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Hook
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9010
Registered: 3-13-2004
Location: Sonora
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Mood: Inquisitive
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The 60 and the 76 are virtually identical units except for:
-the 76 floats
-the 76 has buttons above the screen, the 60 below
-the 76 comes with a 128 meg chip, NOT pre-loaded
-the 60 come with a 64 meg chip, NOT pre-loaded
-the 60 comes with a belt clip
At this time, the overall cost of the 60 is less due to the rebate.
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Hook
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9010
Registered: 3-13-2004
Location: Sonora
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Mood: Inquisitive
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I got my 60 csx last night and need to ask someone about the US Topo CD from Mapsource.
I loaded in a bunch of quadrants from the CD successfully. Basically took care of all of SoCal south of Joshua Tree out to the AZ border. It was MAYBE
10 megs at the most. Prior to this, I maximized the detail in the mapsource program and also maximized the detail in the map setup of the GPS.
I am pretty disappointed with the lack of detail in the GPS display. It seems like the contour interval is about 200 feet or greater. Is that normal?
Did I load in the software wrong or is it an improper GPS setting?
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mtgoat666
Select Nomad
Posts: 18406
Registered: 9-16-2006
Location: San Diego
Member Is Offline
Mood: Hot n spicy
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Hook
I am pretty disappointed with the lack of detail in the GPS display. It seems like the contour interval is about 200 feet or greater. Is that normal?
Did I load in the software wrong or is it an improper GPS setting? |
The Garmin topo maps are not very detailed (e.g. topo contours of about 200 feet). I recommend you get topo maps from other sources. The
high-quality maps with detailed contours are usually available at one state per DVD.
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Taco de Baja
Super Nomad
Posts: 1913
Registered: 4-14-2004
Location: Behind the Orange Curtain, CA
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Mood: Dreamin' of Baja
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Hook
I got my 60 csx last night and need to ask someone about the US Topo CD from Mapsource.
I loaded in a bunch of quadrants from the CD successfully. Basically took care of all of SoCal south of Joshua Tree out to the AZ border. It was MAYBE
10 megs at the most. Prior to this, I maximized the detail in the mapsource program and also maximized the detail in the map setup of the GPS.
I am pretty disappointed with the lack of detail in the GPS display. It seems like the contour interval is about 200 feet or greater. Is that normal?
Did I load in the software wrong or is it an improper GPS setting? |
You did not do anything wrong.
The contour interval is set at 50 meters because that was the source 1:100,000 scale map had on it.
But this is really plenty detailed, anymore and you would have a brown screen filled with topo lines when zoomed out in mountainous terrain.....try
scrolling around your map to a known mountainous area and zoom in and out, you'll see what I mean. 50m is a nice scale for a hand held unit as it
allows you to see canyons, peaks, ridges, dirt roads, streams, etc. without overdoing it.
The only way to get better detail, that can be downloaded into the unit, is through a limited set of maps that cover some National Parks.
Or you could go with a State map set like those provided by All Topo Maps, hook up you GPS to a laptop, and enable real time tracking on the laptop screen....But then you have to lug around a laptop.....
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Hook
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9010
Registered: 3-13-2004
Location: Sonora
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Thanks Taco de Topo. I really doubted I did anything wrong.
Let me look around again. I was definitely in a rather flat area (Mesquite Oasis area in Anza Borrego off Vallecito Wash). There are arroyos to walk
around inside near this area and they dont really show at all, although the sides are not anything I would want to go up and over on.
Maybe this is good for more mountainous terrain like the Sierras but I am pretty disappointed, really. You could easily walk towards a location, thing
it was relatively flat and there could be a 150 foot hill to go over or around.
What's the scale on the LBMaps?
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Taco de Baja
Super Nomad
Posts: 1913
Registered: 4-14-2004
Location: Behind the Orange Curtain, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Dreamin' of Baja
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Scale on LB maps is the same 1 contour every 50m.
Again, this is nice if in a mountainous terrain. Very Good detail (almost too much ) IN Canyon Guadalupe, for example, bad if you are out in the middle of the Laguna Salada, east of Guadalupe....but the roads do show up on the map,
at least where the roads were when the map was made......
I like the name, "Taco de Topo" 
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Hook
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9010
Registered: 3-13-2004
Location: Sonora
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Mood: Inquisitive
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Looked around in some other areas. I am not displeased with the software now. It will be adequate.
I guess I was thinking that it would have the detail of the 40 and 80 foot contour interval topos I carried around with me in the Sierra Nevadas for
so long. That's really not practical.
Created my first route last night for the T-Day trip. Used a combo of the internal hwy map (disappointingly low road detail), the Trip and Waypoint
Manager and the topo map, which had much better road coverage. I did one leg using the "route tool" in T&W M. It created these vector lines
between my road waypoints that really dont follow the road; they are vectors as the crow flies. Do you know if these will be converted to hwy
directions/mileage when I hit the "navigate" button on the route?
BTW, the database for the topo must be quite old, in terms of the paved roads. There are sections of roads in my hometown that have been in for 20
years that are missing on the topo.
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Neal Johns
Super Nomad
Posts: 1687
Registered: 10-31-2002
Location: Lytle Creek, CA
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Mood: In love!
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Hook, I too, have a 60CSx (my seventh Garmin). Works great in my metal roof cabover without an external antenna. The bigger screen 176/276 uses an
older chip set and will not do this, or work well under all those giant trees in AB.
The bad news is, other than the State Park series, the only topos better than what you have, will work only on laptops.
Garmin Roads and Recreation has about the same roads as the Garmin Topo but is no longer available. But, if you happen to be driving by the bottom of
Cajon Pass..........drop by Lytle Creek. 
There are lots of free programs out there for managing tracks and waypoints. Here is a "do all" one: http://www.gpstm.com/
The Baja Topo from LBMaps is great. Buy it.
My motto:
Never let a Dragon pass by without pulling its tail!
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tripledigitken
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4848
Registered: 9-27-2006
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I have the Garmin 276 and it works fine in our pickup with a 10' Lance camper without an external antenna 99% of the time. It does have reception
problems in heavy trees and deep canyons.
Enjoy you new Garmin GPS, they are great devices. It's loaded with the LB Maps everytime I venture south.
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Hook
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9010
Registered: 3-13-2004
Location: Sonora
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Mood: Inquisitive
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Yeah, Neil, it was the new SiRF receiver that made me choose it over the older generation units with larger screens. I acquired 10 satellites coming
home last night with no ext ant in the truck and the cabover in place.
Still finalizing my accessory list. I actually split the cost of the US Topo with another guy and he burnt me a copy. Works fine. I assume that is not
an option with the Mapsource city Navigator CD that uses some kind of unlock? I guess I will go with the highway kit that includes a couple auto
mounts, the CD, the lighter plug. Probably Amazon.com for this with the free, slow shipping.
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joel
Nomad
Posts: 361
Registered: 2-2-2007
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Does anyone have any thoughts on just getting a USB GPS unit for my laptop and running the maps on it? I'm only looking for a unit to help me when I'm
lost, so it seems like it would be a lot cheaper and give me a huge screen when I need it?
It's interesting to me that no one mentions this obvious option.
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Hook
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9010
Registered: 3-13-2004
Location: Sonora
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Mood: Inquisitive
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| Quote: | Originally posted by joel
Does anyone have any thoughts on just getting a USB GPS unit for my laptop and running the maps on it? I'm only looking for a unit to help me when I'm
lost, so it seems like it would be a lot cheaper and give me a huge screen when I need it?
It's interesting to me that no one mentions this obvious option. |
Thats probably because many of us dont have the space to operate a laptop up front while we're driving. These smaller units are more durable than
laptops (especially off road), can be placed within your field of view while driving and can be taken with you when hiking.
I still may experiment with interfacing my Garmin with a laptop, assuming you can use it simply as a GPS receiver and install some other software on
the laptop. Could be workable on a flybridge of a boat.
[Edited on 6-26-2007 by Hook]
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joel
Nomad
Posts: 361
Registered: 2-2-2007
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To answer my own question, there appears to be a great solution for a laptop user like myself. For $100 you get the GPS antenna and the base software
you need to run the LB maps (which cost an additional $50).
I found it on Amazon and has a lot of good reviews:
Amazon link
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Hook
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9010
Registered: 3-13-2004
Location: Sonora
Member Is Offline
Mood: Inquisitive
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| Quote: | Originally posted by joel
To answer my own question, there appears to be a great solution for a laptop user like myself. For $100 you get the GPS antenna and the base software
you need to run the LB maps (which cost an additional $50).
I found it on Amazon and has a lot of good reviews:
Amazon link |
I'd say that's the unit to go with but how are you gonna place the laptop while driving?
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Iflyfish
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3747
Registered: 10-17-2006
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We got a Garmin 340 while in SoCal. We found it indispensable, named it Christopher, after the patron saint of travelers. It is the low end model that
will give you verbal directions. Very easy to use.
We liked it so much we purchased them for our adult children as Christmas presents. They love them too.
We purchased from an oline dealer of referbished models. I had a minor problem with the initial unit and they responded immediatly to resolve the
problem.
Alas, not much available for Mexico. I keep looking. If anyone hears of Garmin compatable soft ware covering Mexico, let me and everyone els on the
list with a gps know.
Iflyfish
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joel
Nomad
Posts: 361
Registered: 2-2-2007
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I only want it for if/when we get lost, so the laptop should be fine. My wife can put it on her lap as she's the navigator anyways -- she often just
can't figure out where we are on the map.
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BajaRob
Senior Nomad
Posts: 722
Registered: 9-15-2003
Location: Bahia Santa Maria y Newport Or
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Mood: Life is good
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Lou
You convinced me. I ordered the 76csx from Amazon and it will arrive on Friday. Which Baja map program do you recommend? Thanks in advance.
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bajalou
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4459
Registered: 3-11-2004
Location: South of the broder
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The ones from LBMaps show great detail - trails topo info etc. Great product.
No Bad Days
\"Never argue with an idiot. People watching may not be able to tell the difference\"
\"The trouble with doing nothing is - how do I know when I\'m done?\"
Nomad Baja Interactive map
And in the San Felipe area - check out Valle Chico area |
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BajaRob
Senior Nomad
Posts: 722
Registered: 9-15-2003
Location: Bahia Santa Maria y Newport Or
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Mood: Life is good
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Thanks Lou, I ordered LB's Navigator via email.
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