Dog Knows

Once the GPSr has had a chance to establish an elevation, I would expect it to stay fairly steady if not moved. With mine, the elevation value changes by the second. For instance if the elevation is 100 feet, the value will rapidly change to 103, 105, 98, 97, 102 . . . This behavior will continue for hours. Of course every time the value increases, so does the total elevation gain. On the trail, the same thing is happening. Yesterday I went for a 6 km walk with both the Colorado 300 and the Oregon 300. The Oregon recorded a 200 foot higher elevation gain due to this constant variation. Not much good for keeping and sharing records of mountain hikes. I'd like to know if other Oregons will hold a relatively steady elevation, or do they all constantly fluctuate by several feet from one second to the next. Maybe mine is a dud. I downgraded to software 3.42 yesterday and nothing changed.

I have a pretty good understanding of how the GPSr works. What I don't understand is why the Oregon behaves so much more erratically than the Colorado and the 60CS when placed side by side.

I've recently started using an Oregon 300. It is updated to software 3.6 and GPS software 3.7. Auto Calibration: On. Barometer Mode: Variable. It seems to have two problems related to elevation. The first is that the elevation value is constantly changing. Every one or two seconds, the elevation will change by up to +/- 5 feet. This is also reflected in the total ascent which will show a gain of 150 to 200 feet in an hour. As well, it shows when viewing the track log elevation profile in Mapsource. The second problem is that the elevation is not accurate. It is always too low by approximately 30 feet. I have tried to calibrate the the altimeter using a known elevation, but it will eventually settle back to the incorrect value due to auto calibration. I have left the unit outside with a clear view of the sky for several hours and the problem persists. I also have a Colorado 300 and a 60CS. Both of these will settle on the correct elevation and that value will remain virtually unchanged over time. I have reset the unit using the power button, top left corner method. I mainly use a GPS for recording hikes and ski trips in the mountains. The track log and elevation information is an important part of these records. Has anyone else noticed this behavior with their Oregon 300? I'd like to determine if my unit is defective.

It won't show up in automotive mode on my Colorado 300 either. I assumed the same as you, that it can't create a perspective view using the custom image.

I have a Colorado 300. After installing the update and following the directions I have a similar situation to yours. I have noticed the following: If I combine jpegs into one .kmz file, nothing shows on my unit. If I put each jpeg as a separate .kmz into the CustomMaps folder, they will show up. However, in the Select Maps window on the GPSr, they aren't labeled as Custom Maps, but as a second Basemap. The images can be turned on or off by selecting or deselecting the second Basemap entry. As for the new look of the track, I actually prefer it to the thin black line. Without reading glasses, I have great difficulty differentiating the black line from contour lines and other map features. Most often, I am not in a situation where I want to dig out my reading glasses.

Depending on how fit you are, there is "Fairview Mountain Cache". The trailhead is at Lake Louise, and with relative ease, you can hike to a summit with incredible views.

No.

Check out the Candlepower Forums.. If you spend some time looking around there is a ton of information about batteries and chargers. There is a MAHA 9000 FAQ in the 'Threads of Interest' sticky at the top of the page.

Can I get the beta version to work with Ibycus Topo maps installed, or do I need to remove them?

Ditto for me. Vista and MapSource 6.13.7.

I can't get the new beta version to work because of the NTDBData error, but I was able to re-install the previous version and get it to work.

I received an Invisibleshield for my Colorado 300 at the end of March. It was the wrong size. (The same fit as the original post.) After a phone call, they sent me a new one that is the correct fit, and I had to return the original.

My 300 works the same way yours does. It makes it hard to zero in on the cache.

The whole Garmin unlock thing is a bit of a mystery. I was in a similar situation: unlocked version 5, upgraded to version 6 and unlocked it. When I got my Colorado, I phoned Garmin and they gave me a new unlock code free of charge.

No routing problems or anything. I have version 5 with the 6 update. As they were already installed on my computer I only had to load the maps I wanted onto my GPSr. Didn't seem like too much hassle.

I have City Select 6 on my Colorado 300. Works just fine.

I do a lot of off-trail hiking in the mountains and I always use the map page for following my track. With topo maps loaded, this allows me to see where I am in relation to ridges, drainages and other terrain features that I passed on the way in. For me, it is a good way of keeping track of where I am. Also, if the hike is not strictly out and back, but has a loop at the end, I can see on the map when I have met up with the track I want to follow out. I find it quite easy to then just follow the line on the map to stay on route.

Cough, cough.....I hope you made them price match GPS City... For one day in February GPSCentral had the 300 for $435 ($5 more than gpscity). I was just lucky enough to buy it that day. The deciding factor was that gpscity has a 10% restocking fee and GPSCentral doesn't.

My first Colorado 300 had the clock problem. I took it back to GPSCentral and exchanged it for a new one. The clock worked fine on the second one, unfortunately the battery cover was almost impossible to remove. It was such a tight fit that it rolled the top of the gasket around the battery compartment up and out of position when replacing the cover. Two of the folks at GPSCentral were unable to remove it. Since my rechargeable batteries and memory card were still inside, I worked away at the thing until it finally opened. So now I am on unit number three. I just got it today, but so far it appears to be keeping time when turned off. The battery cover is certainly not too tight, in fact it slides on and off very easily. And the latch clicks into place with almost no resistance. It unintentionally opened tonight when I slid the unit into the pocket of my backpack.

I've updated to 1.31. I have "vegetation" written quite frequently in the green areas of the maps. Look around the Radium area for a good example.

I assume you have the newest firmware? As I stated, I checked and mine was dead on this morning. Yep, latest firmware as per title of topic.

A couple of items that I haven't seen mentioned: The last selected item in a list (Setup or Others etc) could move to the top of the list. That way, your most selected items are always near the top. The 60CS had an option for this feature. Have the Track page as one of the items you can add to the shortcut list. And as mentioned earlier, I would like to see the Reposition Here feature added for waypoints.

The clock doesn't work on my 300. It will be off anywhere from 1/2 an hour to several hours when I first turn it on in the morning without satellites. The alarm clock doesn't go off at the correct time either.

I have a 300, and the lockup you describe has happened to me on four or five occasions since I got it a week ago. (Using 2.40)

Thanks. It sounds like you did the Move/Copy before opening that database with 6.5 beta. Because this was one of the new fields added it would not be in the destination database until you opened it at least once in 6.5 and GSAK does the "Adding new fields" thing. Once open the move/copy should work as expected. Right again Clyde! Thanks for the help.