Garmin GPSMap 60CSx Handheld GPS Navigator »
Now that we had been able to find some caches with the Garmin eTrex Vista CX Handheld GPS Navigator, we had determined that we didn't really like it all that much. There wasn't anything exactly wrong with the unit, it just didn't seem to work as well as it could. After doing a bit more reading, I determined that I'd like to see if I could find something a bit better.
I had originally been looking for something that was small and easy to carry about. Of course, the problem with this is that the antenna is internal. That alone may have been part of the problem, so I crossed of that requirement, and looked again. That's when I noticed that the Vista, though it lists a "high performance" chip, did not have an "extremely accurate SiRF" chip, which is apparently the latest and greatest. Does it make a difference? Heck, I don't know, but if I'm going through the trouble of upgrading, I might as well check it out to see. Inquiring minds want to know.
So I dug about some more, and determined that what I now wanted was the Garmin GPSMap 60CSx Handheld GPS Navigator. This unit had everything that our first unit had, plus as a bonus it had the SiRF chip and a ruggedized housing. If we were going to be tromping through woods and such, and it couldn't fit in a pocket, then it might as well be rugged.
The downside, of course, is that it's $100 more than the other one. The good news is that Amazon is really good about returns. I have to say that this, to my knowledge, is the first time I have ever returned anything to them, and it went off without a problem. I just went through their return process, which printed a prepaid return voucher, then I dropped it off at a UPS location. My card was credited in no time.
A few days later, I had another unit in my hot little hands, and it is even nicer than the first one. The SiRF chip does seem to live up to its name (or perhaps I'm imagining that it does, because I am trying to justify the extra $100). But on activating the unit, the satellites seem to acquire a signal faster than the other one. That's a nice change. Also, where the other unit would tend to wander a bit when you started getting close to your coordinates, this one seems to zero in much better.
No longer do you have to walk back and forth quite as much - instead you can get right to where you are going. The only downside that I have with this unit is that the MicroSD
