Newbie with a basic question

[raghornhc]

Well, first off I want to thank the many posters on this board that provided me with a wealth of information. I lurked for several months and finally purchased a Garmin 60 CSX. All I can say is wow! This thing is incredible. I have read the manual (most of it) and played with it a week or so. I only have the GPSr, no addition maps yet - but the accuracy and capability is unbelievable!

 

I have software version 3.00 and GPS SW version 2.8. Web updater says I am current and I must say most of the minor 'bugs' mentioned here do not seem to affect my unit. (I noticed the battery contacts have black foam factory installed).

 

Ok, enough gushing about my new toy!!

 

Question, if I am going to use the base map for driving, under the Routing Menu, guidance method, should I select "follow road". Conversly, when I leave the car (hiking), should I select "off road". Same question for the "Map" page, should I use Lock on Road = on for driving, off for hiking?

 

The manual does a great job explaing what settings are available, just not what to use when

Edited September 28, 2006 by raghornhc

[ALPINE-X]

Congratulations on your purchase of a GPSr. You now have no excuse for getting lost....

 

I have an older Garmin Emap, but you are on the right track with locking onto roads. When in the car (and not off-roading) I set it to lock to roads, as this will keep you on the most likely road you are traveling on, even if the accuracy of your location is off by a little bit.

Once out of the car (or off-roading) I turn lock to roads off, as it will cause your location to jump around if there are any roads in the area you are walking in.

Also, get used to checking your position accuracy when getting close to a cache location. If your accuracy is more than normal (20 feet), try walking to and from the cache location a few times from different directions, as this will often give you a better position. An alternate way is to use the 'averaging' feature of your unit ( I assume it has this, check your manual) . Another trick is to try rotating your GPSr around slowly to allow it to pick up different satalite signals (the more you have, the better your accuracy). My unit shows which satelites it's picking up and how strong the signal from each is.

Happy Caching.....

[alwaysGPS]

The simple answer to raghornhc's question is to disable "lock-on road" if you are collecting tracks which the 60CSx is capable of. Tracks collected with "lock-on road" enabled are useless to the mappers.

[+apersson850]

I don't have any 60 CSX, but at least the older units wouldn't lock on any road, as long as you don't install detailed maps. Hence I doubt it makes any difference for you at this moment.

 

The routing is a question about if you want the route to follow roads, or go straight to the destination.

[+Red90]

Lock on road has no effect on track logs. It is only for the map display.