do I need topo software?
21956
You have to buy Garmin's Topo US software in order to make the unit usable for hiking. It is available from Amazon. I'd say the important difference between this and the eTrex is size/weight and price. If you don't mind paying the extra money and carry something just a bit bigger and heavier, the 60Csx is a superior unit. I also use it in the car and on the bike. You can have both Topo and City Navagator software on it at the same time. You will need another memory chip into the 60Csx. I have a 1G chip that holds all the Northeast road and Topo maps.
923316
I just bought a Garmin 60CSx, downoaded all of Garmin's Mac software from their website, and bought the Mac-compatible maps (as well as loading some of the free topos available) and, other than a few minor glitches, it's been great. I have an Intel iMac.
1432870
No, and you don't need it unless you are trying to record those measurements. The finder scope and SkyQuest software make it really easy to find things.
1387954
The base model soes not. You can buy a model that has the 100k topo maps installed
1548909
I think you do Margaret..... we have not purchased the software, so I am not positive. Sorry.... let me know if you get an answer. Thanks!
247394
Never used MS but I am a big fan of Street Atlas. I use it for multiple things at my jib.
1942914
don't know if it would have enough memory left after the tomtom maps use up a very large chunk of the 2 gb supplied. i do use it as a backup aviation gps (load software from anywhere map). for logs (actually kml files), i have recently installed this http://www.visualgps.net/BeeLineGPS/default.htm. works like a charm :) however, to be honest, i don't know of any lightweight topo application that can be run on this.
1711006
This product came with several maps preloaded, including the TOPO U.S. 100K. I ordered the DVD separately for the Topo U.S. 24K because it has four times smaller resolution. It contains everything you mentioned. I believe the DVD for the 24K was about $100+ extra. Once I got the DVD I initially could not figure how to load/download it to the 62st. Fortunately the Garmin support pointed to free software that I needed downloaded to my PC before using the DVD. Once the software and DVD were installed I was able to select a portion of the 24k map and transfer it to the 62st. I was disappointed with the resolution of the 100k but the 24K is quite detailed. Overall this unit has cost me more than I was planning to invest and has been less than impressive to use and fairly hard to learn. It took me a couple of weeks to figure how to translate the deed description of my property to GPS coordinates and then translate it further into the modified format used by Garmin. I also used Google maps to attempt to determine the coordinates for my property but note that again their format is different for how minutes and seconds of an angle are calculated. I ended up with four translations before I got to an accurate mapping of the 62st - it was quite frustrating for a while. Good luck. Perhaps you are more experienced with this type of equipment. It is my first, but I'm quite skilled with a map and compass. Using the unit through thick brush where I could neither see very far ahead or walk very far in a straight line was quite disappointing. Finally to locate one of my property boundaries it was actually necessary to revert to a compass and step off about 1/4 mile. Again perhaps this says more about me being a novice user than the actual unit and map.
2215924
Yep, it will work. I'm using topomaps, build from OpenStreetMap for my region (Russia, near border with Finland) for example. Works fine! Also, you could buy topo map for your region (or region of your interest) later.
1149359
Yes. You won't have any detailed Topo maps loaded on the GPS, but you don't need those. Turn on the map and you can follow the track back to wherever you started. It's best to practice around your neighborhood before venturing into the wild unknown. Alaskan Hunter
196364
Yes it will do area calculations. I have used it to walk off my property line and it was accurate compared to my survey.I have been pleased with my Oregon 600, wish I had gotten the 600t for the extra topo maps included. Yes I would purchase again.
2215923
Yes. Yes you can. Pro: With a little searching you can find open source digital topo maps maps that are pretty good, though maybe not super specialized. I got the 600 and have done this and have been quite satisfied. Con: Still, since I didn't get the 600t I can't say what the quality of those maps is.
943698
As Richard responded, you do need to get the micro SD card and then you can load maps. I had found free topos to load from online, but I can't remember the site for right now. They worked perfect however.
273493
I'm a Mac user and mountain biker. I use a Garmin GPSMAP 60scx handheld with Garmin's MapSource Topo US maps. I carry the GPS with me in my pack and turn on the tracking when I'm in unknown territory or exploring new trails. This enables me to see and decide if I should turn left/right or turn around when I meet up with some road or other trail. Since it's showing a 1:100,000 topo, I can see contour lines. Later I can review the tracks I made and find my total ascent/decent and review a profile of elevation change by distance. I can save the track on the GPS and upload it to my Mac to share with other GPS equipped riders. Using the TOPO US on my Mac, I can also find trails that might be suitable for later explorations. Plot a route over the trail and then transfer the route to my GPS so that I can find and follow the trail while in the field. Sometimes however, the trail shown on the map no longer really exists since the digitized topo map is based on older topos and nature tends to grow over trails that have not been maintained or were purposely closed. The GPS has really enhanced my ability to explore and discover new riding terrain. If it did as much for my strength and endurance as it has for my field orientation and ability to know where to go, I'd really be krankin up and down everything! Hope this helps. Paul
1771826
Mine didn't come with software, per se, but I could usually re-map in game or in Windows. Had to download a free app to remap on my mac.
2215919
I ordered the 600 and got a cd with the topo maps on it so I could use the cd with other devices. Can't answer re: the free ones.
1981790
I believe its compatible with the whole line csx and cs its a micro sd so there shouldnt be a problem. Its worth the price as long as you zoom in till you see the topo lines