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garmin 60csx


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I have just purchased the Garmin 60 csx and am waiting for delivery.However with so many conflicting reports on its functionality,I'm having second thougths!I intend using it for geocaching and general navigation and route planning when hiking.I would be grateful for some advice/comments from anyone who has owned one for some time.

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Do not be scared of the 60 CSx. I have used one for about 9 months and have no complaints. I have used it for caching and navigating (with City Navigator maps), and I have a friend who uses one for hiking (with TOPO maps installed). My hiking friend says the 60Csx has been the best reciver in tree cover he has ever had. I agree. The guts are good, the tricky part is getting myself trained to use everything properly!

 

When you say conflicting reports on functionality, what do you mean? Is there a specific feature you are looking for?

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I have owned a Garmin:-

eMap

iQue 3600

60CS

60CSX

 

The 60CSX is the best unit for all round functionality [is that a word?] communicating with the PC and MapSource.

 

The only thing it does not do - speak to me when navigating [i hate that anyway!]

 

It is a true GPS without the complications of the iQue.

 

Brilliant unit.

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If the 60 CSx is the first GPS you have purchased you will be happy with it.

 

The quad helix antenna with the "new" chipset is simply amazing for acquiring satellites. I get 12 satellites with an estimated accuracy of +/- 5 m sitting in my house.

 

The "x-pandable" memory is a great feature as well. Slap a 1 or 2 Gb card in it and you will have more maps than most people will ever need. And you can use it as a mass storage device as well, if you get desperate. :D

 

The Garmin user interface is easy to learn and for the most part very intuitive. If you are planning on using it outdoors for 'caching or hiking it will be a fantastic unit.

 

And if you feel the need to jump out of an airplane, Garmin's got you covered as they include their "Jumpmaster" software with the unit. :D

 

However.....

 

There are 2 things that I don't like about this unit.

 

1) Where did the alarm clock go? My Vista C has it, but for some reason Garmin removed it from the firmware for the 60 Series.

 

2) When auto-routing it often doesn't give nearly enough distance warning before the next turn. My Vista C beeps the first time at least 400 m before the next turn I need to make. The software on my 60CSx often provides me with a whopping 50 m (or less) before I need to make a turn. Fantastic when you need to take an off ramp and are travelling at 120 km/h. (Insert sarcasm here) So, effectively the unit is useless as far as I am concerned for city navigation. (Unless I'm on a pedal bike)

 

(Well, not totally useless as you can always look at the screen, but I really liked the 400m heads up.)

 

Just my 0.02

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I have just purchased the Garmin 60 csx and am waiting for delivery.However with so many conflicting reports on its functionality,I'm having second thougths!I intend using it for geocaching and general navigation and route planning when hiking.I would be grateful for some advice/comments from anyone who has owned one for some time.

 

Details aside, you'd be hard pressed to find a better gps for geocaching.

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I've owned a 60CSx now for almost 6 months. Before I bought mine I exhaustively researced everything I could find on a few units. To sum it up without going into a lot of detail, I've been very pleased with the 60CSx. Excellent unit. Outstanding satellite lock on time and excellent sensitivity to pick up satellites in poor reception conditions. After all what good is a GPSr if you can't lock on to satellites when you need/want to!!! SiRFIII technology is the only way to go; at least until something better comes out.

 

If I had to come up with a fault for the 60CSx it would be the Tone Volume is so low that you have trouble hearing it (only really important if your using it for autorouting for notifying you of your next turn). But after all, this unit's primary targeted customer is not the driver wanting turn by turn directions, there are units made just for that. There are other 60CSx users that you probably have already read who would like to see some other bells and whistles on their perfect unit, but as far as what comes on the 60CSx I can't really find many faults with it. Anything that it does not have or won't do I knew before I bought it, so I have no reason to complain about those things. You'll be glad you went with it after you get through the learning curve of using it. It does so much that it takes some getting use to. With a little research on this forum and lots of reading past threads there is mounds of very helpful information on this forum and most members will be more than willing to help you. You didn't go wrong with the 60CSx if you wanted an extremely versatile outdoor handheld unit capable of functioning well in other enviroments also.

Edited by eaparks
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I am a dual Magellen/Garmin owner, and purchased "top of the line" (at the time) units from both companies. The 60CSx is a great unit - and as many have already stated, the sat coverage is absolutely incredible! The couple of times my sat coverage was really bad (yes, the Ozarks of Missouri has some areas that even the 60CSx can't get a good lock on!) I went back to a clearing, got a good sat lock, and then used the electronic compass to navigate from there until the next clearing/high point.

 

My only complaint with the Garmin system is the EXTREMELY outdated Topos . . . other than that, I have no complaints about this unit!

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I have just purchased the Garmin 60 csx and am waiting for delivery.However with so many conflicting reports on its functionality,I'm having second thougths!I intend using it for geocaching and general navigation and route planning when hiking.I would be grateful for some advice/comments from anyone who has owned one for some time.

 

Remember, those people having problems are probably the ones that most often post here. Those NOT having any problems probably don't post near as often as the others.

 

Love my 60cx!

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I have had my for about a year now. Used it extensively on the road, trips, hiking, and geocaching. Very reliable, no major functional issues, I consider it a good investment. Another thing to consider is Garmin's cusotmer service, its awesome.

 

I have some issues.

 

The memory card will shake loose over time, particularly if you use it in the car regularly (I've experienced it about 3 to 4 times since I aquired the unit). It all has to do with the metal clip used to secure the memory card behind the battery. They may have corrected this. I could probably rig it to prevent this, but I am too lazy. I just reset the card and everything is back to normal.

 

I don't like the fact that you can't have it report GPS elevation in the altimeter screen. The altimeter becomes all but useless when tracking elevation in a commercial airplane. I will add it worked great when I was driving and hiking in the mountains this summer, no complaints on the ground.

 

There was a time when it wouldn't lock onto WAAS satelites. This turned out to be an issue with the satelites being repositioned, not the GPS. I get consistent locks now.

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My only complaint with the Garmin system is the EXTREMELY outdated Topos . . .

 

Actually, if you purchased the most recent TOPO map directly from the U.S. Government, it would look very much like the one in your GPS receiver. Unlike conventional road maps, these things are seldom revised, except in urban areas. It is not uncommon for the most recent version, especially in rural areas, to be 25 to 35 years old.

 

-Paul-

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Thanks for all the detailed feedback.I guess when I finally receive my 60csx,I look forward to testing its functionality(yes there is such a word!) myself.Perhaps what I feared most was that I believed all the sales hype(top of the range and all that) incorrectly while back at the ranch it was actually not that good.But I'm pleased to note that most of you have had good experiances.

 

Is it compatible with Memory Map or am I compelled to use Topo?I checked out Topo on the Net and it does not appear very user friendly.In contrast the trial version of Memory Map looks good.

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When auto-routing it often doesn't give nearly enough distance warning before the next turn. My Vista C beeps the first time at least 400 m before the next turn I need to make. The software on my 60CSx often provides me with a whopping 50 m (or less) before I need to make a turn. Fantastic when you need to take an off ramp and are travelling at 120 km/h. (Insert sarcasm here) So, effectively the unit is useless as far as I am concerned for city navigation. (Unless I'm on a pedal bike)

 

(Well, not totally useless as you can always look at the screen, but I really liked the 400m heads up.)

 

 

On the highway my 60CSx routinely provides me the first upcoming turn alert at 1.0 mile (which last for .2 mile) then a second alert at .2 mile which counts down to .1 mile then in feet until the turn is made. No problems taking an off ramp at 70 mph in traffic.

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Congratulations : You have purchased an excellent unit. I have had mine for almost a year now, and I love it. It is my first GPS unit, and I knew nothing about them except from reading this forum. I was, and is a very user friend unit and easy to get started with.

I use mine mainly for road routing, but have used it on the trails and geocaching also.

As for Garmins customer service - all I can say is " Absolutely Fantastic" !

 

My story : I had my Map 60 Csx attached to my handlebar on my motorcycle, and accidently splashed gasoline on it. It was cradled in the bar mount, and allowed gas to soak the lower case before I realized it. The gas effected the plastic and cracked the back, and middle section of the case, and the rear battery cover would no longer stay closed.

I called garmin, certain that I would have to pay for the repair of this fluke accident. I told them exactly what had happened. The service guy on the phone was very pleasant, and said, " lets see if we can write this up so you don't have to pay the repair charge ". WOW !

They replaced my unit, and even replaced the handlebar mount for my motorcycle - AT NO COST !!! I couldn't believe it. I am definately a Garmin fan forever !

I am sure you will love you Map 60Csx !

Good Luck !

 

HrlyDave

"Aint' Life Grand"

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When auto-routing it often doesn't give nearly enough distance warning before the next turn. My Vista C beeps the first time at least 400 m before the next turn I need to make. The software on my 60CSx often provides me with a whopping 50 m (or less) before I need to make a turn. Fantastic when you need to take an off ramp and are travelling at 120 km/h. (Insert sarcasm here) So, effectively the unit is useless as far as I am concerned for city navigation. (Unless I'm on a pedal bike)

 

(Well, not totally useless as you can always look at the screen, but I really liked the 400m heads up.)

 

 

On the highway my 60CSx routinely provides me the first upcoming turn alert at 1.0 mile (which last for .2 mile) then a second alert at .2 mile which counts down to .1 mile then in feet until the turn is made. No problems taking an off ramp at 70 mph in traffic.

 

Love my garmin also, great units. I use it while driving a truck all the time and don't have any problem with autorouting, mine also warns me well ahead of time, 1 mile or so and then again within 100 or 200 meters.

the only issues i've had was the power button can be hard to turn on the unit in very hot weather, button pushes but unit doesn't start.

the other issue is it turns off in certain areas, but i believe that is a bug in the topo maps.

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The memory card will shake loose over time, particularly if you use it in the car regularly (I've experienced it about 3 to 4 times since I aquired the unit). It all has to do with the metal clip used to secure the memory card behind the battery. They may have corrected this. I could probably rig it to prevent this, but I am too lazy. I just reset the card and everything is back to normal.

What happened to the unit when the card shook loose? Did it power down?

 

I'm asking because my unit will sometimes power down but only when I'm using it off-road in my Jeep.

 

It's definitely related to the shaking, but my batteries are tightly fitted and have the foam rubber between the leaf spring contacts, so I don't think it's a batter contact problem.

 

GeoBC

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The memory card will shake loose over time, particularly if you use it in the car regularly (I've experienced it about 3 to 4 times since I aquired the unit). It all has to do with the metal clip used to secure the memory card behind the battery. They may have corrected this. I could probably rig it to prevent this, but I am too lazy. I just reset the card and everything is back to normal.

What happened to the unit when the card shook loose? Did it power down?

 

I'm asking because my unit will sometimes power down but only when I'm using it off-road in my Jeep.

 

It's definitely related to the shaking, but my batteries are tightly fitted and have the foam rubber between the leaf spring contacts, so I don't think it's a batter contact problem.

 

GeoBC

 

I didn't know it was the memory card that shook loose. I could not use the street maps...so I tried to reload the maps and then a message on the PC said I had no memory card. I then reset the card and the street maps displayed again...without the reload.

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