Memory Needed for a Small Section of Western North Carolina

[prglor]

Are track logs and bread crumbs the same thing?  Do all GPS units (including the eTrex 30) create them to enable you to backtrack to where you started?

[Seldom]

Are track logs and bread crumbs the same thing?  Do all GPS units (including the eTrex 30) create them to enable you to backtrack to where you started?

Yes to tracklog question.  Most(including eTrex 30) to second question.  Some nuvis don't make tracklogs.( A good thing since the police could use them to tell how fast you were going.)

[Boyd]

Only the really old Nuvi models don't record tracklogs. The Nuvi 200, 300 and 600 series don't record tracks, but they have all been discontinued for many years. All current models record track, and in fact you can't even turn off track recording - you can clear the track but not turn it off. Garmin harvests your tracklogs whenever you do a map update and uses them to build their historical traffic flow database for the trafficTrends feature of new models.

[EagleBoy]

That is an awesome deal - free shipping too!  I chose the Dakota 20 over the oregon only for size alone, but the Oregon is sweet.  BUY NOW! 

[prglor]

Are the 60CSx and 76CSx able to use custom maps?  What are their limitations, if any, in comparison to the eTrex20 or 30 or other moderate cost mapping gps's?

[Boyd]

When Garmin refers to "custom maps", they are talking about maps like these: http://www.gpsfiledepot.com/maps/view/246/ . The 60csx and 76csx cannot handle that kind of map. They also cannot handle Birdseye imagery: https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=70144

Additionally they have an older style compass that requires you to hold the unit flat (screen facing the sky) to work. Newer models have triaxial compasses that work in any position. The new eTrex can also receive signals from different satellites, which may or may not make a difference in reception/accuracy.

[prglor]

Thank you for the clarification as to which units can use custom maps.  Given this information, I guess I'm looking at the eTrex20, eTrex30 or Oregon 450 as the affordable (for me) choices.  When I read their reviews on Amazon, there are an alarming number of negative reviews claiming poor accuracy for all 3 units and difficulty reading the screen for the 450.  The 450 also gets a number of bad reviews on GPS City, the eTrex 20 and 30 not so much but they're so new there aren't many reviews for them.

Yet, along with these bad reviews that appear to show a pattern of flaws, there are many glowing reviews from satisfied customers.  Are the bad reviews just a case of lemons?  Is Garmin's quality control so poor that there is a significant percentage of flawed units being sold?  Are they, like everything else, being produced in China?

It looks to me like the return service of the place you purchase your unit needs to be the primary criterion, not price, for where you buy.  How do Amazon and GPS City stack up in this regard?  It appears that Garmin will be little help if you get a lemon based on an overwhelming number of people posting bad experiences with their customer support.

[Seldom]

  Are the bad reviews just a case of lemons?  Is Garmin's quality control so poor that there is a significant percentage of flawed units being sold?  Are they, like everything else, being produced in China?

I've got an Etrex 30.  I read the reviews and bought it anyway.  So far, NO problems.  Accuracy is as good as my 62s; compass is as accurate as my 62s.  When you read the reviews keep in mind that GPSrs are complicated gadgets, and there is a lot of room for operator error.  Historically there's also been a lot of room for programming error with ORs and later Garmins, but Garmin has been pretty good at keeping up with the firmware fixes.

I had what appeared to be a loose battery terminal on my 60CSX, under warranty, and Garmin turned it around in about two weeks.  They replaced the unit so they also had to provide me with new unlock codes for City Navigator.

[Boyd]

Congratulations on the new eTrex 30.   When you got the replacement 60csx back from Garmin, did you check to see whether it has the MTK chipset instead of SiRF? Garmin switched chip vendors about 3 years ago, and some people are upset to have received MTK based units in exchange when they sent their old devices in for repair.

Regarding Amazon, I have always been very happy and they get high marks from other people I know. I generally only purchase items that are sold and shipped directly by them and not their partners. You are absolutely correct that you need to check the vendor's return/exchange policy. REI is another good place - they have an extremely liberal return policy plus it's a bricks and mortar store that can help you in person.

If I had to rely on the reviews at Amazon, I would be too scared to buy anything. Take them with a grain of salt IMO. And beyond that, you have to ask "compared to what"? Would you be happier with a Magellan device? There is a huge amount of negative feedback about their customer support.

I am a moderator at GPSReview and see a lot of user reports about Garmin support. The experience is overwhelmingly positive. Sometimes you will need to be insistent - but nice - to get what you want. And use phone support instead of e-mail to get the best results.

[Seldom]

It was too early for the MTK when I replaced my 60CSX.  Love the Etrex, the only thing it's missing that the 62s has is a "Foreward" button to navigate pages.  The Etrex only goes "Back".

[Boyd]

I don't think the new eTrex devices can send NMEA data to your computer for use in GPS applications either, can they? Too bad, since that would be a relatively inexpensive way to get a GLONASS receiver for PC use.

[Seldom]

I don't think the new eTrex devices can send NMEA data to your computer for use in GPS applications either, can they? Too bad, since that would be a relatively inexpensive way to get a GLONASS receiver for PC use.

No, they don't the only interface options are Garmin (which provides a spanner option) and Mass Storage.  My 62s provides NMEA, Text, and RTCM options.

[prglor]

How well does Garmin software work with 64 bit Windows 7?  I recently upgraded to it after replacing my computer which got hit by lightning.  Now about 3/4 of my software is incompatible with my operating system.  Are there any issues with Garmin software or with stuff downloadable from this site?

[Seldom]

How well does Garmin software work with 64 bit Windows 7?  I recently upgraded to it after replacing my computer which got hit by lightning.  Now about 3/4 of my software is incompatible with my operating system.  Are there any issues with Garmin software or with stuff downloadable from this site?

That's odd, I migrated most of my software from a 32 bit WinXP machine to a 64 bit Win7 machine and all of it worked just fine.

[maps4gps]

MapSource and BaseCamp work fine.  Microsoft elected not to support older DOS based software in Windows 7 - had their employees working on new games, etc. 
You will need to install a 32-bit mapset like 'My trails ... ' before installing any of the State topos I uploaded in May and June 2011 - there was an unrecognized glitch in the 64-bit installer used for those mapsets.