Buying A Present - Help!

[ronswife]

I've found a topic like this before but it didn't help me so I thought I'd take a stab at it.

 

I have little to know tech knowledge and I'd like to buy a GPS for my husband for Christmas.

 

He has recently gotten interested in geocaching and he does a little backpacking. I've kind of narrowed down my choices to the ususal *gulp* magellan vs. garmin choice. I'm looking at a Garmin 60cs or a Magellan 600. He really likes bells and whisltes like compass and altimeter. The only reason I'm considering a Magellan is the SD card. I really like the fact that most seem to have less problems with the Garmin. What I'd like to know is if my husband will only use this to occaisionally geocache with the kids and go backpacking sometimes, does he really need the SD card. I understand that the compass doesn't seem to work great on any of these units.

 

Like I said, I'm clueless in this area. Can everything be pretty much held on the desktop and then downloaded per outing? If you fill up your waypoints, etc., can you offload them to a desktop and make room for more or can you just download the certain area you are going to and then offload it again when you get home? or will the unit fill up? Do you see where I'm going wtih this? Do I absolutel need an SD card?

[+megamapper]

If I were you, i'd make up a list of you want the GPS to do, and then look at all the various brands and see which one fits the list.

 

Here's a sample list of things to consider:

 

1. I wanted a GPS that I could download maps into. Topographical maps.

Quite often, the 'basic maps' are pretty useless. Magellen, lowrance, and

Garmin sells a software package the lets you download maps into the GPS.

 

2. I wanted something that is water proof, or at least rain proof.

 

3. I wanted something that runs on simply AA batteries. If the GPS uses some

sort of non-standard power source, there's nothing worse then being out in the

woods with dead GPS batteries. I usually run my on AA rechargables, and

have a pile of batteries in my backpack.

 

4. I wanted the ability to plug an external antenna into my GPS. When your in the

car, it's kinda nice to have an external antenna.

 

5. I wanted something that would allow me to make my own maps of all my

favourite trails and such. So I was interested in how many tracks and

waypoints could be stored.

 

A track a list of datapoints that show everywhere you've been with the GPS.

People often use these to make their own maps, and use these for short

hikes because they give you a path out of where you hiked into. Tracks

are usually specified as X tracks with Y points.

 

A waypoint is point that you name, and has an icon. People use these to plan

longer trips by creating routes made up of waypoints. These are generally

used to remind you of when and where you want to turn. Or can be used to

mark interesting places. This is usually specified as a total number of

waypoints. Most higher end GPS's can store about 1000 or more.

 

6. Cost was an issue for me, I wanted a GPS for $400 cdn or less.

 

7. You wanted something that uses SD cards, I'd have to agree.

8. You want a compass.

9. You want a barometic altimeter.

10. Color or black and white. Some users have noticed that color GPS's eat

batteries faster then the black and white GPS's. Color usually adds about

$300 to $400 to the cost of the GPS. But color is much nicer to look at.

11. How big is the screen?

 

I then compared all brands against the list. After comparing, I ended up getting a Lowrance PhD, and it came in so far under budget, that I was able to get the downloadable topographic maps as well.

 

A few good places to shop on the net would be gpscity.ca and gpscentral.ca as well as many others. Some of these sites have online comparisons which will allow you to compare the features vs cost across each brand.

 

Kindest Regards,

---- Robb -----

[ronswife]

My problem is that I don't really know everything that he would need. For example, I've been wondering if I need to get a topographical map for geocaching or hiking. Yes, I am really dumb.

 

From what I've read, and I've been reading for 2 days, it seems that the Garmin has less problems. It seems like most who gotten a Magellan have returned theirs for at least a replacement. My main concern with the Garmin is space. It's not like we'll be trekking all over the place in one fell swoop. We would be able to offload most stuff but I'm still not sure if this solves the space problem. Can I do something like, take off my northern California stuff and put on my So. Cal. stuff if I don't have enough space. Can I basically keep all info on a desk top and say "I'm going here, I'll download the maps and waypoints, etc. for this area" on a Garmin or can it only handle so much info and then the space is gone - no offloading to regain space?

 

Sorry for being completely clueless. This is what happens when you live with someone who's really smart. I just let him handle the tech stuff!

[+Redwoods Mtn Biker]

Can I do something like, take off my northern California stuff and put on my So. Cal. stuff if I don't have enough space. Can I basically keep all info on a desk top and say "I'm going here, I'll download the maps and waypoints, etc. for this area" on a Garmin or can it only handle so much info and then the space is gone - no offloading to regain space?

Yes, you can load some maps and waypoints, use them, then remove them and load a new set.

 

Rich Owings

www.MakeYourOwnMaps.com

www.GPStracklog.com

 

"We were desert mystics, my friends and I, poring over our maps as others do their holy books." - Edward Abbey

[+av8ndv8]

If your husband is a techie like me, the Explorist 600 will drive him absolutely nuts! It has the potential to be a great GPS.. the receiver and compass are world class for the most part but the hardware is iffy and the firmware is less than elementary. It's a shame they hobbled what could have been a nice receiver. It just steams me!

 

The Garmin 60CS is polished both hardware and software-wise, has many more features and for the most part works very, very well. It's weak point is the compass, it has to be held almost perfectly flat otherwise it goes off on a wild goose chase with no indication it's giving you a bad reading.

 

I can fit both the topo map and City Select v7 for the whole state of New Mexico with a little memory room to spare. City Select does turn-by-turn street routing and is a must. Once he sees it work, he'll be hooked. Unfortunately, it's an extra $100 or so over and above the GPS.

 

You install all the maps on your computer then load the GPS with whatever areas you want, up to the 56mb limit. The map program tells you how much memory you're going to use before you load it. When you want another set of areas, the load will replace the GPS's maps with the ones you want.

 

Hope that helps a little, I've had both and used the Explorist 600 about 30 minutes before I was thoroughly pi**ed off at it. He'll love getting a 60CS!

 

Oh, you don't need the topo map or City Select to geocache, it works just fine without them. But if he does a lot of hiking in new places the topo maps are pretty good and run about $75.

Edited October 27, 2005 by av8ndv8

[ronswife]

Thanks a bunch. Both of your answers helped tremendously. I've heard that the compass is hard to use but I think he'll at least like the altimeter. I was simply worried about space but he's a smart boy and he can offload stuff pretty easily. I think he'd prefer to do this rather than deal with the locking up, etc.

 

I've found the GPS for pretty cheap but where did you find the software so cheap? My in-laws said they'd buy him the software so if I was going to get him some, what would be the ones to get in order of coolness and use?

[Difficult Run]

Here's an idea.

 

Find a small box, (the size of a GPS) and dress it up to look like the real thing.

 

Inside, enclose a gift certificate to Best Buy/Dick's Sporting Goods/local GPS store.

 

Let hubby decide which one he likes best.

 

Cheers!

[ronswife]

That would probably be the smartest but I'm a gift giver and I like to cause myself more stress than that. Besides, he'll probably end up at the same junction as I am and it's just not as fun opening an almost empty box as it is being able to play with something right away. I think I'm gonna go for the 60cs but I'm still wondering about fun software for the in-laws to buy.

[+av8ndv8]

I've always had good luck with Amazon and usually their prices are nice but maybe somebody has better prices they can share.... I got the City Select software with a couple of auto mounts and cig lighter power cable for $140 here..

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000196C3...8424179-9012731

 

And Topo is $80 here...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004Z0C...8424179-9012731

 

HTH, have fun!

[+BlueDeuce]

I own a 76cs with City Select mapping, I've never used a Magellan.

 

That said, how do you and your husband plan to use the gps? Do you want a color screen? Do you want auto-navigation? Do you want a gps that will take you through big cities? Long distance travel? Mountains? Do you want Topographics?

 

If you want a higher level gps go with color, mapping and decent memory, that would be the 60cs. There are always levels higher and lower.

Edited October 27, 2005 by BlueDeuce

[ronswife]

My husband will use it for geocaching with the kids and backpacking with the guys. I'm sure he could use something fairly basic but he does like bells and whistles. I don't think he's really considered one for the car. He'd like one mainly for outdoor type stuff. We will be traveling from California to Wyoming next year so he'll probably want to take it then but we're not afraid of old fashioned maps. He'd probably be happy with something basic but it's a gift so I'd like to get something a little fanicer. I know he's fascinated with the alitmeter and he'd probably like the compass although I understand that they don't seem to work all that great so he'll rely on his old fashioned compass that he uses for stargazing. Does the 76 have a significant more amount of memory that one would just have to have it? or anything else that would leave you dreaming about it? I think that I like the bells and whistles of the 60cs but I think that we can handle the lack of memory by offloading the info to the desk top. Except for our trip next year, we stay pretty local and would only go on day hikes here and there.

 

So, for day hikes, geocaching and an occaisional 2 night backpacking trip would the 60cs suffice if you were a tech geek? Does anyone else have a place to get cheaper software? This is the cheapest I've found the 60cs at $349.99. Anybody know of any cheaper and, once again, is would spending $30 more on a 76cs really be worth it for the above activities.

 

Thanks for the info thus far. You have know idea how much I appreciate it.

[+Sputnik 57]

I have little to know tech knowledge and I'd like to buy a GPS for my husband for Christmas.

 

I'm looking at a Garmin 60cs or a Magellan 600.  He really likes bells and whisltes like compass and altimeter.

Ok, my question is, "Who is Ron, and how did he manage to find such a great wife"?!!!

 

Go with the 60CS.

[ronswife]

LOL! Yes, we're a rare breed. We have 6 kids and he deserves to get a bonus every once in awhile. This idea is great because he can do it with the kids. He's already been telling them about it. He loves getting them involved with his hobbies and he has a lot of them! This is really one of the first times I could justify this little luxury. It'll get us outdoors a little more and I love this. It's a win- win- win gift. I'm even excited about it after reading these forums. The funny thing is that I've been trying to get him to do letterboxing which, for those of you who don't know, is the free predecessor of geocaching but he wasn't interested and I'm thinking it's because it didn't involve cool gadgets. I'm just hoping he'll still be able to hold my hand while he's using this thing!

[ronswife]

Shoot, this is like buying a wedding dress. I should have just stopped reading when I decided on the 60cs. Here's another question. How is the Americas AutoRoute that comes loaded on teh 76cs? It would seem that if I was going to buy a 60cs and have my in-laws purchase CN or CS (whatever one you can still get) that maybe I should just be buying the 76cs and having them chip in on it if this program is at all comparable to the CS or CN. He didn't really have it in mind for on road adventures. He wanted it more for the outdoor stuff. It's only $30 dollars more. Would it behoove me to buy the 76cs with Americas AutoRoute since it could have some on-road navigational stuff? or should I skip the auto navigational stuff all together? help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[peter]

How is the Americas AutoRoute that comes loaded on teh 76cs?

Both the 60cs and the 76cs come with an included basemap. On the 76cs this basemap is called Americas AutoRoute and is about equivalent in detail to a typical state highway map, i.e. it shows highways and some major other roads, but no residential streets or similar smaller roads. The basemap on the 60cs is called Americas Recreational and is similar but less detailed (the 76cs basemap takes 13 MB vs. 8 MB for the one in the 60cs). [The names are misleading since both support auto-routing and there's nothing especially 'recreational' about the map in the 60cs.]

 

To use either for car travel I'd strongly recommend that you get CitySelect-NA which will make the unit much more useful in many ways be including detailed maps down to residnetial streets and almost all rural roads, let you look up street addresses and business locations and be guided to them, etc.

 

The benefit of the 76cs is that in addition to a slightly more detailed basemap it also has more memory space for loading CitySelect or other detail maps (115 MB vs. 56 MB). As an example, that'll let you download almost all of California instead of only about half. OTOH, it costs a little more and is a little bulkier physically.

Edited October 28, 2005 by peter

[+av8ndv8]

Ditto what Peter and Sputnik (Ron's a lucky man) said. Both the 60CS and 76CS have routable basemaps. If I plan a trip with just the basemap installed it tells me to head south to the interstate, then it picks up the interstate in it's basemap and routes me all along the interstate until I turn off at my destination. Then it just tells me to head to my destination. It's no help getting to the interstate and no help once I get off but it's still pretty slick.

 

They are both fine geocaching machines without any extra mapping. So, no you don't absolutely need City Select (or CN). You don't absolutely need the topo map either but it's nice with Ron being a hiker he can see elevations, creeks and so forth.

 

The only difference in the 60CS and 76CS is case style and the extra memory in the 76CS, they have the same internals and firmware. I had never used either one when I bought my 60CS but the 76CS was $100 more at the time and I thought I'd like the buttons at the bottom better, thus my choice. I reasoned that the buttons on the top would have my fat fingers blocking the screen when using the buttons but most 76 users say that's not the case.

 

So, for $30 difference you get a little better basemap and twice as much memory. Buttons on the top, buttons on the bottom. Tough call.... If you were going to do street routing there in CA I'd definitely go with the 76CS but just using topos I don't think it really matters.

[ronswife]

Thanks a bunch all of you. It's getting to the point that since I'm spending so much, what's another $30. I'll skip date night for a week or two and all will be right with the world. At least this guarantees awhile before he'll want an upgrade (you tech geeks will know what I mean). I think I'll now go for a 76cs unless somebody knows of some netatives besides the buttons (which, after researching, doesn't seem to outway the pluses found with the 76cs). It doesn't seem that it's that much bulkier than the 60cs and I think, even though he likes to go as lightweight as possible, that the extra few ounces won't get him down on backpacking trips. I'm gonna tell the in-laws to get the topography map for sure and then I'll see what's up with the CS and CN. Maybe we'll just start out with the topography map and then see what he wants for his birthday which is in February. Of course, then there's Father's Day, and on and on and on... After reading the forums, it seems I've got years of gifts! After Christmas is over, I'm definitely going to have to have Ron check out the forums to see how lucky he is!

[+av8ndv8]

Guys are always looking to update... http://www.trimble.com/geoxh.shtml

[+Renegade Knight]

The buttons on the 76 are positioned for one handed operation with your thumb. Very nice. The 60 buttons are low and you have to flip the GPS up a bit for one handed operation. If you reach with two hands...then it doesn't matter.

 

The 76 is a good GPS. You will have no regrets. It's about the best handheld there is.

[+Redwoods Mtn Biker]

I'm gonna tell the in-laws to get the topography map for sure and then I'll see what's up with the CS and CN.  Maybe we'll just start out with the topography map and then see what he wants for his birthday which is in February. 

I started out with the topo package, and waited a full year before buying CS. Guess I just didn't want to spend the money. Now I can't believe I waited. If you travel at all, or live in a big city...trust me, he will love it. Getting turn-by-turn directions is SO cool, as is finding a restaurant by cuisine, etc. It will make a very nice present.

 

Rich Owings

www.MakeYourOwnMaps.com

www.GPStracklog.com

 

"We were desert mystics, my friends and I, poring over our maps as others do their holy books." - Edward Abbey

[ronswife]

Thanks again! I guess I'll wander over to the CS/CN thread and see if anybody has found out what is going on with the discontinuing of these programs.

[Neo_Geo]

One other diff between the 60 and 76: The 76 floats and the 60 sinks. If you're going to drop it in a lake, you'd want the 76. If you're gonna drop it into a running stream, you'd want the 60.

[peter]

The 76 floats and the 60 sinks.

Have you seen a 60 series unit sink? The ones I've seen float with just the antenna tip above water with typical batteries and float reasonably well with lithium AAs.

[+Sputnik 57]

I would say that the 60C is sort of neutrally buoyant with regular batteries, and pretty much floats with lithium. I dropped mine into a shallow stream on Sunday and it didn't go anywhere. The five normally cited difference between the 60CS and 70CS are:

 

1. The 76CS is a bit larger

2. The 76CS has buttons above the screen

3. The 76CS floats

4. The 76CS has a better basemap (13MB vs. 8MB for the 60CS)

5. The 76CS has more map memory (115MB vs. 56MB for the 60CS)

Edited October 28, 2005 by Sputnik 57

[ronswife]

Right now, I'm betting most of the women here are wondering how the heck you guys can drop a $350+ item into the water at all? Thank goodness they are waterproof or you married guys would have some pretty steamed wives!