Questions/gripes about Garmin 62 series

[GeoBobC]

My 60Cx finally died after thousands of hours of use. I thought of repairing it, and still may, but decided to try out a Garmin 62S since it is considered to be the replacement. So far, I'm disappointed. Perhaps it's just "change", and perhaps I've yet to master it. The initial gripes are relatively small but irritating, none the less.

 

Here are some little things I've noticed about it that I don't like. Are you aware of any workarounds to these?

 

1. There is no way to display the current time with seconds. I can only see hours/minutes. I used my 60 to set my watches, but without seconds it's essentially worthless for this.

2. New waypoints do not include a current date/time stamp in the notes field. I found this feature very useful when reviewing them later.

3. There is no battery strength indicator on the maps page, so there is no way to monitor when they need to be replaced without going to a different screen.

4. There is no way to list waypoints alphabetically! Is that right? I can search by name, but sometimes I want to scroll down the list because I may not remember the exact name to search on.

5. Altitude is based on barometric pressure vs. actual height. For example, being in a jet airplane at 37,000' the unit displays 6,000' based on cabin pressure. I've seen this with other sensor models as well.

6. Deleting waypoints sure seems to take a lot more keystrokes.

7. Tracks: I can't seem to find a way to turn the track log off without hiding the active track already recorded. When I select "Do Not REcord" I no longer can see the tracks previously recorded.

 

That's it for starters. I may spend $130 to repair the 60Cx if these issues can be addressed.

 

Thanks for your help and input!

[+Timpat]

GeoBobC, I too came from a trusty 60Cx that I loved. The power button failed and I choose not to fix it, and bought the 62s when the price dropped. I also had a Colorado 400t that I really liked due to its paperless caching ability and beautiful screen map rendering. The 62s has a lot in common with the Colorado so it was an easy transition for me, plus the 62s brought over a lot of features I loved on my 60Cx.

 

I can answer a couple of your items;

 

2) Waypoints include current date/time info that can be seen when opened in Mapsource in the bottom left corner as: "Date modified".

3) On any page push the power button briefly to bring up the Time/Date/Backlight/Battery indicator/GPS signal strength info.

5) The altitude shown on the satellite page is GPS altitude, not barometric.

6) Using the Waypoint Manager I don't feel it takes too many key strokes to delete waypoints.

 

Maybe others can address the points I missed.

[GeoBobC]

GeoBobC, I too came from a trusty 60Cx that I loved. The power button failed and I choose not to fix it, and bought the 62s when the price dropped. I also had a Colorado 400t that I really liked due to its paperless caching ability and beautiful screen map rendering. The 62s has a lot in common with the Colorado so it was an easy transition for me, plus the 62s brought over a lot of features I loved on my 60Cx.

 

I can answer a couple of your items;

 

2) Waypoints include current date/time info that can be seen when opened in Mapsource in the bottom left corner as: "Date modified".

3) On any page push the power button briefly to bring up the Time/Date/Backlight/Battery indicator/GPS signal strength info.

5) The altitude shown on the satellite page is GPS altitude, not barometric.

6) Using the Waypoint Manager I don't feel it takes too many key strokes to delete waypoints.

 

Maybe others can address the points I missed.

Thank you! That's great feedback. I really do hope I can learn to love this one as much as the 60.

 

Just curious: is there any "junk yard" for old 60 units? My screen and case are perfect. Just the innards got fried somehow.

[sparksd]

See here for answers on your item (1) --

 

http://garmingpsmap.wikispaces.com/message/view/home/30151655

 

Dave

[+luvvinbird]

I, too, had a few growing pains with the 62s but I can assure you it's vastly superior to the 60Cx and the 60CSx, of which I have both. Personally, I like the fact that it's a USB stick, I never turn it on to download or remove caches. The three axis compass is light years ahead of the, "I must be moving to determine which way I'm headed" non-compass in the Cx. Paperless? Are you kidding? Wait till you get used to that...it's a must-have that's worth it's weight when "in the field", especially when you require more info about the cache. It's hard to let go of the "60's", so don't. Hang on to them like I did but move into the next millennium, you'll be glad you did.

NOTE: I recently damaged my 60 Cx and, here in Canada, I can replace it with a refurbished unit for about $113.00 plus tax and shipping (with a 90 day warranty).

Edited September 24, 2011 by luvvinbird

[+JBnW]

3) On the map page..or any page..set one of the Data Fields to "Battery". This method of displaying is much larger (using more screen space) than the method used on the 60/76 series, but there it is.

[+germanybert]

Got my GPSMap 62ST a week ago and I am extremely pleased with it. Took a while to figure it all out after using a Colorado 400T for so long but it is slowing coming.

[+TeamCatalpa]

I have the 62csx and love it. Can't afford to get the upgrade right now; however my office just purchased the 62s. How tempting it is to pilfer it for a weekend of paperless caching! My boss expects me to be the user/trainer, because he knows I have the previous version. We're using the Garmin topo US 24K smart card map. I have been fiddling with it for a while, but no matter what I do I can't make it show the street names until it's zoomed in to .2 miles. I have gone into the map set up menu and told it to show the street names when zoomed to .8 miles, but they don't show. I have tried resetting it at various zoom levels but it refuses to show until .2. I know it was just a matter of adjusting the zoom level on my unit to get the amount of detail I wanted on the map, but it's not working on this one. Very frustrating! Can someone help me figure it out? Thanks.

[+photorush]

After a few recommendation from forum members, I've just received in the post my 62ST today, plus Amazon had it on at a great price. Completely new to geocaching so really have no prior experience to how good or bad this unit is, so no preconceptions, has any one used the Geocaches function on the 62 series?

 

Edit... You know when you've asked a question, than afterwards thought, that was stupid, well I answered my own question after downloading my 1st cache details from this website to the GPS.

Edited September 24, 2011 by photorush

[GeoBobC]

Another question: if I load multiple map products from Mapsource to the GPS at the same time, how can I selectively turn off the individual map products? It appears the GPS recognizes the entire set of maps as one: they are all "enabled

or all "disabled".

[+camnpete]

I've just moved from an etrex to a 62S. I have two questions after my initial use of the 62S:

1. The display goes dark after a couple of minutes...is there any way to change that so that it will stay on indefinitely?

2. I had trouble using the maps, specifically being able to drive to a cache site. I found that the maps don't show enough information to be able to figure out where to turn or how far I am from the cache. This may just be my lack of understanding how to use the Map function, but I could certainly use some help. Thanks. Pete of camnpete

[vagabond]

I've just moved from an etrex to a 62S. I have two questions after my initial use of the 62S:

1. The display goes dark after a couple of minutes...is there any way to change that so that it will stay on indefinitely?

2. I had trouble using the maps, specifically being able to drive to a cache site. I found that the maps don't show enough information to be able to figure out where to turn or how far I am from the cache. This may just be my lack of understanding how to use the Map function, but I could certainly use some help. Thanks. Pete of camnpete

#1 go to menu then setup then display then backlight timeout hilight stays on then hit enter then exit out.

 

#2 the worldwide map has just the major highways, for free maps try gpsfiledepot and you can download almost anything you want

Edited September 25, 2011 by vagabond

[+germanybert]

Another question: if I load multiple map products from Mapsource to the GPS at the same time, how can I selectively turn off the individual map products? It appears the GPS recognizes the entire set of maps as one: they are all "enabled

or all "disabled".

 

Yes. Just enable the ones you want.

[GeoBobC]

How? I can only see one group of map products in Map Setup. I uploaded five different ones.

[+JBnW]

Another question: if I load multiple map products from Mapsource to the GPS at the same time, how can I selectively turn off the individual map products? It appears the GPS recognizes the entire set of maps as one: they are all "enabled

or all "disabled".

 

Yes. Just enable the ones you want.

Load each map product separately. After each, rename the gmapsupp.img file to something more useful, like Topo.img or CityNav.img via a file manager. Lather, rinse, repeat, and ensure you don't have 2 gmapsupp.img files present at once. Then enable whatever product you wish for each of your profiles.

 

Edit: clarity

Edited September 25, 2011 by JBnW

[+JBnW]

At the risk of barging in on the OP's thread, here's another question. I just upgraded from a 76CSx to the 62s. I usually keep a bunch of POIs loaded on the GPS. On the 76CSx, there was a setting for both POIs and Waypoints (caches) so that they could be displayed at different zoom levels. On the 62s, it appears that all waypoints (POIs and Caches) are displayed the same. I hope I'm missing something here, as the little grey dots of FoundCaches and everything else are pretty thick in my home caching area and its very hard to see the unfound caches. Any tips?

[+SidAndBob]

My 60Cx finally died after thousands of hours of use. I thought of repairing it, and still may...

 

My 60CSx died last year after a huge amount of use. I contacted Garmin about transferring map licenses and they told me I would have to buy the maps again. So I wrote a snotty email telling them how unhappy I was with Garmin. The response was that they'd sell me a refurbished (new in practical terms) CSx with a 1 year warranty for £88UK and they would transfer the licenses for me. I don't think they generally tell people about this and it may not be available any more as I believe the 60C(S)x is now discontinued. It's got to be worth a try though. I've had the replacement 16 months and it's been like the new one was all those years ago.

[+camnpete]

I've just moved from an etrex to a 62S. I have two questions after my initial use of the 62S:

1. The display goes dark after a couple of minutes...is there any way to change that so that it will stay on indefinitely?

2. I had trouble using the maps, specifically being able to drive to a cache site. I found that the maps don't show enough information to be able to figure out where to turn or how far I am from the cache. This may just be my lack of understanding how to use the Map function, but I could certainly use some help. Thanks. Pete of camnpete

#1 go to menu then setup then display then backlight timeout hilight stays on then hit enter then exit out.

 

#2 the worldwide map has just the major highways, for free maps try gpsfiledepot and you can download almost anything you want

[+camnpete]

Hi Vagabond,

 

Thanks for your quick reply to my 62S questions. I'm still having one problem. I'm pretty sure I successfully loaded a map from gpsfieldepot onto my 62S. However, when I use the map function on the 62S I still only get the worldwide map, not the map I loaded. How can I get access to the downloaded (uploaded) map?

 

BTW, I really like your choice in dogs. We had Jake the GeoDog for years until he passed away two years ago. He was a yellow lab that we'd gotten from Guide Dogs for the Blind, and he was the sweetest dog in the world. We miss him every day.

 

Thanks again for your help

 

Pete of camnpete

[+ecanderson]

I'm pretty sure I successfully loaded a map from gpsfieldepot onto my 62S.

Start by connecting to your computer and looking in the "Garmin" folder. Your *.img file should be there, whatever you named it. Could be gmapsupp.img or another. There's already an *.img file there called gmapbmap.img (the base map you are seeing). You want to see at least one more *.img file.

 

However, when I use the map function on the 62S I still only get the worldwide map, not the map I loaded. How can I get access to the downloaded (uploaded) map?

So all you see in the selections is the base map? See above.

[+camnpete]

I'm pretty sure I successfully loaded a map from gpsfieldepot onto my 62S.

Start by connecting to your computer and looking in the "Garmin" folder. Your *.img file should be there, whatever you named it. Could be gmapsupp.img or another. There's already an *.img file there called gmapbmap.img (the base map you are seeing). You want to see at least one more *.img file.

 

However, when I use the map function on the 62S I still only get the worldwide map, not the map I loaded. How can I get access to the downloaded (uploaded) map?

So all you see in the selections is the base map? See above.

 

Hi again,

 

When I look in Garmin/Garmin/custom maps there seems to be only one map there... us_p_nw.gmapi This is one of two that I thought I'd downloaded to me 62S. The other one was us_p_sw. But I don 't see anything that ends with .img. Does that mean I really haven't successfully loaded either of these maps onto my 62S??

[+coggins]

Hi again,

 

When I look in Garmin/Garmin/custom maps there seems to be only one map there... us_p_nw.gmapi This is one of two that I thought I'd downloaded to me 62S. The other one was us_p_sw. But I don 't see anything that ends with .img. Does that mean I really haven't successfully loaded either of these maps onto my 62S??

Yes, they are not installed on your GPS

 

A .gmapi file you got from GPSFileDepot is a Macintosh Installer file. You first off need a Macintosh, then you need to install BaseCamp for Macintosh. Once BaseCamp is installed on your Macintosh, you would double click the .gmapi file to have MapManager install in into BaseCamp. From there you can follow this tutorial on GPSFileDepot to load the maps you want to your GPS: tutorial

[GeoBobC]

My 60Cx finally died after thousands of hours of use. I thought of repairing it, and still may...

 

My 60CSx died last year after a huge amount of use. I contacted Garmin about transferring map licenses and they told me I would have to buy the maps again. So I wrote a snotty email telling them how unhappy I was with Garmin. The response was that they'd sell me a refurbished (new in practical terms) CSx with a 1 year warranty for £88UK and they would transfer the licenses for me. I don't think they generally tell people about this and it may not be available any more as I believe the 60C(S)x is now discontinued. It's got to be worth a try though. I've had the replacement 16 months and it's been like the new one was all those years ago.

I get that experience tomorrow. I'm hoping that since I'm getting a 62S to replace the 60Cx they will take a more understanding view. Paying for a new Garmin GPS and new maps would probably put me in the "I don't like Garmin" camp.

[+camnpete]

Hi again,

 

When I look in Garmin/Garmin/custom maps there seems to be only one map there... us_p_nw.gmapi This is one of two that I thought I'd downloaded to me 62S. The other one was us_p_sw. But I don 't see anything that ends with .img. Does that mean I really haven't successfully loaded either of these maps onto my 62S??

Yes, they are not installed on your GPS

 

A .gmapi file you got from GPSFileDepot is a Macintosh Installer file. You first off need a Macintosh, then you need to install BaseCamp for Macintosh. Once BaseCamp is installed on your Macintosh, you would double click the .gmapi file to have MapManager install in into BaseCamp. From there you can follow this tutorial on GPSFileDepot to load the maps you want to your GPS: tutorial

 

Yes, I have Base Camp installed on my iMac. I'll try it again. Pete

[+coggins]

Hi again,

 

When I look in Garmin/Garmin/custom maps there seems to be only one map there... us_p_nw.gmapi This is one of two that I thought I'd downloaded to me 62S. The other one was us_p_sw. But I don 't see anything that ends with .img. Does that mean I really haven't successfully loaded either of these maps onto my 62S??

Yes, they are not installed on your GPS

 

A .gmapi file you got from GPSFileDepot is a Macintosh Installer file. You first off need a Macintosh, then you need to install BaseCamp for Macintosh. Once BaseCamp is installed on your Macintosh, you would double click the .gmapi file to have MapManager install in into BaseCamp. From there you can follow this tutorial on GPSFileDepot to load the maps you want to your GPS: tutorial

 

Yes, I have Base Camp installed on my iMac. I'll try it again. Pete

Great, and the .gmapi file does not go on the GPS.

[+camnpete]

I'm getting conflicting messages from MapInstall...on the top of the page it says that it may take over an hour to load the maps. On the bottom of the page it says "Installation Complete" and asks me to click on the "Done" button. That part makes it look like the map has already been installed on the 62S, but we know that hasn't happened. Should I just let it run for an hour and see what happens? Pete

[+camnpete]

I'm getting conflicting messages from MapInstall...on the top of the page it says that it may take over an hour to load the maps. On the bottom of the page it says "Installation Complete" and asks me to click on the "Done" button. That part makes it look like the map has already been installed on the 62S, but we know that hasn't happened. Should I just let it run for an hour and see what happens? Pete

 

I assume Based Camp should be open while MapInstall is loading the maps to the 62S..?? Pete

[+SidAndBob]

My 60Cx finally died after thousands of hours of use. I thought of repairing it, and still may...

 

My 60CSx died last year after a huge amount of use. I contacted Garmin about transferring map licenses and they told me I would have to buy the maps again. So I wrote a snotty email telling them how unhappy I was with Garmin. The response was that they'd sell me a refurbished (new in practical terms) CSx with a 1 year warranty for £88UK and they would transfer the licenses for me. I don't think they generally tell people about this and it may not be available any more as I believe the 60C(S)x is now discontinued. It's got to be worth a try though. I've had the replacement 16 months and it's been like the new one was all those years ago.

I get that experience tomorrow. I'm hoping that since I'm getting a 62S to replace the 60Cx they will take a more understanding view. Paying for a new Garmin GPS and new maps would probably put me in the "I don't like Garmin" camp.

 

Good luck. I was told by Garmin that there was no chance they would do it apart from the out of warranty replacement.

[+germanybert]

I get that experience tomorrow. I'm hoping that since I'm getting a 62S to replace the 60Cx they will take a more understanding view. Paying for a new Garmin GPS and new maps would probably put me in the "I don't like Garmin" camp.

 

Why? Garmin is the one GPSr that has many FREE third party maps of almost the entire world. Stop buying maps from Garmin and continue to love your Garmin.

 

Velomaps.org and Openmtbmaps.org have most of Europe for free but you have to compile them yourself. Or for 20 Euro you can get all of Europe compiled.

[GeoBobC]

I live in the U.S. I need routable street maps. Where do I get them for the entire country like City Navigator?

[+Timpat]

Bob, in my opinion this is where the $79 price for Garmin's City Navigator would be well worth it.

[GeoBobC]

Agreed. FYI Garmin agreed to either repair/replace the 60Cx under warranty, or give me new unlock codes for the 62. Generous and very fair.