fallcackles Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 Hi all, great forum! I am a newbie to the handheld GPS world and having a hard time in deciding between the Delorme PN-20 or Garmin 60CX. First, I am not doing any geocaching, road mapping or fishing with the unit. It will be used exclusively on horse back while on trail rides in Michigan, Florida and Tennessee. Delorme has a great deal ($100) off going on now thru the 25th and it includes their topo 08 map but my brother-inlaw who is a big time geocacher says the Garmin 60 CX is the only way to go. What should I do????????? Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment
+JohnTee Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 (edited) Hi all, great forum! I am a newbie to the handheld GPS world and having a hard time in deciding between the Delorme PN-20 or Garmin 60CX. First, I am not doing any geocaching, road mapping or fishing with the unit. It will be used exclusively on horse back while on trail rides in Michigan, Florida and Tennessee. Delorme has a great deal ($100) off going on now thru the 25th and it includes their topo 08 map but my brother-inlaw who is a big time geocacher says the Garmin 60 CX is the only way to go. What should I do????????? Thanks in advance! An initial qualifier would be your need for maps. If you buy a PN-20, you will get four discs containing: Topo 7.0/8.0?, which has surface streets and some topography; USGS Topo maps for the West, Central and EAstern U.S. It's a great deal for a GPS AND maps. The topo maps would be very useful for your trail riding. For a similar price, you will get a Map 60 CX (or are you looking at the CSx?) and no maps. Well, you get the Garmin basemap. Garmin's topo runs around $70 and Streets runs around $170? Other factors: Display: pretty comparable between size and resolution Processors: Garmin seem to be faster processors Sensitivity: The 60 has a QuadraHelix antenna which gives it excellent reception. You'll be able to get a satellite fix sitting in your living room, or under fairly dense tree canopy. The PN-20 has an internal antenna and does not have a 'High Sensitivity' chip like the Vista HCx models. In my living room, I might see some satellites, but won't get a lock. I haven't tried it under heavy tree cover, but suspect it won't be as good. There have been a LOT of reviews on both units, and probably some very in depth comparisons, here in the forums. Do a search for "+PN-20 +60CSx" and you should get a lot of information. That's a little bit to get started with the confusion! Cache On! JohnTee Edited March 20, 2008 by JohnTee Quote Link to comment
+Team CowboyPapa Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 That subject just came up here: http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=188372 so there was some good advice. One thing to watch, however, is the my Ford is BETTER than you Chevy attitude, which is manifested here from time to time. More objective are comparative comments from those who have the two types of GPSrs being considered. Quote Link to comment
+Miragee Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 Okay, I'll confuse things even more. I have the Vista HCx. It has the "High Sensitivity" receiver and is a more compact size for an activity such as horseback riding. Almost for the price of the 60Cx, you can get a Vista HCx and Garmin's Topo maps. You can get the Topo maps on eBay for a more reasonable price since those maps do not have an "Unlock Code" and can be purchased "second hand." Quote Link to comment
+JohnTee Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 One thing to watch, however, is the my Ford is BETTER than you Chevy attitude, which is manifested here from time to time. More objective are comparative comments from those who have the two types of GPSrs being considered. No doubt about that. I have the fortune of owning Vista HCx since last Thanksgiving and a PN-20 which my dad gave me several weeks ago. He has a 60CSx and bought the PN-20. In using the two, he was not as happy with the function of the PN-20, so kept the 60CSx. Cache On! JohnTee Quote Link to comment
+Team CowboyPapa Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 Here is some more: http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=188306 Quote Link to comment
+ricstone Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 (edited) One thing to watch, however, is the my Ford is BETTER than you Chevy attitude, which is manifested here from time to time. More objective are comparative comments from those who have the two types of GPSrs being considered. No doubt about that. I have the fortune of owning Vista HCx since last Thanksgiving and a PN-20 which my dad gave me several weeks ago. He has a 60CSx and bought the PN-20. In using the two, he was not as happy with the function of the PN-20, so kept the 60CSx. Cache On! JohnTee so JohnTee how do you like the PN-20? thats what im using now an just love it. i liked it lots better then my 60csx. but there again thats just me.do you have the latest firmware in the pn-20? i get a 3d lock in the house here. look forward to seeing you soon. later ric Edited March 20, 2008 by ricstone Quote Link to comment
PerryB2 Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 JohnTee may not get a satellite lock with the PN-20 in his living room, but it does have a High Sensitivity receiver. I have both a 60CSx and a PN-20. With FW 1.4 on the PN-20 it’s reception and accuracy in the mountains, in woods, is very similar to the 60CSx. The 1.4 FW does seem make a difference. The 60CSx gets it best reception in a vertical position. The PN-20 does best horizontal, face up. I took both on a recent hike in a valley, in deep fir forest, in the Washington Olympic Mountains. Both GPSs got and held satellite lock during the whole hike. This hike was 4 ½ miles round trip. One way I measure accuracy by looking at the recorded track going and coming back on the same trail. The four tracks were all close together, generally within 30ft to 40ft of each other. The maximum distance apart for the two PN-20 tracks was 70ft. The maximum distance apart for the two 60CSx tracks was 50ft. At the trailhead I marked a waypoint with each GPS before and after the hike. 3 of the waypoints were within a few feet of each other; however the initial waypoint from the 60CSx was 70ft away from the others. At lunch I marked waypoints and turned the GPSs off. After lunch I turned them on and again marked waypoints. This time the waypoints were all within 30 ft of each other. On the return track the initial PN-20 location was about 45 ft from where I turned it off and the 60CSx initial track point was 170 ft away. I had not moved more than 10 ft. In less difficult situations I have found no noticeable difference in the accuracy of the tracks and waypoints the two GPSs record. In one instance one may do a little better, but in another check it will be the other one that does better. My overall impression is that the 60CSx is slightly more accurate (gets slightly better real reception) than the PN-20; but the difference is very, very small. The 60CSx and PN-20 are both great GPSs. Quote Link to comment
+Team CowboyPapa Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 One thing to watch, however, is the my Ford is BETTER than you Chevy attitude, which is manifested here from time to time. More objective are comparative comments from those who have the two types of GPSrs being considered. No doubt about that. I have the fortune of owning Vista HCx since last Thanksgiving and a PN-20 which my dad gave me several weeks ago. He has a 60CSx and bought the PN-20. In using the two, he was not as happy with the function of the PN-20, so kept the 60CSx. Cache On! JohnTee Sounds like hearsay? Must be admissable. Quote Link to comment
+JohnTee Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 so JohnTee how do you like the PN-20? thats what im using now an just love it. i liked it lots better then my 60csx. but there again thats just me.do you have the latest firmware in the pn-20? i get a 3d lock in the house here. look forward to seeing you soon. later ric Hi Ric! Checked after I got home and it does have the latest firmware. The PN-20 is a nice unit, and had I started out with something like that, I might be biased toward it instead of the Vista. Just for the mapping, it's a great deal. I guess over two years of using a Garmin seems to have me biased toward that unit. I think overall the Garmin software interface is a little more user friendly; though Garmin could take some pointers on manual coordinate entery from DeLorme! The DeLorme feels a little clunkier in my hands, the tactile feel of the buttons is different in a way I'm not sure I entirely care for and the processor sometimes seems to take a little catching up. Coming to either of the events March 30th? Sounds like hearsay? Must be admissable. smile.gif That's my story and I'm sticking to it! Cache On! JohnTee Quote Link to comment
+ricstone Posted March 20, 2008 Share Posted March 20, 2008 so JohnTee how do you like the PN-20? thats what im using now an just love it. i liked it lots better then my 60csx. but there again thats just me.do you have the latest firmware in the pn-20? i get a 3d lock in the house here. look forward to seeing you soon. later ric Hi Ric! Checked after I got home and it does have the latest firmware. The PN-20 is a nice unit, and had I started out with something like that, I might be biased toward it instead of the Vista. Just for the mapping, it's a great deal. I guess over two years of using a Garmin seems to have me biased toward that unit. I think overall the Garmin software interface is a little more user friendly; though Garmin could take some pointers on manual coordinate entery from DeLorme! The DeLorme feels a little clunkier in my hands, the tactile feel of the buttons is different in a way I'm not sure I entirely care for and the processor sometimes seems to take a little catching up. Coming to either of the events March 30th? Sounds like hearsay? Must be admissable. smile.gif That's my story and I'm sticking to it! Cache On! JohnTee sure going to try to be there on the 30th. but not going to promise. later ric Quote Link to comment
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