Garmin 60csx Question

[KevCon223]

I just got My 60csx and I saw a sale for a 1gb Micro SD card for $15. My question is will the larger card slow down the unit in any way, I'm planning on loading it with all the maps for the Northeast.

Kevin

 

[hikingfish]

At lower zoom levels (when you see more of a given area), you will only see minimal details. The more you zoom in, the more details the GPS software will draw for you. So basically, viewing the entire united states at 500 km scale with very few details (since they're not displayed even though you may have all the maps loaded for the North East hiking areas) is equivalent in processing power requirement to viewing the Mt Washington area at 1km scale with many details (topo data, auto road, center at the summit, etc).

Fish

 

[MichaelJ]

I have the entire northeast (ma,ct,ri,me,nh,vt,ny) plus colorado topo, and the entire northeast plus colorado routable street maps with poi's, all loaded onto a 1gb micro sd card in my 60csx and I haven't noticed any slowdowns or ill behavior as a result.

The only time I have performance issues is at certain zoom levels with densest display on and declutter off, regardless of how much or little mapping I have loaded.

 

[Paradox]

Card

There are different types of cards and the major difference is the read/write speed. I would imagine that a $15 1 Gb card today was top of the line two years ago, in other words about as good as mine and I have no issue with the read/write speed of mine.

 

[critter]

I also have the 1GB card and have had no problems with the loaded data. But, since this is somewhat on the same topic and others may have this problem I was wondering if anyone would know why I can only see one type of map on the GPS. What I mean is, I loaded topo maps and metro guide maps, but when I look at the available maps on the GPS I only see the most recently loaded maps. The 60 CSx is my first GPS with maps therefore I am new to this and I may just be missing something that I need to do inorder to view both maps.

 

[MichaelJ]

You cannot view both at the same time. To swap between them, go to the map page and hit menu. Go to the "I" and then hit menu. You can now scroll around and choose to display or hide entire map sets. Quit out when done.

I have to hide the street maps to see the topo.

 

[KevCon223]

What I mean is, I loaded topo maps and metro guide maps, but when I look at the available maps on the GPS I only see the most recently loaded maps. The 60 CSx is my first GPS with maps therefore I am new to this and I may just be missing something that I need to do inorder to view both maps.

You need to load them (the maps) at the same time. You have to make a mapset of all the types of maps, Topo, Metroguide, etc. and load them in one transfer. You will still only be able to see one at a time on the map page, but will be able to show one or the other from the selection in the map menu.

Kevin

 

[DougPaul]

I just got My 60csx and I saw a sale for a 1gb Micro SD card for $15. My question is will the larger card slow down the unit in any way, I'm planning on loading it with all the maps for the Northeast.

No the larger card will not slow the GPS down. My recommendation is to get the 2GB card.

BTW, get the standard speed card, NOT one of the high-speed (ultra, etc) cards. There has been a problem with the high-speed cards being destroyed by the GPS.

Doug

 

[DougPaul]

But, since this is somewhat on the same topic and others may have this problem I was wondering if anyone would know why I can only see one type of map on the GPS.

Garmin has an undocumented hierarchy--if more than one map covers a certain area, only the first in the hierarchy will be displayed. If you turn that map off, the next in the hierarchy will be displayed etc. The hierarchy goes something like: road map, topo map, then basemap. (I think there is a more detailed version on http://www.gpsinformation.net.)

Doug

 

[KevCon223]

My recommendation is to get the 2GB card.

I already picked up the 1gb, it was the only size on sale. I had also read a review stating that the max would be 1gb, but I see that review is about 1 year old, but the 1gb is more than I'll ever need.

Kevin

 

[DougPaul]

I already picked up the 1gb, it was the only size on sale. I had also read a review stating that the max would be 1gb, but I see that review is about 1 year old, but the 1gb is more than I'll ever need.

2GB is the max. (There is a price of $26.95 for this card listed at pricewatch: http://www.pricewatch.com/flash_card_memory/microsd_2gb.htm.)

There is a limit of 2025 map segments. I hit the map segment limit at about 1.3GB usage for the max-segment mix of maps that I chose. The extra space can be used to store daily tracks.

My experience was that whatever amount of mapping memory the unit had, I always wanted more. So I went with the biggie. To each his own.

Doug

 

[Rick]

2GB is the max. (There is a price of $26.95 for this card listed at pricewatch: http://www.pricewatch.com/flash_card_memory/microsd_2gb.htm.)

There is a limit of 2025 map segments. I hit the map segment limit at about 1.3GB usage for the max-segment mix of maps that I chose. The extra space can be used to store daily tracks.

My experience was that whatever amount of mapping memory the unit had, I always wanted more. So I went with the biggie. To each his own.

Doug

I checked Garmin last week. It is still 2025 segments. (Bummer).

 

[DougPaul]

I checked Garmin last week. It is still 2025 segments. (Bummer).

Some of the older maps have smaller segments because GPS memory was limited when they came out. I believe the newer (predominantly road) maps have larger segments.

BTW, Garmin did increase the number of segments (up to 2025) in the 60CSx a while ago in version 2.60 of the software.

 

[DougPaul]

BTW, Garmin has a $50 rebate available on their 60 series GPSes from now until the end of the year. REI also has them on sale for $349.99 for a final price of ~$300.

A bit of researching around on a price search website shows that one can get even lower prices from some web outlets.

<pure speculation>
REI doesn't put GPSes on sale very often. That, combined with the rebate suggests that Garmin may have a replacement model in the wings. A guess might be a 60HCSx--a change of the GPS chipset. I've seen a comparison of the MediaTek MT3 chipset used in the H models and the SiRFstarIII chipset used in the 60CSx and they appear to have very similar performance. The biggest difference is that they are cheaper (at least for the manufacturer).
</pure speculation>

Anyhow, that is my guess. It could, of course, be completely wrong. I have no inside information.

If you are sitting on the fence about buying a 60CSx, it looks like prices are/have been coming down.

Doug

 

[DaveSunRa]

OK, I've jumbing off the fence.

Picked up a garmin 60csx from pcnation.com and topo 2008 DVD. Seems both items have manufacture rebates. Seems to be a good deal.

 

[KevCon223]

Picked up a garmin 60csx from pcnation.com and topo 2008 DVD. Seems both items have manufacture rebates. Seems to be a good deal.

Yeah, the rebate is why I decided to get the 60CSx now, I had the 60CS and wanted the better reception, more memory, etc. Got mine from Erwincomp.com, had it next day (they are in NJ). $272 after rebate, not a bad price!!

Kevin

 

[Peakbagr]

Doug,

I have been wondering if Garmin is due for an upgrade. The CSx series will be 2 years old at the upcoming consumer electronics show in January. I'm wondering what other goodies will be in a possible new package?
Unlimited map loading capability? Larger color screen? For sure they'd have to change from USB to USB2, and maybe make the lithium battery issue that many have go away?
I love my 60CSx, but things like might just make it time for a 'backup' unit.

 

[DaveSunRa]

Yeah, the rebate is why I decided to get the 60CSx now, I had the 60CS and wanted the better reception, more memory, etc. Got mine from Erwincomp.com, had it next day (they are in NJ). $272 after rebate, not a bad price!!

Kevin, you got me by a buck. Darn. But I did get free shipping

 

[DougPaul]

I have been wondering if Garmin is due for an upgrade. The CSx series will be 2 years old at the upcoming consumer electronics show in January. I'm wondering what other goodies will be in a possible new package?
Unlimited map loading capability? Larger color screen? For sure they'd have to change from USB to USB2, and maybe make the lithium battery issue that many have go away?
I love my 60CSx, but things like might just make it time for a 'backup' unit.

I can only guess--again I have no inside info.

It is certainly possible that there will be an upgrade--that is, in effect, part of my earlier post. I gave one guess for what it might be.

In the past, the current model always had enough room for improvement that the "next-latest-and-greatest" was, IMO, worth getting. I don't currently see such open space (for my interests). Garmin has recently been branching out to a lot of dumbed down models for use in the car. (There are a lot of complaints on sci.geo.satellite-nav. In some people's opinion, the 76/60Cx is more useful in the car than most of the car-oriented models.) Perhaps the "upgrade" will be a dumbed-down model.

Garmin is not in the habit of giving early hints about the coming models. Your guess may be as good or better than mine.

Doug

 

[critter]

I finally got a chance to try loading all the maps (topo & metroguide) in one set. I got everything to work so thank you for the help.