de_cache_man

Thanks all for your input and ideas. I have a new RMA from Garmin to get my GPSr serviced again. I complained to them about having to pay shipping AGAIN with no guarantee that the problem will be fixed. There was no reply to that particular complaint. I'll give them one more shot, and if it's not fixed, I'll be more than a little bit angry. If they send back the same GPSr that I have now, I won't be happy, but then again, maybe a new (refurb) GPSr wouldn't be any better. After all, the devil you know is better than the devil you don't know, right. I'll probably end up buying a cycling computer for my training anyway...

I'm having a problem with my Garmin eTrex Vista C. I use it almost exclusively for road biking. I ride my bike on paved roads and I use the GPS to measure speed, distance, elapsed time, elevation, etc. It's been an invaluable tool in my training program. I mount the GPSr to my handlebars with the Garmin handlebar mount. It's sturdy and I've never been worried about hundreds of dollars' worth of GPS crashing to the ground. The problem I have been seeing is that when there is vibration (such as a newly chip-sealed road or a cattle guard in the road), the GPSr powers down. I send an email to Garmin tech support and they gave me an RMA number. I returned the unit to Garmin and they repaired it and sent it back to me. They said that the problem was due to a "loose keypad" and that they had replaced the keypad. The day after the GPSr was returned to me, I went out for a ride and about 30 miles into the ride, the unit shut down again. I thought it was a fluke, but the next day, I rode on the same piece of road and the GPSr kept shutting down. The vibrations from that particular piece of road kept shutting the unit down. Different roads (smoother road surfaces) didn't seem to bother it. Larger bumps (like from railroad tracks or road damage that I saw too late to miss) didn't bother it. I went across a cattleguard and it shut right down. Apparently specific frequencies of vibration kill the unit. I emailed Garmin tech support again and they said that the batteries were probably coming loose inside the unit and that a foam spacer between the batteries and the battery cover would fix the problem. I gave it a shot. I put folded paper between the batteries and the battery cover. It was so tight I could barely get the battery cover back on. A couple of miles later, I hit the same stretch of road, and the unit shut right down. I've replied to Garmin tech support again. It's frustrating though. I have already paid to ship the stupid thing back once, and I'm pretty sure they're going to ask me to ship it back again. Has anyone else with a Garmin eTrex GPSr had such "bad vibrations?" Any ideas on how to fix this without sending it back to Garmin again? I'm not at all excited about paying to ship it back to Kansas again, because I'm not at all convinced of their ability to fix the problem.

Thanks DiskDevil. Based on your post, I asked the Garmin support person to send me a replacement and they should be mailing it out in the next day or two. The funny thing is that I could never get anyone at Garmin to tell me whether or not the stupid thing was supposed to have threads or not. In one email, this was all I sent: "Please, just answer this question: Should the silver-colored part of the Auxiliary Mount have threads? Yes or no?" The reply: "This part, the Auxiliary Mount Adapter, should be smooth without any type of notches." What the?? Thanks again for your reply.

I would ask them why they don't hire competent tech support people so that I don't have to post things like this: http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=89030 on message boards like this one. Seriously, I've had nothing but disappointment in dealing with their technical support people. The ones that I have dealt with were either incompetent, clueless, or both.

I've TRIED to get Garmin tech support to answer this question, but have had no luck, so hopefully, someone else with a Vista C will be able to answer this question for me. Here is the owner's manual to the Vista C: Owner's Manual On page 3, you'll see the "Auxiliary Mount Adapter" that I'm talking about. Note the nice dotted line between the adapter and the "Belt Clip/Auxiliary Mount Adapter Attachment Location" in the picture. It then says to refer to pages 77 and 78 for accessory listings and installation. Now look at pages 77 and 78. There is nothing other than a dotted line again, showing that it attaches, but it doesn't say HOW it attaches. I looked at the adapter, and there are no threads on the adapter itself. It pushes into the attachment location, but isn't solid. I don't dare clip it onto my handlebar mount, because if I did, the Vista C would rattle loose and fall off and bye-bye to $400+ of GPS. So my questions are: 1) Does the silver center part of the auxiliary mount adapter on your unit have threads? If so, then I need to just tell Garmin that mine is faulty and have them send me a new one. 2) If yours doesn't have threads and you have successfully attached your adapter to the attachment location, how did you do it so that it wouldn't easily come loose? Yesterday, I finally sent another email to Garmin tech support giving them the link to the online manual and telling them the same thing I posted here. Hopefully, they will have an answer as well.

I'll have to go look at the CD again... It probalby WAS the MetroGuide version 5 software.

Bump! It's a great deal!

Oops! It's MapSource City Select version 5.0 software that I'm selling in this package.

I'm selling a year-old Garmin Etrex Legend, serial cable, MapQuest software, and cigarette lighter power adapter as a package. The Etrex legend has a few small scratches and the rubber "gasket" around the outside has been re-attached, but is in otherwise excellent condition. I'll sell the entire package for $150 + shipping. PM me for details.

Last weekend I was looking for a benchmark. It was obviously on private property. I was just about to open the gate and meander (in a very friendly manner) toward the benchmark when I heard the barking. A couple of rotweilers would have ruined my whole day. Afraid? Yes. I was VERY afraid.