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The night before the purchase ....


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I'm about to wear out my 2nd 60CSx, a great GPS in all respects. I've been using this model for 3 years. I've been struggling with the decision whether to purchase a third or go to the 62s. REI is running a sale on May 20, 2011 for $299. The cost of a good looking but used 60CSx is $150 on average. A new 60CSx (rare but available) runs $225 on average. My Dell PDA (yes, I still do it the old fashioned way) is also becoming unreliable. To replace it runs about $50. So, I'm looking for anyone out there that can shoot holes into NOT moving to the Garmin 62s which combines PDA, 60CSx, and a few new features. I'm looking for kill shots.

 

Thanks

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If I were you, I would keep the CSx until it died and then worry about replacement.( How do you wear out a GPS?) I would dump the PDA and go with a iPod Touch to keep all your data on. This is what we are doing and so far it works well. Love the CSx and not ready to fool around with the new gadgets.

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Thank you very much for your response at this late hour. You brought up concerns for me to ponder. When most of the buttons are worn down to the chassis, I really have no choice but to replace. Repair is no longer an option. I'm very tough on my gadgets and the 60CSx has been resilient in the mud, snow, and sub-zero temps for example. I've found that the production date (serial number) of a device is crucial. When I purchased the 2nd 60CSx through Garmin, they sold me an earlier serial number and I've had delay issues when navigating the menus and it's getting worse. That's the concern I have now about buying used. I'm taking a risk though with the 62. I should submit my resume to Garmin to be a field tester.

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I'm about to wear out my 2nd 60CSx, a great GPS in all respects. I've been using this model for 3 years. I've been struggling with the decision whether to purchase a third or go to the 62s. REI is running a sale on May 20, 2011 for $299. The cost of a good looking but used 60CSx is $150 on average. A new 60CSx (rare but available) runs $225 on average. My Dell PDA (yes, I still do it the old fashioned way) is also becoming unreliable. To replace it runs about $50. So, I'm looking for anyone out there that can shoot holes into NOT moving to the Garmin 62s which combines PDA, 60CSx, and a few new features. I'm looking for kill shots.

 

Thanks

Wow! I'm coming up on four years on my 76CSx. Am I about to have melt down in the field? Still going strong, a few more bumps on it that when I first got it and it does show wear and tear, but it still finds them. The M500 had a screen go bad, but got one off ebay for $8 and the tools for another $9. So the M500 is still going strong. I did pick up a second screen when I bought the first one. The thing I found that really helps the life of the PDA is the hard aluminum case. Found out about that with my E2. But hey, if you need an excuse to buy a new toy I won't find fault with that. :)

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Thanks jchabalk.

 

I've now had two responses to keep the 60CSx. My gut is starting to feel better. I'll check with the new REI store in Olympia, Wa. If the price is reasonable, this may be it. Come to think of it, I'd never buy a car in its first model year. It takes time to work the bugs out.

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heh, i'm know where you're coming from for sure. i bought a 60CSx not long after it came out to replace a Rino 120 i had for a few years that never really worked well for me. I've had the 60CSx for probably 5 year or so and it's been absolutely fantastic. I use it for caching, hiking, driving directions, APRS and i bring it on the plane with me so i can track where we are en route. That thing'll sync up in the center row of a 777 at full speed in about the same amount of time it will in my car. i love it.

 

I picked up a colorado a few years ago to use for biking because i figured my chances of wrecking on my bike were great enough that i didn't want to scrap the 60CSx. (i've never really liked the colorado although it worked great for biking. and of course the one time i wrecked and would have destroyed it i didn't have it with me)

 

Over the last year my 60CSx has started crashing or powering itself off randomly. Sometimes it's not usable as it won't stay on for more than 5 seconds. I was seriously considering just replacing it with another as they always have them in stock at the REI near me and i don't like the touch-screen models but I was hoping they'd roll out a similar but improved model.

 

When i found the 62 series it seemed like a natural fit, it seems like the same basic device both in usability and functionality but in a device with 4-5 years of technology improvement. I've only had it a few days but here's the list of thing i like with the 62S.

 

62S:

- faster (and the benefit of this is hard to understate)

o faster boot time with a ton of maps

o faster routing menu swiching

o overall snappier use zooming, really it seems to do everything faster

- stronger mount

o the mounting system on the colorado and 62s are the same (others too maybe). It's much sturdier than the 60CSx series. This is good for the bike car etc, i'm a fan of this mounting system because it's sturdy, reliable and the attachment points are really low profile. That snap-on cradle that the 60 series uses is a giant PITA.

- more on board storage. I use a supplemental MicroSD also on both of them to this is almost a moot point but nearly 2g of space on board is great

- I really like what appear to be relatively minor but well thought out improvements to the UI

o specifically the page switching, profile configuration and profile switching

 

Things I've either missed, haven't figured out yet or are actually missing:

- MicroSD card management from the device (formatting, space used etc)

- waypoint management from the device (it seems to be lacking in the GPX category which seems like a really important one

- track management as it pertains to the MicroSD card

 

The first 3 of the above were things that got added to the 60CSx after it'd been out for a couple of years. Things that developed into much talked about features as i recall and it seems strange that they weren't in the 62 series from the start (unless they're all there and i've just missed them) ;)

 

I read through the 62 series manual a few times and i can't think of any major differences between the two which I think is good. Being familiar with the 60 series inside and out let me use the 62 series to it's full potential from the get go (an advantage also not to be understated)

 

EDIT: That's my long-winded version of saying you can't go wrong with either and I think the 62S is a great GPSr worthy of looking a seriously against the 60CSx.

 

Also, to your point, the 60 series could be thought of as a first model year too with the 62 as the next generation. They've also gone through a number of firmware updates on both which I've always seen as beneficial. Garmin seems to get the public release firmware versions right. They incorporate a good number of bug fixes, feature enhancements and worthwhile changes (power efficiency etc).

 

I get the sense that a lot of these new touch-screen devices they're releasing are turning into the expensive family trucksters of the GPSr world as they struggle to try to hang on to the consumer crowd that has either forgotten about or never been aware of the huge benefits standalone specialized devices can offer.

 

Using a bad analogy of tools... the high-quality GPSr - which i think definitely includes the 60/62 series - is like a rock-solid snap-on screw-driver that'll last you for years and years of heavy, unorthodox use. The others are like a drugstore toolkit screw-driver that won't make it through 3 jobs without rounding off the heads of your screws and leaving you with a handful of blisters. ;)

Edited by jchabalk
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This is great material jchabalk.

 

If there was a version of the Pulizer Prize awarded to those who simplify the GPS complexities, your segment would be in the running. I appreciate the honesty and field comparison notes. I'm looking forward to a better more restful night's sleep being so well informed.

 

One thing I'm checking into is how various maps are layered forming a single database and transferred to the 62s. Using Mapsource for the 60CSx, the process concatenates City Navigator 2009, Garmin's 2008 Topos, and something unique to the Pacifc Northwest called Northwest Trails, created and updated over the last few years by Moun10Bike, a local cacher who now works for Groundspeak. I couldn't find any notes in the online manual for Mapsource. Maybe the program has a new name. For the 62s, City Navigator North America NT for 2012 will be released at the end of May. I'm hoping the other mapsets will transfer.

 

Thanks again,

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map layering is a really good point!

 

i always had trouble with it on my 60CSx and really never touched it because it was a hassle. I didn't understand how it worked and it was unnecessarily complex. After i tired of messing with it i just stuck to the city nav maps and used the topos on my other unit.

 

A 60CSx with a large SD card could store the entire US City Nav NT and a whole bunch of topo maps but it seemed to me (and i might be wrong here) that there were so many segments and they were all either enabled or disabled independently from within the custom maps config which pretty much rendered that particular function effectively useless when you had a big card with lots of maps installed on it.

 

I picked up a new version of City Nav when i got my 62S and I have Garmin Topos that i use on my other GPS, i also have some gpsfiles.com topos that i use from time to time. With the 62S i loaded everything up using MapInstall (via Mac) and shuddered to think about the custom maps config again. When i went looking i found it super-easy. I had only 4 maps options, just like selecting the maps within MapInstall.

i) CityNavNT

ii) 24k Topo

iii) gpsfiles topos

iv) default basemap

 

1 line each for the different overall maps i installed including the basemap on the 60S. (I haven't used the Bird's Eye thing yet that lets you put satellite images on it but i'd guess it works about the same way?)

 

Anyway, i set up the Auto/Driving profile to use city maps simply by enabling the CityNavNT and the BaseMap in the custom map menu. Then the hiking and geocaching profiles got set enabling Topo + Basemaps. It works perfectly so far and switching profiles now works the way i think it should have all along with the 60 series.

 

I'm still messing around with it to get my menu ordering the way i want it etc but it's the first time the custom map layering has worked for me (again, disclaimer: it's possible i wasn't doing something right with the 60CSx and after giving up on it a long time ago i haven't gone back to it on that unit.)

 

One other thing I forgot to mention that is a very worthwhile feature: the 62S and ST have a USB2.0 interface as opposed to the 60 series (and base 62 model i think, the yellow one) USB1.1.

 

On my 62S it took around 20-25 minutes to load the entire US CityNavNT and 24k topos. I can't remember how long it took the last time i re-loaded my 60CSx but i think i gave up on it and left it to run overnight.

 

With regard to City Nav... If you purchase the City Nav NT DVD media they give you free updates for 30 or 60 days. I had to call Garmin and ask about it but they offered it up straight away. I downloaded the most recent update last night and now have 2012.1 which i think is the one you're talking about, so it's available now. I'm a little less keen on their new maps subscription service but it's out there and i guess better than nothing.

Edited by jchabalk
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I'm about to wear out my 2nd 60CSx, a great GPS in all respects. I've been using this model for 3 years.

 

Wow! You are rough on your GPS if it only lasted 3 years. I have a friend with a 60 that's still running strong and he used it for a few years before we met over 3 years ago...it has even taken a tumble off the car at 50 mph and is held together with a rubber band because the battery door won't stay closed. Now that's one tough GPS!!!

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I've been using mu 60csx for several years and if something happens to it, I'll probably replace it with another 60csx. I don't see any reason to change what works for me and it has been a very reliable, true, and durable companion even after dropping it many times onto dirt, rock, mud, and water. Granted, when I drop it now, it turns itself off, but that is only a minor annoyance. I just fear the day I drop it and it doesn't recover. :unsure:

 

As for the paperless side, I recently switched from Cachemate on a Palm TX to Cachemate on my 'droid Optimus smartphone. I'm gonna have the phone with me anyway, so I have reduced my gadget count by 1 and the 'droid CM is far superior to the Palm version. Again, this is a case of "Why change what works for me?".

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You mention rough use and button wear.

Read these forums....there have reports of serious button wear on the 62 in a very short time and only a couple hundred caches. I've also read recent reviews indicating the squeeking case problem has not been fixed.

More importantly the 62S and Oregon 450 ( I can speak first hand on the Oregon) while nice units with many features and totally paperless do not give former 60 CSx users a warm and fuzzy feeling regarding pinpointing cache locations and having the compass be responsive to small movements. MANY cachers in my 2-state area use their newer units for paperless functions and still use their 60 CSx to actually find the cache. I know I would never expend a lot of effort to get to a cache location without the 60 CSx or my Meridian Platinum along as a back-up.

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=========================================

 

Thanks to all for taking the time to express your opinions and experiences. This is tough call. I'm evaluating the pros and cons...... again ..... taking in this new information. Yesterday morning, it looked like a slam dunk to move towards the 62s. I'm concerned about wear and having to retool with the 62s but it's not a deal breaker. I've found more caches than I have left to find. I'll be slowing down quite a bit and what I have left falls into more rugged territory.

 

The remaining biggie is viewing cache page information and jettison the PDA. I use a waterproof, shock resistant phone that is coming up for renewal in June. Cell coverage is spotty in most of the outlying areas of the Pacific Northwest. The 62s solves this.

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The remaining biggie is viewing cache page information and jettison the PDA. I use a waterproof, shock resistant phone that is coming up for renewal in June. Cell coverage is spotty in most of the outlying areas of the Pacific Northwest. The 62s solves this.

 

That's why I still use cachemate on my phone. I'm gonna have the phone with me anyway and having the data loaded offline means I don't care about wifi or cell coverage when I'm caching...at least not for the purpose of finding a cache. I've been using the WAP interface to see if there is anything around that is not already on my phone (I'm in an area with pretty thorough cell coverage), but that is a pretty rare need for me.

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====================================

 

I decided to go the 62s route and by gosh ........ the price is indeed $ 279, below the advertised $299. I couldn't be happier. When arriving at the new store in Olympia, just before the doors opened, I estimated the line to be around 350' (I couldn't be exactly sure as I left my GPS at home). Returning a little later, I had a store clerk put one aside and four hours later, the checkout line had evaporated and the prize was mine.

 

Thanks again to all who participated in this exercise.

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I would defanetly go with the 62 at this point. It wouldnt make much sense to go for another 60 as I doubt we will see any more software upgrades for it. It would be very nice to combine the PDA and GPS to have the paperless capability the 62 has. Also wait as long as you can....You never know when there will be a price drop.

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I think it should be noted that replacement buttons can be obtained from Garmin.

 

granted the whole button pad (inclusive of very button on the face) is one piece, but I know they will get you a new one if you need it. I had to send mine in because there was other damage (dadgum dog) but body and button repairs/replacement is considerably less expensive than a new unit. Hell, for me they took the guts out of my old one and put it in a bran spankin new 60case buttons and all.

 

additionally, the great price at REI has to be somewhat augmented bu the accessory and map purchases that are inevitable.

 

Ill admit I also took up REI on the offer, but after a ram mount bike attachment, and maps, Im up to 550 pretty quick.

 

in the future I may consider the SD maps that can be moved to other devices, but the cards have not extra space on them so if I need to upload more than the 1.6 gigs that are internal Im screwed, so its better for me if I get an 8 Gig card and buy computer maps.

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