cannedham1

Hi im new here and new to gps navigators. I accidently posted in the garmin thread. I bought a garmin 60csx but found it to confusing and returned it. I spent way to much to learn on. I have an oppertunity to buy a magellen sport trak pro for $55. new from a hunting forum. Is this a decent gps and is it worth the price. I am not out a lot of money if it takes awhile for me to learn on. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Reef Runner

Hi and welcome

First of all, I hate to hear that you returned the 60csx. That is a top of the line GPS, but I do realize that it can be somewhat confusing. I don't have a 60csx, but from what I have seen with demonstrators in the stores, and from what I have read, I understand that there are many that complain, that they can't keep track of what menu or page they are on, etc. There are just so many different pages, and so many different menus, I can imagine your confusion. As for your question, I can't give you advice on the Magellan, which you are referring to, but I can tell you this, I would definitely stick with Garmin. Now that is a personal preference, and there are others that will disagree. However, I use an older model Garmin GPSmap 76, and a Garmin GPSmap 76S, and I love them both. Both units, are basically the same, but they are quite easy to operate, and to learn. I have taught many people to use these units, and I find them very basic, and very adequate. I taught myself to use the unit, with "zero" help, just trial and error, and reading the manual. The more you play with it, the easier it becomes, just as you become more and more familiar with your computer, every time you do something new. Actually, the 60csx, works very similar to the GPSmap76, but the 60csx is in color, and has a lot of extra bells and whistles. Anyway, good luck, and I'll always be glad to try and help you, but it will have to be on a Garmin.
And again,

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Reef Runner

Reef Runner

Hey, I feel your pain. That's exactly why I'm sticking with my old Garmin GPSmap76 and GPSmap76S. I know em like the back of my hand, and they do everything I want them to do, except mow the lawn, otherwise, I'm completely happy with them both.

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Reef Runner

Reef Runner

Yes, I'm familiar, but hey, I like my buttons where they are at...you know, different strokes, for different folks.
All kidding aside, I surely won't argue with you, but I have used the GPSmap76S, for some time now, and I sure thought that the 60CSX had a lot more menus & pages. Anyway, I suppose that it's just what you get comfortable with. I've just been using these units for so long (and color is not important to me), that I really don't see a need to switch. I had, however, considered the GPSmap76CSX, though, but again, not for the color, but I thought the SD card might be nice ! I don't know, I really haven't run out of room, on either the 76 or the 76S. I change out he mapsets pretty frequently anyway, so all seems to be well, as is.
Thank's for the info, however.............Have a great day !

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Reef Runner

Reef Runner

Now that, I know, that the 60Csx and the 76Csx are the same, other than the case. (I still like my buttons) Just kidding............
But as for the SD, you obviously use a lot of maps. As I said earlier, I've never really run out of space, on either my 76 or 76S. The downloading is a bit of a bother, however, but I really don't have to do it too often. I've got three units, so not much of an issue for me. My travels are no where near, as extensive as yours seem to be, so I doing okay with the older models, but that drag and drop does sound nice. Also, my older MapSource software, can be loaded on as many GPS units as I like, and I heard that the newer stuff is only good for one unit. I definitely don't like that............But still, thanks for the info............gotta run....

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Reef Runner

Reef Runner

Well, you are getting my interest going. Look out, or I'm going to be back here asking all kinds of questions, myself................Again, thanks for the info................

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Reef Runner

kgec

Is there any GPS device which will only show the Co-Ordinates and nothing else?

Marco48

I've had my GPSMap 60CSx for about a month. Steep learning curve but it gets better all the time. The trackback function is a little weird. It tells me that there are a lot more turns than I made, like a factor of 10. Maybe too sensitive? Anyone deal with this problem?

donnaj8887

What's up everyone, I'm new to the forum and just wanted to say hey. Hopefully I posted this in the right section!

donnaj8887

Thanks you for the post.


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sviking

What do you mean by "turns"? The arrow moving off 10-20 degrees to the next point? If you walk a meandering path that lazily wanders and/or you wander from side to side on the trail, the "bread crumbs" won't be dropped in a straight line. The GPS will tell you EXACTLY which direction to go to hit the next point, so you'll see the arrow move and might be interpreting that as a "turn" when it's not really a turn...

That said, you shouldn't be seeing 90 degree turns or anything in a scenario described above. Try going out and paying very close attention to your path. Walk as straight as allowable for a long time and then sort of lazily zig-zag around and see the difference. I've used a 60CSx for a long time now and have never seen unexpected "turns" when using the trackback function.

Marco48

Essentially what happens when I'm using my CSx and I walk what I would call a straight line, when I return, in the course of several hundred yards of backtracking the compass page may say I'm up to 10 or 15 turns, ie, it's overreading. I think what I need is many fewer crumbs dropped. How do I accomplish that?

sviking

How "severe" are these turns? Are they just a few degrees (less than 15 or so) off from side to side or are they actual TURNS as in 45-60+ degrees? Remember, it's going to navigate you point to point to point to...so...

No matter how straight you think you're walking, along with the inherent "wandering/bouncing around" of the GPS unit itself, the points are not going to be in a perfectly straight line and the course arrow will "jump" to the next point when you've "captured" the previous one. Sometimes you just have to do a reality check and see where it's ultimately taking you. Is it in a general straight line to the finish point? Would you get the overall "gist" of the navigation in an unfamiliar setting where you absolutely had to rely on the trackback function and know you'd be able to get back? If so, I wouldn't worry about it. It's perfectly normal.

Marco48

I'm talking about the written prompt that says something like: approaching Turn number 15. As you imply, it is apparently reading normal jostling and swaying as a turn and warning me of nonevents. That means it's overreading, overrecording and wasting battery, if nothing else. It also tends to make me distrustful of its "thinking". If I just use the map page to backtrack instead, it's obvious that I'm going the right direction. So is there a way to prevent it from doing this or is it just a quirk that I have to get used to?

sviking

Get used to it or, as you previously said, increase your "bread crumb drop" interval for fewer "turns" because of fewer points, but a less accurate track, as well. Are you actually looking at the turn-by-turn page? I never use that. I switch between the map page and the compass page and just monitor the arrow as "nice to know" info. I don't religiously follow it and try to hit every point dead on because that would be stupid when I'm on a marked trail anyway. If you miss a point, after a bit it just skips it and keeps going on. As you said, monitor your progress when zoomed in on the map page. To me, that's all that really matters anyway as you can easily see if you are going off track.

I wouldn't worry about it "wasting battery", because I honestly believe it's so insignificant as to be a non-factor. I use my 60CSx with good rechargeables and routinely get 18+ hours of use on a set. I usually have the track feature turned on, whether I intend to "backtrack" or not, and get a good bit of electronic compass use, too.

Marco48

Wow, great on batteries? What kind do you use? Also, how do I increase the bread crumb drop interval? I already set it to "battery save" which I was told decreases the frequency of communication with the satellite. Have you found any "ideal" settings when walking, say 3 mph on a trail? thanks for your input.

sviking

I use the highly acclaimed Sanyo Eneloop AAs with the LaCrosse BC-9009 charger.

I never use "battery save" and keep it in "normal" mode. You change the interval under "Tracks" in the main menu then "setup" then "record method. You can set it to drop points automatically (default, I believe) or by distance or time interval. You can manually select whatever interval you want. I currently use "time" and 30 seconds for my interval. Works great for me and, with 10,000 points max recording capability, that's a LONG hike. 5,000 minutes = 83+ hours!

sviking

That Tom Tom won't fare well in the field at all as compared to a dedicated outdoor/hiking type GPS.