityNavigator or City Select.
Sorry, I can't help with Mac software advice. But others here probably can. Also check the FAQ section at the top of the forum. Under Other you can find links to track mapping software.
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I bought the auto navigation kit through Ebay which includes the bean bag mount and City Navigator. This has worked very well for me.
I use the Garmin suction cup mount for the 60CSx. The suction cup really sucks. The good kind of suck when you are talking about a suction cup. Hasn't fallen off once and it was an easy purchase, no different parts to select, blah blah blah.
I also have a 2+ yr old Garmin suction cup mount for my ol' GPS V. It blows (not really, but it doesn't really suck the way you would want a suction cup mount to). It falls off the windscreen every once in a while - very bad thing.
The quality of the Garmin mounts has improved over the years.
RAM are also very good and obviously have very loyal customers.
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- I use the default suction-cup mount, and it works...uhm...ok. It's cheap and only faces straight ahead (so I can't curve it towards me)
Are you sure you can't position it better? You should be able to turn the cradle, and stick the mount to the windshield on an angle. That should allow you to angle the GPS in whatever way you want.
It may depend on which suction mount you have. The Garmin suction mount for my GPS V (about 2 yrs old) will not rotate, so it just points straight ahead.
The new Garmin suction mount I bought for my 60CSx allows the unit to rotate so you can attach the suction cup to different angled windscreens. This also allows you to mount it to the window at a slight angle so it is pointing at you and then rotate the unit so it is straight up and down as you describe above.
I take my mount with me when I travel on business to use in rental cars, so I'm frequently putting it up and taking it down. It is a pain to try and get the angle just right each time so I just stick it back up. To be honest, it is never really an issue, the screen is bright and very readable and from experience I know which button is which without having to read them.
I double NightStalker's comment about not searching for POIs while driving. I will pull over if I need to search for anything.
It is a great unit, but it's real power is when it is off the highway.
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Anyway, I know you can purchase & download GPS maps,
which would imply that the GPS only has a
very basic major highway type of map.
Also - are the loadable maps unique to each GPS vendor,
or is there a standard software mix that can be loaded
on most of the GPS vendors....
Spyder8,
you are correct, the base map is very basic - major bodies of water (e.g. oceans, great lakes), Interstate hiways, US hiways. The renditions are rudimentary straight-line, point to point. If you want to auto-nav, you will need to purchase detailed maps that are auto-nav capable such as Garmin's City Navigator. You can see the levels of detail on Garmin's web site.
Also correct, the map sets are unique to each vendor, although there are ways to "hack" maps to make them auto-routable.
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Menu-Menu-Setup-System-Routing-
Guidance Method--prompted
Follow Road Method--Prompted
Follow Road Options--What options do you select there?
Strumble is correct, you need to make sure that Guidance Method under the routing set up is set to Prompted. Then you should get the pop up window that asks for Follow Road or Follow Tracks.
The Follow Road Method and Follow Road Options should not affect your ability to TracBack. I have Follow Road Method set to Faster Time and I use TracBack frequently with no problems.
Let us know if this is the problem
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I am having trouble trying to get the "tracback" feature to retrace original path.
I am following directions on page 31 of the users manual. In step #3 it states to select either "follow road" or "follow track", then press "do not ask again".
However, when I follow steps #1 and #2, I never get the option in step #3. So, when I'm hiking and try to use the tracback feature, it routes me on a direct route instead of showing me how to retraced my steps.
Do I need to reset some default or something? Please help as this is the main reason I bought this unit (for hiking and being able to retrace my steps).
Thanks.
bob hardin
Bob,
try the following:
MENU / MENU / TRACKS
Highlight tracback and press Enter
When the screen comes up you will have the map with your active track log displayed and the message at the botton will say "Select the point you want to TracBack to.
Use the toggle to move the pointer to the beginning of your track. If you started your hike by marking a waypoint, you can select that waypoint. You may need to zoom,/pan to find your desired return-to point.
A window will open with the choice: Follow Road / Follow Track and a check box for "Don't ask Again."
Select Follow Track
The map will come back up. Go to the compass screen. The bearing pointer will point you to the next track point. Start following the pointer and it will take you back on the path you came. Sometimes it can be tricky getting yourself and the GPS synched up to get the track back started, but once in motion it will keep pointing you to the next track point.
You may notice that the pointer may not point you EXACTLY on the same path on the return. Remember that the GPS recorded your position with error when it recorded your track log and on the track back it is reporting your position with error - so twice the error. It is generally a minor affect.
Hope this helps. Happy tracking.
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Personally, I manually calibrate the altimeter before leaving home (known elevation) or at some known elevation and always leave unit set on auto calibration to compensate for pressure fluctuations due to changing weather.
Your post got me thinking.
Why leave the altimeter on auto-cal when you have a known elevation to calibrate to? By leaving in auto-cal you will effectively overwrite the known elevation with a “corrected” GPS elevation.
But then I started thinking about the effect of changes in barometric pressure on the reported elevation from the altimeter.
At elevations below 5,000 ft, each 100 ft increase in elevation is roughly equivalent to a 0.1 in/Hg drop in barometric pressure. Average ranges in barometric pressure are about 0.25 in/Hg vs standard atmospheric pressure of 29.92 in/Hg (with the extremes at +/- 0.5 in Hg). Therefore, if you calibrated your altimeter when the barometric pressure was at standard, and during the course of the day it increased to the top of the typical range, the altimeter would be reading “too low” by 250 ft.
What about the GPS? I have read that reported GPS uncertainty in the vertical can be 10X the uncertainty in the horizontal plane. In the bush, the typical EPE of my 60CSx is +/- 18 ft. Sometimes it is better, sometimes even worse. That implies a vertical uncertainty of roughly 180 ft too high or too low.
Good news for those in the Mile High city of Denver – at elevations over 5,000 ft each 0.1 in/Hg change corresponds to a smaller elevation change, so barometric pressure changes will have a smaller effect on the altimeter’s reported elevation.
My conclusions:
1. If you want accurate elevation data in your tracks you must calibrate the altimeter every time you use the GPS to account for changes in barometric pressure. If you don’t like this hassle, get the Cx rather than the CSx.
2. If you have a known elevation to calibrate to, use it. Leaving the auto-cal on is a toss up between accepting bias as the weather changes or accepting uncertainty by incorporating the GPS signal.
3. A corollary to the point above would be, on “steady” weather days, leave auto-call off, on “changing” days leave it on.
4. If you don’t have a known location to calibrate to, the auto-cal will give you reasonably reliable elevation data for most situations.
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From some of the conversations above out Altitude Illnesses makes me wonder if what the levels of oxygen are in an airplane. I have seen my GPS barometric altimeter report as high as about 8500 feet on an airplane but i have a feeling that the oxygen levels inside the plan are higher than they would be at 8500 on land. Any one know this?
Not likely. Air is a mixture of about 21% oxygen, 78% nitrogen, the balance argon, CO2, organics, and traces of neon, krypton, xenon. The oxygen concentration remains essentially fixed thoughout the troposphere and stratosphere.
The only way the oxygen concentration could be higher is if the airline "goosed" it. They don't offer peanuts anymore, good luck with added oxygen.
I suspect that the airlines will allow the internal pressure of the cabin to drop because 1) it burns fuel to boost the pressure and 2) lower pressures will help make customers lethargic and a little sleepy. I doubt they will let the pressure drop to a point that it puts ANY customer's health in danger, the liability is just too great these days.
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If that's true .......then what elevation is it that is included in the active tracklog from "Non S" units that don't even have a barometer/altimeter? With no sensors, it has to be GPS elevation.
And according to Garmin, in the "S" units, the barometric elevation is the one that gets "Corrected" by the GPS, not the other way around. (not GPS elevation corrected by baro)
It is true, the S units record barometric elevation in the track log, which is why I like having the barometric altimeter. If the barometer is properly calibrated, it provides a smoother and more realistic representation of elevation changes over the length of the track.
Other units (including my ol' GPS V) record GPS elevation as that is the only elevation data available. GPS elevation data is typically very "noisy." As Hurley point out, it is fairly easy to shift elevation after the fact, but correcting for a noisy signal is more challenging.
Not sure what you mean by "the barometric elevation is the one that gets "Corrected" by the GPS." Unless I have the unit set to auto calibrate as Apersson suggests, the elevation data is not corrected - it is what the barometric altimeter records.
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Note that the stated maximum differential of 15 "Hg would allow a sea level pressure altitude to be maintained inside even if the aircraft could somehow be taken into the vacuum of space since nominal atmospheric pressure at sea level is only 14.7 "Hg.
Technically, only half-way to space.
Standard atmospheric pressure = 14.7 psi = 760 mm Hg = 29.92 in Hg
Therefore, a 15 in Hg differential would represent half the mercury column or half the height of the atmosphere.
I'm not sure the point of this, but there it is.
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My two cents (and that is all it is worth)
You will want some detailed maps with the 60C series to get the most out of the unit.
I suggest the CityNavigator which has detailed street maps and which supports auto navigation. The navigation capability of these units is pretty impressive considering they are hand held and portable.
If you spend a lot of time in the back country, especially in the mountains, the TOPO software may be useful to you. If you read through other threads here you will see that a lot of users complain about the lack of detail in the USATopo maps.
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You are in a common dilemma. You will get a lot of different advice and the right choice depends on how you will use your GPS the most. Sputnick provided a nice overview of the two most popular choices.
My suggestion, for what it is worth, get CityNavigator so that you can auto-route. This will get a lot out of your GPS that you just can't get without the navigation maps. You can still geocache just fine and CN will contain basic info on larger rivers, lakes and streams and will contain most parks and lot of points of interest (POIs).
Later, if you find that Topo maps would be helpful you can add the topo CDs.
There are other options for auto-navigation maps: older versions of MetroGuide, apparently you can even "trick" your GPS into using the new versions of MG to autoroute. My opinion, FWIW, the low hassle approach is to buy CNv8.
I still use CitySelect v4 that came with my GPS V five years ago. It is missing all road changes and additions from the last 6-7 years, but 97% of the time it works just fine and the other 3% it eventually works itself out. Eventually I will update it to CN for the $75.
Happy exploring!
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Hi does anyone know if the bread crum trail I make on my garmin csx60. Can be made easier to see or read. Will the track trail inlarge any so its easier to see on the handheld. Thanks
I use the track back feature often when hiking to follow previously collected tracks.
As BlueDuece says, I typically have the compass screen up which points you to the next track point. But I also changed my default track color to Red as Red90 suggests. To do this: MENU / MENU / Tracks / Set Up / Color.
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Heres my advice, make it a multi cache... hide a key in a magnetic keyholder near by and have give the co-ordinates of the key on the site... not everyone knows how to operate a combination lock (my friend tabby included) but you have to be a dult not to know how to use a keyed lock
I could see doing this cache with my son. We find the key, find the cache. We sign the log, put everything back in the cache, lock it up and rehide it. Then I ask J to put the key back where we found it and he tells me, "I already put it back - I put it back in the cache before we locked it up."
Got spares?
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If the point of the lock is to keep non geocachers out, I think it may have the unintended affect of increasing the chance of your cache being stolen.
If someone stumbles on a box in the woods, opens it and reads the letter explaining that it is a geocache, there is a good chance he will leave it be. If however he happens on a locked box, chances are good he will take it home and get out the sledghammer or hacksaw to see what is inside.
As my Dad taught me, "locks only keep honest people out."
Obviously, caches with locks can be quite successful, and caches where the lock becomes part of the puzzle can be quite clever.
But if the idea is to to keep muggles out, I agree with BrianSnat - I think you are better off looking for a better way to hide the cache to protect it. A lock only challenges the less-than-honest to find out what is inside.
The utility box is clever, but I suspect it would be just as successful without the pad lock. What are the chances that someone randomly walks up to a utility box, decides to open it, discovers a geocache, and then walks off with the cache? How about the scenario where a geocacher finds the cache and is miffed that it has a lock on it and they didn't bring the combo. Rather than logging a DNF, they just take the cache. That would be a real shame, but is it really less likely than the previous scenario?
I'm not suggesting that you can't use a lock, for the majority of caches I just don't see the point.
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P.s. How do you edit registries? I don't know what this means
Follow the link in Sputnik 57's post above to the post by Neo Geo. Neo Geo provides simple, step-by-step instuctions on what to do.
Editing the registry "points" the software to the location on your hard drive where you copy the topo files rather than to the CD drive as is the default.
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I have Garmin Mapsource on my pc right now with City Nav v-8 on it. I just got a copy of Garmin Us Topo and don't know how to load it onto my Mapsource.
I can run it on there but need to insert the disk into my drive everytime.
Also when I go to load maps from Topo to my Etrex Cx I have to remove the memory card from the gps unit and slide it into the card reader on my printer and load maps to it that way. I can't leave it in my gps unit to transfer. This is only with Us Topo though. With my City Nav v8 I can just plug the gps unit in with usb and load maps that way.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Remove your current Topo installation using Add or Remove Programs in the Control Panel.
Create a directory on your harddrive and copy the folders/files from the TOPO cd's to it...run setup.
I started down this path last night (before I saw your post today). When I selected Topo and remove program, it removed all of MapSource including CS and I had to reinstall everything. I also had to reinstall the MapSource update. I did not expect that to happen! What a PITA.
After reinstalling CS and updating MS, I finally just edited the registry as described by Neo Geo in the linked thread. I hate messing around with registries, but this was quite painless and I would recommend it to other not-at-all computer savy neophytes.
If you have already installed Topo, I would definitely edit the registry. If you haven't installed it yet, then rws's approach above may be a good way to go.
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As a result of this thread I removed 'lock on road' and travelled along a road in both directions.
Now, I have the track for viewing on MapSource and it shows a more accurate track of my movements, varying up to 15 feet from the road in both direction!
So now the track is now recording the actual GPS position, rather than the cursor/position arrow which was previously manipulated to 'lock on road'!
Thank you all, because tonight I learnt something new.
I confirmed this at lunch time today as well. Had Lock on Road On the entire trip. Started out from the car and walked down a road for several hundred yards, then cut 90 deg down a foot path for a mile. Came back the exact same route using Track Back. Track back worked wonderfully until I got back to the road, where the GPS insisted I should be far off to the left and off the road. Indeed, once I uploaded the tracks to MapSource, the track on the way out from the car follows the mapped road exactly. The track on the way back to the car is 87 ft to the east of the road! GPS accuracy was consistently +/- 12 to 18 ft. Once I made the cut away from the road, the tracks in and out agree with each other to within the GPS accuracy.
So it is true, LOR affects the position reported by the GPS and the track log, not just the display of your position. (It's ok, Red90, we still love you) Once your bearing deviates from the road, the Lock On Road gives up fairly quickly and stays off until you again select a point to navigate to. (it didn't snap me back to the road on the return but logged my "true" position).
It is hard to believe one feature could cause so much confusion. In the spirit of better understanding the tool so that it can be used most effectively, however you choose to use it
I have summarized the trade-offs of the Lock On Road feature below:- For improved reliability while auto-navigating, LOR should be ON. Your tracks will be inaccurate to the extent that your maps are inaccurate, but this generally won't be an issue while auto-naving
- For accurate track logs along or in close proximity to mapped roads, LOR should be OFF
- When searching for a waypoint along or in close proximity to mapped roads, LOR should be OFF
- The rest of the time it doesn't really matter. Select whichever option, ON or OFF, that makes you feel intellectually superior
Like Strumble, I have learned something new. Thanks.
- For improved reliability while auto-navigating, LOR should be ON. Your tracks will be inaccurate to the extent that your maps are inaccurate, but this generally won't be an issue while auto-naving
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I'm using Win XP & MapSource ver. 6.11.5 and have no problem making a connection to my newer Vista C using a USB cable but now I can't get the program to find my older eTrex Venture with a serial cable. I don't see any options for setting up parameters to connect to the GPSr like those of NG TOPO for example.
Any ideas?
Thanks.
When you select Send to Device or Receive from Device under the transfer menu, are you getting the pop up window where you can select Find Device?
I use Mapsource with a serial connection with my GPS V and with the USB connection to my CSx.
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Try:-
MENU-MENU-SETUP-Enter-SYSTEM-Enter-GPS[Normal-Battery Saver-GPS off-Demo Mode]
Thanks. That's it.
GPS Configuration
in GPS technology and devices
Posted
WGS84
(unless otherwise stated on the cache page, but datums other than WGS84 are very rare.)
North as true or magnetic won't affect your ability to find a waypoint.
Also, make sure you are using the correct units (lat/lon hddd mm.mmm) and not decimal format.