NorthWest Arkansas Cachers

I've been thinking of upgrading to a different GPS and wondering if the Garming 60c is a good choice. Does it work with the GC link send to garmin? Advice please!! I currrently use an old magellen sporttrak map.

Having always used Garmins, I will say I think you'll find it to be a step up from your Maggie.

Of course, the 60 series is one of Garmin's finest. If you can, I would suggest going with the 60cx at least.

Check out the comparison here: Garmin web site

It should be mentioned that the CX can be found at ebay for under $250 and the CSX for around $300.

Have I mentioned lately that if you're caching without a premium membership and GSAK, you're doing things the hard way?

A premium membership is only $3 a month. Give it a try for one month and if you like it, go for the $30 for a year. No more banner ads in the middle of your cache listing pages!!!!! Plus, the most important benefit of being a PM --- Pocket Queries.

GSAK is free. The combination of the two will enhance your caching (and especially your cache planning) experience.

Yes they will work with the Gc link. I sometime us it if I am in a hurry
and don't do the pocket queries, but you will not like it, also go for the 60csx, you will be happy you did. They are deadly accurate.

Help me out here. Not having seen any of the 60 series at work very much, but having read the specs, the only difference I see between the CX and the CSX is the latter has a barometric altimeter and an electronic compass. Unless I'm missing something, I don't see the justification for the increase in price.

1. A barometric altimeter requires inputting the local barometric pressure to be accurate, therefore the GPS altitude is probably more accurate.

2. The compass would have limited usefulness. Nobody should be leaving their vehicle to look for a cache more than a few hundred feet away without marking a waypoint. In addition, everyone should have a magnetic compass in their caching bag, in case their batteries die, or something happens to the GPS.

As for accuracy, I long ago noticed that a cache placed with a Garmin seems to have better coordinates when hunted with another Garmin. The same is probably true from Magellan to Magellan.

Anyway, am I missing something? What is the enhancement of the csx over the cx?

when I was doing the research on the garmin, the people at garmin told me the 60csx had a more sensitive sirf chip than the c or cs. also it had a 50.00 rebate at the time.I placed it on a the bencmark on top of Mt.Seq.
and it held at zero feet for about 6seconds,my garmin vista hc was reading
at about 8 feet at best.

Thanks for all the advice!!!

GSAK is free. But the nag screens will drive you to buy it! Did me. Way worth it though!!

I have a question about the electronic compass on the Csx. Does having the electronic compass mean that the goto arrow is always pointing to your POI whether you're moving or not?
I'm still caching back in the stone age and have little knowledge of your fancy Cro-Magnon electronics.

OEnavigator wrote:I have a question about the electronic compass on the Csx. Does having the electronic compass mean that the goto arrow is always pointing to your POI whether you're moving or not?
I'm still caching back in the stone age and have little knowledge of your fancy Cro-Magnon electronics.

From what I've read I believe it does. HOWEVER it must be held level. Please note this is not a definative answer as I only have a Legend HCx (no compass or altimeter).

red ink wrote:when I was doing the research on the garmin, the people at garmin told me the 60csx had a more sensitive sirf chip than the c or cs. also it had a 50.00 rebate at the time.I placed it on a the bencmark on top of Mt.Seq.
and it held at zero feet for about 6seconds,my garmin vista hc was reading
at about 8 feet at best.

I've been doing some more research, and the 60cx ans 60csx both have the same chipset (the SirfStar III), which was an upgrade to the chipset in the older 60C and 60CS. The SirfStar III is generally regarded as the most sensitive GPS chip presently available. Other garmin models with an "X" in the designation are billed as having a "high sensitivity" receiver, but for example, the Vista HCX has a "Mediatek" chipset. May be just as sensitive as the SirfStar, but who knows.

When it all comes down to it though, you can have as much success finding caches with a $50 yellow etrex. The difference in accuracy between a WAAS enabled GPS (3 to 4 meters) and a non-WAAS enabled GPS (15 meters) isn't significant enough so that you shouldn't be able to find the cache -- Unless you're looking for a nano in the woods. The most sensitive receiver is the one between your ears.

When it all comes down to it though, you can have as much success finding caches with a $50 yellow etrex. The difference in accuracy between a WAAS enabled GPS (3 to 4 meters) and a non-WAAS enabled GPS (15 meters) isn't significant enough so that you shouldn't be able to find the cache -- Unless you're looking for a nano in the woods. The most sensitive receiver is the one between your ears.

Too true. Due to not having any geocaches near home we travel to other areas a lot. Each city (and geocacher) has their own brand or flavor of geocaching. Tune in to that and you can almost find them without a GPS. We've found nanos in the woods and I haven't had WAAS for a year. [/quote]

I absolutely love my Garmin 60CSx ! Very user friendly which is a must for me, The only problem that I have found with it and I'm sure is just operator error is that if you delete a cache coordinates that you previously downloaded from Geocaching.com it will not let you download the same one later. I wanted to take family from out of town out geocaching this weekend and wanted to take them to find the cache on Shaddox Hollow trail . I knew where it was and was going to let them operate the GPS.It wouldn't download it for me again. Like I said, it has to just be me. It is an accurate piece of equipment.