Garmin GPSMAP 60csx

[Brave7]

We are retired and living in our motorhome, traveling around the country at our leisure, it's so much fun. We use a GPS on our laptop when we travel but we have just heard about geocaching which sounds like tons of fun but the informstion we've been reading is overwhelming. So a few yes or no questions are in order. We have decided to purchase the Garmin 60 CSX so we can also use it when we are in our car doing some sightseeing.

 

1. Should we purchase an external antenna/jack to use with this unit in the car?

 

2. Is it a good idea to buy the larger 1 or 2 GB cards?

 

3. Will the topography maps be necessary with this unit?

 

Any other equipment or software that is necessary or suggestions for use will be appreciated. TIA

 

Brave7

Edited June 20, 2007 by Brave7

[+mr_candyman]

For a motorhome I would probably recommend an external antenna because the motorhome will cut off a great deal of the signal. In a car it's not such a big deal but in a motorhome it's probably best to get an external antenna if you want to use it to guide you in it. I should probably ask why you would stop using the laptop to guide you in the motorhome though, as really I find it to be a bit nicer experience when driving than the handheld units.

 

If you do want to use it to tour around the country, then you might benefit from the extra storage card space. Peronally, I have a 1 gig card on mine and I have all of metroguide canada's maps on my unit as well as the topography maps for BC and Alberta (since that's where I live and really they matter most here anyways). You could easily just get a smaller card and keep changing the maps that are on it, though my philosophy is why bother when the cards are so close in price anyways. I actually got my 1 gig card for the same price a 256 meg one right beside was costing.

 

The topography maps are never necessary unless you're trying to find the best way to hike up or down a mountain. I have them because I'm in Search and Rescue and use it as such all the time. You might also find that the maps of the water are actually more detailed as well. Metroguide canada for instance will show me driving in the lake at times when I'm really beside it and the software doesn't have a programmed road. The topo maps don't do that. For most people though I would say not to bother with them.

 

Get some good battereis. I personally use rechargeable NIMH batteries, a lot of people swear by lithium, but I find they're just too expensive when I go through so many batteries anyways. Be SURE to set which type of battery you're using in the menu on the unit. You can get an unpleasant, heart wrenching set of errors happening after a bit when the battery starts being depleated making you think your unit's toast.

[+Trillan]

1. No need if you site it in the dashboard of your car.

 

2. Yes, 2GB (see answer 3)OK, you may no fill it but for the pennies more than a 1GB why not have expandability.

 

3. No, not imho. If you are going to use routing for driving you will need additional MapSource software (loaded onto your MicroSD card), personally I use City Nav Europe ver 9NT. Its an expensive but great bit of software.

 

There is a wealth of info in these forums. I have learned a great deal over the last few months of trolling.

 

The 60CSx is a very nice GPSr, have fun.

 

 

Edited for grammer

Edited June 20, 2007 by Trillan

[Brave7]

I should probably ask why you would stop using the laptop to guide you in the motorhome though, as really I find it to be a bit nicer experience when driving than the handheld units.

 

Sorry, if I misled you, we will continue to use the GPS on the laptop in the motorhome. There have been many times we wished we had it in the car with us, especially in the mountains out west but never took it because it's so bulky. We had thought about purchasing a handheld and decided we'd get along without one but since we plan on geocaching we thought we shuld get a unit that will do both for us.

 

Thanks for your input.

 

Brave7

[+mr_candyman]

ok, in that case then I'd definitely get one of the street mapping options for the garmin. If it's for in car, then you probably won't need the external antenna.

 

Look at all the software options carefully as they are all different. IF you need help selecting which one then maybe come up with a list of still you will need it to do (and how up to date you need the maps) and we can go from there

[Brave7]

Yes, we definitely need help as to what type of software we should get, of course a street map for the U.S., probably one of Canada but that will be at a later date. Will we need topo for geocaching?

 

Brave7

[+Miragee]

City Navigator 9 is coming out soon, but you might be able to still get City Navigator 8 which may, or may not, come with the ability to load it onto two GPSrs. I have topo maps as well as CN and use the Topo maps for hiking. Although not very detailed, they still can be useful for that.

[+dkwolf]

Yes, we definitely need help as to what type of software we should get, of course a street map for the U.S., probably one of Canada but that will be at a later date. Will we need topo for geocaching?

 

Brave7

No. If you get the 60CSx (which I recommend), Garmin makes additional software (Mapsourse..City Navigator is the newest, I think) for auto-routing, but you don't need that for geocaching. It's nice to have, yes, but I rarely use it.

[+Thrak]

I'd get City Navigator. I have the older City Select (no longer available) and I use it all the time. Since you are traveling around in your motor home you will obviously be in many different cities. When in the car you will LOVE the ability to find restaurants, etc. with the City Navigator software. I use autorouting all the time to get me to cache sites.

 

As mentioned above, get a 2GB microSD card. I just ordered one for $26. You will be able to fit the entire City Navigator map selection on that. All of the US + Canada + Puerto Rico. Having the street level maps and autorouting capability will really make your unit useful.

 

I have the 76CSx which uses the same chipset as the 60 CSx and 60 Cx. I have an external antenna but never need it at all. With my previous unit - the 76Cs - I did have to use the external antenna when in my wife's car but the newer chipset in the new unit has no issues at all with receiving and holding a signal. In fact, I get a great signal sitting at my desk inside my house.

[Neos2]

Yes, we definitely need help as to what type of software we should get, of course a street map for the U.S., probably one of Canada but that will be at a later date. Will we need topo for geocaching?

If you plan to spend a lot of time hiking deep in the forest or mountain regions you'll want a topo map in addition to the city maps, and like someone else said, the topos are the way to go if you want to see water features. The city maps only show some major water features and sometimes don't even name those. But for generalized geocaching in cities and parks and so forth, the city maps will be all you'll need.

 

I use a 60CSx and usually keep both the topo and city maps loaded on it for all of Indiana and Kentucky, and parts of Ohio and Illinois--with plenty of room left over to spare for those times we go our of our regular area. I rarely use the topo maps, but they few times I needed it, I was very glad I had it.

[+Wild Thing 73]

Just a thought: 1) Buy a Premium Membership... 2) Buy GSAK... 3) Buy Cachemate...4) Read a lot of info on Geocaching...Oh, and buy a GPS60CSx....Get your feet wet and the world of geocaching will be quite an adventure...An addiction!

[JohnE_Cache]

 

1. Should we purchase an external antenna/jack to use with this unit in the car?

 

2. Is it a good idea to buy the larger 1 or 2 GB cards?

 

3. Will the topography maps be necessary with this unit?

 

Any other equipment or software that is necessary or suggestions for use will be appreciated. TIA

 

Brave7

Here's my take...from a 100% pleased 60Csx owner.

 

Last March, I was exactly where you are...no, I'm not retired with a motorhome unfortunately, but I didn't know where to start, millions of questions, etc. My experience?

 

1. I would not get antenna until you try it in your vehicle and find it has poor reception. I've used my unit successfully on a 747 at 37K feet without an antenna.

 

2. I would suggest getting a 2GB card. I got mine on Amazon with an adapter thingy for around 20$. Of course, this is only necessary for the software I'm about to suggest you buy.

 

3. Topos aren't necessary...but get them anyway. They're only 100$, and here's why I like them: Not necessarily for the elevation circles, but for the billions of landmarks. Since topos, I found out there was an abandon mining shaft in my neighborhood. None of my neighbors believed me until I showed them on the unit. So we checked it out with the state, and found out we have mines all under our 'hood. So most of us bought subsidence insurance. IMO, that paid for topos alone...especially if my backyard starts caving in and the State pays for it instead of me.

 

4. I bought the Streets, Topos, as well as a car pack that includes a cig lighter adapter and mount. I also bought Energizer's 4 AA rechargeable system, and just rotate 2 and 2. It even comes with a cig adapter. Oh, and I bought a laptop because my crappy pc didn't have a dvd-rom, and the Streets needs it...but if you have a dvd-rom already, you're good.

 

Next piece of advice? Read the manual, reg your stuff with garmin, and get going. Here I am 3 months later and I feel like a pro. Enjoy.

Edited June 24, 2007 by JohnE_Cache

[+LaTuFu]

Honestly, unless you really like the gee whiz factor of an electronic compass and altimeter, I don't see the fascination with the "S" model. The compass needs recalibration from time to time. I have the Cx, and it works great. I chose it because I am just old fashioned and I like using a handheld compass. If you aren't going to be doing a lot of long hiking (I would define that as any sustained hike longer than 60 minutes) away from the mobile home, the Cx will be more than enough. Take a compass with you for the times that you find yourself needing to maintain orientation.

 

Definitely get the City Navigator. It is a great software package, it will increase the functionality of your unit. It helps me with geocaching quite a bit in the more urban areas of the cities, since it will autoroute you right up to the parking area. The base map shipped with the unit will only give you "crow flies" navigation capability, which can make it more difficult if you are traveling in an urban/suburban area that it unfamiliar to you.