GPSMAP 64s vs Oregon 600

[+Mineral2]

So now that it's been over a year later, what are everyone's thoughts on the Oregon 650 vs the 64s? I'm looking to replace my 60csx to keep up with the new technology. I know the Oregon has the chirp cache ability where as the 64s doesn't (at least not that I've seen) but that doesn't seem to be a big thing around here. I like the idea of the touch screen for typing in coords but I also like the idea of the better antenna on the 64s. Help?

 

Unfortunately, you just missed out on a huge sale on the Oregon 600 which ended on Monday. I won't divulge the price so that you don't kick yourself too hard. Unless you need the camera, save yourself ~ $100 and get the Oregon 600 instead of the 650, should you choose the Oregon route. If it's the larger storage capacity you're looking at, get a SD card. It's still cheaper for a larger capacity card than the cost of the camera.

[+Mineral2]

So now that it's been over a year later, what are everyone's thoughts on the Oregon 650 vs the 64s? I'm looking to replace my 60csx to keep up with the new technology. I know the Oregon has the chirp cache ability where as the 64s doesn't (at least not that I've seen) but that doesn't seem to be a big thing around here. I like the idea of the touch screen for typing in coords but I also like the idea of the better antenna on the 64s. Help?

 

Unfortunately, you just missed out on a huge sale on the Oregon 600 which ended on Monday. I won't divulge the price so that you don't kick yourself too hard. Unless you need the camera, save yourself ~ $100 and get the Oregon 600 instead of the 650, should you choose the Oregon route. If it's the larger storage capacity you're looking at, get a SD card. It's still cheaper for a larger capacity card than the cost of the camera.

[+Dradicus]

Yea I saw people talking about the sale but it was to late. I was kinda hoping it was this coming Monday but o well. I'm not worried about the camera but it would be kinda cool to take pictures with the geotagging but then again, I'm not very photogenic. The biggest issue I have with my 60csx is either having to plug it in to my old slow laptop or punch in the coordinates by hand with those little buttons. I wish there was some way I could send them directly to my device from either my iPad or my iPhone. From what I have read however, the "Bluetooth" technology on the new units has no such compatibility to do so. I only use my hand held unit for caching as I have a dedicated nuvi if I ever get that lost to actually need it. Living here in the Appalachian mountain area ( I literally live 10 minutes where Geowoodstock took place this past weekend) the terrain and the different parts of the area are pretty diverse and offer every type of cache. I want something that I can easily import the numbers by hand from using the app on my phone but something where I won't lose the signal if I'm up in the mountains on the Appalachian trail or exploring caves by the river. Something where I can be in town with heavy building cover and drive 15 minutes and be hiking to Annapolis Rock under the thick tree canopy. Basically when it comes down to it, I want the signal strength of the 64s but the touchscreen of the Oregon. I'm torn between the two and unfortunately the nearest rei is about an hour and a half away and I don't think the guys at Dicks sporting goods or best buy would have half the knowledge that the people down the road do. I'd love to get my hands on both and I had the chance to this weekend at Woodstock but I found myself checking out everything else and figuring out how they made those nifty containers haha. When it boils down, I hate having to push the arrows around to make my coordinates work but I want something more accurate as mine seems to be taking a nose dive off the deep end of the technology pool. I started out with a Magellan so big I could strap it on my foot like a shoe. When I really got into caching I got the 60csx and then I slacked off for a few years but after Woodstock it's really put me back in the mood to get back out there and have my finding caches at 0130am to get a FTF. sorry for the novel but I'm just trying to decide what would best suit my needs as a weekend warrior.

[+Mineral2]

Punching in the coordinates by hand is going to be clunky whether you get a new GPS or not. The new models offer advantages such as a faster processor (good for drawing your maps faster) and paperless caching - the ability to have all the information from the website on your GPS. But you still have to plug the GPS into your computer to transfer caches and keep them updated. Granted, it's much easier if you use pocket queries or a cache manager such as GSAK. But at least with the Oregon 600 or the 64s, you can load up all the caches in your area and go with it, plugging in to update files as often as you'd like.

 

Maybe what you need is a new notebook, even if it's just a cheapie netbook that you use for geocaching.

[+geodarts]

The biggest issue I have with my 60csx is either having to plug it in to my old slow laptop or punch in the coordinates by hand with those little buttons. I wish there was some way I could send them directly to my device from either my iPad or my iPhone. From what I have read however, the "Bluetooth" technology on the new units has no such compatibility to do

 

The 60csx uses its own proprietary format, but as long as you have a newer unit that supports GPX files it can be done (somewhat directly). Since I use an iPhone app (geosphere) to manage caches, I have not loaded caches with a computer for a very long time. You need a small wi fi router to do it - I use Kingston Mobilelite which is about the size of my phone, but there are several other devices on the market. It sets up a wifi connection with the IPhone or iPad, and will recognize the gpsr when it is plugged into the router. The GPX files can be transferred from there.

 

The Bluetooth connection on the 600 and 64s is very limited. Mobile basecamp can send waypoints to the gpsr but does not support the full cache information in a GPX file.

Edited May 30, 2015 by geodarts

[+Dradicus]

Well, after posting my questions on here, a local cacher sent me a message. He lives not too far away and has both the 64st (I think) and the Oregon 650t and offered to meet up with me and let me try them out. This past Sunday we met at the Washington Monument State Park in Boonsboro ( near where we had Geowoodstock) to go find a few caches and give them a test run. I found that the 64 was still similar to my 60csx which I figured it would be and I used the 650 for the duration of the finds. I ended up coming home and ordering an Oregon 600 from Amazon which also has them on sale although not as deeply as rei did unfortunately. Can't wait to get one of my own! Thanks for the help!

[+Dradicus]

 

The 60csx uses its own proprietary format, but as long as you have a newer unit that supports GPX files it can be done (somewhat directly). Since I use an iPhone app (geosphere) to manage caches, I have not loaded caches with a computer for a very long time. You need a small wi fi router to do it - I use Kingston Mobilelite which is about the size of my phone, but there are several other devices on the market. It sets up a wifi connection with the IPhone or iPad, and will recognize the gpsr when it is plugged into the router. The GPX files can be transferred from there.

 

The Bluetooth connection on the 600 and 64s is very limited. Mobile basecamp can send waypoints to the gpsr but does not support the full cache information in a GPX file.

 

Do you have a link to this device? I found a few different ones online but I'm not sure which one you are speaking of.

 

Also, I finally got to try out my new Oregon 600 yesterday and I noticed that my elevations are waaaaay off. After working in surveying for a while, I know this whole area is between 500-600' above sea level. My gps varies between 1400-1600 feet. I turned on my 60csx and it was in the normal range. Is this one of the bugs of the new devices? My dad is a surveyor and we were talking about locating benchmarks and elevations and this is the only reason I checked it. Not a big deal, just wondering.

[39_Steps]

Download a user manual from Garmin and then search for Elevation or Calibrate in Adobe pdf Reader.

[+geodarts]

 

The 60csx uses its own proprietary format, but as long as you have a newer unit that supports GPX files it can be done (somewhat directly). Since I use an iPhone app (geosphere) to manage caches, I have not loaded caches with a computer for a very long time. You need a small wi fi router to do it - I use Kingston Mobilelite which is about the size of my phone, but there are several other devices on the market. It sets up a wifi connection with the IPhone or iPad, and will recognize the gpsr when it is plugged into the router. The GPX files can be transferred from there.

 

The Bluetooth connection on the 600 and 64s is very limited. Mobile basecamp can send waypoints to the gpsr but does not support the full cache information in a GPX file.

 

Do you have a link to this device? I found a few different ones online but I'm not sure which one you are speaking of.

 

 

I use Kingston MobileLite. The RAV 5 in 1 has been discussed in these forums. You are looking for a WiFi router that allows you to plug in the GPSr through USB or use an sd card.