Garmin 60csx map help please

[badknees]

Bad Knees,

Would the Garmin Texas Topo map have trails?

Just took a short hike along an established hike bike trail here in Harris County and that trail was not on the map. Roads, creeks, and contour lines were on the map.

Compared to the Garmin base map, I am impressed!

Have a good day.
Steve.

Steve, perhaps you should ask BK what maps he uses in Big Bend with his 60csx

Al

The Garmin 24K topo - National Park Series -Central covers Big Bend and has trails on it. You can actually go to the Garmin site and look at the level of detail provided by using the map viewer at this link. https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=255&pID=1000#coverageTab

Garmin also has a 24K Topo for the whole state of Texas.  https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?cID=255&pID=27941#overviewTab The map viewer doesn't work for that map on the web page, but I bet the coverage for Big Bend is the same as on the National Park series map.

Both are available as downloads or MicroSD cards. Unfortunately I don't think either product is available in a format that allows it to be used in MAPSOURCE, so you can't use it on a PC and plan any routes or view tracks plotted on the topo. That is a huge downside (in my opinion)

Now...what do I have on my 60CSX?

I'm am a roll your own guy and have generated a topo Big Bend similar to the Texas Topo that you downloaded. The difference is in customization. Mine is infinitely customizable and contains trail information  and locations from GPS data acquired over a period of years. Trails, springs and points of interest are part of my topo base map and I add and revise as I acquire more data.

If you are really interested in a project of this type read here...http://home.roadrunner.com/~creek/garmin.htm

This process requires some computer skills and time, but the end product is superior to Garmin's offerings. Although Garmin has vastly improved their topo series, the inability to use in MAPSOURCE is a deal killer for me.

Below is a sample of the Chisos from my topo in MAPSOURCE.


http://www.mirrormagic.com/CasaGrande/Sample Map.jpg (FULL SIZE)

[optique]

Bad Knees,

Your map looks great!

Great info.

I enjoyed reading over info you linked to about making maps. I could get into that, but of course it would take some serious time. I know you say "computer skills" required, but does that really mean mapping skills are prerequisite? I could see myself practicing on my little chunk of Harris County.

I looked at the two Garmin topos that cover Big Bend:
The National Park - Central map says it DOES support map source and it has some routable trails and roads.https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=1000#featureTab
The downside to this map is you may never visit the other National Parks.

The Texas topo - makes no reference to MapSource as you state.

I think I will just try the free map I downloaded before I invest anymore money.

thanks very much
steve.

[PacingTheCage]

I just bought this unit along with the card for the Texas topo map.  I've only had it for a day and haven't "played with it" enough but I'm not seeing any trails, etc.  No creeks, lakes, rivers, etc,  just contour lines.  Lord help me! 

[Terlingua50337]

I've got a 60CSx as well and am still learning to use it. I don't have it with me but there is a page (I can't recall which one) where you can adjust the amount of detail on the map.

[homerboy2u]

Fellas, don't stop tinkering with your 60 Csx. You always discover something new about your device. To me it has been a great addition to my camping stuff.

[Robert]

When you zoom in you should see more detail.

I downloaded the "free" Texas topo after BK posted the link and used it for my last trip to the park. It worked fine for what I need and you can use Mapsource with it.

[randell]

Jeff

Thanks for the reply so quick.

About the 100k topo, looking at the country just around Marathon, it is better than the base map.

So, I am wondering if the map above now would be useful in just day to day non-camping hiking use, like in Houston?

Sorry if these are incredibly stupid questions.
steve.

Probably would be useful for non-vehicular navigation in the Houston area.

If you're going to use it to navigate when in the car, I suspect the 60CSx is not going to make you very happy. The screen is too small. You can pick up a Garmin Nuvi pretty cheap these days. I took a 305W (I think that's the model no.) on my road trip -- got it for under $100. Much better for vehicle use. On the other hand, if you're using the GPS purely to record where you drive, then the 60CSx is superior to the vehicular models, as far as flexibility for saving and exporting tracks goes.

As for navigating in the city of Houston on foot, I suspect the base map which came with the unit is probably adequate.

Hmm, I have used the 60CSx for four years for both driving and hiking and never had any trouble with either usage.  I use the City Navigator North America Maps.  I went to Vegas in 2006 and drove 800 miles in the rental car all over Nevada and Vegas using nothing but the 60CSx.  I have used it for every road trip since then.  I've never even used the gps units that speak to you.  When I get to the hiking trail I just switch to the topo map view and start hiking.

[BigBendHiker]

Same here  I use the 60CSx for city nav and hiking.  Works great.

[Terlingua50337]

For those with Garmin GPS 60CSx's http://www.asiteaboutnothing.net/g_60csx.html