A friend loaned me a Garmin 60Csx that I have played around with a bit. I haven't bothered to use it much, because it only has basemaps and anything paved I usually don't need assistance with. I've got no software and no cables for it. I'm wondering if there is anything that can be done to augment the maps for this without forking out a bunch of money? Any options or am I just SOL unless I want to spend $100+ on topo maps?
You might try Metroguide 4.01. I use it and though it's a little old now I always seem to get where I'm going. Most of the dirt roads haven't changed all that much. Ver 4.01 is as new as you want to buy because it will do routing etc. There is an example on ebay now at auction 180339464196. I've seen one as low as $15. If you want topo maps you can sometimes find those for free, depending on the area of interest.
A great free program for downloading, uploading, and saving waypoints, tracks, and routes is DNR Garmin. It also saves & converts among various file formats such as text (*.txt), GPS exchange (*.gpx), and Google Earth (*.kml). Here's a link to download the program: http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/mis/gis/tools/arcview/extensions/DNRGarmin/DNRGarmin.html It may look like the program is only useful if you are using a GIS (geographical information system) software package, but that's not true. Check out this thread for possible maps that you could use: http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=300889 When you get a cable, I'd get the USB 2.0 cable rather than the rs232 cable. The 60CSX can use both, but the USB 2.0 transfers data many times faster and can power the GPS from the computer. Good luck, Howard L. Snell
Thanks all. I'll check these options out. My primary concern is road maps. I'm usually fine relying on paper maps, but FS roads are often unmarked and there are usually more roads out there than are on the maps. Not knowing whether this is the right pace to take a right is a little unnerving sometimes.
If you have the Mapsource software that comes with the GPS it is pretty handy for transferring files, handling tracks etc. If you don't have it look here http://freegeographytools.com/2007/garmin-mapsource-for-free Poke around that site a bit for other good stuff.
Thanks Charlie - I got the mapsource loaded, and am looking into maps. The old version of Metroguide seems like a good way to go. Have you found it to be pretty thorough with regards to dirt roads? Regarding free topo maps, everything appears to be img or mp format. How do I get that into mapsource? Unfortunately, I have just about no experience with this stuff so any advice is greatly appreciated.