Problem with Garmin 60csx

[mta]

My 60csx loses its chipset firmware and gets stuck on acquiring satellites. Often. I just had to reload the firmware for the third time this week. Do any other 60csx owners have this problem? The warranty is good for another month. Should I send this unit back to Garmin?

[+PeoriaBill]

Wow, you've been around for awhile..Oct 2001! Have you tried a hard reset? (PAGE+ENTER+ON button). Also, make sure you are using the latest software/firmware version for the 60CSx. Available via Webupdater. Good luck.

[+BCNorwich]

Hi,

I'd say to immediately register a complaint with Garmin to let them know of the problem. Sending it back to them should result in a refurbished unit. I don't know what statutory rights you might have from where you purchased the unit, in the UK it's would usually be best to take it back to the shop where it was purchased.

Sorry I've no idea whats wrong.

Regards Bernard

[MarkTaylor]

Lots of people are expecting this GPS to be the perfect GPS. i really like it so far and i don't have any complaints. Most of the people comparing the features of this GPS to the 60cs. The problem most people are complaining about is really insignificant.

[+chuck4564]

In the 5+ years I have had a Garmin GPSMap 60csx I have had to reinstall software once. There have been software updates that I have always installed but only once did my unit get stuck in the acquiring satellites mode. I have read that will happen if the power button is pressed early in the startup process. I know when it happened to me I had pressed the power button to turn on the backlighting.

 

The 60csx is a discontinued model. I imagine Garmin has refurbished units but I doubt if they have new ones.

[mta]

The 60csx I have now is a refurbished unit, replacing (at a cost of $110) my original 60csx, which died in June.

 

I just got an RMA from Garmin and will be sending the thing back. I hope the replacement does not have the same problem.

[RamblinBear]

I had a refurbished 60CSx from Garmin a few months ago - it was as good as new.

[John E Cache]

I wonder which chipset you will get, Sirf or MK? Did you do the recommended leave the unit on with a view of the sky for several minutes? I think it resets the almanac.

[mta]

I wonder which chipset you will get, Sirf or MK? Did you do the recommended leave the unit on with a view of the sky for several minutes? I think it resets the almanac.

 

I don't know how to tell what chipset this one is. If somebody explains how to find out before I send the thing back I will post the info here. I left it on outside in clear view of the sky for over an hour and that didn't help.

 

Menu-Menu-Setup-System-Menu-Software Version says:

 

Software Version 4.20

GPS SW Version 2.90s

 

When it loses its firmware, it will say:

Software Version 4.20

GPS SW Version 0.00

 

Garmin's webupdater will fix it, but the problem returns. I never had this problem with my old unit. That one failed in a different manner.

[John E Cache]

I wonder which chipset you will get, Sirf or MK? Did you do the recommended leave the unit on with a view of the sky for several minutes? I think it resets the almanac.

 

I don't know how to tell what chipset this one is. If somebody explains how to find out before I send the thing back I will post the info here. I left it on outside in clear view of the sky for over an hour and that didn't help.

 

Menu-Menu-Setup-System-Menu-Software Version says:

 

Software Version 4.20

GPS SW Version 2.90s

 

When it loses its firmware, it will say:

Software Version 4.20

GPS SW Version 0.00

 

Garmin's webupdater will fix it, but the problem returns. I never had this problem with my old unit. That one failed in a different manner.

I think the "S" in 2.90s means sirf. Did you register your refurb with Garmin? Webpdater might think you still have the broken one with a different chipset.

[+Cacheoholic]

"S" is for SiRF, "m" or no letter would be MediaTek. Watch the display as the GPS boots and it will tell you what you have.

[sviking]

My 60csx loses its chipset firmware and gets stuck on acquiring satellites. Often. I just had to reload the firmware for the third time this week. Do any other 60csx owners have this problem? The warranty is good for another month. Should I send this unit back to Garmin?

 

Mine did that to me once years ago when I first got it. Reloaded the firmware (current version is GPS SW 3.00s) and it never did it again. I read somewhere that messing with the backlight before the unit fully boots up can cause this. I played with it under controlled conditions (i.e. at the house) every which way I could think of trying to replicate the problem. Couldn't do it and it's worked fine ever since.

 

Still, it is a nagging thought in the back of the mind that this could suddenly happen on the trail and you'd be left with a brick until you got back to a computer.

Edited August 17, 2012 by sviking

[sviking]

Lots of people are expecting this GPS to be the perfect GPS. i really like it so far and i don't have any complaints. Most of the people comparing the features of this GPS to the 60cs. The problem most people are complaining about is really insignificant.

 

DROPPING the GPS firmware to where you get ZERO satellite reception is a "feature" issue and/or "insignificant" to you?

[7rxc]

My memory is terrible sometimes. Didn't I read somewhere way back about that 0.00 after reloading indicates a missing part of the firmware? My vague recollect was something about two parts to the download, and that sometimes both did not get through even though it looked like they did. Or something similar... I'll have to find time to look through the back posts.

 

Doug 7rxc

[mta]

When it starts up it says:

Copyright SiRF Technology, Inc. 2008

 

My old 60csx was purchased in November 2009. I don't know what chipset it had, but it never had this problem.

 

This one goes back to Garmin today.

[+BAMBOOZLE]

From what I've read here when a unit comes back from Garmin its never with the Sirf chip even though the one you sent had a Sirf.

[+Viajero Perdido]

I had to upgrade my 60CSx firmware a while ago to take advantage of a 4GB memory card; the earlier firmware was limited to 2GB. Along with that expected improvement, I seem to have acquired a new bug.

 

Quite commonly now, if I turn the unit off for just a few minutes and then turn it on again (a "warm restart"), it'll be stuck in "goofy mode" (my term): very little satellite signal (short bars), takes forever to acquire, and once it finally does, it shows poor estimated accuracy (eg 40m), and thinks I'm miles away from the actual position. In this state, it can take quite a while to get its head out of its USB port.

 

But I found a simple workaround. If it doesn't immediately have satellite lock after showing the copyright messages, it's in goofy mode. I just turn it off, wait a second, and turn on again. Second time it's always worked properly.

 

BTW, re Sirf vs MTK, I was pleasantly surprised to see my 60CSx with MTK inside is even more sensitive and acquires even faster in poor conditions than my trusty old Sirf-based 60Cx. But it's my MTK-based unit that suffers from "goofy mode" after warm restarts.

Edited August 18, 2012 by Viajero Perdido

[+Klatch]

From what I've read here when a unit comes back from Garmin its never with the Sirf chip even though the one you sent had a Sirf.

I sent in my 76CSX with the SiRF chip and the (different) one that came back had the SiRF chip.

[sviking]

From what I've read here when a unit comes back from Garmin its never with the Sirf chip even though the one you sent had a Sirf.

I sent in my 76CSX with the SiRF chip and the (different) one that came back had the SiRF chip.

 

How do you know that for sure? Did you crack it open and read the markings on the chip? Just because it says SiRF on start-up doesn't necessarily mean it's SiRF hardware. There were 60CSx units that way after the GPS chipset switch and, as we all know, the 76 isthe exact same GPS, just in a different wrapper.

[mta]

Update - A refurbished 60CSX was received on 8-24, 7 days after the old one was mailed. This one is Software ver 4.20, GPS SW ver 2.60m. So, no SiRF chip, I guess.

 

It seems to be a tad more sensitive than the old one. I can usually get a lock inside my house with this one, whereas I could almost never get a lock inside with the old one.

 

They told me the warranty is good for another 90 days. I'll be using this thing a lot to see if the lost firmware problem manifests itself. But... So far, so good.

[+DonB]

I wonder which chipset you will get, Sirf or MK? Did you do the recommended leave the unit on with a view of the sky for several minutes? I think it resets the almanac.

 

I don't know how to tell what chipset this one is. If somebody explains how to find out before I send the thing back I will post the info here. I left it on outside in clear view of the sky for over an hour and that didn't help.

 

Menu-Menu-Setup-System-Menu-Software Version says:

 

Software Version 4.20

GPS SW Version 2.90s

 

When it loses its firmware, it will say:

Software Version 4.20

GPS SW Version 0.00

 

Garmin's webupdater will fix it, but the problem returns. I never had this problem with my old unit. That one failed in a different manner.

Garmin used the SiRF set until 2009, after that they went to the MK chipset. I don't know what they did when they refurbished them.