Autorouting And Car Navigation With A 60cx

[ninjakyle]

I think I am going to get the 60cx (plus software, plus an extra storage card)

 

I like the hiking features and all, but in reality, my main reason to buy a gps is for use as I travel the US in my car.

 

Please reply with your experience.

 

It seems like the 60cx might be a bit clumsy and a pain to use (entering addresses and all).

 

The screen seems like it would be small.

 

And the lack of spoken directions and just the beep seems like a disadvantage.

 

What are yall's thoughts?

 

...Thanks in advance

[kerecsen]

It seems like the 60cx might be a bit clumsy and a pain to use (entering addresses and all).

 

The screen seems like it would be small.

 

And the lack of spoken directions and just the beep seems like a disadvantage.

 

I have driven and/or navigated through the US along both E-W and N-S axes with a 60cs (I've even done the same with an eMap before that). So it is definitely doable.

 

Given a choice, my preference would be my current PDA with the fancy-schmancy voice prompted navigation software (and, btw, your list of concerns is right on the money). That being said, I would love to have the 20 hr battery life, the ruggedness and easy operation of the 60cx too

 

I guess what I'm trying to say is that it's a tradeoff no matter which way you go. You just have to follow your mom's advice and get your priorities straight :

[+ZackJones]

While I do love the voice prompting of my Garmin 2610 you can do quite well with a GPS that only beeps at you. I have made several trips using only my GPSMap 60C. It gives you enough advance notice of upcoming turns that all you really have to do is glace at the screen to see which direction to turn. I would recommend getting a dash mount kit and you can get a cable to run it off of external power so you don't go through batteries.

[+Puddlewalkers]

I have the GPSMAP 60csx. I bought the Automotive Navigation Kit.

 

I am loving it in the car. I can move it between my work car and the family van. The bean bag mount let's me place it strategically. You can also mount permanently which I haven't tried yet. The routing / autorouting is fast and accurate. The screen is smallish but of adequate size for me and quite bright.

 

On the downside it may be difficult to put on your dash depending on the configuration of your car. You need to be careful about airbags also. Your going to have similar problems with a dedicated car unit.

 

The way I look at it, for a little cheaper than good car unit, I have a GPS that has 512Mb, that has the US and Canada maps, that routes me to anywhere very effectively, that is portable between cars, and that can be disconnected and used as a portable device for geocaching, hiking, or city exploring. The things compromised are voice and a larger screen. I am happy with the tradeoffs.

 

My next step is to load the topo maps that I can bounce to when I am hiking.

[+Bus36]

I have a 60cx. This is my first unit but I have to say I love the autorouting feature. Sure voice prompts would be nice but it does flash the turn before you get there. Then the turn comes up and you can see yourself going through the turn. I find it very efficient. Also to be able to take it outside and use it for other things is great. Guess you have to decide if you want to pay the money just for a car unit or make a few small sac. for an all around unit. I do not find the screen small at all. Also I like that fact that I can remove it from my car easily making it easier to hide from thiefs.

[rynd]

If you have to have voice prompts you can connect it to a laptop running Enroute. That will give you voice prompt and a larger display. Of course where to put the laptop can be a problem.

[GeoidPS]

I have the StreetPilot c320 and the 60cs. The 60cs is O.K., but when you are driving, you want the voice prompts. The larger screen is much easier to read, and the really nice thing that the Streetpilot does is with the POI Loader, you can enter speed trap locations and get warnings before you get there. I guess you can do that with the 60cs as waypoints with proximity alarms. You need to go to the StreetPilots 2xxx series to make custom routes, and you can do that with the 60cs. If you are a commuter stuck in traffic alot, you may want the TMX traffic option, that needs a StreetPilot.

Consider what your LONG TERM use will be and what you will be using it MOST for.

I read a review in Price Grabber from someone who bought the 60cs primarily for vehicle navigation and really slammed Garmin hard for it.

What I recommend is find all the units that have all the features you want, highlight those features you absolutely have to have, and then give each feature a rating from 1 to 10, pick the one with the most points up to the level which you wish to spend.

Everybody who owns a GPS is biased to the one they have, you need to do your own research.

[ImpalaBob]

We have 2 Map 60C units and City Select N/A. We use autorouting all the time and love it. We just got a new laptop and are going to interface using nRoute so we have voice prompts. I've used the autoroute feature driving solo and had no problems with the beep prompts. ImpalaBob

[ninjakyle]

If you have to have voice prompts you can connect it to a laptop running Enroute. That will give you voice prompt and a larger display. Of course where to put the laptop can be a problem.

 

So then, on top of getting the City Select maps, I would have to buy a cable and Enroute?

[planewood]

Your highest priority might should be to get one that your copilot can operate!

 

Maybe one with a roof mount antenna too.

 

The basemap that came with the 60cx is not very good for routing. Last night it picked a route out of Houston that would take at least an hour more travel (for me) with what it picked as the route.

 

But, if you had a copilot to do all the verbal commands and to futz with the unit, then a 60cx could work pretty well. You could also put it in your shirt pocket when you left the vehicle.

 

After trying it last night, I got to wondering if I could manually put in routes that it would use during autorouting.

[+rpminmn]

I just ordered 60cx and hopefully it will arrive today. My main purposes, in order of priority, are motorcycle riding, automobile, and finally recreational (hiking/fishing/boating).

 

I ordered through gpsdiscount.com which currently sells the 60cx with an automobile kit (city select maps/mounts/cigarette lighter adapter) for $488.

 

I was debating between the 60cx and QuestII, which contains all the entire USA/Canada and has voice prompted navigation, but doesn't have any expandable memory or a user accesible battery and only has a USB port (probably good enough these days). The 60cx has the same size screen, has expandable memory, runs on AA batteries, and both serial and USB ports. In my mind the 60cx has all the features I think I need.

 

If I was only using the GPS for the car and never needed to carry it around occasionally, then I'd probably go with something in the 26xx or 27xx series (which don't have batteries and must be run on an external power source), because of the bigger screen and voice prompts.

 

As I said, hopefully my 60cx will arrive today and I'll be able to let you know more about my vehicle navigational experiences with it soon.

 

-bob

[ImpalaBob]

If you have to have voice prompts you can connect it to a laptop running Enroute. That will give you voice prompt and a larger display. Of course where to put the laptop can be a problem.

 

So then, on top of getting the City Select maps, I would have to buy a cable and Enroute?

 

nRoute is a free download from Garmin's web page. Cable is your normal USB connection cable. ImpalaBob

[ninjakyle]

 

As I said, hopefully my 60cx will arrive today and I'll be able to let you know more about my vehicle navigational experiences with it soon.

 

-bob

 

please do

I think we are in the same situation.

I would love to hear your thoughts

[ninjakyle]

If you have to have voice prompts you can connect it to a laptop running Enroute. That will give you voice prompt and a larger display. Of course where to put the laptop can be a problem.

 

So then, on top of getting the City Select maps, I would have to buy a cable and Enroute?

 

nRoute is a free download from Garmin's web page. Cable is your normal USB connection cable. ImpalaBob

 

Thanks for the info

[Alphawolf]

If you mount it on your dash, you won't need an external antenna in most vehicles. You don't need voice prompts! They are nice, but not necessary. I did just fine for years with my Garmin V. It just beeped at you also. You glance at it, and see which way to turn and how far away. Then, it beeps again right before the turn. Not a bit of trouble.

You will need City Select for this performance.

[peter]

the really nice thing that the Streetpilot does is with the POI Loader, you can enter speed trap locations and get warnings before you get there. I guess you can do that with the 60cs as waypoints with proximity alarms.

... I read a review in Price Grabber from someone who bought the 60cs primarily for vehicle navigation and really slammed Garmin hard for it.

Actually the unit being discussed is the 60Cx and it can use the POI Loader just like your StreetPilot.

 

As to the review, it was by some guy who bought the 60cs without realizing that it didn't come with the optional detailed maps. And *then*, after not finding an unlock key to download maps, he still decides to take the brand new unit on his trip to Washington DC and rely on it to guide him from the airport to the hotel. Needless to say, it didn't do well with just the basemap.

 

I've used units with voice directions and with just the beep warnings and don't personally see much difference in convenience or effectiveness. More critical is that the maps are up-to-date and accurate. The Garmin CitySelect and CityNavigator ones seem about as good as any and better than some.

Edited March 16, 2006 by peter

[kb9nvh]

SO, with enroute you dont need a serial connectin...just the one usb connection??? that will even power the gps..correct?

 

If you have to have voice prompts you can connect it to a laptop running Enroute. That will give you voice prompt and a larger display. Of course where to put the laptop can be a problem.

 

So then, on top of getting the City Select maps, I would have to buy a cable and Enroute?

 

nRoute is a free download from Garmin's web page. Cable is your normal USB connection cable. ImpalaBob

[ImpalaBob]

Yes ... and if you want wireless ..... this adapter will power the unit and enable bluetooth communication between the GPS and a Bluetooth enabled laptop or PDA. I've got to get one of these! ImpalaBob

[+Wild Thing 73]

For 100 bucks you can buy Delorme Street Atlas: includes map program disks (2) and

GPS receiver. Of course you need a laptop to operate the map system & gps....I have been using delorme street atla for years in my RV.....it is great

good luck, Guy Goto: www.delorme.com

 

It would help to have a 300 watt inverter to plug into cig liter to change dc to ac. This system I use for my auto, if needed...

Edited March 16, 2006 by Wild Thing 73

[+NorthFaceHiker]

I have a 60CSx with the City Nav and I absolutely love it. It's true that there's no voice nav, but I acutally prefer it that way (I think I'm in the minority here, but that's ok by me.)

 

The screen is bright and is plenty large for me, especially compared to my old SporTrak. Being in color is definitely a big help too. Unlike my Magellan, it has intelligent routing so that if it tells you to turn right in 50 feet but the turn is actually 48, it "understands" that you made the correct turn and keeps routing properly. The software I had for my magellan would futz up at times and not realize that I made the proper turn, thereby trying either to reroute me or beeping at me saying I was off course.

 

I wanted a hand-held gps that was portable and easy to use while driving. Additionally, for the cigarette lighter adapter, I cut off the plug-end and hard-wired it into my vehicle. Works like a charm just like the old one for my magellan. I used to leave my Magellan in my truck and on at all times and it of course never wore down the battery (it's not using that much electricity as you can imagine), even during the times when I'd be traveling and out of town for a few days.

 

It of course boils down to what all you want it to be used for. Mine will be 50/50 for auto use as well as for geocaching, so my unit perfectly fit my personal needs.

 

Good luck in making your decision!

[HokieBird]

I echo alot of NorthFaceHiker's comments. The 60CSx strikes a nice balance between ruggedness, portability, and features. The auto-routing works very well and I don't miss having voice prompts. I find the visuals and the beeps to be plenty sufficient for my needs. I would, however, like the beeps to be a bit louder.

[+rpminmn]

As I said, hopefully my 60cx will arrive today and I'll be able to let you know more about my vehicle navigational experiences with it soon.

 

-bob

please do

I think we are in the same situation.

I would love to hear your thoughts

 

I received my new 60Cx yesterday and having been playing with it a bit. I bought it with an Auto Value Package that included City Select v7. Having never used a GPSr before I really didn't know what to expect in terms of usability and ease of navigation. But so far, based on my limited experience, I have to say this thing's a keeper!

 

I had a 256MB microSD card from my phone that wasn't getting much use, so I replaced the 64MB card that came with the unit with the bigger card. I was able to load a big chunk of the midwest onto that, including all of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, North and South Dakota, Nebraska and big chunks of Wyoming, Montana, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, and Michigan, and parts of Ontario and Manitoba. I have about 30MB space left on the card. I'll probably get a 1GB card when they become readily available, but I'm in no rush.

 

Entering addresses takes a bit getting used to, as well as figuring out how to enter and route to waypoints, but I'm getting the hang of it. I was initially concerned about the screen size, but it's works well, even for these 50 yr old eyes. I got a kick out of being able to find all the gas stations or restaurants that are nearby!

 

The routing routines are done well and it was easy to follow while driving. There are large text prompts that tell you what to look for at the top of the map, as well as the audible beeps as you're approaching the turns. One nice thing I thought was cool was that the route from where you are to your next turn stays in view, and as you get closer the turn the view zooms in closer to fill the display. Kinda hard to explain, but it was a nice indicator of how far you are to the next turn.

 

I also like how I can set the preferences to avoid highways and gravel roads for auto-routing which will come in handy when taking motorcycle trips (my primary use).

 

As far as a navigational tool in the car or bike, I can see this unit will be very useful.

 

I only wish there was a volume control on the beeps. I was able to figure out that you can assign a different beep tone, and there were a couple that sounded like loud ringers (tones 8 and 15) that I've been trying and that helps a lot. But still, a volume control would be helpful, especially when the radio is playing.

 

Lastly, I'm a little concerned about the way the microSD cards are held in place. I wonder if it won't get jarred loose from the vibrations of my motorcycle. I've read a couple of reports of that and having looked at it, I can see how it could happen. I guess time will tell.

 

This thing has a lot of options and I have nowhere close to explored everything it can do. But I'm already thinking of the possibilities. Like I said, it's a keeper.

 

-bob

[ninjakyle]

I would, however, like the beeps to be a bit louder.

 

I was wondering if it was plenty loud if I have a noisy car and am going fast, will I miss some beeps?

[ninjakyle]

rpminmn

 

Thanks for the review

 

I think I am going to get the exact same package you got . . . plus an extra microsd card

 

let the fun begin

[+Captain Gore-tex]

I've been using it to navigate round some really complicated country lanes and have found it excellent. I usually use a tomtom on the PDA but have found the 60CSx fast and accurate and easy to follow.

[+rpminmn]

rpminmn

 

Thanks for the review

 

I think I am going to get the exact same package you got . . . plus an extra microsd card

 

let the fun begin

 

Glad I could help. I think you'll be pleased!

 

One thing I forgot to mention was something that bit me while trying to learn to enter an address. This is a newbie thing, as I mentioned I haven't had any prior experience with any brand of GPSr.

 

There are several separate fields to fill in for an address: city, street number, and street. After those are filled correctly, there's one more field that contains the full address if the software found it. At this point I couldn't figure out what to do next (I didn't have the manual with me). I tried hitting enter again, or the find button, or the mark button, but they all did different things and I sometimes had to start over. What I eventually figured out that was that I had to hit the rocker arrow down one more time to select the address it found, and then hit enter. After that it all made sense.

 

The last bit didn't make sense to me when it just found one address, but it does when you pick a street address like 123 4th.

What shows up are addresses like 123 4th Ave S, 123 4th Ave N, 123 4th St E, and 123 4th St W

The first two will display in the field and you have to scroll to see the others, and then select the one you want to use. So you need to go through the list if found to verify it knows what you're looking for. Now that I know, it's easy to enter addresses.

 

Hope that make sense...

 

Bob

[HokieBird]

rpminmn

 

Thanks for the review

 

I think I am going to get the exact same package you got . . . plus an extra microsd card

 

let the fun begin

 

The last bit didn't make sense to me when it just found one address, but it does when you pick a street address like 123 4th.

What shows up are addresses like 123 4th Ave S, 123 4th Ave N, 123 4th St E, and 123 4th St W

The first two will display in the field and you have to scroll to see the others, and then select the one you want to use. So you need to go through the list if found to verify it knows what you're looking for. Now that I know, it's easy to enter addresses.

 

Hope that make sense...

 

Bob

 

I did the exact same thing - entered and address and lost it the same way as you! Again, I didn't have the manual either but figured it out the next time.

 

EDIT: for typo

Edited March 16, 2006 by HokieBird

[HokieBird]

I would, however, like the beeps to be a bit louder.

 

I was wondering if it was plenty loud if I have a noisy car and am going fast, will I miss some beeps?

 

Ninjakyle - I wouldn't really describe the beep as plenty loud. If I don't have the radio on, you can hear it above regular car noise, even at higher speeds. However, it's more difficult, if not impossible, with the radio blasting. I find that when I am routing in unfamiliar areas, I tend to concentrate on the unit more and am more aware of it (and probably have the radio much lower). So just be aware that the beep is low and you'll be fine. Also, it can display the estimate time and distance until the next turn (and you can preview all turns in the calculated route too), so you'll have some sense as to when the next turn is (e.g., in 2 minutes or 20 minutes). So if you have your wits about you, it works fine. Would it be nice to have a louder beep? Of course. But it's adequate the way it is.

[k1w1t1m]

Of course if you miss your turn it will beep and recalculate and that is hard to miss.

[peter]

I was wondering if it was plenty loud if I have a noisy car and am going fast, will I miss some beeps?

You might if you were counting on just hearing the beep and otherwise ignoring the display. But an occasional glance at the "Dist. to Next Turn" field should be letting you know when to expect that beep and then it's easy enough to hear.

[ninjakyle]

Excellent

 

Thanks everyone for the tips and feedback. This forum has been a HUGE help.