60csx and PN-40

Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 9:19 pm

Without starting a religious war, does anyone on here who has a 60csx used or own a PN-40 that can tell me which seems to be more accurate and keep good signal lock in heavy cover? I used a PN-40 in california for a few hours and I thought it was cool, but we were doing urban caching so I have no idea how it would perform under canopy. I am going to be buying a new unit, and I think it will be between these two units. I didnt care for the colorado or the oregon when I used them, so I crossed them off my list.

Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 9:38 pm

Up until just the last week or so, mu 60csx worked great in heavy cover.
I do not know anything about the other. I think that there has been a weired satallite cove or something cuz I have not had a very good signal and I have heard reports from other cachers in the area have also have had problems. The 60csx is a great unit im my opinion.

Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 11:24 pm

I think that for signal acquisition under cover, the 60CSX/76CSX series are pretty much the gold standard. I can get a strong signal in park shelters, quonset huts, my basement, etc. I pretty much only lose signal in a large metal building. I would think the Oregon/Colorado would be roughly equivalent.

I think the Delorme units standout on the quality of the maps. They allow you to have satellite photos, real topo maps, and other nice images for their maps. If this is meaningful to you, maybe you can try one out in the woods to see if it meets your needs.

I can definitely appreciate why you would want the nice maps. I was playing with the GPS on my Iphone (talk about lousy signal quality under cover) and was tracking on the Google satellite photos. Pretty neat and a very nice way to scope out parking coordinates, road changes, and the like. But I would never use it to find or place a cache. The signal is just too unreliable.

Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 11:34 pm

You're asking a lot to start a brand war...
I haven't used a 60CX myself, but since it seems to be the GPS of choice, I've seen a lot of them in action.
Both units perform very well under canopy. Both seem to "get jumpy" in the same areas. Choosing between the two based on how well they keep signal lock is going to be tough. You might want to base your decision on other features.

WGA Member Joined: 2006-12-23 Posts: 5953

I haven't used the delorme but I do like the its ability to store more cache info in it...all my names and hints get truncated on the 60.

I got to look at one of the oregon's for a minute or two this weekend, looks like a nice unit too.

Posted: Mon Nov 02, 2009 8:55 pm

One of the features that I like with the PN-40 is the ability to import the entiire cache description and recent logs up to 2000 characters. This includes the cache type, D/T ratings, owner and date hidden.
It also stores "field notes" than can be uploaded directly to geocaching.com. This is by far the easiest way to keep track of which caches you have found (or DNFed) during the day.
The PN-40 does on-road routing and switching to direct line routing only takes three button clicks.
The three axis compass doesn't seem to have the same issues as the Garmins. I haven't really found a need for the barometric altimeter.
The included maps are great, but you can easily download color aerial maps, NOAA charts or topographical maps.
The built in POIs include resturants, shopping centers, motels, airports, gas stations, camping, etc. Searching for a POI by name is a little cumbersome, but workable.
I can attest to the water-proofness of the PN, having dropped it in a river...
It doesn't have the nice touch screen of the Oregon, but I think it compares more closely than to the 60CSX.