Electronics, Lighting, & Gadgets - garmin gpsmap 60csx

i use garmin gpsmap 60csx for my bicycle. its seem too big to fit in my polygon premier 3 bike and my bike but look stylish and macho... but the problem is the battery consumption not economical, can survive maksimum 3 hours.

anybody know a way to save battery life for garmin gpsmap 60csx?

thank you

I have one of these. I use NiMH rechargables and get a lot more than 3 hours out of the thing. 12 at least.

Set the unit for the battery type you're using. It's under the setup menu somewhere. I don't think it changes the battery life, but it does change how the battery display computes its indication.

Make sure you're using the backlight only if you need it, and set it for a short "on" time.

I use the garmin bicycle mount. Had one of them break on a pothole bump. I had the wrist strap looped around the bars and that saved the unit from a crash.

Use NiMH rechargeable batteries. They should last for over 12 hours per charge and can be recharged hundreds of times. The pre-charged ones don't lose charge as fast when sitting idle for long periods but hold a little less charge than the regular ones. So the pre-charged type would be preferred if you'll frequently be leaving the GPS unused for weeks at a time. Otherwise the regular NiMHs should be fine.

- Turn off the backlight
- Turn off the compass
- I there may also be a battery saver feature on that unit but not 100% sure

I routinely get over 8 hours when I use my rechargeables as the other posters have mentioned.

Backlight off definitely. That's the biggest power eater. I have one for geocaching and I like others get at least 8 hours runtime on rechargeables.

Make sure in setup it's actually set to use the correct batteries - if set to regular AA's and you use NiMH then the battery meter will read incorrectly since AA's are 1.5v and most NiMH are 1.2v