Garmin GPSMap 62s on sale at REI for $200

[Boyd]

I think this is the lowest price I've seen. The 62s is the successor to the popular 60csx with a pushbutton interface and antenna that some people feel is superior to other models. But the gps chips inside are the same as the Oregon and Montana series. Sale ends November 24

http://www.rei.com/product/805907/garmin-gpsmap-62s-gps;jsessionid=WFcpOYqFC258eXaLjdEIj7a5?siteId=cjIsd2x-it3792&URL=http://www.rei.com/product/805907/garmin-gpsmap-62s-gps&PID=1796092&AID=10547273&cm_mmc=aff_cj-_-1796092-_-10547273

 

[RednekF350]

Thanks Boyd, this may be the tipping point for me to buy a new unit.

I lost my 60CSX this past summer and it had my Bluechart chip in it at the time. Fortunately, I had a recent download of my waypoints that I needed to upload to my 740s chartplotter.
My son then bought an unused 60CSX from a friend for $100 and I have been using it with only the NE Topo chip and uploaded all of my waypoints. I still need my own though.

 

[Boyd]

Cool, but just remember it only looks like the 60csx. On the inside, it's basically an Oregon. I think the main appeal will be for people who just don't like touchscreens. While some people think the antenna is better, I have never seen any real evidence that it makes a difference.

People generally like the 60csx because of the SiRFStar chipset, and Garmin abandoned that long ago. For the last few years of production the 60csx used the MTK chipset, which is something that upset a lot of people... http://forums.gpsreview.net/viewtopic.php?t=14007

That being said, this is a really good price on the 62s. These kind of deals often sell out quickly though.

 

[Teegate]

I have never seen any real evidence that it makes a difference.

I am not going to say anything

 

[Boyd]

So you think your Oregon would be better if it looked like a 60csx? I think the characteristics you like about the 60csx come from the chipset and not the antenna.

 

[RednekF350]

What changes would be noticeable, if any, with the MTK chipset ?
I read through the link you posted and it seems like everyone has a different opinion.

 

[Boyd]

Yeah Scott, the whole thing baffles me too. I have an older 60csx with the SiRF chips.

I did some testing myself last spring as part of a review I wrote for another device at gpstracklog. In the examples below, I placed both the 60csx and Montana 600 (same chips as the 62s) side by side at a known location and then recorded points every second for 30 minutes (1800 samples). The cross in the middle is the actual location and each ring of the bullseye is one meter (39 inches) apart.

You can see that the 60csx had a tighter pattern of points closer to the bullseye than the Montana. But if you average all the points on the Montana, it will still be pretty close to the center - they are pretty even dispersed around ground zero while the 60csx clusters SW of the bullseye. So if you were doing waypoint averaging, for example, I think your results would be pretty similar. But if you were searching for a stone, the 60csx might bring you closer to it.

Both units have some points that have wandered very far from ground zero, but remember we are looking at 1800 samples. And these were static tests with an open view of the sky, which is not the same as recording a track while walking under tree cover.

 

[Teegate]

Your test may be perfectly correct and the Oregon and Montana may be more accurate, but the true test is how does the counter count down and the pointer point when trying to find something, and the only true answer is my Oregon hands down does not work as well as the 60csx. There really isn't anything else I can say about it.

Guy

 

[RednekF350]

Maybe I will just buy the CSX from my son, since he really doesn't use it and then buy a new Bluechart chip.

I used the CSX on Wednesday on a work project. I extracted some NAD 83 X Y's from NJ Geoweb and converted them to lat/ lon using Corpscon. I almost tripped over both stones that I needed to find for my project. Kinda scary how accurate the Geoweb data is some times.

 

[Boyd]

Your test may be perfectly correct and the Oregon and Montana may be more accurate

Guy, if you read my post again I didn't say that the Montana or Oregon were more accurate. In fact I said the opposite

You can see that the 60csx had a tighter pattern of points closer to the bullseye

and

if you were searching for a stone, the 60csx might bring you closer to it.

If you just compare those two graphics above however, you can see that each has its own "signature". Depending on what you use the GPS for, that might tip the scales one way or the other.

 

[RednekF350]

Cool, but just remember it only looks like the 60csx. On the inside, it's basically an Oregon. I think the main appeal will be for people who just don't like touchscreens. While some people think the antenna is better, I have never seen any real evidence that it makes a difference.

People generally like the 60csx because of the SiRFStar chipset, and Garmin abandoned that long ago. For the last few years of production the 60csx used the MTK chipset, which is something that upset a lot of people... http://forums.gpsreview.net/viewtopic.php?t=14007

That being said, this is a really good price on the 62s. These kind of deals often sell out quickly though.

Boyd,

I did the software check tonight on my son's 60 CSX. It says Software 3.5o and GPS 2.90. Do you think this unit already has the MTK chipset ? I re-read the thread you posted and I really don't see a definitive answer on determining which chipset is installed.
Thanks for your help with this.

 

[Boyd]

Guessing that is the SiRF chipset, but I think you need to update to the newest firmware to be certain. You are running GPS 2.90 and I think if you do the update it will be changed to 3.00s (where s=SiRF).

Run Webupdater with your 60csx connected to your computer: http://www8.garmin.com/products/webupdater/howtoinstall.jsp

It will look for the newest firmware and tell you what it finds. It should also show a list of what has been changed in the newer firmware (bug fixes). If you are worried about updating the firmware, you can just quit but webupdater will tell you what the new version is. If it has an "s", then it is SiRF. "m" is MediaTek.

Of course, if you are happy with the way it performs now then it doesn't really matter either way.

 

[RednekF350]

Just did an update to 4.0 with Webupdater but there was not a s or m modifier anywhere.
After the update was complete, I had a choice to update "Chipset g" ??
I did not select that and closed out.

My software check in the unit now says: Software Version 4.00 GPS 2.90s.
The s modifier wasn't there when I checked it before the update.

I would deem the operation a complete succcess Dr. Boyd !

Thank you.

 

[Boyd]

Cool. I wonder why it did 2.9 and not 3.0 as others have reported though? But at least you have the "s", so that's good. BTW, if you ever decide you want to go back to an earlier version, you will find it here: http://gawisp.com/perry/gps60/