moonpup
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Posts posted by moonpup
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I'm in the same boat. I'm getting about 5-6 hours on alkalines and have had my unit stop responding twice so far, that required me to pull the batteries. I like the gps unit a lot, but the poor battery life and lock ups are starting to irritate me. I seriously think the battery meter needs a lot more work!
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13 hours, 2650 Ni-MH, normal caching use. 300
I'd be stoked if I could get 10 hours, never mind 13. I'm beginning to think this unit is bunk and needs to be exchanged. My old 60CSx was good for at least 20 hours and the 5-6 hours on the Colorado just plain @#$%^!
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On my new 400t, I noticed the battery cover does not go up all the way around the sides of the gps towards the front. It seems like the two tabs that are supposed to slide in at the top don't make it because the top back of the battery cover (center) is hitting and preventing the sides from sliding all the way up. So what I have is a gap on each side of about 1/16" that seems like it would let water pour right in. Anyone else see this?
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Have you told it which type of batteries you're using?
Setup>System>Battery Type
Yes, it is set correctly to alkaline.
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What serial # you got. Mine is 18XXXX. I am only on my second set of NI MH rechargeables since I got mine on thursday. And I still have 1/2 of the second set. My battery gauge seems to be working fine. I have had the backlight on full most of the time. Mine seems nice and bright with the backlight turned up all the way. When I first got mine and I was on 2.3 I was disappointed. Even with the backlight but since 2.4 and turning backlight limiting off I have not had a problem seeing the screen.
I got 18Z005xxx and my unit barely made 7 hours with a fresh set of alkaline batteries left on overnight with no compass or backlight.
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Hi Moonpup, this sounds in line with my battery life depending of course on how I use backlighting, navigating, and switching screens, etc. I use rechargeable NiMH and Sanyo Eneloops and in below freezing temps on long snowshoe treks I get about 5-6 hrs, and a bit longer with 2750mAh ones. I use 30 sec backlight as needed. If I let my 300 sit (with WAAS enabled, compass OFF) in a warm room, I can get over 10 hrs on a set of AAs.
Hmmm... I left mine on overnight with the compass and backlight off and it didn't even make 7 hours before it died. I turned it on at 10:30pm and when my son woke me up at 5:40 am the unit was off and dead.
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Just got my 400t on Friday and like it a lot but have a concern with the battery meter.
I found my battery meter to be very flaky even with the 2.40 update. I have yet to get more than 5-6 hours out of a fresh set of alkalines and when the battery meter goes into the red I can shut off the unit and then turn it back on again to find the battery meter at 2 or 3 bars and then it continues to run although the battery meter will soon begin to drop. What is everyone getting on their Colorado's in terms of battery life? Should I return this one?
My unit serial # is from the 18Z005xxx lot
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Just got my 400t on Friday and like it a lot but have a concern with the battery meter.
I found my battery meter to be very flaky even with the 2.40 update. I have yet to get more than 5-6 hours out of a fresh set of alkalines and when the battery meter goes into the red I can shut off the unit and then turn it back on again to find the battery meter at 2 or 3 bars and then it continues to run although the battery meter will soon begin to drop. What is everyone getting on their Colorado's in terms of battery life? Should I return this one?
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Hi,
Well, I just got my 400t on Friday and found the backlighting to be lame as well. One thing I did was go into Setup --> Display and turn the option for Backlight Limiting to OFF. I found that when the batteries get to about half power or less, the display brightness drops tremendously even though you have the backlight level set to full brightness. By selecting this option the display will not dim when the battery power gets lower, so give that a try.
On another note, I found my unit battery meter to be very flaky even with the 2.40 update. I have yet to get more than 6 hours out of a set and when the battery meter goes into the red I will shut off the unit and then turn it back on again to find the battery meter at 2 or 3 bars and then it continues to run. I wonder if I should send this one back??
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Glad to help... that's what we are here for. The other option you have is the fantastic eTrex line, specifically the Legend HCx or VistaHCx. This is a great unit for geocaching, but depending on your eyes may be a bit difficult for use in the vehicle. Also, the automotive gps's like the Nuvi are best left in the car.
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Well based on experience, I would recommend this... get a handheld... it's more durable and will cope well with dropping the unit, being exposed to water/snow/slush/rain etc. Since you want both in car use and geocaching, consider a Garmin 60Cx/CSx or 76Cx/CSx or the new somewhat unstable Colorado series.
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so in a nutshell... you like it
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duplicate post... server error
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Hi,
I can agree with your sentiments, but I just ordered one and it's being delivered today. I was an early adopter of the 60CSx when it first came out and it had numerous issues as well. Over time Garmin addressed them all with firmware updates and I am confident they will do the same with the Colorado's. For now I am willing to live with it's shortcomings and quirkiness but know it will smooth out over the next few months as users report these issues to Garmin.
If it's a hardware issue, then a replacement will be necessary but most things can be fixed with firmware.
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Yes, I did pull the batteries and fires up fine now. Man so far the update is awesome. I love the new lighting and being able to see road names.
Nice, can't wait to fire mine up when I get home later today. Provide a partial serial # so I can compare lots when I get home. Thanks!
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After your download is complete through usb the unit shut off. How long should the first start-up take? I have been hanging on the word Garmin for over 15 minutes now.
, that's not a good sign. Mine is coming this morning from gpsnow and is probably the same lot # as yours. Pull the batteries and try again. -
Good point Timpat, I missed the version number
that's an oldie for sure! -
When you're in mapsource and looking at the window with the drop down box when it's trying to identify the gps unit, try selecting a different com port. It may be defaulting to the wrong port, try selecting a different one.
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I'll vote for the VistaHCx as well... I just bought a new gps after selling my trusty Garmin 60CSx and went for the Colorado 400t as I like to live on the bleeding edge. If I didn't buy the Colorado I would have definitely bought the VistaHCx.
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Hi there,
Do you have a budget in mind for what your willing to spend? There is a wide range of options at all different price levels? Since you're looking for auto-nav and geocaching functionality, a handheld is in order.
Personally I would avoid anything Magellan and would recommend Garmin for their superior customer support. As for a model, that's tough to answer without knowing how much you would like to spend. Initially I would recommend the the Garmin Legend HCx or Garmin 60Cx. If you feel you need the added electronic compass and altimeter then go for for the VistaCX or 60CSx.
Hope that helps.
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Well I got mine tonight and have been playing for hours. It took me a few minutes to figure a few things out but now I like the interface much better than any GPS I have used. My Backlighting and screen is pretty dim unless I am in daylight. Then the Backlight is dim unless its good and dark. I have yet to upgrade to 2.4 but will soon.
I downloaded a cache and really like the paperless feature as well.
Hi Paul,
I think you mentioned you bought yours from gpsnow.com. Since mine is coming today from them as well, I'm curious about if your clock is working ok, and how's the battery life without the firmware update. Also, can you provide a partial serial # so I can compare when mine comes?
Thanks!
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Hi Timpat,
Thanks for showing that and now I understand what you an Red90 are talking about. I sure do hope they fix this like you said as that is what I am used to and if they don't fix I am really going to be upset.
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Hey Red,
I just noticed you and I became members on exactly the same day and year!
Group: Premium Members
Posts: 1,752
Joined: 24-September 03
From: Calgary
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OK, it's a done deal. Just placed my order on gpsnow.com with next day shipping. Should have it tomorrow morning, and I'm looking forward to joining my fellow Colorado owners in the beta testing
so in a nutshell... you like it
Colorado 400t battery cover
in GPS technology and devices
Posted
Thanks for the reply. Still seems like a stupid design to let water in to start with hoping the inside seal will work. Do engineers not use their heads anymore? Gee, let's make this cover so that it let's water in and hope our inside seals don't fail. Glad these people aren't working for NASA!