Map Update for my 60CSx

This is the BaseCamp forum so really the wrong place to ask, but the first problem you'll have is whether BaseCamp can see your Garmin 60. Does it appear in BaseCamp as a device when connected to your PC?

BaseCamp supports the GPSMAP 60CSx just fine.

The maps are stored on the micro SD card. The USB interface of the 60CSx is slow, so it's best to remove the SD card and place it in a USB card reader.

There are several free maps available on the internet, these maps are based on OpenStreetMap. Find one that is not too detailed (it's an old device that will get sluggish with too much detail). A ready made file named gmapsupp.img can be put on the SD card, in the folder Garmin.

If you want more than one map it is necessary to install them on the computer first. Send the maps with Garmin MapInstal together to the SD card. It will combine the maps to one file (gmapsupp.img). Max. file size is 4 GB, providing that the the latest firmware is installed.

You will likely have an issue with the date being very wrong. I own one and it is very slow to acquire satellites and to stay locked onto them because the GPS receiver is of the older (low sensitivity) variety. I don't know if the slow acquisition is also due to the date bug (Y2K GPS week number rollover bug) but it makes the device somewhat irritating to use. My older eTrex Vista HCx also had the date bug but as it was a newer device (likely with an updatable High Sensitivity GPS chipset), It got a firmware/GPS chipset update that corrected this issue.

The 60CSx has never been updated to correct this since I believe the GPS chipset is not updatable

The GPSMAP 60CSx may be just running fine with the correct date, but if it doesn't, it can be fixed easily with GPSBabel. That program can reset the internal clock. I've got every model of the GPSMAP 60 line, each one shows the correct date.

The GPS week number rollover bug (it's not related to Y2K) can be fixed on almost every older Garmin device with GPSBabel or with the very old program "GpsEow" that Garmin made for the first rollover in 1999. The only requirement is that the device can communicate using the Garmin protocol over a serial or USB interface.

ThanksJaVaWa 

 I was able to correct the date/time on my 60CS (not the "x" variant; I was mistaken not having used it in such a long time) using GPSBabel along with the instructions on your website. The translation was not 100% clear but I managed to get it done. Although the date/time is now correct, the unit is still slow to acquire GPS signals...it's the nature of the unit I guess, not being a high-sensitivity "H" model. I'll have to see if this will improve over time (need to let it sit for an extended period tracking birds) now that the date & time are correct.

Knowing the correct date or thinking it’s 19.4 years earlier doesn’t matter at all for the device, it will just work the same. All it needs to know is the correct week number to interpret the data that is coming from the satellites, that isn’t changed with the correction. Now it will show the correct datum, use it in the track logs and shows the correct sunrise/sunset times though.

It will still be slow compared to the 60CSx or eTrex Vista HCx…

The 60CSx is an older but still very capable GPS. Since Garmin no longer provides current map updates for it, you may want to look into compatible third-party map sources that support older Garmin units. Before installing anything, I’d check the device’s firmware version, available storage, and whether the map uses the correct Garmin format.

It’s also a good idea to back up the existing maps and data first, so you can restore the original setup if something goes wrong. Hopefully someone here with a 60CSx can recommend a reliable current map source.

thanks for the input and for future inquiries about my 60csx where do you recommend go and post?