HELP Garmin 60csx

[ed69]

hey i have garmin 60 csx i was out using it today and had the following problem, the unit worked fine in the vehicle and then when i got out and began walking to a waypoint the pointer needle wasnst following my turns (while i was moving around kept pointing straight) also the north was pointin to south has anyone encountered this before? or have any remedies thanks for your time

[+Tequila]

Two questions:

 

(1) Were you still in auto-routing?

 

(2) Did you recalibrate the compass after you changed the batteries?

[ed69]

Two questions:

 

(1) Were you still in auto-routing?

 

(2) Did you recalibrate the compass after you changed the batteries?

 

i recalibrated the compass when i got out of the vehicle, and i turned of the "go to" or i guess the auto routing, the only thing i can think of is the cold weather?

[+DustyWalker]

Is "lock on roads" turned on or off? I always leave mine turned off.

[+pigpen4x4]

1. Cycle it off and back on.

2. Recalibrate the compass.

 

I have had 2 60CSx's warrented for pointer problems. I now live with it, as one or the other above always fixes it.

PP4x4

[ed69]

Is "lock on roads" turned on or off? I always leave mine turned off.

 

what does the lock on roads feature do? the problem im having is the the pointer doesnt turn when i turn and the north needle on the map points south.... i tried shutting the unit off and turning it back on it worked for a while then did it again does anyone have problems with the gps in cold weather?

[+ryan3295]

Is "lock on roads" turned on or off? I always leave mine turned off.

 

what does the lock on roads feature do? the problem im having is the the pointer doesnt turn when i turn and the north needle on the map points south.... i tried shutting the unit off and turning it back on it worked for a while then did it again does anyone have problems with the gps in cold weather?

 

The lock on road feature will "rubber band" you to the nearest road. I always left mine off, and the gps would still auto route just fine. Another thing, you want make sure you are navigating to the geocache (while on foot) with the "off road" route calculation feature

.

Edited December 14, 2008 by ryan3295

[+humboldt flier]

Hi, A big 10-4 on checking auto routing. A bigger 10-4 on re-cal the compass. Hope this works for you.

[ed69]

Thanks for the advice what about cold weather operations?

[+DanOCan]

Never had an issue using my 60CSx in temps down as low as -25C.

 

In addition to calibrating the compass, you might want to modify the default settings so the compass automatically turns off when you are walking.

 

[Bob Morphew]

... also the north was pointin to south has anyone encountered this before? or have any remedies thanks for your time

I think you may be misinterpreting the compass screen. The red arrow does NOT point North like a magnetic compass - it points to your next waypoint (and only appears when you are in Navigation mode). Your actual direction is given by the direction in the 12 0'clock position on the circular "bezel" around the compass.

 

Bob

[+tbg120]

Two more additions to the fix. I have had similar problems and have found just turning the unit off and on doesn't fix it. I have been removing the batteries for about 30 seconds and replacing them, re-calibrate the compass and all is good. I also have found that when my battery life is low, showing 1 or 2 bars the accuracy goes to heck and the compass and waypoint pointer will bounce. I now carry fresh batteries with me whenever I am out caching.

[+The Cachster]

hey i have garmin 60 csx i was out using it today and had the following problem, the unit worked fine in the vehicle and then when i got out and began walking to a waypoint the pointer needle wasnst following my turns (while i was moving around kept pointing straight) also the north was pointin to south has anyone encountered this before? or have any remedies thanks for your time

 

it happens to me a lot all you have to do is calibrate the compass

[ed69]

Hey, sorry what i was talking about is the north indicator on the map screen... so what would be the benifits to shutting off the compass while walking? thanks for all the advice guys much apreciated

[+Red90]

The compass on Garmin units is too sensitive to being held perfectly flat. It is completely useless wen moving. For it to work, you need to be stopped and holding it just right. Once moving, it should switch to using the GPS signals for determining direction.

[+QK-N-EZ]

I have NEVER been able to trust the needle pointer on the 60csx and have just learned to live with it. What has been the most effective for me is just going by the bearing, and I must say, that is always correct. If the needle is pointing south, but the bearing is north, I just head north (providing I am oriented enough to know which direction that is!) The needle will eventually swing around and point in the right direction. And, as mentioned by another previously, just turning the compass off, seems to help. You still get the pointer, and I think it's a little more accurate - I'm not sure.

 

Recalibrating works well, but I got really tired of recalibrating after every cache, and sometimes twice on the same cache. Sad to say, most of the time I just rely on cache hints to get me to the actual cache, since the needle doesn't get me there. But, the routing is awesome and I wouldn't trade the CSX for anything else!

[+Prime Suspect]

The compass on Garmin units is too sensitive to being held perfectly flat. It is completely useless wen moving. For it to work, you need to be stopped and holding it just right. Once moving, it should switch to using the GPS signals for determining direction.

It does. If it's not working for you, you just need to adjust the setting that determines at what speed it switches over.

[+Red90]

It does. If it's not working for you, you just need to adjust the setting that determines at what speed it switches over.

 

Yes, I know how it works.

 

The problem is the default settings are intended to switch it off when driving, not walking. Change them to what DanOcan has posted above and all will be well.

[+Prime Suspect]

I just turn it on when I need it, and then turn it off. It's a single button press to toggle it off/on.

[+ShugZero]

Not sure if you're using any maps (i.e. City Navigator) but I have the same problem occasionally with mine when I've calculated the initial route to "Follow Road" - I have found that if you stop, get out and start walking - you need to hit menu and recalculate for "Off Road" for it to correctly work. Not sure if that automatically disables the "Lock on Road" option or other unseen changes, but it seems to solve the problem for me.

[+sfor]

I've continuously encountered the same problem, if your driving to a cache/wayponit when using the "FOLLOW ROAD" setting, switch to "OFF ROAD" before you come to a halt and zoom in as close as you can on your target, what works for me is not to stop moving so once you stop your vehicle be ready to move. Turning off the unit works but I find if your too close to your destination you'll get somewhat of the same problem because your almost on top of your target, so when I do turn it off I tend to back away 20 to 25 feet or so. Like I said I find the unit works best when I keep moving but depending on where your cache is keeping moving is not always an option, so I back off, turn it on and go to "OFF ROAD" and this usually does the trick. I don't beleive this is caused by cold temperature, it's happened to me in fog, rain, cold and even really clear day, I've always atributed it to possibly a fluctuation in signal strength when exiting my vehicle because I don't use an external antenna. Hope this helped

[+Tool_Man]

hey i have garmin 60 csx i was out using it today and had the following problem, the unit worked fine in the vehicle and then when i got out and began walking to a waypoint the pointer needle wasnst following my turns (while i was moving around kept pointing straight) also the north was pointin to south has anyone encountered this before? or have any remedies thanks for your time

 

I don't know about everyone else, but the reason I bought the 60 csx is for the compass function while geocaching. I have gotten in the habit of calibrating the compass when I get to the cache area and I always keep the strong batteries in the unit. When I follow these "rules" I can usually trust the compass when walking or standing still. My unit is set to use compass when less than 8mph and I use off road nav when caching.

Tool_Man