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A Newbie, Lookin At A Garmin 60c


smbanks

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let me clear up that i've NEVER done ANY form of geocaching YET.

 

i need an all purpose gps device for driving, hiking, and geocaching (wont be fishin anytime soon) activities, in that order of priority.

 

i've only been lookin/researchin for 2 days, and i've yet to find anything cooler than the 60c (cant justify for my needs the 60cs) in my price range of $300ish.

 

i lend my ear to anyone that has advice on either side of the matter, pro or con.

 

(by the way, i'm in nashville, and would be interested in meetin fellow goecachers)

 

thanks in advance!

 

shawn

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For owning both the LegendC and 60C, I really wouldn't know which one to keep If I had to keep only one. You can't miss with any of those.

 

LegendC: small and light - 60C: Find and Mark button idientified on button panel

LegendC: screen resolution a little higher - 60C: bigger screen also excellent

LegendC: better satellite reception (well just a little) - 60C: more memory

LegendC: USB powered when connected to PC - 60C: external antenna possible

 

I mean both of them have their personnality and they are excellent units so I guess I'll keep both :(

 

PS: one thing is sure, a color screen is a must

Edited by Nomade
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As a 60C owner myself, the only way I can possibly try to persuade you NOT to buy one is to advise you to wait for the new 60CX to come out in a month or two! They will have much better reception, and the the memory is expandable with TransFlash memory cards!

 

If that doesn't stop you from buying a 60C, then I give up... :(

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I just got a <link deleted by moderator> Garmin Quest for my directionally challenged daughter. I happened to get it for $299. It is a little higher at the moment.

 

Three things favor the Quest, over the 60C, IMHO. First, it comes with City Select maps. If you buy the 60C, you have to spring for the maps to get any meaningful autorouting. City Select runs about $110 from reputable on-line retailers.

 

Second, the Quest has double the memory for maps (115MB vs. 56MB for the 60C). Don't get me wrong. 56MB is a lot of map memory (it holds most of the Houston, Dallas, San Antonino triangle), but when it comes to memory, more is always better.

 

Finally, when used in the car, the Quest gives voice prompts, so you don't have to take your eyes off the road to see how to negotiate the upcoming turn. The 60C will beep or whistle at you to get you to look at the detailed turn map, but voice prompts seem to me a much safer option.

 

In the interest of full disclosure, I have a 60C, but my interests were primarily hiking and geocaching. Normally, I would never try to dissuade someone from a 60C, but since you asked, take a look at the Quest.

Edited by Hemlock
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I have a SporTrak Pro and the 60c, the SporTrak keeps it's signal better in tree cover, but they both have features that would make it a tough decision if I had to buy one or the other. Keep in mind the price of the mapping software for street level mapping, unless you plan on using a laptop.

 

Good luck with your decision.

 

NJLOAD

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I just got a <link deleted by moderator> Garmin Quest for my directionally challenged daughter.  I happened to get it for $299.  It is a little higher at the moment.

 

Three things favor the Quest, over the 60C, IMHO.  First, it comes with City Select maps.  If you buy the 60C, you have to spring for the maps to get any meaningful autorouting. City Select runs about $110 from reputable on-line retailers.

 

Second, the Quest has double the memory for maps (115MB vs. 56MB for the 60C).  Don't get me wrong.  56MB is a lot of map memory (it holds most of the Houston, Dallas, San Antonino triangle), but when it comes to memory, more is always better.

 

Finally, when used in the car, the Quest gives voice prompts, so you don't have to take your eyes off the road to see how to negotiate the upcoming turn.  The 60C will beep or whistle at you to get you to look at the detailed turn map, but voice prompts seem to me a much safer option.

 

In the interest of full disclosure, I have a 60C, but my interests were primarily hiking and geocaching.  Normally, I would never try to dissuade someone from a 60C, but since you asked, take a look at the Quest.

While what said is accurate. As owner of both the Quest and the 60C, I would go with the 60C if you are going to be out on the trails.

In the past year, I've used the Quest for both road and trail. And while it did well on the trails, it isn't really meant to be carried around. It's a little awkward handling it since the unit is oriented horizontally to read. It doesn't have a lanyard either.

I love the Quest in the car. The voice prompts are great.

So now, I use the Quest to get to the trailhead and the 60C on the trails.

 

:lol:

Edited by Hemlock
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I just got a <link deleted by moderator> Garmin Quest for my directionally challenged daughter.  I happened to get it for $299.  It is a little higher at the moment.

 

Three things favor the Quest, over the 60C, IMHO.  First, it comes with City Select maps.  If you buy the 60C, you have to spring for the maps to get any meaningful autorouting. City Select runs about $110 from reputable on-line retailers.

 

Second, the Quest has double the memory for maps (115MB vs. 56MB for the 60C).  Don't get me wrong.  56MB is a lot of map memory (it holds most of the Houston, Dallas, San Antonino triangle), but when it comes to memory, more is always better.

 

Finally, when used in the car, the Quest gives voice prompts, so you don't have to take your eyes off the road to see how to negotiate the upcoming turn.  The 60C will beep or whistle at you to get you to look at the detailed turn map, but voice prompts seem to me a much safer option.

 

In the interest of full disclosure, I have a 60C, but my interests were primarily hiking and geocaching.  Normally, I would never try to dissuade someone from a 60C, but since you asked, take a look at the Quest.

While what said is accurate. As owner of both the Quest and the 60C, I would go with the 60C if you are going to be out on the trails.

In the past year, I've used the Quest for both road and trail. And while it did well on the trails, it isn't really meant to be carried around. It's a little awkward handling it since the unit is oriented horizontally to read. It doesn't have a lanyard either.

I love the Quest in the car. The voice prompts are great.

So now, I use the Quest to get to the trailhead and the 60C on the trails.

 

:lol:

And most important of all, the Quest doesn't have field replaceable AA batteries.

Edited by Hemlock
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wait for the new 60CX to come out in a month or two!  They will have much better reception, and the the memory is expandable with TransFlash memory cards!

Exactly! I won't be buying a new handheld unit until I see what the new Garmins are all about. I would find it way too frustrating to spend all of that money on a GPSr with no memory card and so-so reception (not to mention a pretty funky compass), only to find out that they're releasing newer and better models within a couple of months :lol:. If you absolutely can't wait to purchase, I'd get a cheap, used Garmin to hold you over so you have the right maps when the new units are released.

 

Did I mention that Sirf III gets reception INDOORS? :D

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well, i'm not in a HUGE hurry, but i got the "gadget twitch" kickin in, from not havin a cool new toy in a good long while (not since my zire30, forever ago!).

 

the quest sounded great, until you mentioned the battery. the 60c's battery life, and field replacable AA's are a HUGE winning factor, for me.

 

i'll definitely keep an eye out (thanks to my red rider bb gun) for the 60cs.

 

thanks, so far, gang!

 

shawn

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I just got a <link deleted by moderator> Garmin Quest for my directionally challenged daughter.  I happened to get it for $299.  It is a little higher at the moment.

 

Three things favor the Quest, over the 60C, IMHO.  First, it comes with City Select maps.  If you buy the 60C, you have to spring for the maps to get any meaningful autorouting. City Select runs about $110 from reputable on-line retailers.

 

Second, the Quest has double the memory for maps (115MB vs. 56MB for the 60C).  Don't get me wrong.  56MB is a lot of map memory (it holds most of the Houston, Dallas, San Antonino triangle), but when it comes to memory, more is always better.

 

Finally, when used in the car, the Quest gives voice prompts, so you don't have to take your eyes off the road to see how to negotiate the upcoming turn.  The 60C will beep or whistle at you to get you to look at the detailed turn map, but voice prompts seem to me a much safer option.

 

In the interest of full disclosure, I have a 60C, but my interests were primarily hiking and geocaching.  Normally, I would never try to dissuade someone from a 60C, but since you asked, take a look at the Quest.

While what said is accurate. As owner of both the Quest and the 60C, I would go with the 60C if you are going to be out on the trails.

In the past year, I've used the Quest for both road and trail. And while it did well on the trails, it isn't really meant to be carried around. It's a little awkward handling it since the unit is oriented horizontally to read. It doesn't have a lanyard either.

I love the Quest in the car. The voice prompts are great.

So now, I use the Quest to get to the trailhead and the 60C on the trails.

 

:P

And most important of all, the Quest doesn't have field replaceable AA batteries.

That's true. However, after a full day of caching, I've never come close to depleting the charge. Even if the battery fails after a few years use, I'm sure they'd all (GPSr's) be technologically obsolete anyways.

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LegendC: better satellite reception (well just a little) - 60C: more memory

 

Is this really true? I have read on this forum a couple of people say this, but talking to reps in stores and others on this forum I am hearing that the 60C has much better reception than the Ledgend C. In fact at my local sporting store I was told to stay away from the Ledgend C for use in a car or in the woods. Why would some say that the Ledgend C has better reception?

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LegendC: better satellite reception (well just a little) - 60C: more memory

 

Is this really true? I have read on this forum a couple of people say this, but talking to reps in stores and others on this forum I am hearing that the 60C has much better reception than the Ledgend C. In fact at my local sporting store I was told to stay away from the Ledgend C for use in a car or in the woods. Why would some say that the Ledgend C has better reception?

Well I own both of them and use both, I do found that the legendC as a better reception but like I said "just a little" at least, that's my experience with both. As for the store telling you to stay away from the LegendC, I guess the sale person who told you that never used a GPS or all he's looking for is selling you a more expensive unit. Both units are very good units. If I was to keep only one, I wouldn't know which one I would keep. ;)

 

Edit: Never had any problems whatsoever with any of them in my car. And its in the woods that I noticed that my LegendC had a reception slightly stronger than my 60C. What can I say.....

Edited by Nomade
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They will have much better reception.....

Pray tell elaborate on this - I've always been very happy with my 60C's reception. What are they doing to improve it?

SIRF III chip. It is supposed to provide reception where the current generation does not.

While this may be the case, what is supposed to happen does not always happen in the real world. Lets not forog that all those caches that have already been placed were not place with a GPS using the SIRF III. So any improved accuracy in the SIRF III chipset is not going to mean anything when looking for a cache that was place with a GPS that may have been of by as much as 20 feet.

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LegendC: better satellite reception (well just a little) - 60C: more memory

 

Is this really true? I have read on this forum a couple of people say this, but talking to reps in stores and others on this forum I am hearing that the 60C has much better reception than the Ledgend C. In fact at my local sporting store I was told to stay away from the Ledgend C for use in a car or in the woods. Why would some say that the Ledgend C has better reception?

They are probably mistakenly assuming that the newer LegendC suffers from the same reception problems that the old black-n-white Legend has. The color eTrex models have reportedly much better reception than their older predecessors, and as is mentioned, some users report better reception than the 60's quad helix antenna's performance.

 

There are several forum members here who sell GPSrs for a living and give valuable insight to the rest of us, and they are as passionate about the units as the rest of us. Still there are many GPS "salesmen" who simply work in the store and just show up to pickup a paycheck and don't know or care to know the product. You probably talked to one at your local sporting goods store ;)

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They are probably mistakenly assuming that the newer LegendC suffers from the same reception problems that the old black-n-white Legend has.  The color eTrex models have reportedly much better reception than their older predecessors, and as is mentioned, some users report better reception than the 60's quad helix antenna's performance.

Yeah. Subjectively, my 60C averages about 5-10' lower EPE than my Legend Blue. It's most noticeable in the woods. I had always assumed that the difference was the fun-to-say quad helix antenna on the 60C, but if the color Legends have similar or better reception... what's the difference? Chipset, I assume?

 

So can I backport the chipset from the Legend C into my 60C?

 

;) for the sarcasm impaired.

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my .02 you should wait til the new garmin 60cx comes out.. i think that's what it's called...anyway the reason i say this is that i started with a yellow etrex...(which is about to be placed in a cache---> http://img.Groundspeak.com/track/57b073e6-...65848cb8db2.jpg ).. then i got the fortrex 201.. and finally the garmin 60cs... what i've found is that if you really like the sport.. you might as well get the best, that way you'll save some $$ by not buying the having to upgrade every few months...i'm currently thinking of a way to pawn off my 60cs and get a 60cx without being without my autorouting feature which i dearly love.. hummm what to do?...

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