GPSFix » GPSMAP 60CSx Archives – GPSFix

50% off Zagg Products including invisibleSHIELD

Scott — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 06:00:35 +0000

The title says it all. If you are looking for a screen protector or know someone who would like one for Christmas stop by Zagg and pick up some invisibleSHIELD coverage for 50% off — today only. Zagg has screen protectors designed specifically for the Colorado, Oregon, Dakota, GPSMAP 62 and 60csx.

50% Off InvisibleShields — Extended for Today

Scott — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 17:42:08 +0000

Zagg has extended the sale which will get you 50% off everything on their site including invisibleShield screen protectors. If you missed the deal yesterday you have until 12 midnight Pacific Time to make your purchase! International sales are included in this promotion too. Related posts: 50% Off invisibleShields Today Only 50% Off All InvisibleShield [...] Related posts:

Garmin GPSMAP 62 Images Surface

Scott — Fri, 21 May 2010 13:00:33 +0000

The long run of Garmin’s GPSMAP 60csx may finally be over. A user on the Groundspeak boards posted scanned images from a RadioWorld flyer of the new Garmin GPSMAP 62 which presumably is a replacement for the aging but trusted GPSMAP 60 series. Yesterday I asked an REI employee about the new GPSMAP models and she confirmed that the GPSMAP 62 would be available from REI in early July and the GPSMAP 78 could be available as early as next week.

The RadioWorld images reveal a hard-key design similar to the 60csx and that familiar nub seems to indicate a quad helix antenna that 60csx owners love so much. The rest of the specs are similar to the GPSMAP 78:

3 different models: GPSMAP 62 ($350 CA), GPSMAP 62 S ($450 CA), GPSMAP 62 STC ($550 CA)
waterproof
65k color 2.6″ screen
micro SD slot
500MB of built in memory
paperless geocaching
3-axis compass and barometric altimeter (S and ST only)
built in 100k topos (ST and STC only)

This is all good news and even better if you’ve been on the fence about getting a 60csx. It might be older technology but you are going to see some great deals on this unit over the next several weeks. REI for one has the 60csx for $199.99 starting today and you can’t beat their 100% satisfaction guarantee and membership dividend which normally gets you another 10% off.

Garmin GPSMAP 62 Rumors, More GPSMAP 78 Details

Scott — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 19:56:04 +0000

Even before Garmin announced the GPSMAP 78 last week there were rumors circulating about a possible GPSMAP 62, a replacement for the venerable GPSMAP 60csx. The announcement of the GPSMAP 78 combined with some items I’ve tracked down online point to the fact that the GPSMAP 62 is probably the real deal. New product pages on the REI site for the Garmin GPSMAP 62, 62S and 62ST are the biggest confirmation. Although these pages are essentially empty the page source contains the product names, typical for unannounced products. Other twitter references to the 62 and this Hungarian blog post which references a Garmin rep discussing the new unit on Facebook further support the rumor. I’m speculating, as others are, that the GPSMAP 62 will be a non-floating version of the GPSMAP 78, based on the same electronics, screen and software with a slightly smaller housing.

Yesterday the FCC site published test data which reveals additional information about the GPSMAP 78sc. The 78 will have the following external ports:

USB mini-B port
MCX external antenna port
4-pin “Garmin” port

The pictures of the back of the unit and battery compartment look like the Oregon and Dakota which have the micro SD card mounted under the dual AA battery supply. The battery cover looks more like the Dakota as do the rubber plugs around the connectors which keep out water and dirt.

Unfortunately the part numbers and insignias on the electronic components were blacked out but based on the shapes, sizes and locations of the devices it seems that the GPSMAP 78 is probably based on the STM Cartesio GPS chipset (large square device, slightly left of center) and other electronics found in the Oregon x50. The big white device on the right appears to be a passive patch antenna.

Combined with the data in Garmin’s announcement this leads me to speculate that the GPSMAP 62/78 are based on the following:

Oregon x50/Dakota GPS (STM Cartesio) and electronics (3-axis compass, sensors)
Oregon x50/Dakota OS and software with some design changes to work with physical keys instead of a touchscreen
Patch antenna on the 78 (possible quad-helix on the 62?)
GPSMAP60/76 screen (dimensions and resolution are the same) with enhanced color depth (256 vs 65k)
New ruggedized, floating industrial design (78)

As we get more information on either units we’ll post it here or you can follow us on twitter. Let us know what you are hearing!

50% Off All InvisibleShield Products

Scott — Thu, 21 May 2009 23:04:18 +0000

There has been some discussion about Garmin Oregon screen protectors on the Oregon Wiki so this deal caught my eye when I saw it today. The offer from Zagg is a great chance to pick up an InvisibleShield for your Garmin GPS or any of your electronic gadgets. The promotion is good for 50% all InvisibleShield products if you use the special code memday09 through May 27th.

Garmin Handheld Owners Benefit from Downloadable Maps

Scott — Mon, 11 May 2009 20:18:21 +0000

Last week Garmin announced that much of its map data would be made available to purchase online. The press release was centered around Garmin’s new cityXplorer product which provides Nuvi 1xxx owner’s with pedestrian and public transportation navigation along with support for traditional auto navigation and POIs. When I saw this announcement I didn’t pay much attention since it seemed like there wasn’t much here for handheld users. But after searching Garmin’s site to see what was available on the Oregon and Colorado I have found some benefits for the owners of these units.

Any Topo map that was available on microSD card format is now available as a download for the same price. That means if you are traveling to Washington state and want the latest Garmin 1:24k topographic maps you can download the US Topo 24k Northwest region for $99.
Unfortunately cityXplorer’s support for pedestrian and public transportation navigation is not available on either the Oregon or Colorado but the auto navigation features of these maps are — think of them as little chunks of City Navigator NT 2010.10. That means if you are traveling to New York City for the weekend and want to use your Oregon to auto navigate you can download the maps for $10 without having to purchase maps for all of North America. If you’ve never used the auto navigation features of your handheld Garmin GPS this is also a great way to try them out without investing $80 in City Nav, assuming you live in or around one of the areas covered by cityXplorer.
Traveling outside the US? Same deal, Garmin has cityXplorer for many European cities and topographic maps for Canada, Great Britain and Australia available for download.
I also noticed some new formats available for download which haven’t been previously released on DVD or microSD, in particular City Navigator NT for the lower 49 US states and Puerto Rico ($59) which is good way to save a few bucks if you don’t need maps for Canada (which also has its own set of City Nav maps for $59) and Alaska.

New Versions of Garmin Topo USA 100k and Topo Canada

Scott — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 10:52:34 +0000

Updated 4/20: GPSCity has provided more details on Garmin Topo Canada and the Garmin Oregon Canada 400t and are showing availability is today (4/20) — let us know if you get your hands on either product.

Updated 4/13: Buyers getting the first Oregon 400t Canada units are claiming they are coming preloaded with Topo V2 maps not the newer Topo V4 maps with DEM.

The GPSCity twitter account RoxieM has tweeted that updated versions of the Garmin Mapsource Topo products for the US and Canada are on their way. The new version of Topo Cananda is listed on GPSCity for $140 CAD with an availability date of 5/13.

Both new versions will include a copy of BaseCamp (which is also available as a free download from Garmin) and the Topo Canada maps provided on DVD will have DEM (digital elevation data) to support the 3D and shaded maps views available in BaseCamp and on the Oregon and Colorado. While users in the US have enjoyed DEM maps since the Topo US 2008 release, this will be the first time Canadian users will be able purchase DEM maps in DVD format.

Presumably these Canadian maps are also the same version appearing on the newly released Garmin Oregon 400t Canada . The tweet from GPSCity also mentioned expanded coverage areas in Canada but offered no details.

Follow GPSFix on Twitter.

Garmin BaseCamp 2.0.4 Released

Scott — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 00:47:40 +0000

Garmin has released the first public version of BaseCamp for the PC. BaseCamp is Garmin’s new outdoor-centric mapping software. Similar to Mapsource you can view your Garmin maps (as long as they include DEM) on your computer and do things like view 3D terrain, plot tracks, and analyze elevation profiles. I’ve downloaded BaseCamp to try it out with Topo USA 2008 and while the 3D views and elevation plots are interesting it is very slow on my laptop and I’ve managed to crash it several times. I haven’t tried the geocaching support, trackdraw and geotagging features which Garmin promised when BaseCamp was announced.

You can only use BaseCamp with maps that have built in DEM (digital elevation model). Note the mention of Topo Canada Version 4 below which looks like a full version of Topo Canada with DEM, previously only available on SD card and in the upcoming Oregon 400t Canada. Garmin’s release notes for BaseCamp 2.0.4:

WARNING: This software will not work unless you already own a BaseCamp or MapSource product.
BaseCamp will only recognize MapSource products that contain digital elevation model (DEM) data. Some examples of products that contain elevation data are Topo U.S. 24K, Topo U.S. 24K National Parks (version 3), Topo U.S. 100K (version 4 and later), Topo U.S. 2008, Topo Australia, Topo Canada (version 4), Topo Deutschland, Topo Great Britain, and Topo products produced by many Garmin distributors.
BaseCamp requires Windows XP Service Pack 2 or later operating system.
.NET framework 2.0 is required and will be installed if needed.
A video card that supports OpenGL version 1.3 or later is needed to view 3D terrain.

Here’s a video of how the track log playback function works.

Garmin Releases Topo U.S. 24K on DVD, First Screen Shots of BaseCamp

Scott — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 03:38:39 +0000

About a month ago when Garmin announced BaseCamp, they also hinted that the Topo U.S. 24K maps, currently available only in microSD format, would be released on DVD. Garmin’s web site now lists two $130 Topo U.S. 24K DVDs — West and Southwest. West provides coverage for California, Oregon, Washington and Nevada and the Southwest DVD covers Utah, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico.

As promised these DVD’s will also include a copy of BaseCamp, Garmin’s new outdoor-focused mapping software. Garmin has not released much in the way of details about BaseCamp however the product pages for the 24K maps include a couple of screen shots which show off the elevation profile and 3D terrain view.

All Oregon and Colorado models are listed as compatible with the new maps. No word on the release date for the maps or BaseCamp although GPSTracklog had a tweet today which indicated that the maps will be locked to a single unit much like City Navigator — probably because of the Navteq road data included in these maps.

Garmin 1:24K Topos on Regional DVDs, GB Discoverer Improvements, New Belt Clip

Scott — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 19:51:58 +0000

GPSTracklog is reporting that Garmin will be making their 1:24k US Topo maps available as a series of regional DVDs. The coverage of one DVD will be the equivalent of what two microSD cards cover today. The first DVD will be available this quarter for around $130. Garmin made some confusing statements in their BaseCamp press release earlier this week about the US 1:24k Topo maps on DVD, but hopefully this will stick.

Recently we posted about users in Great Britain who were getting their first looks at GB Discoverer maps on the Oregon and Colorado. Shortly after we posted several users shared some disappointing screen shots on the Groundspeak forums. There are two main complaints:

At all zoom levels the maps are blurry. Normally you would expect to see pixelization at some zoom levels as maps are displayed at resolutions greater than their native resolution, but none of the screens shots seemed very clear at any zoom level.
The autorouting road maps appear as a layer on top of the rasterized OS maps. Since these roads don’t always line up perfectly you can see both sets of roads in some places.

Later in the week the same user posted a response from Garmin Europe indicating that improvements are in the works for the Oregon to address the issues above by the end of February.

Here’s one more tidbit for Oregon and Colorado users. Last week when Garmin announced the Oregon-based Approach G5 at CES I was poking around the accessories for the new golf unit and found this: a belt clip that should work for the Oregon and Colorado. Availability? Some time between April and June of 2009. The price is listed around $7.