gallet

I'm running the latest software on my 'rado which is 2.70 not 3.7 and it does keep different map selections with different profiles after powering up.

you got mail

In my part of the world I have found that google earth, maps.google and my paper maps to be in perfect alignment. That's not to say it is correct everywhere.

Think how much better it will be with 8 track cassettes!

The Colorado has a very good display for a car, better than a nuvi in fact. I like the portrait format too, I'd rather see what's ahead than what is to my side, and it's obviously tailored for caching. Only drawback is that it does not speak directions.

It's not just the button placement, it is the mechanical operation of the button as well. The 60CSx does not have any tactile feedback at all. Therefore you cannot tell when the button is pressed by feeling it through your thumb which means that you need to press it a lot harder than necessary. Try entering an address and you'll soon understand how annoying it is. Not only that but the button is a sort of scooped out affair that requires not just downward but sideways pressure which adds to the difficulty of pressing it. If you do wish to use one hand then your thumb needs to come off the rocker and hit the enter button every time you enter a letter or number. However holding with one hand while entering data makes it feel like it will fall anyway, not to mention it forces your thumb to contort into a strange position. Report back here on your thoughts after trying it.

I would say if you've had an HCx and were basically pretty happy with it then you will probably be very disappointed with the 60CSx. I would very strongly suggest you go to a shop and try out the rocker switch before deciding. It's very spongy and unpleasant to use after getting used to the HCx. It also takes two hands to operate it. One for the rocker and one for the enter button. Most annoying. And the screen compared to the HCx is very dull, the unit is heavier and battery life worse. But entering data with the rocker is the worst of it by far.

the basic 300 does not have Tides they are usually loaded from the Bluechart maps.

I have been very happy with the performance of my Colorado. But I am mightily jacked off about the appalling software. No, appalling is too nice a word, it's an insult to ones intelligence and I frankly find it astounding that it does not even have a graphic tide screen like even an etrex venture can display. Never mind about the idiotic non implementation of the software buttons. As a simple single example, when auto routing you should be able to press the dedicated option button to 'stop navigation' or 'recalculate' but instead you have to drill down into the menu system. This non use of the option key goes all the way through the controls. Worse than that is that it appears that Garmin have no interest at all in fixing it. It's ludicrous, infuriating and unbelievable. But it does have a very nice display for routing and displaying contours.

double post

Once you sample the hi sensitivity receivers, you will wonder how you ever did without. Also the new super hi res screens on the colorado/oregon make the unit very much better if it is used for driving as it can display the full faux 3D driving view as seen on a nuvi. If all you are doing is looking for caches out in the open then there's no point upgrading.

But don't expect a nice graphic screen with moveable crosshairs like the 60CSx or eTrex HCx or even the eTrex Venture, no, the fantastic colorado screen just gives you the numbers as if you selected the 'Show High/Lows' option. Apparently Garmin couldn't give a rat's about the software.

Have you put NT maps in it recently as opposed to non NT maps?

Whoa, I've got to step in here and make a comment about the oregon screen vs the 60csx/etrex screen. For a start all the screens are dull, compared to the HCx which can double as a torch in it's own right. However... Let's forget about the screen brightness because that is not what the Oregon/Colorado screen is all about. The Colorado/Oregon is the next generation super hi resolution display that renders not just text but maps and roads at a higher level than a Nuvi. So if you use your Colorado or Oregon for driving then the readability compared to the 60/eTrex is incomparable. As has also been mentioned when plugged into an external power source the Oregon/Colorado is massively bright. But it's not the brightness that is impressive it is the amazing display. Sure the 60CSx is plenty usable for driving but compared to the Colorado it's utter crap. It cannot display hi res text neither can it render faux 3D maps. So when comparing the 60 to a Colorado/Oregon don't get stuck on brightness. And if you intend to use it as an incar nav system then there is simply no comparison.

with the stuff I used (mcnetts, see link earlier), I completely cleaned off the gum and only applied the seam grip to the unit, and let it dry a bit. I was careful around the buttons (used a matchstick to apply). I put the usb tang in first to locate the band properly and worked my way down both sides together. The seam grip padded out the rubber so that it did not appear to be stretched by the time it was completely on.

Ok so replacing the crap gummy glue with an equally crap rigid glue does not mean that there's an unsolvable problem. Glue technology has been cutting/bleeding edge for a long time now. It's not an intractable problem. Take the Mcnetts seam grip I linked to earlier. This stuff is incredibly tough, it does not dry, it remains supple and rubbery in near freezing conditions and it fully seals. I've seen a sample of it bridge a 1 cm hole. There must be lots of product like that. It's obvious that Garmin is just using really bad/cheap adhesive

The frustrating thing is that it does not need a redesign, it just needs the correct glue. It's unbelievable that garmin continues to use this substandard gummy glue. Maybe they got a bulk shipment of it.

I have been aware of this problem for a couple of years. I've had a few old etrex and not noticed the problem. I lend my HCx to a friend who left it in a hot car and bam. Rubbery glue coming out. I was convinced it was caused by excessive heat... Until my HCx which has never been in any hot conditions suddenly started leaking gummy glue even though the ambient temperature was 24ºC. I have repaired one of these by stripping all the old glue off with isopropyl alcohol and hard work (messy as as already been suggested) and then redoing it with Seam Grip http://mcnett.baron-co.com/page.cfm?pageID=549 this product does a perfect job and is probably what Garmin should have used in the first place. The rubber appeared to be stretched but in fact once it is packed out with a thin layer of Seam Grip it is not really stretched.

HCx has four. Upcoming speed alert, (don't know how that works) Proximity Alarm (only one that works) Leaving Proximity (doesn't work, but does display annoying message) Approaching (see above)

While I'm here how does the compass work on the colorado, I can't tell if it is working from gps or when it is working from the fluxgate. Is it possible to tell?

I wonder if we'll ever get these features. I mean here they have this amazing hi res screen and when I check the tide tables there's not graphic like the HCx just the raw numbers. Is there some groundswell that will make Garmin add missing features? have you heard any rumours from Garmin that they *will* add more missing software features?

I like the way that the HCx can be in trip computer mode and auto-routing at the same time, when a turn aproaches it automatically switches to the close up turn view. I'm disappointed to find the Colorado does not do this, it just stays at the Trip Computer view. I was wondering if the Oregon behaves like the HCx/60CSx or like the Colorado in this respect.

I have found that on my HCx only one of the four types of proximity alarm will sound. "leaving" and "approaching" have never worked.

OK that's great info thx

OK thanks, Does that mean that if a gmapprom file was renamed to a gmapsupp it would make no difference. IOW is the only difference the suffix to stop an accidental overwrite.