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Garmin Gpsmap 60cs


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From the above post it sounds like the bracket part that attaches to the back of the 60C can be removed from the part that clips around the handlebars. Is this the case with this bike mount?

 

The only reason I've not purchased it so far is that from all of the photos I've seen it looks like the bracket and the bike mount component are one piece (I assumed this to be the case, my bad :rolleyes: ).

 

I already have the car bean bag mount and the bracket for it is cracked at the top of the hole because I use it with my neoprene case on. Fortunately, it still works. It would be nice to have another (unbroken) one by purchasing the bike mount kit.

 

Thanks,

Team Of Wheat

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Believe it or not, I've read this entire thread over the past week in addition to the manual...

 

I picked up my 60CS Tuesday and needless to say, love it, except for lack of GoTo on newly marked waypoint screen!?

 

(I too figured out Mark-Edit-Find-Find-Enter-Enter but also noticed Mark-Edit-Menu-Project-GoTo!? Although that does create a duplicate.)

 

Since hitting either the Find or Page buttons from the Mark Waypoint screen acts as "OK", the OK button is redundant in the current design...

 

It would be great if they changed it to "Go To" for this next release! After all the code's there for projected new waypoints and existing points.

 

(Or maybe the unit it's meant to be used for multicaches... Hehe..)

 

Enjoy,

 

Randy

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Has anyone used on of these on their bicycle?  Would it hold enough for light trail riding?  I'd like to get this mount for my 60c and looking for a little feedback before i make the purchase.

 

2101.jpg

I bought one and do not use it. The first time I put my 60CS in the hole, I saw it was broken ! Just one use ! I did not push it to strong but my confiance is gone: it is not reliable I think.

I now use an other system: I secure my GPS on the front bag of my bike. For my truck, I use velcro pad. When riding in trails, I put my unit in my shirt pocket with the antenna under my hat.

 

Jacques

www.velocarte.com

Tell Garmin. If there are no signs of abuse, odds are very good they will warranty it.

 

I use the same mount on my mountain bike and my truck (see post above for photos)

 

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php...dpost&p=1279526

 

No problems at all.

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From the above post it sounds like the bracket part that attaches to the back of the 60C can be removed from the part that clips around the handlebars.  Is this the case with this bike mount?

 

The only reason I've not purchased it so far is that from all of the photos I've seen it looks like the bracket and the bike mount component are one piece (I assumed this to be the case, my bad  :rolleyes: ).

 

I already have the car bean bag mount and the bracket for it is cracked at the top of the hole because I use it with my neoprene case on.  Fortunately, it still works.  It would be nice to have another (unbroken) one by purchasing the bike mount kit.

 

Thanks,

Team Of Wheat

 

You can see the gps installed and uninstalled on this mount in my post above in this thread. A cell bracket takes the place of a handlebar on my dash.

 

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php...dpost&p=1279526

 

The main support comes off the handlebar bracket with a one-hand quick release.

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Somehow I lost an important page when following the directions after a Go To command. I still get the upcoming turns and beeps. Before when I pressed page, I would get a list of turns. Now it has disappeared and I only get the compass page after pressing Page. What happened ? I probably need to reset some options.

Bill

 

Try MENU->MENU->'System'->ENTR->'Page Sequence->ENTR

 

The sequence should be Satellite, Trip Computer, Map, Active Route, Compass, Main Menu. I've added Highway in after Active Route, but that is just a personal preference. Highlight '<Add Page>' ->ENTR to insert a page. Once a page is added, highlight it and press MENU, highlight 'Move'->ENTR to move the page where you want it.

 

I hope this works.

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Somehow I lost an important page when following the directions after a Go To command.  I still get the upcoming turns and beeps.  Before when I pressed page, I would get a list of turns.  Now it has disappeared and I only get the compass page after pressing Page.  What happened ?  I probably need to reset some options.

Bill

 

Try MENU->MENU->'System'->ENTR->'Page Sequence->ENTR

 

The sequence should be Satellite, Trip Computer, Map, Active Route, Compass, Main Menu. I've added Highway in after Active Route, but that is just a personal preference. Highlight '<Add Page>' ->ENTR to insert a page. Once a page is added, highlight it and press MENU, highlight 'Move'->ENTR to move the page where you want it.

 

I hope this works.

That worked great, Sputnik !! Thanks very much. Don't know how it got all screwed up from before. Bill

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Hello again!

OK, I asked about my problem with GSAK about a week ago and I still haven't fixed it. I could not send waypoints. Now, I've installed trip & waypoint manager, MapSource 5.0 and the 6.0 upgrade, and it still doesn't work. Mapsource doesn't find the 60CS, GSAK says blah (literally). The GPS is set to garmin mode, and says it's connected when I plug in the USB. But the computer doesn't find it...I've tried both USB ports. Am I missing software? It's a new laptop, and everything worked on the previous one. Help me!

Awkward Socks

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Hello again!

OK, I asked about my problem with GSAK about a week ago and I still haven't fixed it. I could not send waypoints. Now, I've installed trip & waypoint manager, MapSource 5.0 and the 6.0 upgrade, and it still doesn't work. Mapsource doesn't find the 60CS, GSAK says blah (literally). The GPS is set to garmin mode, and says it's connected when I plug in the USB. But the computer doesn't find it...I've tried both USB ports. Am I missing software? It's a new laptop, and everything worked on the previous one. Help me!

Awkward Socks

Did you install the USB drivers that came with the 60CS?

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Mapsource, when I try to find device, says "Some devices were found; however, none have the necessary capabilities. Please make sure your device is connected to the computer and turned on, then try again. You may also have to set the interface option on your GPS to 'Garmin' or 'Home'"

I have the GPS interface option set to Garmin and it says connected.

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Mapsource, when I try to find device, says "Some devices were found; however, none have the necessary capabilities.  Please make sure your device is connected to the computer and turned on, then try again.  You may also have to set the interface option on your GPS to 'Garmin' or 'Home'"

I have the GPS interface option set to Garmin and it says connected.

Mapsource: When you say you did a 'find device' in Mapsource, I assume you are in the 'Get Unit ID' under the 'utilities' tab? If so, does a device list come up in the window and does any unit ID show up? If not, I would suspect the USB port is being used by another program and/or device. I have had bad experiences having Mapsource and GSAK up at the same time and flip flopping back and forth to upload and download. That being the case, just quit Mapsource and use GSAK to send or receive waypoints to the 60cs. If you want to see them on a map before heading out, the do a GSAK 'export' to Mapsource too (in addition to sending them to the GPS'r).

 

GSAK: In GSAK, you have to go under the GPS tab and SELECT Garmin and CHECK THE LITTLE BOX THAT SAYS USB, very easy to miss. Then check OK. Next go under the Database tab and click 'new' Give it a name and then hit the 'receive' icon or go back under GPS and click 'receive waypoints'.

 

Both of the above assume you have Garmin checked in the 60cs itselt in system setup, interface menu item. Also, in interface the USB line should say connected. If it says 'Not connected', the problem is somewhere else.

 

I just attached my 60cs, brought up Mapsource and GSAK and that is where I got the information above so it is sort of 'hot off the press'. Good Luck.....

Edited by wornout
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I started with the send waypoints, and when it asked what device it couldn't find the 60CS. Just tried the 'Get Unit ID' and no unit shows up. I've used the USB for printing, but I don't think that would take the connection from the unit.

For GSAK, under GPS Setup I have it set for Garmin, and the box is checked. But when I try to send it only says 'blah'. It says the same thing when I have nothing in USB ports, so I'm guessing the problem is in the connection to the computer.

I have downloaded and setup the Garmin USB driver, the 60CS sees a connection, but nothing on the laptop sees it.

Well, I've printed out all the geocaches I'm going for today, I'll have to use paper...thanks for all the help! Later

Edited by Awkward Socks
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I started with the send waypoints, and when it asked what device it couldn't find the 60CS. Just tried the 'Get Unit ID' and no unit shows up. I've used the USB for printing, but I don't think that would take the connection from the unit.

For GSAK, under GPS Setup I have it set for Garmin, and the box is checked. But when I try to send it only says 'blah'. It says the same thing when I have nothing in USB ports, so I'm guessing the problem is in the connection to the computer.

I have downloaded and setup the Garmin USB driver, the 60CS sees a connection, but nothing on the laptop sees it.

Well, I've printed out all the geocaches I'm going for today, I'll have to use paper...thanks for all the help! Later

Then I would start on the computer. Check control panels, administrative tools, computer management, then device manager. Once device manager is up, go down to Universal Serial Bus Controllers and see what is there.

 

My config:

 

Generic USB Hub

Generic USB Hub

NEC PCI to USB Open Host Controller

NEC PCI to USB Open Host Controller

Standard Enhanced PCI to USB Host Controller

USB Composit Device

USB Mass Storage Device

USB Root Hub

USB Root Hub

USB Rood Hub

 

I do have two 1 to 4 port USB hubs, two printers, a photo card reader, a serial GPS cable, a USB GPS cable, a Palm Pilot, and a memory stick.

 

I have no idea what is what in the above list, but I do see from the action menu you can update or uninstall the driver. SO, NOW IT IS TIME FOR A MORE KNOWLEDGABLE CACHER TO JUMP IN HERE.

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Here's an odd behaviour... Under Map Setup, I changed the Text Size of User Waypoints from Medium to Small.

 

I noticed double labels. Turns out the GoTo waypoint has a Medium sized label outlined in red with the small black label overlaid on top!?

 

OTOH, anyone have experience with how long the unit will typically run with only one battery bar showing? (NiMH preferably...)

 

As there are four bars and it's rated 30 hours or so, logic would suggest at least 7 hours?

 

Any idea the savings/difference shutting the compass off?

 

Enjoy,

 

Randy

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I started with the send waypoints, and when it asked what device it couldn't find the 60CS. Just tried the 'Get Unit ID' and no unit shows up. I've used the USB for printing, but I don't think that would take the connection from the unit.

For GSAK, under GPS Setup I have it set for Garmin, and the box is checked. But when I try to send it only says 'blah'. It says the same thing when I have nothing in USB ports, so I'm guessing the problem is in the connection to the computer.

I have downloaded and setup the Garmin USB driver, the 60CS sees a connection, but nothing on the laptop sees it.

Well, I've printed out all the geocaches I'm going for today, I'll have to use paper...thanks for all the help! Later

Briansnat solved a similar sounding problem with some help in this thread. Garmin is picky about how the drivers get loaded.

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I have a question, and I'm not sure if it's been discussed,. When I autoroute to a cache, sometimes my 60CS say take road where this is no road. Example, while navigating to a cache today, the 60CS put me on the interstate then says take right on road. There was no dadgum road anywhere off the interstate. There wasn't even an exit nearby. Very frustrating :anitongue:

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I have a question, and I'm not sure if it's been discussed,. When I autoroute to a cache, sometimes my 60CS say take road where this is no road. Example, while navigating to a cache today, the 60CS put me on the interstate then says take right on road. There was no dadgum road anywhere off the interstate. There wasn't even an exit nearby. Very frustrating :anitongue:

The 60CS is so advanced it can predict where future roads will be! :Just kidding! laughing: But seriously, the map software has some bugs. If you set the 60CS routing for fastest route it seems to help some.

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Checking my USB controllers in Computer Management, it says:

Intel® 8280 1DB/DBM USB 2.0 Enhanced Host Controller - 24CD

Intel® 8280 1DB/DBM USB Universal Host Controller - 24C2

Intel® 8280 1DB/DBM USB Universal Host Controller - 24C4

Intel® 8280 1DB/DBM USB Universal Host Controller - 24C7

USB Root Hub

USB Root Hub

USB Root Hub

USB Root Hub

I have no idea if all of that is a good or bad thing, so it still doesn't work. Checking the other tread now. Thanks for the ideas and links!

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Sputnick 57, thanks a lot! That thread was the answer to my prayers. Everything appears to be working now. Thanks everyone!

Awkward Socks

Way to go fellow cachers and congratulations Awkward Socks, I know how you feel after being through this since I have been there too.....

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Here's an odd behaviour... Under Map Setup, I changed the Text Size of User Waypoints from Medium to Small.

 

I noticed double labels. Turns out the GoTo waypoint has a Medium sized label outlined in red with the small black label overlaid on top!?

 

OTOH, anyone have experience with how long the unit will typically run with only one battery bar showing? (NiMH preferably...)

 

As there are four bars and it's rated 30 hours or so, logic would suggest at least 7 hours?

 

Any idea the savings/difference shutting the compass off?

 

Enjoy,

 

Randy

The battery meter shouldn't be looked at like a consistent level indicator progressing steadily at the same rate from full to empty. Look at it like a fuel gauge. I you drive easy you know you can get say 400 miles on your tank of gas. If you drive hard you can get 200. Also remember that use is a variable so you may drive hard for 10 miles and the easy for a 20 miles. From what I have seen it's best to average your typical use with these battery gauges rather than asking other people as one person might say 1 hour and another might get 20 hours from the same battery indicator.

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I just carry an extra set of batteries with me. When ever I replace the batteries in the unit, I replace the back up batteries in my "geocaching backpack". Like the previous poster said, my battery life varies even for the way I use it. I always plug it into the cig lighter in the car, but sometimes I forget to turn it off when I get out, and it runs on the battery since I have the option to automatically turn off disabled, so that adds to my own personal battery wear rate.

 

Other than that, I do think that the battery drain is quite high on the 60CS, but at least it consumes normally cheap cells and not some wacko size you pay a premium for.

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I just carry an extra set of batteries with me. When ever I replace the batteries in the unit, I replace the back up batteries in my "geocaching backpack". Like the previous poster said, my battery life varies even for the way I use it. I always plug it into the cig lighter in the car, but sometimes I forget to turn it off when I get out, and it runs on the battery since I have the option to automatically turn off disabled, so that adds to my own personal battery wear rate.

 

Other than that, I do think that the battery drain is quite high on the 60CS, but at least it consumes normally cheap cells and not some wacko size you pay a premium for.

I also carry an extra set with it. On the other hand I get excellent battery life. Since I use NiMH batteries and don't have to throw them away when they are dead I actually rarely plug it into the car. I on average get a minimum of 20 hours of battery life and the highest I have gotten was 35 hours. I personally can't believe how little battery power the 60C uses. Think of all the calculations it has to do to keep you on the map on track and to move the map in the exact same way and track speed and distance and everything else it does. It's hard to believe it lasts as long as it does on two little AA batteries. Of course my perception come from using an Etrex Vista for years which would barely get 8 hours if I was lucky and was half the GPS the 60C is.

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Well, I like the backlight when I use it in the car, and since the eats the batteries rather quickly, I stick with the accessory plug.

 

I often drive from St. Louis to the gulf coast, and have it on for 12 hours at a time in the car. Not so much to keep from getting lost, but it's speedometer is more accurate than the one in the vehicle, and it keeps better track of my estimated arrival time than I do in my head, since my arrival time depends heavily on how many times I have to use the rest areas :)

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Oh yes. I forgot one other all important reason for using it on those trips. Since I have all the rest areas in there as waypoints, when I get a "I have to go NOW" :) from the passenger area, I know how far it is to the next rest area, and have a better idea as to whether I have a crisis on my hands or not.

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Sure usage varies, and I carry backup alkalines, but it would still be nice to anticipate usage and better manage charging my batteries just like I do the fuel in my car's tank!

 

If my car's fuel tank is down to the last bar (less than one gallon), I can modify my driving style if the nearest station is far off. Similarly, I don't fill up at a quarter tank since I get 30 mpg--'twould be a waste of my time/effort to stop so frequently (12 gallon tank).

 

Ironically, after caching this weekend, my 60CS just went down to one bar when I got home. I just threw a volt meter on it and it showed 1.25 on each NiMH cell. (1.4ish fully charged) Most electronics shut off at 1.0 which either means the 60CS won't run under 1.2 volts per cell or the meter is non-linear (like your car's gas gauge if you've ever noticed!)

 

The point is if you always charge your batteries when the meter gets down to the last bar, you may shorten their life... If you always run empty and swap to your backup batteries in regular usage, your backups might only have a third of their life when you need 'em most!

 

I'll mess with mine and report what I sort out.

 

Enjoy,

 

Randy

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I didn't expect to have results today, but it happened a lot quicker than expected...

 

I used the 60CS driving and caching from 2:30 until 4:30 and then left it idle until it died at 4:50 and refused to turn back on. At 4:20 it had thrown up the low battery alert, which is what prompted me to leave it idle afterward.

 

In that time about 40 minutes was on trail. Of that, about 15 had the compass on.

The remaining drive time was autorouting... (Oddly it chose different routes there and back.)

The battery alert came up precisely 30 minutes from shutoff!

 

After it shut off, the voltage per battery was 1.18 (NiMH).

 

There is also apparently a "no bars" meter--but I didn't see when it changed as I was driving.

 

Either way it seems the battery meter is NOT linear as there's a lot less than a quarter of the total time remaining on that last bar... (Only a tenth if the total is 20 hours!)

 

So I won't recharge mine until after the warn alert comes up or they'll only be half discharged! (At the same time I won't expect to go for half a day on that last bar.)

 

Enjoy,

 

Randy

 

(Just for reference, 'twas about 45 degrees out for the hiking portion whereas car/house were warm.)

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Sure usage varies, and I carry backup alkalines, but it would still be nice to anticipate usage and better manage charging my batteries just like I do the fuel in my car's tank!

 

I carry extra batteries NOW and quit using rechargable NiMH's totally. I did have NiMH's in my GPS'r and two flashlights. Reason I gave them up is they failed when I most needed them. I went for a night cache, checked out my mini-mag light and my ball cap light before heading out. Started down the trail, my first flashligh went dim in a hurry and died. I then switched on my ball cap light, they were weak but working. Then the rattlesnake appeared on the trail, he dropped on just after I walked past a big bush. Of course I continued for the cache which was about 100 yards away. On my return trip, the flashlight got dimmer and dimmer. My options were to stay out there past the snake, for 7 hours until the sun came up, or continue on with a weak light. I continued on, made it past the snake bush area and managed to get back to the car by managing the rest of the power in the batterirs. Seems rechargables will go weak if just left sitting in a flashlight and when tested, like I did, appear charged, well until you use them for a few minutes. So I gave up on them and carry spare akalines now.

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Can anyone help me, my computer had a major crash and I had to re-install everything, well I cant find the cd that came with my 60c I downloaded the driver from the Garmin web page, but for some reason my computer still wont recoginze the new hardware, so I'm assuming I need that software, but I dont see myself finiding it any time soon, can anyone tell me what to do? Thanks

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I didn't expect to have results today, but it happened a lot quicker than expected...

 

I used the 60CS driving and caching from 2:30 until 4:30 and then left it idle until it died at 4:50 and refused to turn back on. At 4:20 it had thrown up the low battery alert, which is what prompted me to leave it idle afterward.

 

In that time about 40 minutes was on trail. Of that, about 15 had the compass on.

The remaining drive time was autorouting... (Oddly it chose different routes there and back.)

The battery alert came up precisely 30 minutes from shutoff!

 

After it shut off, the voltage per battery was 1.18 (NiMH).

 

There is also apparently a "no bars" meter--but I didn't see when it changed as I was driving.

 

Either way it seems the battery meter is NOT linear as there's a lot less than a quarter of the total time remaining on that last bar... (Only a tenth if the total is 20 hours!)

 

So I won't recharge mine until after the warn alert comes up or they'll only be half discharged! (At the same time I won't expect to go for half a day on that last bar.)

 

Enjoy,

 

Randy

 

(Just for reference, 'twas about 45 degrees out for the hiking portion whereas car/house were warm.)

No as I explained previously the battery meter predicts life based on current usage so therefore if you are using more you have less mileage or if you are using less you have more mileage.

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Sure usage varies, and I carry backup alkalines, but it would still be nice to anticipate usage and better manage charging my batteries just like I do the fuel in my car's tank!

 

If my car's fuel tank is down to the last bar (less than one gallon), I can modify my driving style if the nearest station is far off. Similarly, I don't fill up at a quarter tank since I get 30 mpg--'twould be a waste of my time/effort to stop so frequently (12 gallon tank).

 

Ironically, after caching this weekend, my 60CS just went down to one bar when I got home. I just threw a volt meter on it and it showed 1.25 on each NiMH cell. (1.4ish fully charged) Most electronics shut off at 1.0 which either means the 60CS won't run under 1.2 volts per cell or the meter is non-linear (like your car's gas gauge if you've ever noticed!)

 

The point is if you always charge your batteries when the meter gets down to the last bar, you may shorten their life... If you always run empty and swap to your backup batteries in regular usage, your backups might only have a third of their life when you need 'em most!

 

I'll mess with mine and report what I sort out.

 

Enjoy,

 

Randy

You can't reduce the capacity of NiMH or Lithium Ion batteries by charging them early they don't work that way. What you can do is shorten their overall life. They have a limited number of times they can be recharged.

 

Yes the fuel gauge is linear but no your mileage is not. Same as the battery meter. The battery meter is calculating your mileage not your fuel left.

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Sorry I missed your previous somehow...

 

> No as I explained previously the battery meter

> predicts life based on current usage so therefore if

> you are using more you have less mileage or if you

> are using less you have more mileage.

 

Not just based on voltage? That's highly unusual--if you don't mind my asking, how did you find that out? (The manual clearly says, "power"--not mileage or time.)

 

> You can't reduce the capacity of NiMH or Lithium Ion

> batteries by charging them early they don't work that

> way. What you can do is shorten their overall life.

> They have a limited number of times they can be

> recharged.

 

Exactly. (By battery life I meant overall life, not charge...)

 

(Of course, this presumes using an "intelligent" chip-based charger that measures voltage drop, not a trickle charger or temperature based one which will cook a partially depleted battery...)

 

> Yes the fuel gauge is linear but no your mileage is

> not. Same as the battery meter. The battery meter is

> calculating your mileage not your fuel left.

 

Actually, fuel gauges are NOT linear--they are based upon the shape of the gas tank and angle (depending on design) of the float.

 

On one hand, the concept that the battery meter estimates hours remaining rather than reporting actual battery condition distresses me since I can anticipate my future use but the device can't.

 

Knowing the actual battery life would be more useful than an interpretation of such.

 

Also, having only two hours remaining on the last bar when usage does not involve the compass or backlight it dissappointing based on that interpretation.

 

Thanks for the "heads up"! (Learn something new every day...)

 

A little off-topic but important to 60C usage nonetheless:

 

For the fellow who has given up on NiMH in his flashlight--good! NiMH are not best for items left idle for long periods of time as they do lose their charge. I use them in items I use frequently: Palm device, GPS, digital Camera but never flashlights or items that sit. (Also, whereas Alkalines get gradually dimmer, rechargables drop off suddenly at the end.)

 

Stuff like cordless screwguns or hedge trimmers need to be recharged semi-annually if left idle. (Just be sure not to cook them when "topping" off...)

 

Enjoy,

 

Randy

 

PS: Sure enough--look at that, three bars drops to two when the light's turned on and returns to three when it's turned off. That's bad. That's very bad. They should warn about that in the manual, change the language from "Battery Power" to "Anticipated Run Time" and instead of representing it with a battery icon use a clock countdown instead. Scary...

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Hey, I have a question, what's the use of planning route on the computer to download into the 60cs if the 60cs will overide those downloaded routes anyway?

 

To me that seems kind of dumb. It should at the very least ASK if you want the 60cs to re-calculate a route if it's already in there on the route list. Otherwise, why even have a route page? A waste of memory...

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Hey, I have a question, what's the use of planning route on the computer to download into the 60cs if the 60cs will overide those downloaded routes anyway?

 

To me that seems kind of dumb. It should at the very least ASK if you want the 60cs to re-calculate a route if it's already in there on the route list. Otherwise, why even have a route page? A waste of memory...

First, one of the things you have to remember is that the computer software is also used on units that are not capable of recalculating a route.

 

Next, it is a lot easier to enter stuff on the computer than to use the tedious entry on the GPS. While a route that only goes from A to B is not a big issue, entering a route with multiple waypoints is done much more easily on the computer than the GPS. So even if it did recalculate the route, there is still a case for computer entry of the waypoints.

 

Ask before recalculating? Sounds OK to me. I acutally find that the GPS sometimes calculates a different route than the computer anyway. Sometimes that is good and sometimes it is bad. In the long run, it may have been easier to program the GPS to act the same all the time than to make an exception for downloaded routing. They may even be omitting some of the download data to conserve internal memory since the unit will calculate the route anyway. Of course some of the last few things are only conjecture.

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PS: Sure enough--look at that, three bars drops to two when the light's turned on and returns to three when it's turned off. That's bad. That's very bad. They should warn about that in the manual, change the language from "Battery Power" to "Anticipated Run Time" and instead of representing it with a battery icon use a clock countdown instead. Scary...

You discovered how this works the same way as I did. Though I have found that the lower the batteries the less accurate it is. This works the same as my iPod and Powerbook. I think it's pretty much a standard way of measuring battery life anymore.

 

 

Also yes I understand that fuel gauges are not exactly linear but as compared to measuring mileage they are much more so.

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Perhaps in regards to the battery indicator, it could be made as laptops. Where the actually battery indicator will give you the capacity of the battery, and also give you an estimated time remaining prediction based on usage.

 

EDIT: Using my rechargeable batteries (nimh), I got about 4 hours after the last bar disapeared, sometime near the end I tried to use it and it gave me the following message "Batteries too low for backlight". The backlight still came on, but it was very weak/dim like setting the level to 10% on fresh batteries.

In conclusion, don't soley rely on the battery indicator. Just pack a pair of extras or so.

Edited by jmstacey
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Perhaps in regards to the battery indicator, it could be made as laptops. Where the actually battery indicator will give you the capacity of the battery, and also give you an estimated time remaining prediction based on usage.

 

EDIT: Using my rechargeable batteries (nimh), I got about 4 hours after the last bar disapeared, sometime near the end I tried to use it and it gave me the following message "Batteries too low for backlight". The backlight still came on, but it was very weak/dim like setting the level to 10% on fresh batteries.

In conclusion, don't soley rely on the battery indicator. Just pack a pair of extras or so.

 

That's my conclusion as well. All in all I really can't complain as my Vista barely got 8 hours on two AA batteries with backlight and compass off with it's gray scale screen. My new 60CS with it's bright gorgeous color screen and using backlight a large amount of the time can get over 20 hours on the same two AA batteries.

Edited by MacBandit
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Perhaps in regards to the battery indicator, it could be made as laptops. Where the actually battery indicator will give you the capacity of the battery, and also give you an estimated time remaining prediction based on usage.

 

EDIT: Using my rechargeable batteries (nimh), I got about 4 hours after the last bar disapeared, sometime near the end I tried to use it and it gave me the following message "Batteries too low for backlight". The backlight still came on, but it was very weak/dim like setting the level to 10% on fresh batteries.

In conclusion, don't soley rely on the battery indicator. Just pack a pair of extras or so.

 

That's my conclusion as well. All in all I really can't complain as my Vista barely got 8 hours on two AA batteries with backlight and compass off with it's gray scale screen. My new 60CS with it's bright gorgeous color screen and using backlight a large amount of the time can get over 20 hours on the same two AA batteries.

Ditto with my Legend! The 60CS is more efficient.

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Perhaps in regards to the battery indicator, it could be made as laptops. Where the actually battery indicator will give you the capacity of the battery, and also give you an estimated time remaining prediction based on usage.

 

EDIT: Using my rechargeable batteries (nimh), I got about 4 hours after the last bar disapeared, sometime near the end I tried to use it and it gave me the following message "Batteries too low for backlight". The backlight still came on, but it was very weak/dim like setting the level to 10% on fresh batteries.

In conclusion, don't soley rely on the battery indicator. Just pack a pair of extras or so.

 

That's my conclusion as well. All in all I really can't complain as my Vista barely got 8 hours on two AA batteries with backlight and compass off with it's gray scale screen. My new 60CS with it's bright gorgeous color screen and using backlight a large amount of the time can get over 20 hours on the same two AA batteries.

I am seeing the same thing with my 60CS - I was amazed!

 

My previous GPSr was a etrex legend with it's tiny B/W screen - and I was lucky to get a 2 days geocaching without worrying about battery replacement (NMiH rechargeables).

 

I just got back from a week-long business trip where I used the map extensively (2-4 hours a day) and geocached in the evenings - in both cases with the backlight on.

 

I brought 4 sets of batteries JIC and I was AMAZED that I not only did NOT have to replace the batteries at all, but the 60CS is STILL going strong this weekend.

 

Now THAT is power management!

 

(I will STILL carry 1 spare set of batteries though :D

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Hey, I have a question, what's the use of planning route on the computer to download into the 60cs if the 60cs will overide those downloaded routes anyway?

 

To me that seems kind of dumb. It should at the very least ASK if you want the 60cs to re-calculate a route if it's already in there on the route list. Otherwise, why even have a route page? A waste of memory...

First, one of the things you have to remember is that the computer software is also used on units that are not capable of recalculating a route.

 

Next, it is a lot easier to enter stuff on the computer than to use the tedious entry on the GPS. While a route that only goes from A to B is not a big issue, entering a route with multiple waypoints is done much more easily on the computer than the GPS. So even if it did recalculate the route, there is still a case for computer entry of the waypoints.

 

Ask before recalculating? Sounds OK to me. I acutally find that the GPS sometimes calculates a different route than the computer anyway. Sometimes that is good and sometimes it is bad. In the long run, it may have been easier to program the GPS to act the same all the time than to make an exception for downloaded routing. They may even be omitting some of the download data to conserve internal memory since the unit will calculate the route anyway. Of course some of the last few things are only conjecture.

Well. that was sort of my point. Why route on your computer and then just have your 60cs overide all of the routes with its own re-calcs? That doesn't make sense since the 60cs can route by waypoints just as easily as on a PC. The reason most people route of the PC to download is because they wanted a SPECIFIC route to take and it's much easier to play around with the different roads to get to a destination on a PC than on the 60cs.

 

That's why they should take a different default when someone chooses a pre-programmed route from the 60cs. It should just follow the route as it is programmed WITHOUT re-calc, or at the very least ASK if you want a recalc. Put another way, the auto re-route should be turned OFF by default when using a pre-programmed route from the route list.

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Well. that was sort of my point. Why route on your computer and then just have your 60cs overide all of the routes with its own re-calcs?

I find it a lot easier to find addresses, etc on Mapsource than on my GPSMap 60cs. If I want to force the route to go through specific places, I just add some additional waypoints between the start and end points.

 

Cheers,

Barry

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Just received my 60CS yesterday and alread love this thing!! I can get 3-5 sats sitting in my livingroom...awesome reception. I'll be looking for an alternate type of mounting system for car and bicycle use though...the garmin mount looks too wimpy for the bouncing around it'll get.

 

I've downloaded all of the Oregon maps from City Select v6.0 into it with a little extra around the edges. It only took 38MB for everything, leaving room for some topo maps too...after payday that is. ;) The best most usfull advice so far has been 'play with it'. I've spent about 5 hours doing just that and have found the menu system of the 60CS very intuitive.

 

Thanks for everyone who has been contributing to this thread, I've found a lot of very helpful info here. Now I've got to get started playing around with GSAK for loading some caches into this for next weekend. I can't wait to get outdoors with this unit. :)

 

EDIT: Ordered the RAM mounts for car and bicycle...that'll get 'er dun! :huh:

 

Regards,

Indybill

Edited by indybill
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That's why they should take a different default when someone chooses a pre-programmed route from the 60cs. It should just follow the route as it is programmed WITHOUT re-calc, or at the very least ASK if you want a recalc. Put another way, the auto re-route should be turned OFF by default when using a pre-programmed route from the route list.

I ran into the same problem with my 76CS on a couple of roadtrips. It really irritated me because I tend to travel specific roads knowing what traffic is like on the alternative roads. I've found that I can set waypoints just beyond each potential route change (like the intersection of a hiway) to force my 76CS to take the road I want. Example; Traveling from Ventura to Palm Springs trying to avoid Los angeles. I set a waypoint on hiway 23 just past the 101 - 23 interchange. This prevents the 76CS from routing me all the way down on the 101. You'll get the feel for just how many waypoints to set after a while. I've found that the 76CS tries to U-turn me in weird situations so I tend to set many waypoints to avoid the problem.

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That's why they should take a different default when someone chooses a pre-programmed route from the 60cs. It should just follow the route as it is programmed WITHOUT re-calc, or at the very least ASK if you want a recalc. Put another way, the auto re-route should be turned OFF by default when using a pre-programmed route from the route list.

I ran into the same problem with my 76CS on a couple of roadtrips. It really irritated me because I tend to travel specific roads knowing what traffic is like on the alternative roads. I've found that I can set waypoints just beyond each potential route change (like the intersection of a hiway) to force my 76CS to take the road I want. Example; Traveling from Ventura to Palm Springs trying to avoid Los angeles. I set a waypoint on hiway 23 just past the 101 - 23 interchange. This prevents the 76CS from routing me all the way down on the 101. You'll get the feel for just how many waypoints to set after a while. I've found that the 76CS tries to U-turn me in weird situations so I tend to set many waypoints to avoid the problem.

On the 60CS there is an option to turn off U-turns. If you will never do that, you can see if the 76 has a similar option.

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