Field experiences w/Garmin's SiRF-based GPS units?

[gadget_lover]

Six month report on Garmin 60CSx:

Well, actually 5 months, but no one is counting, right?

We flew to Southern California last week, and I took the GPSr with me. It had some trouble getting it's initial satellite fix, until I told it to start from a new location. I guess it was not expecting to be 50 miles from where it was turned off and traveling at 535 MPH.

It got a good fix on 7 satellites while on the fold out table near the window. After if locked on, I set it on the middle seat and it held it's lock for the duration of the 500 mile trip. It was cool to see the altitude, our position and speed. It helped pass the time.

It was interesting that the built in altimeter said we were only at 7,000 feet even though we were at 39,000. I finally realized it was using a barometer and the plane was pressurized to a lower than normal pressure.

So far I've used the 60CSx for navigation in SF (skyscrapers) the mountain passes (valleys and trees) and flat areas like driving through San Francisco. I've used it for hunting geocaches with great success. I normally use NiMH (Rayovac hybrids) batteries and they have worked well with plenty of advance notice when they were running down. I've only lost signal lock a few times, and that was under really challenging conditions. It's re-acquired quickly.

I'd buy it again.
Daniel

 

[bigfoot]

Another happy 60Cx user here. I've been using mine for a lot of travel as well as some geocaching. So far, so good. Even getting a lock in through lots of redwoods. :twothumbs

 

[cy]

looking for a new GPS for road use with preloaded city maps, that's got voice recognition with performance equal to 60CSX

prices for Garmin units have been plunging all over. don't need the latest model, just the best performance for the $$ spent.

recommendations anyone?

 

[Monolith]

that's got voice recognition with performance equal to 60CSX

Text to speech?

The older Garmin series 350/360's etc are well under $200 and small enough to fit in your pocket. They don't have multi-routes though.

Check out Amazon.com for pricing.

 

[stockae92]

I got my wife a Nuvi 770 recently and she is pretty happy with it. the performance is good, calculation and redrawing of map is faster than my 60CSx. it got more feature that we need (FM transmitter, mp3 player, blue tooth connection, etc), the screen is big and clear, and it has text-speech feature (tell you the street name, but only in american english though. i think we tried it on british english for fun and the GPS didn't say the street name)

but since i want to get a GPS with europe map for her, that's the reasonable priced one

 

[cy]

yes... text to speech .. my bad..
looking for a GPS with quad-helix antenna and the SiRF chip.

using a 60CS ... which has poor reception in rural areas and most importantly ... no text to speech.

dangerous looking at screen while in heavy traffic.

loads of garmin models w/preloaded maps, text to speech, etc. that used to sell for $400+, now are being clearance out at well under $200.

problems is ... there's soooo many different models to choice from. don't know which one to go for.

Text to speech?

The older Garmin series 350/360's etc are well under $200 and small enough to fit in your pocket. They don't have multi-routes though.

Check out Amazon.com for pricing.

 

[cy]

just got off phone with garmin customer service for automotive.. who didn't have a clue about sifr chip or quad helix antennae since they are not used in the street series. they contacted internal tech from the outdoor side to confirm equivalent chipset.

streetpilot has been superseded by Nuvi series which uses a similar but different chipset to the SiFR. Garmin claims quad-helix antennae is not needed by this sensitive chipset.

all Nuvi except 300 and 600 series have the sensitive chipset. customer service rep claimed to have used his own nuvi 500 in rural areas in heavy woods with no loss of reception.

looks like Nuvi 750 has text to speech and offers pretty good bang for the $$ at $150 range. Garmin will give first upgrade for free if GPS doesn't have current 2009 mapset. otherwise it's $69 to upgrade maps.

does anyone have experience with the Nuvi 750 and can confirm sensitivity/performance.

 

[LouRoy]

Cy, where are you finding the Nuvi 750 for $150??

 

[cy]

google turned one up for $150 this morning... now it's gone.
$175 is lowest right now

might as well get a 760 for $199

turns out technon digital has all sorts of negative feedback.... bait and switch etc
http://www.amazon.com/tag/digital c...Forum=Fx2YR3CD9165C4&cdThread=Tx39EZ9TFWY14OD

Cy, where are you finding the Nuvi 750 for $150??

 

[Burgess]

Been looking at the new Garmin Oregon series.


Don't suppose anyone here has any experience with 'em ?

_

 

[cy]

feedback please... how does Nuvi 770 perform vs 60CSx for signal strength in difficult areas?

trying to determine how true Garmin's rep's claims that Nuvi's sensitive chipset with std antennae performs equal to 60CSx's helix antennae and SiRf chipset.

I got my wife a Nuvi 770 recently and she is pretty happy with it. the performance is good, calculation and redrawing of map is faster than my 60CSx.

 

[MrMom]

Cy

The 60**X series is still the leader in the field. No reception issues even in difficult situations. I recently picked up a DeLorme PN-40 at SHOT09 specifically for the extensive map options. I now have 9 different GPSR's in the house. I have yet to put it through the paces but reception appears to be on par with the Garmin X series.

I geocache with two units at the same time, a Garmin 60CX and an HCX. Both garmins use the same sirf chip set. The 60 has a quad helix antenna and the HCX, a patch antenna. Both units perform equally well in challenging environments such as dense NE forests and in deep gorges. The HCX does have an edge in reception in aircraft. In my experience the earlier units benefited from a quad helix antenna. I do not see that this is the case now with advanced chip sets. For example, my Garmin 176C, on par with your 60 has a quad helix antenna and it loses lock in dense cover frequently. My first GPS, a Garmin GPS-45, (1996-7) also with a quad helix antenna, spent more time searching than in fix.

To deal with screen shrinkage issues, I recently acquired a Nuvi 760. I don't remember if that was a buy.com or Amazon purchase...anyhow, the price was right. This is my first "dumbed down" consumer automotive GPSR. Reception is not quite up to par with the newest hiking GPSR's but the difference (very slight) will not be noticed in automotive use. The 760, 770 series reception will vastly outperform your straight 60 (non x) series receiver.

 

[cy]

Ended up getting a Nuvi 750 at Sam's club for $200... love buying electronics at Sam's... 6 months return privileges is hard to beat.

Nuvi 750's performance is night and day better than 60CS.
really like the touch screen for inputting info... a real pita to enter data on 60Cs.

overall have been real pleased with 750's performance.
been hearing about all the GPS thefts left in cars...