Garmin 60c

[Boxer Crew]

As the title says, I am on the verge of upgrading my Legend to a 60C but I have a couple of questions you may be able to help me with.

 

First how does the autorouting work? I load in the relevant section from City Select, then what? Can I enter an address or does it have to be a waypoint? How does the GPS direct me. Am I going to be constantly looking at the screen and rear ending the car in front????

 

The second question is, being Canadian, should I buy in Canada because of the base map. I ask this becasue there are some good units on e-bay in the States, but they claim to have the US recreational base map?

 

And a bonus question... Should I really be looking at the CS - is the compass and barometer worth it. I am thinking not due to the extra price and faster battery drain. I have read all the other Garmin 60 threads so I think this answer will be 50/50.

 

Okay I lied - it was more than 2 questions

[+DeViDe]

Maybe this will help you.

 

Garmin 60 CS

 

I have a 60 CS and love it.

Edited January 8, 2005 by DeViDe

[+Team DEMP]

You can select to route via an address you enter on the unit, a waypoint loaded from your computer or any POI (Point of Interest) that is loaded on the unit (eg. Nearest McDonalds). So no, you don't have to create or pre-load any location you want to route to, though it is the quickest way to select.

 

I think the base map is the same for all of North America. The other basemap options are Australia or Europe. That's according to http://www.garmin.com/products/gpsmap60cs/

 

I'd consider the 60CS over the 60 (I have the 76CS). I'd rather spend a couple of bucks and not use something (though I do use it when geocaching) then want it later and not have it.

 

Hope that helps.

[+Volwrath]

Boxer: First of all the answer to your first two questions is Yes/Yes.

 

Are you going to rear end someone looking at your GPS? Probably, but not because you have to, but because iit is soooo cool... It will beep well before a turn, and you can glance then to see which way to turn. A glance is all that is necessary.

 

I love my 60C, but still wish there were memory expansion..

 

edit: in rsponse to the previous post I would say that the basemap on the 60C(S) are horrid, but its not a big deal after loading maps....

Edited January 8, 2005 by Volwrath

[+Sputnik 57]

The turn-by-turn maps are great. When you get about 30 seconds from a turn, the unit beeps (I have mine set to Beep 17, I think, which sounds like a "hey, look at me" whistle). It the flashes a close-up of the intersection or freeway interchange for about 5 seconds to show you exactly what to do. If flips back to the map page until you are about 7 seconds away, whistles again, and shows the pointer on the close up as you complete the turn.

 

The turn-by-turn maps are easy to see, and only take a glance. They can be a real help in the spaghetti bowl of an unfamiliar freeway interchange.

 

Edit: The hailing beep is Beep 11.

Edited January 8, 2005 by Sputnik 57

[+DeViDe]

here is anothe:

Review

[Neo_Geo]

Should I really be looking at the CS - is the compass and barometer worth it. I am thinking not due to the extra price and faster battery drain. I have read all the other Garmin 60 threads so I think this answer will be 50/50.

I think the 60C is just fine. I've never had a GPSr with a compass and never wished that I did. Perhaps if I did have that feature, I might like it. Would it be worth the extra money to me? Probably not.

 

But to me, the kicker is the altimeter feature. It just sounds like a total P.I.T.A. to me! It has to be calibrated for every use (and sometimes more frequently than that if a fast-moving storm is approaching). It also gives errant information when used in the pressurized cabin of an airliner - usually around 5,000 feet when you're really at 40,000 feet. I think maybe some models can show GPS altitude IF you jump through some hoops. Just sounds like more P.I.T.A. action to me!

 

Maybe if they came out with a model with a compass and no altimeter, I MIGHT be inclined to consider it. As it is, I'm very happy without the sensors!

[+The Old Fogies]

I got my 60 CS when they first came out. I have not been disappointed. The compass helps locating a cache when you get in the area. I don't use the compass all of the time, only when having problems finding the cache. You really need to get the City Select and load it to get the full use of the Auto Routing. I'm well pleased with mine.

 

The Old Fogies,

Bobby

[peter]

But to me, the kicker is the altimeter feature. It just sounds like a total P.I.T.A. to me! It has to be calibrated for every use (and sometimes more frequently than that if a fast-moving storm is approaching). It also gives errant information when used in the pressurized cabin of an airliner - usually around 5,000 feet when you're really at 40,000 feet.

No, it doesn't have to be recalibrated since you can let it automatically calibrate itself based on the GPS altitude.

 

This works very well and is a big improvement over conventional barometric altimeters. The GPS-derived altitudes jump around alot on short time scales, but average out to an accurate value. OTOH, barometric altimeters are stable short-term, but subject to drift as weather patterns change. The Garmin models with pressure sensors monitor the difference between the two methods and adjust the barometric reading based on the GPS values with a time constant of about 30 minutes (unless the unit starts with a very large difference in which case a faster recalibration is used). That avoids reacting to the random fluctuations of the GPS altitude data but is quick enough to compensate for changing atmospheric conditions.

I record the tracklogs of my bike rides and hikes and the elevation profiles are much more accurate and smoother when recorded with Garmin units that include the barometric sensor like the 60cs. This is especially true in areas where reception frequently drops down to three satellites so the unit only has a 2D fix - such marginal reception isn't uncommon in mountain areas where the terrain blocks much of the sky.

 

Yes, use of the barometric sensor does mess up the altitude readings when in a pressurized plane. But then I've always left the navigating to someone else in that situation so it hasn't been a big issue. Would be nice though if Garmin would give the user the option to just use GPS altitude when desired.

[+robert]

Having the CS (from a Legend and Magellan SporTrak color), I'd definitely suggest you go with the CS to get the compass. It's great for finding caches--don't have to be moving for the arrow to orient itself.

[+Quoddy]

I would definitely recommend getting the 60cs. I use the "s" features constantly. One thing I like to have when routing is show 2 data fields. One is the distance to the next turn, and the second is the distance to the destination. By having the next turn distance I know approximately how long it will be before I even have to plan on looking at the unit. Rather than rear ending, it seems to have the opposite effect on me. I don't have to be constantly checking signs for where I next turn. I'm able to just drive and follow the GPSr routing when the time comes (I use tones 10 and 15 - short and long beeps). Yes, it's a great unit!

[BilgeRat]

In addition to what was said about turn information, don't worry about it if you do blow a turn. The unit will immediately recalculate your route and give you another turn to get you back on course. This works really well.

Tom

[Boxer Crew]

Thanks guys.

 

DeViDe - that first link was awesome. Now I just have to take the plunge and shell out a few extra bucks.

[+kopfjaeger]

I just got my 60CS in on Thursday, and I love it so far.

The Geocaching feature is nice. I use the "go to" feature on the map page to get me close enough to park my truck, then switch to the "Geocaching Compass" to navigate from there. When you use the "go to" feature the compass goes from normal compass operation, to a madoe where the "North" pointer always points at the cache. Just keep walking with the pointer pointing away from you and you'll run right into it.

Mind you, I'm quite new to this, and have only found one cache with it so far. But the compass was good enough to put me right on top of it from a half mile away

[REDRON]

Map60cs

I just went out and purchased the map60cs and it worked fine for the first 3 days then it was a nightmare. The unit would freeze like every 2 minutes, I reset the unit no change… I called Garmin and the technician on the phone had me check the BIOS version and said 3.6 was the newest and should work, he also had me hard reboot the unit and told me I would lose all my data, at this point I didn’t care as I just spent $630 on this unit and all I had was a paper weight.

Seemed to be good for about a day and then YES Freezing again, and again and again, called Garmin and talked to another guy and he said the unit was defective and I should take it back to the store and get another one. So I did, now on the second unit 2 days later, the unit Freezes again. Called back Garmin and talked to yet another guy and said this is crazy I am sure I can’t have a second bad GPS. He then tells me that the is a BIOS problem for people in CANADA the newer BIOS 3.6 will freeze and they are working on fixing the problem, I had to load a older BIOS on the unit 3.3 and from that day to now NO problems at all and I can say I love it. I have found 1 Geocach and this unit is great for directions.

[+kopfjaeger]

Map60cs

...I just spent $630 on this unit and all I had was a paper weight...

I hope that was a typo