garmin 60 CX question

[djwini]

for those of you who have one (garmin 60CX) is it worth the money to get it? especially when i don’t NEED it since i already have 2 other gpsrs.
i was frustrated today being 50′ off most caches i looked for, and the other day i kept dropping satellites. i am almost ready to invest in the new technology. but i need to convince myself that the purchase is justified.

[Vegas Gamblers]

We have it and love it. Upgraded from a Legend C and for us it really made a difference. The lock on to the sats is quick, even inside of our house. We have not lost a sat signal in the field since getting it, but our use so far has not been under heavy tree cover. Others have said that it will stay locked on in tree cover. We were in Phoenix earlier this month and while up in some mountain ranges we did not lose the signal. I say it is worth it. Just shop around, when we got ours we found it for 280 and then there was a fifty dollar discount. We bought ours on buy.com. Good luck and we hope this helped.

[Lostby7]

@Vegas Gamblers wrote:

We have it and love it. Upgraded from a Legend C and for us it really made a difference. The lock on to the sats is quick, even inside of our house. We have not lost a sat signal in the field since getting it, but our use so far has not been under heavy tree cover. Others have said that it will stay locked on in tree cover.

Yep this is exactly the way I feel as well. I had a Garmin Vista prior to buying this unit and couldn’t be happier! If you currently do not have auto routing you will be AMAZED at how much easier caching becomes when you don’t have to try to follow an arrow or unhighlighted maps to a cache location. I would say I have cut my drive time in at least half by using the auto-routing feature, so in other words this unit will pay for itself in saved gas money.

[Team Hemisphere Dancer]

I used to have a yellow Etrex, so you can imagine that it has improved my caching too. I agree with the 2 previous posts. You will love the auto routing and always having a signal. My accuracy average went from 20 ft down to 12 ft.

[Team Deejay]

We have a 76Cx (it happened to be cheaper than the 60Cx when we bought it). I can echo everyone’s comments. Our old GPSr was a yellow Etrex. We have used it in heavily forested areas, both with and without leaves, and never lose a signal. More impressively, I used it in Buenos Aries, where my etrex wouldn’t hold a signal at all. The problem there is very tall buildings combined with very limited sattelite exposure (I think the most I saw active was 6 birds). My etrex could only hold a signal if I stood in the middle of an intersection.

If you want to go cheaper, you could try a Legend Cx. It still has the lousy etrex antennna, so I am not sure you will get the complete benefit with this model. Maybe combine the Legend Cx with an external antenna?

[Team Deejay]

We have a 76Cx (it happened to be cheaper than the 60Cx when we bought it). I can echo everyone’s comments. Our old GPSr was a yellow Etrex. We have used it in heavily forested areas, both with and without leaves, and never lose a signal. More impressively, I used it in Buenos Aries, where my etrex wouldn’t hold a signal at all. The problem there is very tall buildings combined with very limited sattelite exposure (I think the most I saw active was 6 birds). My etrex could only hold a signal if I stood in the middle of an intersection.

If you want to go cheaper, you could try a Legend Cx. It still has the lousy etrex antennna, so I am not sure you will get the complete benefit with this model. Maybe combine the Legend Cx with an external antenna?

Unfortunately, you may still be 50 feet off on some caches. Just because you have the right coordinates doesn’t mean the people placing the cache did.

[AuntieNae]

DJwini

I had a 76cs model and bought a 76csx to compare the 2 side by side. I opened the box of the 76csx and then turned both units ON side by side, inside a building. Brand new, out of the box, the 76csx found and locked in location before the 76cs could even figure out where it was.

I was sold, the x versions are definitely an upgrade.

AuntieNae

[djwini]

thanks, i’m still talking myself into the upgrade. $300 plus software is a lot to spend when i already have 3 gpsr’s, but i’m so tired of not being able to find things under heavy cloud cover. keep the comments coming

[Lostby7]

@djwini wrote:

thanks, i’m still talking myself into the upgrade. $300 plus software is a lot to spend when i already have 3 gpsr’s, but i’m so tired of not being able to find things under heavy cloud cover. keep the comments coming

What units do you have?
I was able to use my old maps with the new unit with the help of a conversion program…

[AuntieNae]

Unfortunately you are correct, I had to buy the newer Garmin mapping software with the 76csx, So, yes, I too have all three versions of the software too.

[hogrod]

@Auntienae wrote:

Unfortunately you are correct, I had to buy the newer Garmin mapping software with the 76csx, So, yes, I too have all three versions of the software too.

I agree that having the most current street maps is nice but you can use older garmin maps with the 60cx. city select, or city navigator both work, though you need to purchase an additional unlock code if you have already used the two you get with the software.
I had already used both my unlocks for cityselect 7 on my legendC and gps18 so I’m currently using my old metroguide 7 maps uploaded with img2gps or metrowizzz to get autorouting on my 60cx. I do plan on buying the next version of city navigator, but am holding out until july(I think thats when they release the new versions every year).

[LightningBugs Mum]

I think I’ve told this story before, but I will repeat it here:

Last year, during the night caching at the campout – remember the drizzle and the trees – my 60CS WOULD NOT hold a signal – ever – the whole evening! (It never did like night-time anyways.) It was maddening.

My mom was with me and had her new 60CSX. It had NO PROBLEM holding a signal under those conditions. Within two weeks, I had my 60CX and have not looked back. (I didn’t get a CSX because I never used the “S” features.)

Now, I use the 60CS for mapping in the car – it usually works fine for that. But it rarely ever leaves the cachemobile during caching runs.

[Vegas Gamblers]

I did forget about the auto routing…..duh. That is also a big seller in our book. Hey if you need to you can sell your other GPS’rs to fund the new purchase. I sold our Legend C for $135.00. It’s just something to think about.

[cheezehead]

😯 😕 😕 😯 😯 🙄 🙄

OK, so what one should I upgrade to? the 60cx or the 76cx????
Right now I have a Garmin Legend etrex. I been thinking of trying to talk the wife, sister and my folks to buy a new GPS. I was thinking a 60cx until I saw this thread and saw the 76cx. So I have NO clue now 😕 😯 …….

[AuntieNae]

Correct me if I am wrong but the 60 and 76 models are pretty comparable.

– The 76 was designed for boat navigation so it does float. Uncle Fun will tell you his 60 died after using it in the heavy rains at All A Glow last October.

– On the 60, the buttons are on the bottom and are smaller. On the 76, the buttons on are on the top and are larger.

– I thought the base memory in the 76 was twice the size of the 60.

You can compare them side by side online here:
http://www.garmin.com/outdoor/compare.jsp

I might suggest stopping in a store that has both and see how they each feel in your hands.

AuntieNae

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