So I guess it's time... I want a new GPS

You may recall I have went through a couple Garmins that did not get good reception in the trees of cloud cover... well now I want a "good one".

I believe Izzy was saying the new Garmin's are a lot better than the older ones I had used, and there was a post we even compared a few.

I can't find that post (I don't think it was on GPS specifically) if anyone knows of it please link here.

My GPS will be used for recording my trips in the woods on my quad, and on foot as well as driving through the mountains.

So - what GPS have you guys been happy with?

I'm fond of the Garmin GPSMap60CSX. Seeing as how I upgraded from a Garmin Vista I have no real complaints except that the battery life is shorter and, since I have little need for a color display, the 60CSX display seemed a bit washed out compared to the black-on-gray I was accustomed to.

A decent review is here:
http://patrick-roeder.de/reviews/garmin_gpsmap_60CSx.htm

This one?

http://forums.equipped.org/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Main=13419&Number=175389#Post175389

I think that's the one I was looking at.

I`ll have to go to their site and compare I just needed the model I was looking at before (totally forgot).

-Todd

Nope but thanks.

I think it was the one where the person was reviewing that GPS Dakota(I think) shown on that post though! The search is on

Looks like it was the 60CSX
http://www.amazon.com/Garmin-GPS-60CSx-H...6213&sr=8-9

That I was looking at getting.

Any word if a better/newer one is out soon ? I'd hate to buy it then a new one pops up!

What "maps" would I want to load on this if I`m going to be in Northern California 95% or more of my time.

TOPO U.S. 24K WEST. - It has California & Nevada.

To bad it cost $99 that really makes the GPS $$$$

Are the maps useful ?

It seems they are "Contains many routable trails, rural roads, city neighborhood roads, major highways and interstates.".

That would be handy.

It sounds like the TOPO U.S. 24K - West will work on the 60CSX but looks better on the touchscreen units... but I`d imagine the touch screen with no "antenna" reception is not the best.

Oh the choices.

I keep looking at the new models too. Touchscreen I don't care about but would like a bigger screen size. I think my legend will handle the 24k maps, just won't show the dem shading like the new ones will. My screen is also brighter and better battery life.

I just did a TON of research on GPS. I just bought a new one after losing my eTrex.

The Garmin 60, has a lot of really positive review from users and reviewers. I think that this unit is more favored than the 400.

I choose the DeLorme PN-40. I could not be happier. It takes a significant learning curve but the results are a much better product IMHO. For a $29 annually you can download all the free maps you want to your mapping software. Anything from USGS 7.5, to 'Google Maps' to aerials, etc. There is about 5 different types. You can then layer them over each other so you can have multiple views of the same map grid. Then of course download to the unit.

I have been layering 7.5's and aerial photography for my hikes. Plus the recieving chip is as fast as the Garmin 60 which is faster than the 400.

At least give it a look.

Thanks!

I`ll check into it.

Being able to look at TOPO and then Aerial would be freaking awesome

http://forums.equipped.org/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=178076#Post178076 ?

( http://forums.equipped.org/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=179245#Post179245 )

Quick comment: it appears it isn't literally Google Earth compatible as it apparently can't import a "My Places" KML file from Google Earth.

But it an interesting device. Time to write a KML to GPX converter I guess.

Yes correct James, this is why its in '_'. Its called Hi-Res Color Aerial Imagery DOQQ.

Here is link to see the different types that come from the annual subscription. You can layer all or some of these on top of each other depending on the image and data you want to see in the unit.

TOPO 8.0 image types

Standard disclaimer just a fan. Bought the PN-40 last month and though it has a fairly steep learning curve compared to Garmin units, I find the end result more satisfying to me.

I thin it would be nice to be able to overlay maps you preload... but I wonder if that technology will be improved upon GREATLY in the next year or so?

It does not really pay to second guess technology advances.

GPS and other electronics are the same this way. You will never be able to predict if the systems will improve or if they will be rendered obsolete by the next thing coming along.
GPS might be replaced by something else just like GPS has almost completely replaced LORAN-C.
(our governments still operate the LORAN transmitters but I have not heard of anybody buying new receivers lately.)

The thing with computers, radios, GPS recievers and other chip based electronics is to buy the best you can afford right now and to expect them to be obsolete within 5 years.
Sometimes they are actually obsolete the day you buy them but will take 5 years to get through the technological replacement cycle anyhow.

If you are waiting for the next great advance before you buy now then you will be still waiting for the next great advance 5 years down the road.

My GPS units are well past their replacement time as technology but they still do everything I need them to do.
The reason I will be buying a new one next year is because they are getting too old to be reliable (electronics do decay over time and repairs become unavailable)

I like the looks of the Dakota as well as the Etrex HCX, and they are not far apart in their functional abilities.
I will likely buy Dakota because it is just starting the replacement cycle, but it will really be decided by budget considerations at purchase time.
Items that are farther along the obsolescence curve tend to be priced lower even if they have the same basic features as the newer unit.

I'll second or third the Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx. Very good GPS and with an additional memory card can hold a lot of maps. Turn the various maps on/off as required (keep only the relevant maps active).

A person could wait forever while waiting for the next generation of electronic devices to become available cause there seems to always be yet another generation comin round the bend. In the meantime you lose the opportunity to using whatever is currently available, on the plus side, you save money cause you end up not buying anything!

Which is part of the reason why I don't have a new Mac laptop yet...

I have a GPSMap 60Cx - that's the same model without the compass and altimeter. I don't miss them. The GPS gives approximate altitude and I don't see much personal benefit from adding an air-pressure estimate even if it is more accurate. As for the electronic compass, I reckon if you need a hand-held GPS then you also need a map and conventional compass as backup, in which case you don't really need another compass in the GPS. Especially not one that will fail if the GPS batteries go flat, and one that itself takes power causing them to go flat even sooner.

As I recall, it was quite a bit cheaper not to have those extra sensors. There's a temptation with survival gear to spend the maximum "just in case", but on this occasion consider carefully whether to put the money towards something else (like a PLB).

The colour display, on the other hand, is worth getting - the maps really work better with it. If you get one, check the Garmin website for software updates.

True and if you keep the compass turned off as I do, the batteries last longer.

Price seems low enough to mention - Costco has Brandon's model (without altimeter or electronic compass) Garmin GPSMAP™ 60Cx Handheld GPS for $219.99
Includes 64 MB MicroSD™ Card. You need to order it from their website.

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.asp...g=en-US&s=1

The GPS60 is still the most accurate one even if it doesn't have the fanciest screen and such. I've started logging everything and if you zoom way in on maps you can see small errors from my legend HCx. http://www.everytrail.com/my_trips.php?user_id=76636

I'm now wishing that's the one I had, I'd buy it for $219 but would have to spend another $200 to duplicate the map licenses I have now.

I am lucky enough to own a Garmin 60CSx (with electronic compass and altimeter). From everything I've read, Garmin has simply not come up with another GPS as good overall as the 60 series (or the 76 series - they are VERY similar).

I went a few years feeling that people don't need the electronic compass on a GPS, but when I bought the 60CSx I splurged. After owning it for a few years I have to say that I'm glad I did. Now I strongly recommend the electronic compass. Its usually only about $15 more - or so.

Just last weekend I used the GPS and electronic compass to find a corner marker on some new property my wife & I just bought in northern Wisconsin. The place is some larger acreage and pretty rugged - with enough trees and brush that my wife & I couldn't see each other while searching for the property's corner. We just couldn't find it - even though the surveyor put a stake with an orange flag as a marker. I finally gave up, pulled out the survey and GPS 60, figured out the bearing and distance from a known corner post, inserted it into the GPS as a "projected waypoint", and then used the electronic compass to help me find the corner. I re-calibrated it first - to be sure - its easy enough to do quickly. Anyway, it lead me directly to the corner. We'd been looking in the wrong place. An amazing GPS!!!

We even saw bear scat as we were wandering around. Cool!

By the way, in my next life I think I'd like to be a land surveyor. Its a really cool skill and science, though surveyors have to walk through some pretty tough land. My surveyor said he got all cut up doing my new property - lots of wild raspberries & blackberries. George Washington was a land surveyor!! ... but he didn't have high accuracy GPS's.

Did you know that a bearing on a survey listed as N86* 35' 14"W is an azimuth - pointing 86 degrees, 35 minutes, 14 seconds from true north toward true west. Using a regular compass the bearing would be 360 - [86 + (35/60) + (14/60/60) ] or 273.41* (*=the degree symbol). If it had said S86* 35' 14"W it would mean it was 86+ degrees from true south toward true west. If it said N ... E it would be the number of degrees from true north toward true east. If you get the idea.

Ken

Have you looked at OpenStreetMap? No fees. Free maps. And if you notice an error or omission you can fix it yourself.

http://www.openstreetmap.org/

A

I use topo maps more often and so far all the free topos for my state just have small spots completed.

I see the prices have changed. When I bought mine, it was new. Even now I find websites claiming the list price is $428.56 versus $374.99 (over $50 more), and the difference was greater back then in the UK. But now they tend to be discounted down to virtually the same price.

A compass is certainly a good addition to a GPS, but it's arguably better to have it as an independent unit, for backup reasons, rather than integrated. But it's probably better still to have both: separate compass and integrated digital compass.

Okay, I need to break out the manual and figure out how to do that. Projected waypoints could be a very useful tool.

I still prefer a separate mag compass.

So was Daniel Boone, he was the first or second surveyor into most of Kentucky back in the day, and I believe he might have surveyed some land for either Geo Washington, Patrick Henry, or one or more of the Adamses. His surveying skills were about average for the time, his paperwork however left something to be desired, and alot of his surveys couldn't stand up to scrutiny back in the courts in civilization. But first and foremost, he was out there, risking his life surveying for hire, hunting and trapping among sometimes hostile Native Americans whose lands he was carving up for new tenants, so that alone made his surveying invaluable to new landholders.

ETSers, can we raise a cup to the original equipped to survive man, Daniel Boone!

FWIW the 60CSX is $279 now @ Amazon.

I just wish it came with maps

+1 Daniel Boone.

Ordering the 60CSX + 24k Topo.. got a camping trip coming up and want to use this bad boy

Wife and I are enjoying the original series from the 60s. It's a nice break from series out right now that's for sure.

Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville was better than Boone.

I agree whole-heartedly!! Actually at the time I had one of those little Suunto keychain compasses in my pocket - on my keychain. I had pulled that out before I went to get the GPS out of my truck. It didn't work. The needle kept hanging up - to the point that I had no faith that it could point to true north. I tried taking it off my keychain - in case that was causing a problem. No difference. I pitched it last weekend.

One more time, with feeling:

http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/OSM_Map_On_Garmin#Steps

A

For a case I recommend Garmin's low-cost black nylon 010-10117-02 case - nothing fancy, but it works well. Consider getting a screen protector from http:www.zagg.com . If you think you might use it in a car consider getting a 12V automotive power cord.

For pre-defining and loading waypoints and storing waypoints and routes created in the field I use software from http://www.geobuddy.com . The software provides on-line topo for the U.S. and satellite pics for most of the U.S. It makes defining and pre-loading waypoints real simple. Its from Topografix.com - the same folks who make EasyGPS (free, but no on-line maps) and ExpertGPS.

Oh, and you'll need maps. Topo for outdoors and City Navigator for the road. I got the City Navigator pre-loaded on a microSD memory card and really like it. I keep them in a little pouch in the GPS case and swap them out as needed with no software downloading. Others prefer the software version.

To be honest, I actually use my GPS in my truck more than in the field. Its actually that good an automotive GPS. The auto-routing is awesome!

Consider buying a used copy of "GPS Land Navigation". Its available from Amazon.com for about $5. Its section on selecting a GPS is so old its like walking through a museum, but its still the best "how to use a GPS with a map and compass" book I've seen.

Here are some great tips on GPS use from the U.S. Geological Survey: http://rockyweb.cr.usgs.gov/outreach/gps/compass_gps_north.html

If you don't know about UTM coordinates, check out http://www.maptools.com .

This short "how to" from REI isn't bad: http://www.rei.com/expertadvice/articles/gps+receiver+howto.html BUT don't use lithium batteries in the 60 series GPS.

... and last but not least, here is a poorly publicized user guide by Garmin called "Using a Garmin GPS with Paper Land Maps":

http://www8.garmin.com/manuals/UsingaGarminGPSwithPaperLandMaps_Manual.pdf

Enjoy!!

Thanks Ame & KEN!!

Is he related to Count de Money??

Count de Monet, that is a very funny bit of schtick Comms.

D'Iberville was a real adventurer though. He really should be better known than he is. If he had not caught some tropical disease and died in Havana the USA might be speaking French today.

But back to the topic.
Ken's link to the Garmin manual is much appreciated.
So many good links and so much advice have been posted here that I am bookmarking this thread for later reference.
And I will be checking out the 60CSX because it seems to be getting good reviews by all of you.

Well thank goodness he went to Cuba then.

LOL, yes indeed.

I couldn't resist. My apologies to all for a bit of innocent fun.

I did a lot of research on the GPSMAP 60 series and though I did not go with that brand/model, I hold it in high regard.

I got the car-kit Garmin do, which also includes a dash-board mount - based around a sandbag, so it doesn't leave sucker marks on the windscreen (which can attract thieves).

However, in practice I run it on Eneloops. I keep some spares in the car, which are usually enough, and battery charger that will run from the ciggy lighter socket for multi-day trips. It saves having power chords in the driver's area. (My car has a cigarette lighter socket in the boot, which I guess shows they aren't really about smoking any more.)

Used it the past 4 days camping.
Very impressed!

However, navigating trails on the tiny screen requires a decent amount of 'stop time' to review the tiny little lines, then zoom out then back in, etc... that so far is my only complaint.

We used it to discover connecting trails, and make one HUGE loop when we were on our ATVs. I recorded the route, and plan to figure out how to save it to my PC and load it in Google Earth or something

You need a data cable:

http://www.aerostich.com/sale-items/electronics/pc-data-cable-60cx-60csx-v.html

That one is for a regular serial port. If you have only USB then you need a USB-to-serial converter, or a USB data cable (I haven't looked for one).

Next you need gpsbabel. It's free, and you don't need anything else.

http://www.gpsbabel.org/

gpsbabel will create a GPX file for you (or another format if you like). GPX can be loaded directly into Google Earth, or, for more pretty maps upload it here:

http://www.gpsvisualizer.com

Have fun!

A

Saweet thanks!

Kudos to you folks!

I bought my first Garmin handheld GPS since the early days of my Magellan. I had questions. Posted them on a Garmin GPS board couple weeks ago. No replies except from a MOD named Dav who was genuine in his suggestion to hang on....someone will reply.

I come here looking for something else and have been reading posts on Garmins for hours. You folks are the very best in the world!

Michael