Jump to content

jmedlock

Members
  • Posts

    119
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by jmedlock

  1. I also wondered why the EPE is represented differently on Colorado than on the Vista (non-H and H): as you say, the Vista shows "+/- xxx" whereas Colorado just says "xxx". I was out with a friend who has the Vista (non-H version) and she was showing, for example, "+/- 10 feet" on her GPS where the Colorado would show "30 feet", etc. I rationalized that her "+/- 10 feet" really meant "20 feet" which was still better than the Colorado 30 feet. I don't know how trustworthy the EPE estimate really is, and if Garmin calculates it differently on different units (apparently so). J
  2. I found the press release below here I got a kick out of the statement from the V.P. "Combining the touchscreen interface of our iconic automotive devices with the preloaded features of the acclaimed Colorado series makes this the ultimate outdoor handheld. Ya... Colorado is "acclaimed"... for its location drift problem. The other thing that the Oregon mentions is Garmins "HotFix feature" which appears to be on the Nuvi line, but apparently not on the Colorado. Maybe this greatly helps..... ----- OLATHE, Kan., July 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ:GRMN) , the global leader in satellite navigation, today introduced the Oregon series of handheld GPS devices for outdoor, marine and fitness enthusiasts, combining an intuitive touchscreen interface, rugged, resilient design and a variety of preloaded mapping options. “The Oregon’s vibrant screen is responsive to the touch of your finger, yet resistant to the forces of nature,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin’s vice president of worldwide sales. “Combining the touchscreen interface of our iconic automotive devices with the preloaded features of the acclaimed Colorado series makes this the ultimate outdoor handheld.” Easy to learn and simple to use, the waterproof Oregon features a high-sensitivity GPS receiver, preloaded mapping and a high-resolution, color 3-inch screen that reacts as users tap or drag through menus and options. On a mountain or an ocean, satellite reception is even faster than before thanks to Garmin’s new HotFix feature, which automatically calculates and stores critical satellite information and can use that information to quickly calculate a position without waiting for data collection from the satellites. The Oregon 400t gives hikers preloaded U.S. topographic maps in state-of-the-art 3D elevation perspective. The Oregon 400i offers anglers shoreline details, depth contours and boat ramps for U.S. inland lakes and navigable rivers. The Oregon 400c is a saltwater specialist, providing chart coverage for the coastal U.S. and Bahamas. The Oregon 300 features a worldwide basemap with shaded relief. The Oregon 200 provides a basemap that can be easily supplemented with additional mapping or charts for your adventures on land or at sea. Garmin knows its users have many interests, so the Oregon lets you customize five profiles — automotive, marine, recreation, fitness or geocaching — making the most beneficial features for each activity the easiest to access through quick shortcuts. The Oregon series plays well with others, as the 400t, 400c, 400i and 300 allow for wireless exchange of tracks, waypoints and geocaches between other Oregon units and Colorado models. Each of these models is equipped with a barometric altimeter and electronic compass and is compatible with Garmin’s heart-rate monitors and speed/cadence sensors. Geocaching is even easier with the Oregon, which quickly downloads online information for every cache, such as location, terrain, difficulty, hints and description, so that you don’t have to tote printouts with you. Cachers and collectors will be hunting for a limited-edition geocoin minted to commemorate the launch of the Oregon series. Oregon users can experience Wherigo, the newest GPS-based activity from Groundspeak, the people who made geocaching a worldwide phenomenon. Wherigo (pronounced “where I go”) is a toolset for creating and completing adventure games, historical tours or other innovative activities in the real world. Weighing only 6.8 ounces with 16 hours of life from two AA batteries, the Oregon has a microSD card slot that is ideal for loading additional MapSource detail. For more about the Oregon’s features, pricing and availability, go to http://www.garmin.com/ and http://www.garmin.blogs.com/. About Garmin International Inc. Garmin International Inc. is a subsidiary of Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ:GRMN) , the global leader in satellite navigation. Since 1989, this group of companies has designed, manufactured, marketed and sold navigation, communication and information devices and applications — most of which are enabled by GPS technology. Garmin’s products serve automotive, mobile, wireless, outdoor recreation, marine, aviation, and OEM applications. Garmin Ltd. is incorporated in the Cayman Islands, and its principal subsidiaries are located in the United States, Taiwan and the United Kingdom.
  3. Garmin is showing a battery life increase of 1 hour on the Oregon 400t compared to the Colorado 400t (16 vs 15 hours, respectively). Perhaps they have a different GPS receiver chipset in the Oregon? J
  4. Here is the link to the Oregon 400t... Oregon 400t
  5. I sure hope Garmin fixes this problem.... I was out hiking again today and I will try to refrain from showing all the times that I get the location error (unless I get something extraordinarily unusual), but below are two other interesting times. Edit: I thought I read about Garmin having a hardware change on the Colorado units, but it seems recent posts indicate that the newer units don't behave much better. I emailed Garmin some info today asking for an RMA -- I guess I'll try to pursue that route and hope a newer unit operates better.
  6. This is how I interpret Garmin's response: I've experienced the "location error" on my Colorado 400t and I was not stationary when the unit lost its mind. Yes, my 400t can go as fast as 1-2 mph while stationary , but the location problem this thread talks about is an entirely different beast that needs to be addressed on both the HCx & Colorado models. When he mentions comparing "old with new", I seriously doubt he means to compare the 60/76CSx Sirf chipset with the HCx/Colorado MTK chipset. I haven't read where the older Sirf chipset experiences anywhere near the problem that the newer MTX chipset experiences. I have to read his response as referring to older receivers that don't have high-sensitivity chipsets, in which case his comparison means nothing. I also don't buy the line about being able to navigate to your location regardless of EPE: a lot of times, I'm out bushwacking and would like to trace my exact steps back out. With the location error, the track that the 400t lays down cannot be trusted. Garmin could have (apparently) delivered a much better product by sticking with Sirf. J
  7. I too am curious about the serial #'s that are experiencing location errors. I gave my serial # in my post. Earlier this year I bought my unit at REI (this was my 2nd unit since I returned the first unit since it failed to keep time and had other problems). I'm going to call Garmin tomorrow and see if they will RMA the unit. From what I've read here, I'm sure it will be the "first time they've heard about a location drift problem". J
  8. I have to say NO on my 400t that I purchased earlier this year -- I saw the "position error" problem happen twice yesterday (post #146 on the thread below). I'll either return to REI, or else call Garmin and see if they will RMA the unit. http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php...158&st=145#
  9. I upgraded my 400t to the latest 2.54/2.60 software, and went out hiking this weekend since the forest has finally re-opened after extreme fire danger (now we're just at "very high" danger ). It looks like I hit the location problem twice within 30 minutes of each other. The first time, I noticed the EPE sitting at 70 feet for a little while, where it is normally 30 or less feet. See my notes in the attached picture. (On this one, I don't know WHEN the 1,504 or 1,850 foot jump happened at Steps #2 through #5): Just for fun, I turned off the compass and kept going. Within 30 minutes, I think I hit the problem again: The terrain is heavily forested mostly throughout, but some open areas off and on. On the map I show what I assume to be the "correct track" colored in cyan. This is my return track as I hiked back down the trail. I only have the 400t GPS, so I assume this is the "correct track", but... uh.... I don't know for sure since I don't have a lot of faith in the 400t. (Or at least my version of 400t since it is an early unit.) This is a pretty awful problem that Garmin has .... and now (some of?) us. EDIT: Note that my backlight is set to auto-turn off at 15 seconds, however I had set it to "FULL BACKLIGHT" when I started the hike. But I was only checking the 400t periodically and wasn't using the backlight very much.
  10. Question about 2.54 and the compass calibration: I have an early 400t unit. Until now I've had my compass turned OFF. I upgraded to 2.54/2.60 and turned on the compass and did a calibration test several times. What is interesting is that the 400t doesn't complain if I don't hold it "level" when doing the calibration. In fact, I can calibrate it in a vertical position and it is happy! Or even at a 45 degree angle. Or at any angle (I haven't tried upside down). Of course, when I use the compass, I need to hold it in whatever position I last calibrated it. So if I calibrated it at a 45 degree angle, and then try to hold the unit flat to use the compass, it complains and says "hold level" until I hold it at a 45 degree angle. Interesting, huh? Is the behavior above new with 2.54, or is my unit faulty? (I sort of like the "variable calibration" feature, though I don't think its expected behavior.) The other thing I notice is that it usually takes a very long time to lock onto Satellites, and sometimes (rarely) it fails entirely to lock onto satellites in an open area unless I power-cycle. However my date/time is always spot-on when turning the unit on. Item B7 on the Wiki seems related due to the "and/or" and indicates that maybe I should RMA the unit. B7.) Sometimes when I turn on my Colorado the time is off and/or I can't get satellite lock. What's going on? This appears to be a hardware issue with some of the early Colorados. Some owners have reported that Garmin has acknowledged the problem and is replacing Colorados with this issue. I would suggest contacting Garmin customer support if you have this problem. Hmmm... any thoughts?
  11. What firmware do you have. There was a problem with the internal clock not keeping time when the unit was off causing this problem.... Check to see if that is happening. With my unit cold acquisition is the same as a 60csx. Similar to the original poster, my Colorado 400t (serial #18Z002817) has the latest beta software and I also see extremely long acquisition times when the unit has been off for several days; maybe even when turning the unit off in one area and then driving far away (20 miles) and turning it back on. One day last week, I turned it on in a different location (after having been off for several days), and the 400t was seeing a lot of satellites but said it was "unable to detect satellites" (or whatever the phrase is). I turned the unit off, and then back on, and it immediately locked on. My unit keeps perfect time (my previous 400t did not and I returned it). I've only had a handful of crashes when booting the device (have to pull batteries & reinstall). I hope the above is a software problem that will eventually be fixed. I wonder about the rumor(?) about Garmin pulling units to fix them is true.
  12. Oh, that's great to hear! I'm in New Mexico too!
  13. Here is some good information about it: http://www.equipped.org/SPOT_ORSummer2007.htm
  14. Yes, you can set NAD27 on the Colorado. Just do the following: Go to setup. Scroll down to Position Format Scroll down to Map Datum Scroll to "NAD27 CONUS" if you are in the continental US BTW: I don't see NAD84 under "Map Datum", but WGS 84 is an option under "Map Spheroid"; I googled and saw someone say these two were similar enough. Regards
  15. I had a 400t that had a clock issue as you describe -- I returned it and got a replacement unit that does not have that problem (keeps time perfectly). If I were you, I would surely return it since it seems unlikely (to me) to be a firmware / software problem. J
  16. I really like the DeLorme Topo software and can export/import waypoints and routes (tracks so far), so I think the Garmin Topo map on the 400t + DeLorme Topo software on the PC seems like a good compromise. I browsed the Garmin Topo software description on their website, and apart from the ability to download maps (which I don't need with a 400t), it looks like the DeLorme software provides additional abilities (such as 3D view, others? - I haven't played with DeLorme Topo enough). If someone else has experience with DeLorme Topo vs Garmin Topo, then I'd be interested in hearing your opinion about pros/cons and which you prefer. Regards
  17. Thanks so much! I was trying to use the "exchange" tool and, of course, it wasn't working. I was able to import both my routes & waypoints using your instructions above. I haven't tried exporting, but will. So my question: I've been trialling the PN-20 & Colorado and I like both units, however I think I am going to keep the Colorado. However, I also like the Topo USA 7.0 software very much (so I would $$ DeLorme for it). Is the Garmin Topo software just as good as DeLorme? Thanks To reply to my own post: I was able to create waypoints and a route and open them up on the Colorado. I saved them as .gpx files and stored them under /Garmin/GPX. (My route turned into a "track" on the 400t -- I'm new to Topo USA 7, so don't know if I just messed something up, or if it is supposed to be a "track" instead of a "route"). So now the question: is it better to spend $$ for DeLorme Topo, or buy the Garmin Topo for use with the 400t? I will primarily do hiking with it. Regards
  18. Thanks so much! I was trying to use the "exchange" tool and, of course, it wasn't working. I was able to import both my routes & waypoints using your instructions above. I haven't tried exporting, but will. So my question: I've been trialling the PN-20 & Colorado and I like both units, however I think I am going to keep the Colorado. However, I also like the Topo USA 7.0 software very much (so I would $$ DeLorme for it). Is the Garmin Topo software just as good as DeLorme? Thanks
  19. Has anyone tried (or know) if DeLorme Topo USA 7.0 will work with the Garmin Colorado, and if so, what settings you should use in both DeLorme and on the Colorado? (I know only waypoints / routes would transfer if it did work. I just wonder if they work together.) Regards J
  20. So far I have these data points. My 400T is 12xx and it is 4GB. I've had two reports of 18xx 400T's which have 4GB and one 17xx that has 3GB. If people have other's S/N's to share it might help to narrow down which ranges have the smaller/larger memory config. GO$Rs My 400t has 4GB of internal memory. Serial #18Z002817. J
  21. I've had my 400t lockup once: connected to laptop (in mass storage mode) and spent an hour backing up the information in 400t internal memory to my hard disk. When I disconnected the 400t it turned off. When I turned it back on, it hung during startup at the "Garmin" screen and that's it. I had to remove the batteries to recover. J
  22. Just curious since my experience with other Garmin GPS units is limited: is "trackback" the same thing as "reverse route"? If so, then the Colorado supports this; see page 20 of the manual.
  23. Ya, I understand that, and was carrying it horizontal (face-up) the rare times it lost satellite reception. This does remind me of one thing: one advantage of the Colorado is that I am able to "put it away" while hiking and it still tracks satellites. Whereas, I've found that one should be very careful about ensuring that the PN-20 is horizontal and (generally) has a good view of the sky. I still like the PN-20 quite a bit. Regards
  24. I have the PN-20 for a 30 day trial (received it earlier this week) with the Topo USA software. I updated the PN-20 with the latest firmware updates (1.4 Beta 2) from the DeLorme website. I don't find the PN-20 difficult to use at all. It seems pretty straight-forward to me. And I don't find that the map re-draw is an issue for hiking -- we're talking seconds with the latest firmware. I really liked the pre-cut maps they included: I downloaded my entire state onto the 1GB SD card they provided. When I finally got around to playing with Topo USA, I found it just as easy to cut out and transfer my own maps to the PN-20. I also have a Garmin 400t that I am trialling along with the PN-20. I've hiked with both units yesterday and today, and for the most part, the PN-20 gets just as good satellite reception than the 400t in forested terrain (although there were a few times that the 400t was superior and tracked when the PN-20 lost the satellites, but it was rare and short-lived). The 400t still has software problems, and I'm sure Garmin will be fixing them over time. At this point, I am tending towards the 400t because of the bigger screen and I like the pre-installed topo map a little bit better than what I've downloaded to the PN-20. But the PN-20 is much cheaper than the 400t, plus you get Topo USA software. So I may still decide to keep the PN-20. It's a tough call, and I still have a while before I have to decide. J
  25. I have a 400t (just got a replacement unit from REI since my previous 400t failed to keep time) and I went out hiking today for the first time with a 400t and a DeLorme PN-20. The terrain is mountainous with a lot of pine / fir trees. Both units tracked about the same number of satellites (though at times the 400t was superior) and both gave similar EPE (varied from 16 feet to 30 feet or so depending upon conditions; the PN-20 lost reception a few times compared to 0 times for the 400t). I had WAAS enabled on both GPS units. I noticed that, at times, the 400t seemed to get confused on the direction I was hiking: for example, I was going North, but it thought I was going East. The PN-20 was dead on track and didn't wander around like the 400t. I eventually disabled WAAS on the 400t which seemed to help for a while. But later, it happened again twice, and both times I did a compass calibration and it calmed the 400t down (which doesn't make sense since the compass can be disabled as of the 2.3 firmware, so isn't critical for navigation). I'm confused...
×
×
  • Create New...