Garmin GPS - Best Garmin for Geocahing?

Author

Best Garmin for Geocahing?

emmbeedee

2006-11-19, 10:33 am

We've already got a 60C and a 76S and both are pretty good, but we're
in the market for new units, and wondered what there is out there.
Anyone out there have suggestions? We're thinking of the 60CSx and the
76CSx, as the obvious ones to get, but are these the best for the
moment?

The Garmin Geocaching page is out of date as it doesn't even list the
"x" models.

One of the things my wife likes about her 76s is the level of detail
she can have in the maps when zoomed out to 5km level - all the
backroads are displayed out to that level, while on my 60C they are
displayed only to the 3km zoom level. Will the 76CSx have that level
of detail? She is using the Canada Enhanced Basemap when out touring
the backroads.

Emm

Rudolpho

2006-11-19, 12:33 pm

emmbeedee asked:
> We've already got a 60C and a 76S and both are pretty good, but we're
> in the market for new units, and wondered what there is out there.
> Anyone out there have suggestions? We're thinking of the 60CSx and the
> 76CSx, as the obvious ones to get, but are these the best for the
> moment?

I'm quitwe happy with my Garmin 60 CSx

> The Garmin Geocaching page is out of date as it doesn't even list the
> "x" models.

You'te looking at the wrong page:

http://www.garmin.com/outdoor/products.html#mapping

You will find both models and their specs.

> One of the things my wife likes about her 76s is the level of detail
> she can have in the maps when zoomed out to 5km level - all the
> backroads are displayed out to that level, while on my 60C they are
> displayed only to the 3km zoom level. Will the 76CSx have that level
> of detail? She is using the Canada Enhanced Basemap when out touring
> the backroads.

It depends on the details of the map.
--

Rudolpho
Happy trails :-)

emmbeedee

2006-11-19, 3:33 pm

Rudolpho wrote:
> emmbeedee asked:
>
> I'm quitwe happy with my Garmin 60 CSx
>
>
> You'te looking at the wrong page:
>
> http://www.garmin.com/outdoor/products.html#mapping

The page you sent does have the x models listed, but the actual
Geocaching models page is not up to date.

>
> You will find both models and their specs.
>
>
> It depends on the details of the map.

The same maps are loaded to both units, but the 76S has a higher level
of displayed detail that the 60C can't match, no matter what the
settings are.

Emm

World Scouter

2006-11-20, 4:33 am

I have a 60C and 60CSx and can qualitatively saw the following jumps
out at me in a comparison:

The latter will give you: much more memory capability, faster location
fix and a screen that will usually keep up well while scrolling
around.

I like either for geocaching.

On 19 Nov 2006 07:17:25 -0800, "emmbeedee" <emmbeedee@gmail.com>
wrote:

>We've already got a 60C and a 76S and both are pretty good, but we're
>in the market for new units, and wondered what there is out there.
>Anyone out there have suggestions? We're thinking of the 60CSx and the
>76CSx, as the obvious ones to get, but are these the best for the
>moment?

Phil Wheeler

2006-11-20, 10:33 am

emmbeedee wrote:
> We've already got a 60C and a 76S and both are pretty good, but we're
> in the market for new units, and wondered what there is out there.
> Anyone out there have suggestions? We're thinking of the 60CSx and the
> 76CSx, as the obvious ones to get, but are these the best for the
> moment?
>

The 60C(S)x and 76C(S)x .. four models .. are
especially good. Their SiRFStarIII
receiver/processor technology gives great
reception and accuracy even under foliage .. a
likely situation when rooting for some geocaches.

Phil

Bill Amann Jr

2006-11-20, 10:33 pm

I am also looking to buy a GPS for geocahing and not sure which one to get.
But what I have read here and on many websites looks like it will be either
a 60csx or a 76csx. Can anyone tell me the difference between these two
models which one would be better for geocahing the 60 or the 76 csx..
Thanks Bill
"Phil Wheeler" <wt6uh-ng7@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:Opi8h.7769$Fg.1419@tornado.socal.rr.com...
> emmbeedee wrote:
>
> The 60C(S)x and 76C(S)x .. four models .. are especially good. Their
> SiRFStarIII receiver/processor technology gives great reception and
> accuracy even under foliage .. a likely situation when rooting for some
> geocaches.
>
> Phil

Steve Calvin

2006-11-20, 10:33 pm

Bill Amann Jr wrote:
> I am also looking to buy a GPS for geocahing and not sure which one to get.
> But what I have read here and on many websites looks like it will be either
> a 60csx or a 76csx. Can anyone tell me the difference between these two
> models which one would be better for geocahing the 60 or the 76 csx..
> Thanks Bill

Hi Bill,

Functionally, they're pretty much the same. The layout is
probably the biggest difference. I liked the layout of the
76 vs 60 series so I've gone from a 76S, to a 76CS, to a 76CSx.

The 76 series come with a larger memory card, but that
really doesn't mean much because it's not really big enough
(128) to to much with anyhow. You'll want to go to a 1 or 2G
Sandisk card no matter which unit you go with.

I believe that the 76 has more detail shown on the screen
though. Although I'm taking that from second hand info
because I've never used a 60.

--
Steve

Phil Wheeler

2006-11-20, 10:33 pm

Bill Amann Jr

2006-11-20, 10:33 pm

Thanks for the info Steve and Phil I to have read the 76 shows more detail
and I believe it is a little less money then the 60. But there is a rebate
right now for the 60Csx. Decisions decisions and I like the looks of the 60
better. Now all I need is get some help from Santa!! Right now I would get
the 60Csx. Thanks everyone Bill
"Phil Wheeler" <wt6uh-ng7@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:Q1t8h.33841$si3.15355@tornado.socal.rr.com...
> Bill Amann Jr wrote:
>
> Electrically and functionality and performance are the same, 76Cx and 60Cx
>
> Either will do geocaching the same.
>
> 76Cx will float.
>
> Buttons are below screen on the 60Cx, above on 76Cx.
>
> 60Cx is a bit smaller.
>
> Phil

Steve Calvin

2006-11-20, 10:33 pm

Bill Amann Jr wrote:
> Thanks for the info Steve and Phil I to have read the 76 shows more detail
> and I believe it is a little less money then the 60. But there is a rebate
> right now for the 60Csx. Decisions decisions and I like the looks of the 60
> better. Now all I need is get some help from Santa!! Right now I would get
> the 60Csx. Thanks everyone Bill

Yes, the 76 shows more details and it floats. I don't
*think* the 60 does, but I could be wrong. I just like the
layout and "feel" of the 76 better. Go with your
preferences, I'm sure that the 60 is a good unit too.

Good luck with the jingle bell thing. ;-)

--
Steve

Phil Wheeler

2006-11-20, 10:33 pm

Bill Amann Jr wrote:
> Thanks for the info Steve and Phil I to have read the 76 shows more detail
> and I believe it is a little less money then the 60.

"Shows more detail" means what? Since they are
functionally identical, how can that be?

Phil

emmbeedee

2006-11-21, 10:33 am

The old monochrome 76S shows more detail since it has a higher
resolution screen than the later 76CS, and the 76S also shows more map
detail at the 5Km scale. That's why my wife can't let go of her 76S as
she sees the move to a 76CS as a downgrade.

Now she wants to have both mounted at once on her motorcycle. ;) She'll
get the speed, auto-routing and nice colour display of the C, and the
detail of the old S.

Emm

Phil Wheeler wrote:
> Bill Amann Jr wrote:
>
> "Shows more detail" means what? Since they are
> functionally identical, how can that be?
>
> Phil

Jack Erbes

2006-11-21, 12:33 pm

emmbeedee wrote:

> The old monochrome 76S shows more detail since it has a higher
> resolution screen than the later 76CS, and the 76S also shows more map
> detail at the 5Km scale. That's why my wife can't let go of her 76S as
> she sees the move to a 76CS as a downgrade.

The 76S has a four level grayscales display right? If it is like the
older Magellan Meridians were, the four levels and shadings that were
displayed on the grayscales displays conveyed more distinctly and
visually different levels of detail than did a 16 color display.

As for the level of detail at 5km, is there not a detail level setting
from the Map Setup menu? If that is set to a higher value that might
make the difference in the level of detail she is seeing.

> Now she wants to have both mounted at once on her motorcycle. ;) She'll
> get the speed, auto-routing and nice colour display of the C, and the
> detail of the old S.

Have her look at a 76Cx or CSx, I think that will get here back to a a
single GPS satisfying both needs.

I've never had a 60C or a 76S, I have a 76Cx now, I'm a little confused
about the comments about any differences in the detail levels. But I
thought a 60Cx and 76Cx had exactly the same displays and could display
the same level of detail when I looked at them in a store.

Jack

--
Jack Erbes in Ellsworth, Maine, USA - jackerbes at adelphia dot net
(also receiving email at jacker at midmaine.com)

Steve Calvin

2006-11-21, 3:33 pm

Jack Erbes wrote:
<snip>
>
> I've never had a 60C or a 76S, I have a 76Cx now, I'm a little confused
> about the comments about any differences in the detail levels. But I
> thought a 60Cx and 76Cx had exactly the same displays and could display
> the same level of detail when I looked at them in a store.
>
> Jack
>

Could very well be true, I was just going on what I'd heard.
I've always had some model of the 76 series (had most all of
'em) so I can't speak personally on the 60s (well, unless
you wanna talk about the *19*60's of course ;-) )

--
Steve

emmbeedee

2006-11-21, 10:33 pm

Jack Erbes wrote:
>
> The 76S has a four level grayscales display right? If it is like the
> older Magellan Meridians were, the four levels and shadings that were
> displayed on the grayscales displays conveyed more distinctly and
> visually different levels of detail than did a 16 color display.
>
> As for the level of detail at 5km, is there not a detail level setting
> from the Map Setup menu? If that is set to a higher value that might
> make the difference in the level of detail she is seeing.
>

Trust me; we've been trying ever since I bought my 60C to get the same
detail as on the 76S... about a year now.

I'm thinking of getting some screen shots of each to show the
difference.

> Have her look at a 76Cx or CSx, I think that will get here back to a a
> single GPS satisfying both needs.

I've lent her the 60C on many occasions, as what I've read tells me
that the 60Cx, 76Cx, and the S variants all have the same screen
resolution as the 60C. Neither she nor I can make the resolution detail
match the 76S.

Emm

>
> I've never had a 60C or a 76S, I have a 76Cx now, I'm a little confused
> about the comments about any differences in the detail levels. But I
> thought a 60Cx and 76Cx had exactly the same displays and could display
> the same level of detail when I looked at them in a store.
>
> Jack
>
> --
> Jack Erbes in Ellsworth, Maine, USA - jackerbes at adelphia dot net
> (also receiving email at jacker at midmaine.com)

Ted

2006-11-22, 4:33 am

If you go to the Garmin Web site you will find the 76CSx & 60 CSx have
exactly the same screen size and pixel specification.

Ted

emmbeedee wrote:

> We've already got a 60C and a 76S and both are pretty good, but we're
> in the market for new units, and wondered what there is out there.
> Anyone out there have suggestions? We're thinking of the 60CSx and the
> 76CSx, as the obvious ones to get, but are these the best for the
> moment?
>
> The Garmin Geocaching page is out of date as it doesn't even list the
> "x" models.
>
> One of the things my wife likes about her 76s is the level of detail
> she can have in the maps when zoomed out to 5km level - all the
> backroads are displayed out to that level, while on my 60C they are
> displayed only to the 3km zoom level. Will the 76CSx have that level
> of detail? She is using the Canada Enhanced Basemap when out touring
> the backroads.
>
> Emm

Jack Erbes

2006-11-22, 10:33 am

Ted wrote:

> If you go to the Garmin Web site you will find the 76CSx & 60 CSx have
> exactly the same screen size and pixel specification.
>
> Ted

60C = "1.5 x 2.2 inches (38mm x 56mm); (256 transflective) color TFT
(160 x 240 pixels)"

60/76 Cx and CSx = "1.6"W x 2.2"H (4.1 x 5.6 cm) 256-color transflective
TFT display (160 x 240 pixels)"

I see the .1"/3mm difference in size but otherwise I'd think the
displays would be the same.

The 76S has a different display:

76S = "1.6"W x 2.2"H (4.1 x 5.6 cm), 180 x 240 pixels, high-contrast
FSTN with bright backlighting", also described as a "4-level gray LCD"
in the user's manual.

The Magellan Meridian Color had a 16 color display. The Meridian Color
display, when compared to the grayscales display on the monochrome LCD
Meridians, actually displayed less detail because the non-color models
that displayed a larger number shadings and backgrounds for the shading
(hatches?) than did the color models.

I wonder if Emm's situation with the 76S and 60C is not a similar thing,
where the detail on the 76S is better because it can distinguish detail
in a larger number of shadings and hatches.

Maybe I need to do like Emm suggested and dig my Meridians out and try
to get some screen shots to explain what the difference was.

Jack

>
> emmbeedee wrote:
>
>
>
>

--
Jack Erbes in Ellsworth, Maine, USA - jackerbes at adelphia dot net
(also receiving email at jacker at midmaine.com)

Dave

2006-11-22, 3:33 pm

I prefer the 60 series for several reasons. The buttons are below the
screen and provide for a more natural use . You can hold it one hand and
use your thumb to access the buttons without covering up the screen with
your hand. I also prefer the outside casing on the 60 series because it
is a little more rugged and has a rubber coated protective bottom. I
believe the 76 series uses a patch antenna while the 60 uses an
omni-directional antenna, not sure it that makes a difference but seems
like it should. One final note, my Geocaching guru buddy with over 5500
finds recently upgraded to a 60CSX.

Dave

> Ted wrote:
>
>
>
>
> 60C = "1.5 x 2.2 inches (38mm x 56mm); (256 transflective) color TFT
> (160 x 240 pixels)"
>
> 60/76 Cx and CSx = "1.6"W x 2.2"H (4.1 x 5.6 cm) 256-color transflective
> TFT display (160 x 240 pixels)"
>
> I see the .1"/3mm difference in size but otherwise I'd think the
> displays would be the same.
>
> The 76S has a different display:
>
> 76S = "1.6"W x 2.2"H (4.1 x 5.6 cm), 180 x 240 pixels, high-contrast
> FSTN with bright backlighting", also described as a "4-level gray LCD"
> in the user's manual.
>
> The Magellan Meridian Color had a 16 color display. The Meridian Color
> display, when compared to the grayscales display on the monochrome LCD
> Meridians, actually displayed less detail because the non-color models
> that displayed a larger number shadings and backgrounds for the shading
> (hatches?) than did the color models.
>
> I wonder if Emm's situation with the 76S and 60C is not a similar thing,
> where the detail on the 76S is better because it can distinguish detail
> in a larger number of shadings and hatches.
>
> Maybe I need to do like Emm suggested and dig my Meridians out and try
> to get some screen shots to explain what the difference was.
>
> Jack
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>

Bill Amann Jr

2006-11-23, 10:33 pm

Yes the 60csx is the one I will go after for sure. Will be combing the
websites to fine the best price it might be Amazon not sure. I'll order it
in December some time.
Thanks everyone for the info.
"Dave" <dransick@cox.net> wrote in message
news:kU09h.31073$0n5.9753@newsfe10.phx...[color=darkred]
>I prefer the 60 series for several reasons. The buttons are below the
>screen and provide for a more natural use . You can hold it one hand and
>use your thumb to access the buttons without covering up the screen with
>your hand. I also prefer the outside casing on the 60 series because it is
>a little more rugged and has a rubber coated protective bottom. I believe
>the 76 series uses a patch antenna while the 60 uses an omni-directional
>antenna, not sure it that makes a difference but seems like it should. One
>final note, my Geocaching guru buddy with over 5500 finds recently upgraded
>to a 60CSX.
>
> Dave
>
>

Steve Calvin

2006-11-23, 10:33 pm

Bill Amann Jr wrote:
> Yes the 60csx is the one I will go after for sure. Will be combing the
> websites to fine the best price it might be Amazon not sure. I'll order it
> in December some time.
> Thanks everyone for the info.

Whatever you decide, good luck. I'd advise checking out the
76CSx as well.

I can't recall if this was posted in this thread or not. If
it's a dupe, my apologies. Jack Erbes posted this recently
and I thought it was an excellent writeup. I personally love
the 76's hated the 60's layout. YMMV

GPSMAP 60 Cx/CSx = 2.4" W x 6.1" H x 1.3" D

GPSMAP 76 Cx/CSx = 2.7" W x 6.2" H x 1.2" D

Both have the same software and features.

Some differences and pros and cons mentioned here in the past:

60 is display over buttons, 76 is buttons over display

76 "props up and leans against something" better because of
the more rectangular case.

I often use the 76 in a map case on a motorcycle, the more
rectangular shape and button location works better for me
there than the shape of the 60 would.

Batteries have to be removed from 60 and a card holder
messed with to change microSD card. On 76, microSD card
pops out quickly without removing batteries.

Both 60 and 76 series have battery cases that can be a
little bit snug with some brands or types of AA cells.
There have been some problems with broken battery contacts.
Solution is to insert and remove them level and gently.

Both are equally water resistant.

The 76 floats, the 60 does not.

The 60 is very close to neutral buoyancy, it will sink
slowly and you'll have some time to think about jumping in
the water to save it. It can be made to not sink fairly easily.

The 76 is "slicker" in the hand, the 60 sticks to the hand
better with its rubber armored case. I have my 76Cx in a
Gilsson neoprene case with a clear window over the display.
That makes it not slick and protects the case and display.

Both models come with a lanyard (a wrist strap, more or less).

The 60 also comes with a belt clip.

The 60 can be hung though an opening in the case next to the
antenna near the top of the case, that puts it more or less
upright.

The 76's lanyard loop is on the bottom of the case and it
would hang upside down if the lanyard was used for that.
*edit* I just tied the lanyard to the metal loop on the back
of the battery cover: problem solved.

I used Magellan Meridians (shaped much like the 60 series)
for years but bought a 76Cx. After trying both styles, I
like the 76's buttons over display style equally as well as
I like the buttons under display style.
There are situations where either one of the two may be
better than the other. Only solution for that is to buy one
of each. :> )

The accessories and performance seems to be the same with
both of them.
--
Steve

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