New Garmin 60 CSx

[The Wombles]

My brand new Garmin 60CSx arrived this morning so I just had to christen it by finding it's first cache at lunchtime.

Much has been written about the accuracy of this SiRF III receiver "x" model so I decided to run a little test of my own at a cache with tree cover. With the help of The Haigies, we took five GPSrs: Garmin Emap, Garmin Etrex, Fortuna GPSmart (a SiRF II receiver), Magellan Sportrak Colour and the 60.

We watched the number of satellites locked on each GPSr and also the claimed accuracy. The variation from one to another was surprising, but we found following levels of performance under light tree cover:

The Emap was worst having a lock of 2-4 satellites, followed by Etrex with typical lock of 4-5 satellites, GPSmart with 6-8 satellites, Sportrak with 7-8 satellites and the 60CSx was best by a mile with an almost continuous full lock on all channels.

Once we got to the cache we spread them out and allowed them to settle. The 60 quickly arrived at it's final decision, claiming coordinates which were the average of the others.

Overall the 60 has really impressed me and I'm completely won over by it's performance.

[nobbynobbs]

so worth selling your soul for them? :lol:

[The Wombles]

Oh did I mention the lovely clear display, miles better than the Sportrak Colour?

Yes I think you could safely say I think it's great :lol:

[steviep]

Really interested in this model, I've been waiting for some true feed back, how easy is it to use, How much, where from & what extras should I get ?

[moote01]

Opinion

I think that just getting a new Garmin x GPSr because it is better, could become like the PC upgrade battle, what will be around next year, something better? Who knows; so if you got a nice new x series GPSr will you be disappointed with your new purchase and then buy the "Next Generation" of GPSr. IMHO I would just keep what you have now and wait till you really need to replace your GPSr, after all we have all managed with our present kit quite nicely.

After saying this though if your GPSr is on it's final legs then the new Garmin x models do look like a great option.

[steviep]

Quite correct Milton, but men & new toys, and I was going to upgrade before xmas but knew something was around the corner, and this appears to be it! I will still wait till I've heard more before my purchase. my arms are short and my pockets are deep! :lol:

[The Wombles]

Originally posted by steviep@Feb 21 2006, 08:55 AM
Really interested in this model, I've been waiting for some true feed back, how easy is it to use, How much, where from & what extras should I get ?

It's extremely easy to use, the interface is typical Garmin (similar to eTrex and Emap). I've never got on with the Magellan Sportrak interface. Satellite lock time varies from impressive to staggeringly impossibly fast (literally sub-second to lock several satellites), and it can get a lock inside my house which the Sportrak/Etrex/Emap/GPSmart can't do.

I bought mine from GPS Warehouse (http://www.gpsw.co.uk/details/prod3041.html) who supplied it within 24 hours of order. However I note that they've run out of stock at the moment.

It comes with a USB cable and useful belt clip. I've since bought a car mount but didn't bother with the car power cable yet because the battery life is excellent.

For maps I'm currently using Mapsource but will get UK Topo soon when funds permit.

Downsides? The position can jump around (apparently as a result of SiRF III) which is irritating but doesn't stop usability. This could be fixed by Garmin through firmware upgrades later.

Otherwise I still love it and it's sensitivity is fantastic.

[steviep]

How much, where from & what extras should I get ?


Sooooooooooooo!

[stevo185]

Does it include an alarm clock to get steviep up early for all those FTF's?

But seriously, is it really that much better in tree cover?

Steve.

[The Wombles]

Originally posted by stevo185@Feb 23 2006, 11:22 PM
Does it include an alarm clock to get steviep up early for all those FTF's?

But seriously, is it really that much better in tree cover?

Steve.

The art of FTF is not to go to bed......

Tree cover performance is genuinely excellent and considerably better even than my Magellan Sportrak with a Quad-helix antenna (receives signal sideways from the horizon rather than patch antennas which look up).

The brief report at the top of this thread was under tree cover and seems to have been borne out through ongoing use.

[wizard1974uk]

It looks like a very good model, time to scrape the pennies together :)

[MaTruSSDaJ]

Hi all,
i bought a 60CSx last month and find it really easy to use (i was a paratrooper, not know for our brains!) it's true about the signal strength, can aquire indoors! whoever heard of that with no extra antenna?
Base map does the job but would get extras if you got the cash.
Definatly worth the £££