Garmin 6oCsx or a Nuvi 500

[+red_w_wings]

I got a new Garmin 60CSX for Christmas. My goal is to go paperless as my Magellan Crossover works adequately to get me to 300+ caches so far. The ream of paper I have to juggle as I hunt is the problem. Can you download enough info on the 60csx to leave the paper/hint/size/difficulty level at home?? I bought my mother (my geo-buddy) a Nuvi 500 for Christmas. It says it will download all the pertinent information for a cache so no paper is required for quick success. What is your opinion?? One, the other or neither??

Edited December 28, 2008 by red_w_wings

[+linuxxpert]

For geocaching, go with the 60csx. I have a Nuvi also and thats what I used to start out, but its not rugged enough for the elements and the battery life is too short. I do use my Nuvi to take me to the parking coordinates of a cache.

Nuvi- for driving

60csx- for caching

[+red_w_wings]

What do you recommend for paperless caching??

[+snowball 58]

What do you recommend for paperless caching??

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=193374 Read this thread for loading caches into the nuvi 500 I think you will like it. It works with the 500 also

Edited December 27, 2008 by snowball 58

[+TheAlabamaRambler]

What do you recommend for paperless caching??

A 60CSx and either a Palm or a smart-phone like the BlackjackII. There is no one device that does all things well, but with these two you will be prepared for anything.

[Geo_Bird]

Can you download enough info on the 60csx to leave the paper/hint/size/difficulty level at home??

 

Not really. It only displays the first several characters of the cache name. For example, for GC1FAGH, I see

 

Casa de Blasko by

SticksAllore

 

I have an old iPAQ I take along for the ones that need hints etc. But I don't use any special software. I copy and paste what I want from the cache descriptions into a .txt file and save it with the cache ID as the filename. I sort those into directories on the iPAQ, by park or town. It's a little clunky and would be a hassle for large numbers of caches, but it works for me.

 

I think the 60csx is a great GPSr, works very well under heavy pine canopy here in South Florida, and a charged pair of 2300 mAH NiMH cells will go 6 hours with WAAS turned off, and still show about 30% charge.

 

One thing I will warn about: That screw-in stud that clips into the belt clip will unscrew. Mine did during a bumpy ATV ride, and I'm now on my second 60csx. I now use the Gilsson sock with carabiner to secure it!

 

Jim

[+vwaldoguy]

You can send up to 1000 waypoints to the 60CSx. The waypoint name can hold 14 characters and the waypoint note can hold 30 characters. If you use something like GSAK with smart tags, it will compress some of the data to try and fit in the allotted space. Or, there is a macro in GSAK that can create custom Points of Interest for the 60CSx, with as many screens as needed to fit all the info in. With custom points of interest, you could literally load thousands of caches. Custom Points of Interest names can hold 44 characters, and the notes can hold 88 characters. Depending on how long the cache description is, you could have three or four screens of data, etc.

 

So, the short answer to your question is yes, you can download cache info to the 60CSx and it works OK.

[+punki/Jerry]

A palm using Cachemate is a good choice for going paperless. You can probably pick up a Palm on Ebay for $50 or less and down load cachemate from the web site. I think the cachemate was a donation of $10. Works great. I use GSAK to download the cords to my Garmin and to the Palm.

[Keystone]

I am moving this thread from the Geocaching Topics forum to the GPS and Technology forum.

[+Red90]

You have the 60csx and your mother has the 500. So go caching. What is your question exactly.

 

Make sure both units have their firmwares updated. The 500 especially had really bad initial firmware. The 500 is overall much nicer for caching use.

[+Tool_Man]

I got a new Garmin 60CSX for Christmas. My goal is to go paperless as my Magellan Crossover works adequately to get me to 300+ caches so far. The ream of paper I have to juggle as I hunt is the problem. Can you download enough info on the 60csx to leave the paper/hint/size/difficulty level at home?? I boght my mother (my geo-buddy) a Nuvi 500 for Christmas. It says it will download all the pertinent information for a cache so no paper is required for quick success. What is your opinion?? One, the other or neither??

I use a 60csx and gsak with smart tags to add waypoint number, difficulty, type of container, and date last found. This is enough to do most run of the mill geocaching. I also use a gsak macro to add all the cache info, including logs, to my ipod. This way, when I can't find the cache, I go back and read the description. I tried the palm and cachemate but as someone else said on another string, I am more likely to have my ipod than my palm.

Tool_Man

[+red_w_wings]

I use a 60csx and gsak with smart tags to add waypoint number, difficulty, type of container, and date last found. This is enough to do most run of the mill geocaching. I also use a gsak macro to add all the cache info, including logs, to my ipod. This way, when I can't find the cache, I go back and read the description. I tried the palm and cachemate but as someone else said on another string, I am more likely to have my ipod than my palm.

Tool_Man

I hate to sound stupid, but what is gsak?

[MtnHermit]

I hate to sound stupid, but what is gsak?

New Invention: Google You really ought to try it someday.

[+CondorTrax]

GSAK - Geocaching Swiss Army Knife. http://gsak.net/

[+the pooks]

The 60CSX and a Palm. There are smart phones about that have superseded the Palm, but if you are not in that league the Palm will do the job. I have the colour Z22 or something but you are even better off with an ancient Palm M500 that can be read in the sunlight. Use cachemate or GSAK to load the Palm. All you will miss is the occasional spoiler photo, but that would be the exception.

[+humboldt flier]

The 60CSX and a Palm. There are smart phones about that have superseded the Palm, but if you are not in that league the Palm will do the job. I have the colour Z22 or something but you are even better off with an ancient Palm M500 that can be read in the sunlight. Use cachemate or GSAK to load the Palm. All you will miss is the occasional spoiler photo, but that would be the exception.

As per Red 90, ... go with what you have in the stable. I might add a city navigator 2008 SD chip to the CSX 60 just for giggles and grins.

[+PhilAun]

In addition to the Palm/Smartphone idea, if you have an iPod, you can download the cache information onto one of these. You'd still need GSAK with the macro for doing this, but once you get the hang of it, it's pretty quick and handy - that's what my friend does, and it works out quite well for him. Just another idea to think about.

 

Happy Caching!

[+Lone Duck]

I have been using the Garmin 60CSx and an iPaq 3975 in combination for paperless Geocaching. It works well.

 

But I just got an iPhone 3G. That is a true all-in-one paperless combination!

[+Cuddlefish]

I chose the Oregon over the 60CSx for the paperless caching options.

 

So far, so good.

[+Tool_Man]

I use a 60csx and gsak with smart tags to add waypoint number, difficulty, type of container, and date last found. This is enough to do most run of the mill geocaching. I also use a gsak macro to add all the cache info, including logs, to my ipod. This way, when I can't find the cache, I go back and read the description. I tried the palm and cachemate but as someone else said on another string, I am more likely to have my ipod than my palm.

Tool_Man

I hate to sound stupid, but what is gsak?

I guess you already have your answer but GSAK or Geocaching Swiss Army Knife is a program (free to try but you won't mind paying for it after you try it) that tracks all of your caching. You can download your pocket queries to it, sort your caches, load them on to your Garmin with smart tags, and go. This is just a little of what it does. Give it a try at http://gsak.net/

Tool_Man

[+mty55]

I chose the Oregon over the 60CSx for the paperless caching options.

 

So far, so good.

 

I have to agree with Cuddlefish. I have both a 60csx and an Oregon 300. For caching you can't beat the paperless capabilities and the touch screen interface of the Oregon. No need for third party software just create a pocket query then drag and drop the gpx file into the Oregon.

[+CondorTrax]

I've been using the 60CSx for a little less than a year and just got s Nuvi 500.

 

Took both out the other day for a field test.

1. The 60 fits in your hand perfectly. The Nuvi is a bit cumbersome.

2. 60 has an option to attach a lanyard. Nuvi has no lanyard attachment

3. Tracking on 60 appeared to be more accurate. Not sure if Nuvi has WAAS. In any case at GZ 60 showed 6' while the Nuvi stopped at 20'

4. Paperless capability with POI loader macro on Nuvi is excellent. 60 has limited info (using POI loader)

Summary: 60 is perfect and ideal for caching. Nuvi perfect for street navigating to site and having the geocaching info. I use a palm for paperless. Best of all 3 worlds.

[Neos2]

The 60CSX and a Palm. There are smart phones about that have superseded the Palm, but if you are not in that league the Palm will do the job. I have the colour Z22 or something but you are even better off with an ancient Palm M500 that can be read in the sunlight. Use cachemate or GSAK to load the Palm. All you will miss is the occasional spoiler photo, but that would be the exception.

As per Red 90, ... go with what you have in the stable. I might add a city navigator 2008 SD chip to the CSX 60 just for giggles and grins.

If you are talking about the maps--I would get the city navigator map in DVD instead, and add a 2G SD card to the unit to save maps to as needed. The reason?

 

That way you can add only the maps you need at the time, you can also add topo maps, or other maps and use both at the same time, toggling between them, or you can still use the SD card to hold points of interest (POIs) for added flexibility, more caches, even using the card to hold cache information as POIs.

 

Plus, if you have the maps on DVD, you can use them on your computer to plan trips.