Garmin 60CSx - disappointed

[nazdarovye]

Thanks, Doug - I wonder as well. The Colorado I tested doesn't do this. I called Garmin about it and sent them a tracklog, and they seemed to think it wasn't outside the norm. However, a friend's 60csx doesn't exhibit the same extent of wandering when stopped.

A side effect of this is that I often can't stop to get a compass reading with the built-in magnetic compass; it keeps shutting off, thinking I'm moving above the threshold I've set. What they really should do is turn off the compass if you're moving at that speed for some number of seconds...

Great thread, everyone, by the way.

I've never seen this. I wonder if you have a problem with your GPS.

Doug

 

[DougPaul]

I don't think so. It came to my attention when I heard an EMS salesperson extolling the wonders of the Magellan for hiking. I subsequently asked this individual about it and mentioned to him that the hikers on the boards really liked the Garmin 60 CSx. I then called REI and they told me they had taken the Magellan off the shelves until the problem is resolved.
If I am in the EMS area this weekend, I will try to get more specific info.

I have read some reports that there are some problems with the Garmin Colorado line. There have been early problems with other Garmin products which have been fixed with software updates. The same will likely happen with the Colorados.

Magellan may have its own problems with the Tritons, but I haven't been following them.

So the correct answer might be that they both have problems...

Doug

 

[DougPaul]

Thanks, Doug - I wonder as well. The Colorado I tested doesn't do this. I called Garmin about it and sent them a tracklog, and they seemed to think it wasn't outside the norm. However, a friend's 60csx doesn't exhibit the same extent of wandering when stopped.

A side effect of this is that I often can't stop to get a compass reading with the built-in magnetic compass; it keeps shutting off, thinking I'm moving above the threshold I've set. What they really should do is turn off the compass if you're moving at that speed for some number of seconds...

Great thread, everyone, by the way.

You also didn't say anything about the environment--if you were at the bottom of an urban canyon you wouldn't expect good performance due to poor skyview and heavy multipath. If your problem occurs in the middle of a nice open field, then it is indeed a real problem.

Check to see that you have the latest software (for both the GPS chip (GPSChipsetTypeG_290.exe) and the unit (GPSMAP60CSx_350.exe). If not, try upgrading.

You could also try a hard reset (enter+page+turn_on)--this has cured a number of funny behaviors. Warning--it will erase your settings and may erase your waypoints, routes and tracks. Also, it might be a good idea to remove the memory card before resetting.


I personally set the threshold speed for using the magnetic compass at 0mph so it will never turn on automatically. (If I want it, I turn it on manually. FWIW, I rarely use it in preference for my mechanical magnetic compass.) Automatic switching between the magnetic compass and the GPS-derived compass only makes sense if you hold the compass flat with the antenna oriented in the direction of movement and have calibrated the compass. As I use a north-up display, I don't have to worry about spinning displays... (None of this should affect the position found by the GPS.)

BTW, the thresholds for automatic activation of the compass do include both speed and a duration. Both user-setable. (Check the menus...)

Doug

 

[spongebob]

Hey Darren.

I think it would cool to have the NOAA charts on a GPS.

I saw this site that has the NOAA charts on a Google map. Of course a GPS screen will be much smaller. But you get the idea of what it would be like.

 

[nazdarovye]

BTW, the thresholds for automatic activation of the compass do include both speed and a duration. Both user-setable. (Check the menus...)

Hi Doug -

Yes; I wasn't being entirely clear about what I was suggesting. Those settings tell the compass to turn on if you're below x speed for y amount of time. So, with the problem my unit has, the instant it jumps to a spot that makes it think it's going 18 or 20 or some other large mph, it turns off the compass. So, I'll be standing still, trying to take a reading, and boom, the compass shuts down. And, if I set the speed value to something high, it means that the compass is essentially on all the time.

That's why I'd rather see the settings done differently (or an option added) so that the compass is turned off only if moving above x speed for y seconds. Then it could jump around all it liked, and it wouldn't likely exceed those thresholds.

The jumping occurs everywhere, though of course is worse when under tree cover or other limited-view settings.

(Thanks for the reset procedure - I'll try that and see if it does anything. The unit is definitely up to date: 3.0 for the GPS firmware (not 2.9) and 3.5 for the software. And I'll try the 0 mph setting and see if I'm happy just turning it on and off manually - sounds like a reasonable solution as long as the unit doesn't shut down the compass when I turn it on because it thinks it's moving > 0mph, which seems like it would happen every time!)