New Garmin Replacements for 60 and 76 series GPSs

[gpsjoe]

Some have noticed the sales on the 60CSX models and have speculated that advanced models are probably coming out soon. They would be right about that. Here are 2 very recent Garmin press releases.

New 62 Series - the 60 series replacement –June 2
http://garmin.blogs.com/pr/2010/06/garm ... held-.html

New 78 Series - the 76 series replacement – April 23
http://garmin.blogs.com/pr/2010/04/garm ... d=newsroom

Preliminary features that interest me are the 1.7 Gig of internal memory, 200 saved tracks with 10,000 points per track and the ability to convert GPX files to img files and ability to deal with multiple img files. Also it will have a quad helix antenna better that the one in the 60CSX (also the type used in the great Magellan Meridian which I still own today). I see the 62s model in my future.

Of course the devil is in the details and I would consider something like an unreadable screen as a fatal flaw. I think the new products should be a distillation of all the best features of previous models with the enhancements noted and I am not expecting any fatal flaws but you never know.

[gpsjoe]

62s Initial Impressions - AWESOME

It does not ship with a micro sd card so I went to Wal-Mart and got an 8GB Sandisk Class 2 Micro SDHC for $25. Works great.

The first thing you notice when attaching it to you computer is that 2 new drives are created and will be in you file manager. One is labeled Garmin and is the internal memory which on the 62s model has 1.7 GB of free space and a number of folders. One has the user manual in several languages. Another is a Garmin folder for maps and routes, tracks and waypoints in files using a .gpx format. You make a Garmin folder on your micro SD and put maps and tracks in there and the GPS reads both internal and SD memory and it doesn’t matter where you put them. There are also esoteric system folders in internal memory.

The 62s supports 16,000 colors and the resulting map displays are awesome. A lot like the displays on the Garmin car GPS units.

I now have the basemap loaded and the 24K maps for the South West (about 3.4 GB ) and the 100K maps for the all Western U. S. (about 0.9 GB). I can enable or disable any of these individually. My plan is to use the 24Ks for hiking and the 100Ks for car trips. Too much detail in the 24Ks for driving where you want to zoom out farther to get the broader view. Also the 100Ks work if I hike in California or other state not covered in the 24K set. I can add more maps as well and turn them on or off at will.

Tracks are my number 1 favorite hiking navigation aid. On the 62s you can load up to 200 tracks each with up to 10,000 track points. No more 500 point limit. I loaded a driving track with more than 3,000 points – very nice. Also you can archive tracks and I think that would only be limited by available space in internal and external memory which in practical terms means millions or far more than you would ever want.

It uses Alkaline, NiMH or Lithium batteries. Lithiums are best for cold weather and long backpacks. They last longer and are individually a little lighter than the other types. It does not use the same car power adapter as the 60csx and I thought I would have to buy a new one. Then I realized that in my toy box I had a car adapter with a USB port. Used that with a standard USB cable with the mini USB connector and it works. No new adapter purchase needed here. The car adapter with a USB port is readily available at Wal-Mart and many other stores.

I think I have fallen in love with the 62s already but will soon be doing some serious hiking and will see how that works.

It has taken a couple of days to warm up to the new menus and make the right choices but this is worth it.

[joebartels]

Bet you'll like that! It's almost identical to an Oregon, even has the bomber proof carabiner clip in!

Variances
62s 160 x 240 pixels - 9.2 ounces, Quad helix - 20 hours
Oregon 240 x 400 pixels - 6.8 ounces - 16 hours

Albeit a little outdated now you can put in Steve's Member contributed GPS Routes layer and turn it on and off when needed. It's helped me out a couple times.

[gpsjoe]

I think the 62 is an Oregon/Dakota/Colorado with buttons which I like (not a fan of touchscreen). It has benefited greatly from solutions to problems that Garmin came up with in these models. So now I think this model is quite refined.

[joebartels]

The really good news is now you can do free upgrades instead of replacing the entire unit so often

[Sredfield]

Tracks are my number 1 favorite hiking navigation aid. On the 62s you can load up to 200 tracks each with up to 10,000 track points. No more 500 point limit.

Is that a TOTAL of 10,000 points, or 10,000 points for EACH track?

[gpsjoe]

It is 10,000 points for each track. Remember it has 1.7GB free space internally and up to 32GB on a microSD card you put in. It handles giga sized everything.

[Sredfield]

Wow! That will make file handling much easier. The directions for Garmins that we put up here on HAZ no longer hold true then.

[Grasshopper]

The directions for Garmins that we put up here on HAZ no longer hold true then.

I believe those guidelines we put up are specific to the Garmin 76/60CS/e-Trex Vista models. Guess Joe will now need to write-up the guidelines for the 62s

[joebartels]

lol... it's been there for years
faq.php#f8r3

[gpsjoe]

Joe, you have the 62s correctly categorized as an Oregon in 60CSX clothing. The innards of the 62s have a lot in common with the Oregon. Externally it looks like a 60CSX with buttons. If anyone is fond of touchscreen they should consider the Oregon. I have touchscreen on my thermostat at home and It's a good thing I don't own a gun because there would be a big hole in my wall by now.

Interacting with the 62s or Oregon means dealing with files and folders just like any those on a PC or Mac. If you can do that you can interact well with these GPS units.

There is of course a question of affordability. The street prices (as of August 2010) of 3 very good or excellent GPS units for hikers are shown below. All are capable but have different feature sets.

Basic: Etrex Hcx - $207
Intermediate: 60csx - $300
Advanced: 62s - $400

[PLC92084]

If anyone is fond of touchscreen they should consider the Oregon.

I'm curious how these units function with sweaty, dirty hands/fingers... I tend to think the displays will get "gunked-up" quickly... My eTrex gets messy after some handling but it's manageable.

[gpsjoe]

Just returned from 2 wonderful weeks of hiking in New Mexico and Colorado using the 62s.

All went fine with the 62s except for the odometer which consistently under reported mileage by 20 to 50 percent make it a useless and unreliable piece of information. Hanks 60CSX consistently gave more accurate mileage data. I have been on a wiki site for the 62s and have preliminary information suggesting that the chipset is the problem and not the software and it may not be a correctable problem.

I would therefore hold off on any new purchase until the problem is corrected. I view the mileage reading on the odometer as a fundamental piece of information and this is potentially a fatal flaw in the 62s that I was not expecting. Please note this problem occurs at hiking speeds (0 to 3 mph) and not driving speeds.

Since the 60csx is giving reasonably accurate odometer readings and is a fine GPS in all other respects you may not want to upgrade until Garmin fixes this fundamental problem if ever.

[joebartels]

Maybe that explains why Nick's 450t is extremely under on mileage. Though he still does not have the same screen as Jim and I. I'd be more convinced if he was running the exact same software version.

I'm curious what you guys are running, I just looked under Setup -> About
Beta Software 3.42
Unit ID bla bla bla
GPS Software Version: 3.70

Joe's may be different since it's a different model. Now I wonder why there's a Beta and another version #?

[big_load]

Was the track interval on Auto, or was it one whatever they call pedestrian?

[joebartels]

I think the settings on these are something like

Most Often
More Often
Normal
Less Often
Least Often

Mine is on Normal and Nick said his is on normal too. You can customize it to a specific time or distance too (I think)

[gpsjoe]

On the 62s model I am using the latest software which is 2.44 Beta that claimed to address odometer issues.

I also use the normal setting for tracks. But there are two different issues here that need to be discussed separately. They are track based mileage and odometer based mileage and they are very different and have no relationship to each other.

The track recording on the 62s I believe is accurate and mileage based on the track after I download it is also accurate or approximately accurate. The odometer does not get mileage info from the tracking data (maybe it should). One hike we did the track mileage said 11 whereas the odometer said 8.65. Garmin could fix this problem simply by using the track mileage. I need to see mileage based on track data while I am hiking as one of the data fields which is not currently available on the Garmins. Why ? I have no idea.

[big_load]

The odometer does not get mileage info from the tracking data (maybe it should).

Huh, that's weird. If they're not doing that, maybe they do something akin to dead reckoning, perhaps numerical integration of your velocity (which seems silly if they're estimating velocity derived from positions). If so, is the velocity measurement questionable at low speed?

[gpsjoe]

If so, is the velocity measurement questionable at low speed?

That seems to be the problem since hiking is done anywhere from 0 to 3 mph, and very slow when doing significant climbs. However, I need an explanation of why the 60csx does reasonably well at these same speeds and the 62s does not. The 62s is a 2010 model that should do better than previous models, not worse.

[big_load]

I have to say, I never paid attention to the odometer while hiking. I'll give it a try with my 60CSx this weekend.

[fricknaley]

yes, joe, i'm with you. my odometer is way off. my tracks seem to be very accurate in comparison to everyone else.

Beta Software: 3.71
GPS Software Version: 4.48