Jump to content

Garmin 60csx Observations


Didjerrydo

Recommended Posts

I have been the "GPS Guy" at a large local outdoor outfitter now for over 15 years. We sell only Garmin since we just feel they make better products and are a great company to deal with business-wise. Doing this job here, naturally, I always purchase the newest, latest, coolest new unit as Garmin cranks them out. So a couple of days ago when the first 60CSx units came through the door, I immediately grabbed one for myself. My previous unit was a 60CS (a nice unit itself!).

I just thought I'd post a few observations here that I've discovered so far, any hopefully get some agreements or disagreements as other 60CSx users read this and make their own observations:

 

1. My first impression was a somewhat "dumbed-down" appearance to the menu icons, more like those used in the color eTrex units instead of the nicer looking ones as in my previous 60CS. Wonder why?

 

2. For some reason the 60CS's alarm clock function has disappeared in the new 60CSx. I found this pretty darned useful maybe this will return via an update?

 

3. There's no icon or any type of menu item pertinent to, or giving any mention of, the miniSD (or is that TransFlash) card in use. This would be helpful. At least sort of a "gas guage" of used and available memory. A formatting utility would be handy here also.

 

4. Signal acquisition is pretty remarkable though I must admit. Although it wouldn't locate indoors where I work, (concrete ceiling) I was able to get it located quickly outside (11 sats, 10 @ max signal with 11 foot accuracy!), then walk back inside and hold position anywhere within the store. And it kept its fix as long as the unit was turned on.

 

5. I am noticing a strange little "wandering about" of the position icon (like back in the old SA days) when zoomed in to the 20 or 30 foot screen. I never noticed this with my previous unit. Wonder if this is the unit or something the signal itself?

 

6. I wish they had included a "lithium" setting for the battery type menu item. I would assume many GPS users out there are using the new much lighter and more efficient lithium AA's. This surely would have been helpful.

 

7. I've begged and begged Garmin in the past to give the stop watch function a multiple lap memory so that one could utilize it as a truly useful stop watch by recalling several lap times after finishing with whatever you're timing. I see this suggestion has still gone nowhere in the new 60Csx though!

 

This morning I took the 60CSx for a 5 mile walk and used it as my timer/pedometer etc. I zeroed out the trip computer just prior to the walk and kept the unit in my coat pocket for the entire 1hour 20 minute walk.

The walk involved some canopy (conifers) and varying terrain. After finishing the non-stop walk, the unit showed zero stopped time telling me that it had maintained position fix the entire period. Most of the time it was showing 12 sats, 11 of which were at full signal strength! I was a little disappointed that with this situation it didn't maintain any tighter accuracy than 11 or 12 feet which it seemed to constantly display?

 

Please give me any feedback whatsoever that any of you guys are experiencing.

Edited by Didjerrydo
Link to comment
We sell only Garmin since we just feel they make better products and are a great company to deal with business-wise.

 

I have delt with Garmin, Magellan and Lowrance as a dealer. As a matter of fact I was seeling gps products durring the first gulf war. I have had niothing but good experiance dealing with them. So your statemant about Garmin being the best company to deal with as a dealer is not based on any real facts the you have experianced.

 

We sell only Garmin since we just feel they make better products

 

Well unless you have used Magellan and Lowrance, you really do not know what your are talking about when you say Garmin makes a better product.

I have used both in the field.

 

I have been to outdoors stores that have stocked Magellan and Garmin GPS products. When I ask the employees about a Magellan they say that Garmin is better, when I ask what makes Garmin better they cannot answere. THen when I pick up one of the Magellans and show then things that the Garmins will not do they are very surprised.

 

Magellans have alway outperfomed Garmin under tree cover

 

Magellans that have a magnetic compass have a Traixial compass (Exept the 600), the Garmins do not and must be held level to work, unlike the magellans.

 

WIth a magellan Meridian and explorst 400, 500, or 600 and the XL you can load maps and wayppoints to the memory card, you cannnot do this with the X series from Garmin

 

Lets not forget Magellan has offered the SD card slot for memory expansion over three years now. OF cousrse had the old e-map that had expandle memory, but it use and over priced proprietary card and the gps was a sales failure.

 

Then Magellan has a file system in their GPSr that allow the creation of waypoint/cache files. Garmin does nothing like this

 

And lets not forget that with a the uses an SD card you can have an unlimited number of waypoints stored, You can do this with a Garmin.

 

I think you need to learn more about GPS products than what your employer is telling you.

Link to comment

Hey man, I'm merely making a comment here! I HAVE dealt with both companies as well as unit features, chill out! I can point out as many pluses Garmin has over Magellan if I wanted to take the time to do so. All I'm asking here is questions about the Garmin 60CSx and trying to get feedback. What's your problem with taking such an attitude about defending Magellan?

Link to comment

Here is my 60CSx experience and feelings as compared to my 60CS:

 

1. I just noticed the alarm clock function missing too! That was handy on my 60CS, especially when traveling. I'm with you in hoping Garmin makes this possible in a future update.

 

2. The satellite lock is amazing. I'm able to keep a lock deep inside the house and also in the basement. The old 60CS would drop out if I wasn't near a window.

 

3. I've noticed the continuous shifting of the current position indicator too. I downloaded the tracks to Mapsource just for fun and the tracks plotted same way. In other words, the tracks on the map were all over the place too. I wonder if this has to do with the increased sensitivity??

 

4. I miss the old icons too. I mean these are ok but the others looked more professional.

 

5. The 60CSx and GSAK do not appear to enjoy each others company. I've not been able to get the two to communicate yet. I think this has been posted on the GSAK's forum. EDITED: Clyde has a great workaround available! GSAK rocks as usual.

 

6. The USB port provides power to the unit. I like that.

 

7. So far, I've not been able to get accuracy below 17 feet. This might improve when all the local cloud cover moves out.

Edited by rescue3
Link to comment

best sensitivety i have got was 14 feet.. thats not to bad but yesterday iwas always 20 feet off from my cahces which my old venture never was so far off. i will take them both out today nad use them hoping for better results. I turned the compass to magnetic hope it works..

 

seeing how i never had a 60cs i dont have to worry bout the alarm clock but that would be cool!

Link to comment

I have the Map60C, but not any X model yet.

 

I have heard alot of good preliminary stuff about the X-models, but I am disapointed in the loss of the ALARM CLOCK, that I use on my Map60C.

Much of what I would use a Map60Cx for would be Fitness Exercise, and accurate plotting of Trails, for download to the PC.

 

I have been thinking of getting either an Explorist 500, Explorist XL, Map76Cx, or Map60Cx.

 

I cannot do Physical Fitness Exercise with a Magellan, except a hike, and I cannot do Data Storage of FILES on a handheld Garmin GPS.

 

I use a GPS mainly for Fitness, but also mapping and autorouting.

The Map60C of mine will track as im Jogging, but occationally I get a bad signal sometimes, that causes a big spur in my Tracklog, so im wondering if the SiRF Map60Cx would cut down on the spurs from appearing in my Tracklogs??

 

As an electronic file cabinate, for large storage of POI, Maps, and Tracklogs, there is no better GPS, than an Explorist GPS like a 500 or XL, but my use is in Physical Fitness, and no other GPS covers this plus autorouting, than my trusty Map60C GPS.

 

I have had many Magellans and Garmins, and use them more for Fitness than anything else, and I find it disappointing that I cannot have an Explorist with Elapsed Timer, Time Stopped, Moving Average Speed, and the other data fields that would help with Running and Jogging.

 

Im going to keep the Map60C, that fits well in the hand while I'm Jogging, and just use TopoFusion for all my Exercising needs. An alternative, is to have An Explorist 500 and the Garmin ForeRunner 305, and I can use them at the same time, like the ForeRunner 305 on the left wrist, and the Exp. 500 in the right hand.

 

To cover all the bases would require me to have both a Map60C and an Explorist 500 GPS, or the ForeRunner 305 in place of the Map60C.

 

-

Geoff

 

PS - There will be improvements over time with the X-Models, just like there was a long awaited Firmware Upgrade for the explorists, that became available just before Christmass 2005.

 

Edit: misspelling

Edited by GOT GPS?
Link to comment

I took my new 60csx out today for a 3 mile hike to see what kind of new features i could find out about it.

 

First off, i love how the satalites grabbed reception in just a few seconds. Also, the best part was i was able to hook it to my belt, and cover it over with my fleece and still get reception. Before, i had to always have the antenna exposed to the sky with my 60cs.

 

The icons, i am not too happy about, they look like icons you'd find on a gps from Toys R Us.

 

I like how the letters turn from capital letters to smaller case letters when typing.

 

I realized that that reception was never less than +- 14 feet. Other than it was like 22 feet accuracy. Far worse than my 60cs which would get down to 3-4 feet accuracy.

 

I think i noticed a few more games too. goodie.

 

I am going to be ticked if this thing doesn't connect with gsak easily. That will be a bummer.

 

Also, the SD card only actually holds 59.4mb memory (i think) , instead of the 64 as advertised.

 

More reviews to come as i use it more often.

Link to comment

Hopefully we can put together a list of improvements needed in the future for the CSX, and email to Garmin to implement in future firmware update.

 

1. Upgrade Icons graphics (Old Icons Were Fine)

 

2. Add Alarm Clock Function

 

3. Transflash Memory Icon (Information Page - Gauge)

 

4. Fix Wander Position Icon

 

5. Add Ablity To Load Maps And Wayppoints To Transflash Memory Card

 

FWD: Garmin

Link to comment

Concerning this, #5 item,:

 

5. Add Ability To Load Maps And Wayppoints To Transflash Memory Card

 

I was able to download MapSource City Navigator maps directly to a Sandisk 512 TF card that was placed directly into my computer's SD reader slot (using an adapter). I don't know about the waypoint issue, I assumed those are stored directly in the GPS unit's internal memory only?

Link to comment

We made a list like this with about twenty items. This was posted by 10-15 people to Garmin. They did not add any of it.

 

Like smaler "data fields" like on the 76S

Posiblility to have 3 filed side by side like 76S

 

Tranparant "data fields"

 

The possibly the remove the top bar at the map page, to see more of the map

+++++

Link to comment
I realized that that reception was never less than +- 14 feet.  Other than it was like 22 feet accuracy.  Far worse than my 60cs which would get down to 3-4 feet accuracy.

I wonder if that's the downside to increased sensitivity? Someone once claimed that the lack of sensitivity was a feature - to prevent the unit from picking up reflected (weaker) signals that would cause an erronious reading.

 

Then again, it might just be a different way of calculating probable error. With the two units side by side, is it really giving a different position or just assigning a different confidence level?

Edited by GeckoGeek
Link to comment
I realized that that reception was never less than +- 14 feet.  Other than it was like 22 feet accuracy.  Far worse than my 60cs which would get down to 3-4 feet accuracy.

Are you sure about that? I had the Garmin 60CS for almost two years

(sold two months ago), and I never got accuracy better then 12-14 feet.

 

I think you confusing between feet and meters...

 

Batnun

Link to comment
5. I am noticing a strange little "wandering about" of the position icon (like back in the old SA days) when zoomed in to the 20 or 30 foot screen. I never noticed this with my previous unit. Wonder if this is the unit or something the signal itself?

 

I have also noticed this on my Explorist 600 (with software upgrade). In a worst-case scenario, it will sometimes take off on a "trip" by itself. Seems to occur when it is down to a lock on only two satelites. Last night as it was sitting by the window, it took off on a journey at 400 mph, in a westward direction in the Pacific ocean. I had to shut it down and re-start to get it back to reality. This has happened twice now. I have ordered the new Garmin 60csx, and I will compare the two under various conditions.

Link to comment
I realized that that reception was never less than +- 14 feet.  Other than it was like 22 feet accuracy.  Far worse than my 60cs which would get down to 3-4 feet accuracy.

Are you sure about that? I had the Garmin 60CS for almost two years

(sold two months ago), and I never got accuracy better then 12-14 feet.

 

I think you confusing between feet and meters...

 

Batnun

I've had my 60C's E.P.E. down to 6 FEET (2 meters) on numerous occasions. It happens when I have a lock on lots of sats, getting WAAS corrections on them and have had the lock for about 15 minutes or so.

Link to comment
I realized that that reception was never less than +- 14 feet.  Other than it was like 22 feet accuracy.  Far worse than my 60cs which would get down to 3-4 feet accuracy.

Are you sure about that? I had the Garmin 60CS for almost two years

(sold two months ago), and I never got accuracy better then 12-14 feet.

 

I think you confusing between feet and meters...

 

Batnun

I've had my 60C's E.P.E. down to 6 FEET (2 meters) on numerous occasions. It happens when I have a lock on lots of sats, getting WAAS corrections on them and have had the lock for about 15 minutes or so.

I'm with Neo_Geo 100% on this! I've had my 60C's E.P.E. down to 6 FEET (2 meters) on numerous occasions as well. As a matter of fact, I've had my 60C since Feb '04 and routinely get a 6 foot EPE when I have a WAAS sv35 lock in upstate NY. This is under ideal clear horizon conditions I admit, but it is a common occurance for me.

 

Here's a typical sample photo of my Map 60C in action.

 

Map60C_6footWAAS_shot.jpg

Link to comment

Just took my 60csx outside to see what kind of accuracy i could get in the clear blue skies of Northeastern PA. in just a few seconds, it got down to +-10 foot accuracy. I waited about a minute and it wasn't getting any better, but wasn't getting any worse. I had 7 sats locked on, and one was at half power, and one at quarter power. Didn't notice if 35 was locked on or not.

 

The descriptions of these units say they are "accurate to within 3 meters". So does this mean that i shouldn't expect it to get less than 9 feet accuracy? i'll take 9 feet accuracy any day.

 

What i like about the 60csx is that it gets sat reception much easier. I'll take 15 foot accuracy on a beautiful day with no leaves on the trees and open skies, as long as it keeps like 20 foot accuracy under deep tree cover and on cloudy days. it kept 25 foot accuracy under my fleece jacket. I'll accept that.

 

Now get me a 2 gig card for it!

Link to comment

There seems to be some limitation as to how many maps can be included in a 'mapset' in MapSource. I purchased a 512MB microSD and I tried including BC, Alberta, and Saskatchewan in one 'mapset' using TopoCanada. It would have included 1729 maps utilizing 463MB of memory. I got an error message indicating that I had 679 too many maps. Doing the math, the magic number seem to be 1050 maps maximum in a 'mapset'. Through some experimentation, I have confirmed that 1050 maps is the maximum.

Link to comment
Why dont these things have a temperature sensor in them!?

They do - its used by the unit to calibrate its internal oscillator so the timing has sufficient precision for a proper position calculation. However since the purpose is to measure the temperature of the oscillator the sensor is located well inside the unit and wouldn't give accurate indications of external temperature.

 

If you have a need for accurate temperature readings it's generally best to use a separate device so you can appropriately locate it out of direct sunshine, out in the ambient air, and away from body heat.

Link to comment
I pulled the csx out this morning...took it to the gym and left it in the car to archive. When I got out 45 mins later..I had 6 ft accuracy! I think they just need time to acclamate.

Thats good to know about your accuracy, that you got on the new Map60CSx unit.

The minimum time to properly aquire the full Almanac of Satellites, into your GPS unit, I believe is 12 and a half minutes. This Almanac contains the health of the GPS satellites, and the orbital data of the satellites. To get the full almanac, depending on when you fired up the GPS unit, it may take up to 25 minutes, but you can see improvement usually within 15 to 20 minutes. This is especially true, if you avoid moving around during the initial aquiring of the Almanac, before heading out.

 

When there are Errors in the loaded Almanac in your GPS, the GPS can incorrectly compute your position, based on faulty data. The GPS needs to know the precise orbital Altitude of the sats, the direction the satellites are moving, and the speed they are moving. If it gets any of these orbital parameters wrong, it can cause you to have errors in your POSITION, and of course tracklog.

 

The new x-model GPS units should be better at giving you a better LOCK, even if there are errors in the Almanac, compared to Garmins older Recievers, like in the older GPS V units. The tracklogs were even worse in my GPS IIIplus I had, which had an even older Reciever chip in it.

 

-

Geoff

 

PS - The above info may not be perfect, but it's what I know.

Edited by GOT GPS?
Link to comment

I've got an Idea to test your new GPS 60CSx/60Cx GPS units.

 

1. Take your older GPS out on a winding trail, and hike out about a half mile or so, then return back down the same trail, in order to double up your Tracklog.

 

2. Take your new GPS 60CSx/60Cx GPS unit, then hike down the very same trail, then turn around at the very spot you did with the first GPS unit, then back the same way you went.

 

- Compare these 2 Tracklogs back at your computer, to see where you got the most deviations in your tracklogs.

 

If you can try this experiment, THANKS

 

-

 

EXTRA CREDIT Assignment:

Go down a very straight path, like a sidewalk, with both GPS units, then turn back and walk back to your starting point. This will test the GPS units tendency to wander. Also if you can post a picture from a screen capture on your PCs Desktop.

 

-

Geoff

Edited by GOT GPS?
Link to comment
I see this unit has the connection [for an external antenna], but would there ever be a reason to use it?

 

(I am assuming that when you plug in the external, it shuts off the internal).

The main reason for using an external antenna is that it's frequently more convenient or practical to put the separate antenna in a location where it gets the best direct line-of-sight reception from the satellites. Even if the internal antenna were always sufficient to retain a solid lock, it'll more frequently be getting indirect or reflected signals which have a detrimental effect on accuracy.

 

And yes, when the unit senses the current draw from an external antenna it switches off the internal one. Otherwise the signals from the two might interfere with each other.

Link to comment
The main reason for using an external antenna is that it's frequently more convenient or practical to put the separate antenna in a location where it gets the best direct line-of-sight reception from the satellites.

Let's not forget that the human body also blocks the signal, so you're doing your GPS no favors by carrying it. An external antenna on the top of your hat will help it see as much sky as possible.

 

Likewise it's helpful if you've got a car with metal tint that doesn't let the signal into the car.

Link to comment
looks like I will stay with my 60cs, doesnt seem to do much more...Good now I dont feel left out in the dark with an old unit!!!

That's the way I feel. I think I'll ultimately get one of the x units, but I'll wait for some firmware updates and give the 3rd party software guys some time to catch up - hopefully the price will go down too. I do thonk they'll end up being fantastic. I can't imagine caching without GSAK no matter how good the GPSr accuracy or memory.

Link to comment
I have a question about the external antenna.  If you hook one up to a CSx, will the Sirf chip still be used to determine your location, or will the external antenna do everything.

The external antenna is just feeding the RF signal into the same processor (the Sirf chip) but from a different source. So yes, it's still the Sirf chip. The only difference is the position being reported will be the position of the antenna, not the position of your handheld.

 

There is such a thing as a "smart antenna" where the processing is in the antenna and feeds out position data like NMEA strings (think of it as a GPSr with no display). But that's not what would be happening in your case.

Link to comment
Had my 60csx out today as well the best accuracy I can get is 10-12 feet.  With my 60cs I had accuracy of 2-3 feet most of the time. I was just wondering perhaps that may have been a false accuracy.  With the new sat. rec. perhaps this accuracy is closer even thou it is reading 10-12 feet

As I said, I never got accuracy better then 12-14 feet with my 60CS, but thats in Europe -

Usually you can't get EGNOS signal here (at least with Garmin).

 

Anyway, accurancy of 2-3 feet seems wrong to me - thats 60cm accuracy!

Thats much better then Garmin's specs!

 

Batnun

Edited by Batnun
Link to comment

I like the new icons! They look more like the ones on the Palm or Windows mobile. It's more graphical. Perhaps they're trying to make it more attrative to women? Don't ask me how I thought of that when I'm a man! :)

 

BTW, I've NEVER had below 10 ft accuracy on my 60CS. You guys make it seem that I have a problem with mine when the specs say to expect accuracy no where near below 10ft.

Edited by jcc123
Link to comment
Had my 60csx out today as well the best accuracy I can get is 10-12 feet.  With my 60cs I had accuracy of 2-3 feet most of the time. I was just wondering perhaps that may have been a false accuracy.  With the new sat. rec. perhaps this accuracy is closer even thou it is reading 10-12 feet

If you want a real test of its accuracy, take both of your GPSrs and compare their readings against a "control point" such as a USGS bench mark that has adjusted coordinates listed. I have seen my 60C w/WAAS enabled show an indicated EPE of +/-6 feet to +/-10 feet and still hit the bench mark coords spot-on. I wouldn't take too much stock in the estimated position accuracy- give it a true field test. I hope to receive my 60CX later this week and I'll report my experiences after I've been out surveying. I always carry my Garmins while using the Trimble RTK units.

Link to comment
There seems to be some limitation as to how many maps can be included in a 'mapset' in MapSource. I purchased a 512MB microSD and I tried including BC, Alberta, and Saskatchewan in one 'mapset' using TopoCanada. It would have included 1729 maps utilizing 463MB of memory. I got an error message indicating that I had 679 too many maps. Doing the math, the magic number seem to be 1050 maps maximum in a 'mapset'. Through some experimentation, I have confirmed that 1050 maps is the maximum.

That may be a problem with Topo maps, but I selected over 1,000MB of City Select maps (The entire Eastern U.S. from Montana/North Dakota border and everything S.E. of there). It came up with only just a little over 700 map segments. Interesting how NOW you want to have map segments with some meat on their bones... :)

 

can someone take a pic of the icons...  i don't have one yet but I may get one for my birthday.. now that I don't have to pay for a clutch.. i have alittle more $$ to play with!  infact.. if you can.. take pics of different screens.. thanks..

I'd like to see what is different about the icons too. :D

I could live with the icons - that's a minor "deal with it" issue to me. It does concern me however, that they took away the alarm clock. That was one of the best extra features integrated into the C series units.

 

I pulled this from the MANUAL

 

9046e898-c420-4deb-a47d-76fb1ea04665.jpg

Edited by Neo_Geo
Link to comment

Oh, I wouldn't worry about the 4 ft thing - Like I said, I've only seen it a couple of times myself - I'm usually 12-25ft when I'm getting a 'good' lock. And the odd 4' readings I've had didn't help me find the cache faster. Like I (and some other people) said elsewhere I think) - I don't think super accurate receivers are gonna make any difference for caching until the have been a lot of caches PLACED with really accurate coordinates. It would be cool to have that kind of accuracy hunting for benchmarks it seems like...

Link to comment

I received my new Map60cx a few days back and have run a few "unscientific" tests. The 60cx does maintain a fix in our basement regardless of where I stand but the tracks can wander as much as 100 feet. This is still good news because as long as you have a fix you can plot a course. Before leaving the basement I stuffed the 60cx into my pack sack (wrapped up in my clothes) and rode to work. A fairly accurate track was recorded (no fade outs or spikes) until I rode into the underground parking garage at work. In our office building we compared the reception of a GPSMap60 with the 60cx. I got a weak lock with the 60cx and the GPSMap60 got nothing. We tried an external antennae on both units and the results were the same - no lock for the GPSMap60 and a no change for the GPSMap60cx (still maintained the same weak lock).

 

I went geocaching on the weekend in heavy wet tree cover (Douglas fir) and I was really impressed with the 60cx. I bought the unit with the hope that it would "track" well in heavy cover (fishing, hiking) and this unit is amazing! I had the unit in my pocket much of the time (over several hours) and never missed a track. My sons have Magellan's and they tracked very well too (I overlayed the tracks when we got home) but they had a few (minor) spikes that didn't show on the 60cx track. They did however, have to keep their units in their hands to keep the signal. This is an important difference to me since sometimes you need both hands when you are hiking in rougher areas and I want to be able to toss mine into my pocket or pack without losing the lock. My previous unit was an etrex and it wouldn't have given me results anywhere near this good.

 

By-the-way -- for the cachers... the final score was a tie! We all found two caches each! :)

Link to comment

I don't know how fast the old 60cs was, but my new 60cx redraws maps WAY faster than my old Legend. And the satellite acquisition is so much better! I was in Yosemite this weekend, and while I didn't have a chance to go after any caches (I was with a big group), I had a lock on satellites all the time - in a bus between the big rock walls, inside various buildings, etc. The only time I lost the lock was in the middle of a rock tunnel that's probably a tenth of a mile long.

 

One thing I'm wondering about, though. I had both topo and metroguide maps loaded into my 60cx. With that much memory (the 64M card that came with it), I was able to load most of northern CA from both topo and metroguide, which were dozens of separate map segments. When I wanted to turn off the metroguide, I had to scroll through all those map segments to get the to the one I wanted to uncheck it. Is there a faster way to switch between maps that anyone knows about?

Link to comment
I've got an Idea to test your new GPS 60CSx/60Cx GPS units.

 

1. Take your older GPS out on a winding trail, and hike out about a half mile or so, then return back down the same trail, in order to double up your Tracklog.

 

2. Take your new GPS 60CSx/60Cx GPS unit, then hike down the very same trail, then turn around at the very spot you did with the first GPS unit, then back the same way you went.

 

- Compare these 2 Tracklogs back at your computer, to see where you got the most deviations in your tracklogs.

 

If you can try this experiment, THANKS

 

-

 

EXTRA CREDIT Assignment:

Go down a very straight path, like a sidewalk, with both GPS units, then turn back and walk back to your starting point. This will test the GPS units tendency to wander. Also if you can post a picture from a screen capture on your PCs Desktop.

 

-

Geoff

I will do this test, as soon as I receive my 60CX, and I can devote a little time. Most likely by the weekend. I also use my 60C to record hiking and biking tracklogs so it will be my pleasure to conduct this good idea of a field test.

Link to comment
One thing I'm wondering about, though.  I had both topo and metroguide maps loaded into my 60cx.  With that much memory (the 64M card that came with it), I was able to load most of northern CA from both topo and metroguide, which were dozens of separate map segments.  When I wanted to turn off the metroguide, I had to scroll through all those map segments to get the to the one I wanted to uncheck it.  Is there a faster way to switch between maps that anyone knows about?

Yes, there is a faster way to switch between map sets. Check out this Map 60C (and others) FAQs regarding Loading Garmin Maps and read Item #9. Pretty slick to have this capability.

Link to comment
I realized that that reception was never less than +- 14 feet.  Other than it was like 22 feet accuracy.  Far worse than my 60cs which would get down to 3-4 feet accuracy.

Are you sure about that? I had the Garmin 60CS for almost two years

(sold two months ago), and I never got accuracy better then 12-14 feet.

 

I think you confusing between feet and meters...

 

Batnun

I've had my 60C's E.P.E. down to 6 FEET (2 meters) on numerous occasions. It happens when I have a lock on lots of sats, getting WAAS corrections on them and have had the lock for about 15 minutes or so.

I'm with Neo_Geo 100% on this! I've had my 60C's E.P.E. down to 6 FEET (2 meters) on numerous occasions as well. As a matter of fact, I've had my 60C since Feb '04 and routinely get a 6 foot EPE when I have a WAAS sv35 lock in upstate NY. This is under ideal clear horizon conditions I admit, but it is a common occurance for me.

 

Here's a typical sample photo of my Map 60C in action.

 

Map60C_6footWAAS_shot.jpg

On top the Albany Medical Center - right?

Link to comment

I had my 60csx out today and all i have to say is the accuracy is 10-11 feet is good enough for me. How quickly it acquired satalites was amazing. also, today was foggy, and you couldn't even see the blue sky and it still had 10-11 foot accuracy.

 

Garmins website says this unit is capable of getting 3 meters accuracy. 10-11 feet. there's the 3 meters.

 

I'm a happy camper.

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...