+Team MonkeyLove Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 I currently have a Garmin legend cx. I have been Eyeballing a new 60csx has anyone made a similar upgrade? and if so were the differences worth the cost. What might I look forward too other than the compass? My legend seems to wander a bit when it gets overcast (even slightly) any help would be appreciated Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 In addition to the compass, the 60CSX will give you far better reception than the Legend CX. If you have a problem with losing reception under trees, then the 60CSX will be a major improvement. Quote Link to comment
Keystone Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 I am moving this thread from the Geocaching Topics forum to the GPS and Technology forum. Quote Link to comment
beauxp Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 The 60csx has incredible reception. I have had it in the deep woods, and a canyon in Arkansas, the Grand Canyon, and the Rockies. Only time I have ever lost reception is when I went through a tunnel in Mobile Alabama that is about 2 miles long. Can't go wrong with this unit. Quote Link to comment
+Walkworthy & Wife Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 The 60csx has incredible reception. I have had it in the deep woods, and a canyon in Arkansas, the Grand Canyon, and the Rockies. Only time I have ever lost reception is when I went through a tunnel in Mobile Alabama that is about 2 miles long. Can't go wrong with this unit. Can I tack a question onto this thread in response to your answer? I have a Garmin eTrex Venture HC, which was a major upgrade from a Garmin eTrex Legend as far as satellite reception. Yesterday my wife and I were looking for a cache that was hidden inside a picnic pavilion. Our GPSRs were bouncing all over the place. Do you think that a 60csx could get satellite reception in that case? One claim that we saw when I was looking into the Venture was that an individual got satellite reception inside the basement of a two story building. Not. Quote Link to comment
+Rockin Roddy Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 The 60csx has incredible reception. I have had it in the deep woods, and a canyon in Arkansas, the Grand Canyon, and the Rockies. Only time I have ever lost reception is when I went through a tunnel in Mobile Alabama that is about 2 miles long. Can't go wrong with this unit. Can I tack a question onto this thread in response to your answer? I have a Garmin eTrex Venture HC, which was a major upgrade from a Garmin eTrex Legend as far as satellite reception. Yesterday my wife and I were looking for a cache that was hidden inside a picnic pavilion. Our GPSRs were bouncing all over the place. Do you think that a 60csx could get satellite reception in that case? One claim that we saw when I was looking into the Venture was that an individual got satellite reception inside the basement of a two story building. Not. I'm currently sitting in the basement of my two-story home, my PN-40 is seeing an 8' accuracy...why would you say this isn't possible?? I've also had reception inside steel buildings (Lowe's Stores). To the OP, any special reason you're looking at the 60CSx or would you entertain other options?? There are a few models which would be comparable in price to the 60CSx, but would give you more features!! One, the PN-40 I use...NICE! Another, the Garmin Colorado (should be fairly close in price to the 60CSx and PN-40). The PN-40 will get you auto-routing, paperless caching, great reception and accuracy, aerial imagery capable as well as an array of other maps. The Colorado will get you paperless caching, auto-routing (with purchase of additional maps), reception and accuracy (although I've heard some grumblings about accuracy and tracks not matching up at times). Both of these units are good units, both have their own weaknesses and strengths! Both are great for caching...but can do more as well! Best bet is to do some research and check out sales pages from amazon.com. These descriptions are very good and also offer reviews so you can see what others think. Just bring up amazon.com and search for the units you want to check out!! Quote Link to comment
Chrisr61 Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 The 60csx has incredible reception. I have had it in the deep woods, and a canyon in Arkansas, the Grand Canyon, and the Rockies. Only time I have ever lost reception is when I went through a tunnel in Mobile Alabama that is about 2 miles long. Can't go wrong with this unit. Can I tack a question onto this thread in response to your answer? I have a Garmin eTrex Venture HC, which was a major upgrade from a Garmin eTrex Legend as far as satellite reception. Yesterday my wife and I were looking for a cache that was hidden inside a picnic pavilion. Our GPSRs were bouncing all over the place. Do you think that a 60csx could get satellite reception in that case? One claim that we saw when I was looking into the Venture was that an individual got satellite reception inside the basement of a two story building. Not. Got my 60CSX last Saturday and love it. Guess what?? I set it up in the basement of my 2 story house. The unit is incredible!! Quote Link to comment
+Red90 Posted February 27, 2009 Share Posted February 27, 2009 Can I tack a question onto this thread in response to your answer? I have a Garmin eTrex Venture HC, which was a major upgrade from a Garmin eTrex Legend as far as satellite reception. Yesterday my wife and I were looking for a cache that was hidden inside a picnic pavilion. Our GPSRs were bouncing all over the place. Do you think that a 60csx could get satellite reception in that case? One claim that we saw when I was looking into the Venture was that an individual got satellite reception inside the basement of a two story building. Not. No, the "H" models should be quite close to the 60csx with respect to reception. Quote Link to comment
+Walkworthy & Wife Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 I'm currently sitting in the basement of my two-story home, my PN-40 is seeing an 8' accuracy...why would you say this isn't possible?? I've also had reception inside steel buildings (Lowe's Stores). To the OP, any special reason you're looking at the 60CSx or would you entertain other options?? There are a few models which would be comparable in price to the 60CSx, but would give you more features!! One, the PN-40 I use...NICE! Another, the Garmin Colorado (should be fairly close in price to the 60CSx and PN-40). The PN-40 will get you auto-routing, paperless caching, great reception and accuracy, aerial imagery capable as well as an array of other maps. The Colorado will get you paperless caching, auto-routing (with purchase of additional maps), reception and accuracy (although I've heard some grumblings about accuracy and tracks not matching up at times). Both of these units are good units, both have their own weaknesses and strengths! Both are great for caching...but can do more as well! Best bet is to do some research and check out sales pages from amazon.com. These descriptions are very good and also offer reviews so you can see what others think. Just bring up amazon.com and search for the units you want to check out!! I based my statement on my experience with the Garmin eTrex Venture HC. When I was researching GPS units on Amazon.com, a reviewer said they were able to get satellite reception in the basement of their two story home. I live in a single story ranch and I don't get that kind of reception. After the unit has been on for a few minutes inside my home, I either get a message "Poor Satellite Reception" or Satellite Reception lost". The Venture HC gets a lot better reception then the old Legend and it isn't affected by trees and power lines like the Legend, but I still experience instances of poor reception such as in the case of the picnic pavilion. Even now with winter in PA and with most trees without leaves, I have gone into wooded areas and watched as the direction for the cache bounces all over the place as was the case in the pavilion. What I thought would be an interesting experiment is to find a fellow cacher who has a more expensive GPSr and see how the two units respond looking for the same cache under the exact same conditions. Quote Link to comment
+Rockin Roddy Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 I'm currently sitting in the basement of my two-story home, my PN-40 is seeing an 8' accuracy...why would you say this isn't possible?? I've also had reception inside steel buildings (Lowe's Stores). To the OP, any special reason you're looking at the 60CSx or would you entertain other options?? There are a few models which would be comparable in price to the 60CSx, but would give you more features!! One, the PN-40 I use...NICE! Another, the Garmin Colorado (should be fairly close in price to the 60CSx and PN-40). The PN-40 will get you auto-routing, paperless caching, great reception and accuracy, aerial imagery capable as well as an array of other maps. The Colorado will get you paperless caching, auto-routing (with purchase of additional maps), reception and accuracy (although I've heard some grumblings about accuracy and tracks not matching up at times). Both of these units are good units, both have their own weaknesses and strengths! Both are great for caching...but can do more as well! Best bet is to do some research and check out sales pages from amazon.com. These descriptions are very good and also offer reviews so you can see what others think. Just bring up amazon.com and search for the units you want to check out!! I based my statement on my experience with the Garmin eTrex Venture HC. When I was researching GPS units on Amazon.com, a reviewer said they were able to get satellite reception in the basement of their two story home. I live in a single story ranch and I don't get that kind of reception. After the unit has been on for a few minutes inside my home, I either get a message "Poor Satellite Reception" or Satellite Reception lost". The Venture HC gets a lot better reception then the old Legend and it isn't affected by trees and power lines like the Legend, but I still experience instances of poor reception such as in the case of the picnic pavilion. Even now with winter in PA and with most trees without leaves, I have gone into wooded areas and watched as the direction for the cache bounces all over the place as was the case in the pavilion. What I thought would be an interesting experiment is to find a fellow cacher who has a more expensive GPSr and see how the two units respond looking for the same cache under the exact same conditions. If I'm remembering correctly, the HC is using the SIRF III chip, the same chip my Maggie 500LE uses. I bought my 500LE in Wal-Mart, but didn't realize I needed batteries until I hit the parking lot. I stopped at Lowe's (across the street) and picked up batteries. While in line to check out, I loaded the batteries and locked signal (initial lock) in the store checking out (and no, it wasn't a long line either). The SIRF III is a good chip. Maybe geography has something to do with it?? I don't know... Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 I based my statement on my experience with the Garmin eTrex Venture HC. When I was researching GPS units on Amazon.com, a reviewer said they were able to get satellite reception in the basement of their two story home. I live in a single story ranch and I don't get that kind of reception. After the unit has been on for a few minutes inside my home, I either get a message "Poor Satellite Reception" or Satellite Reception lost". The Venture HC gets a lot better reception then the old Legend and it isn't affected by trees and power lines like the Legend, but I still experience instances of poor reception such as in the case of the picnic pavilion. Even now with winter in PA and with most trees without leaves, I have gone into wooded areas and watched as the direction for the cache bounces all over the place as was the case in the pavilion. What I thought would be an interesting experiment is to find a fellow cacher who has a more expensive GPSr and see how the two units respond looking for the same cache under the exact same conditions. I don't believe you are having a reception issue. If you have a sat lock you have reception and a Venture HC should have fine reception in an open air picnic pavilion. What you are likely experiencing are multipath errors (a.k.a signal bounce). Sometimes the GPS signals will reflect off hard objects, so the signal has a longer path to your unit than it should have had. This occurs around tall buildings, in canyons, around large boulders, under the roofs of pavilions, on steep hill sides. Even your body can cause it to an extent. The fact that you are under a pavilion roof makes me strongly suspect that this is happening. The end result is that your GPS gives you odd readings and might tell you that you are 3 feet away one second then 50 feet away the next. All GPS units experience this problem so it really doesn't matter whether you have a Garmin 60CSX, Venture HC or a Magellan 315 I based my statement on my experience with the Garmin eTrex Venture HC. When I was researching GPS units on Amazon.com, a reviewer said they were able to get satellite reception in the basement of their two story home. I live in a single story ranch and I don't get that kind of reception. It all depends on the basement. Because one person gets reception in HIS basement it doesn't mean that the exact same unit will get reception in YOUR basement. Anyway, the basement test is moot, because most of us don't use our GPSes in a basement. If I'm remembering correctly, the HC is using the SIRF III chip..., The Garmin eTrex H units use the MediaTek chipset. Cheaper and not quite up to the SiRF III so there is a slight fall off in reception when compared to a 60CSX, which has the SiRF III. It should be noted that differences are minor and the eTrex H line receives outstanding reception. Quote Link to comment
namiboy Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 I based my statement on my experience with the Garmin eTrex Venture HC. When I was researching GPS units on Amazon.com, a reviewer said they were able to get satellite reception in the basement of their two story home. I live in a single story ranch and I don't get that kind of reception. After the unit has been on for a few minutes inside my home, I either get a message "Poor Satellite Reception" or Satellite Reception lost". The Venture HC gets a lot better reception then the old Legend and it isn't affected by trees and power lines like the Legend, but I still experience instances of poor reception such as in the case of the picnic pavilion. Even now with winter in PA and with most trees without leaves, I have gone into wooded areas and watched as the direction for the cache bounces all over the place as was the case in the pavilion. What I thought would be an interesting experiment is to find a fellow cacher who has a more expensive GPSr and see how the two units respond looking for the same cache under the exact same conditions. just for the heck of it i turned on my vista hcx in my kitchen (no basements here in sofla) which has all tile walls and 1 small window, and my location says +/- 17 feet. i believe this has the same chip as the venture hc. Quote Link to comment
+Team MonkeyLove Posted February 28, 2009 Author Share Posted February 28, 2009 (edited) *quote* To the OP, any special reason you're looking at the 60CSx or would you entertain other options?? There are a few models which would be comparable in price to the 60CSx, but would give you more features!! One, the PN-40 I use...NICE! Another, the Garmin Colorado (should be fairly close in price to the 60CSx and PN-40). *unquote* I do appreciate your help. I have thought of looking at other units but, I am such a creature of habit I'm more comfy sticking to something rudimentally comparable in functionality to my current unit. Thanx to all for your help Edited February 28, 2009 by Team MonkeyLove Quote Link to comment
+Walkworthy & Wife Posted February 28, 2009 Share Posted February 28, 2009 Thanks, I learned more in these few posts then a lot of the researching I did before purchasing my Venture. I felt I was buying a decent GPSr for the money that I wanted to spend at the time. But that leads me to another question that came to mind while looking for the cache in the pavilion. First, this pavilion is quite substantial as you can see in attached photo. It is in a community park, it holds at least 50 picnic tables or more and is built out of stone. My question was, "How did the CO get an accurate reading when placing the cache? Quote Link to comment
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