Wanthuyr Filho

After a lot of time (maybe a year) having no problems related to shutdowns, I had one after updating the unit theses days. It turned itself off (screen still showing some strange stuff) when I was trying to search for a POI. Latter on not a problem again, though. I'll observe how it behaves next times I use it (it's a 300).

I corrected this kind of thing once by formatting the whole unit. I've backed it up and once the format process finished I put the files back to the unit. Do not disconnect the unit in the meantime (with no files inside) or you'll probably have serious problems.

As for my opinion stated above, it doesn't have a source on the WWW, it's purely taken from personal and practical experiences.

I've been reading that this fast charging is the best approach for NiZN ones. It's related to chemistry used, maybe it won't hurt the batteries and perhaps slow charging wouldn't be advised. Time will tell...

This is safe and recommended. I even suspect (will try to assess the next times I use it) that shut off is not good enough, maybe it's better to discharge it even more to the point of "emptyness" (of course without overdischarging). Believe me. I use a photo camera that shuts off early and I used to re-charge the batteries from there. I've ruined lots off batteries by doing this.

You can find a post of mine with a similar problem (although unfortunatelly no one responded), but try to connect it to the PC pressing the upper-left corner (just keep it pressed all the way from before connecting to several seconds after connecting). Maybe the PC will recognize it. In my case it doesn't quite much, actually it recognizes the unit but doesn't show the internal drive (and memory card if inserted either). Anyway I had to sent it back to Garmin in Olathe, KS (from Brazil, which is the worst part). Best regards, WF

Hello everyone, I've recently been in the US and bought a Garmin Nüvi 1390 which used for a couple of weeks without much problems. Yesterday I tried to include some maps (freewares/unlocked) and also delete some unused language files/directores (voices, texts, helps...). After that when I disconnected from my computer and turned it on to check the results it just showed the Garmin logo for a few seconds and turned itself off. And it's just like that. If I plug it to the computer (via USB) it will behave just the very same way, except for the fact that it will do that continuously, i.e., it will loop turning on and off. It shows only the Garmin logo, doesn't show loading maps and other messages, nothing. And the worst thing is that the computer (tried 2 different ones, tried also different USB ports and different USB cables, also the one from my Oregon 300) does NOT recognize it as a flash drive, can't access neither the internal memory nor the memory card (when I insert it in). The only time the computer SEEMS to recognize the Nüvi is when I turn it on pressing the uper-left portion of the screen, then the computer will make that sound of when something has been detected, but no drives appear in the Windows Explorer. The GPSr will not stay on long enough for me to try a firmware update with WebUpdater, I mean, this way I can start to download the latest firmware and so on, but when the download is about halfway to the end the "connection" between the computer and GPSr seems to drop down (I hear the concerning sound from Windows) and then the update process will not succeed. Please, anyone have any idea on what may I try to fix this? This is so frustrating, the equipment is brand new and I've spent quite a quantity of money on it. Unfortunately I'm in Brazil now, so it's even more difficult to reach Garmin technical maintenance in a timely and economic manner. Thank you in advance for any information that may fix this situation. Best regards, WF

Well, perhaps I have a completely different experience with NiMH (ordinary ones) in regard to "memory effect". I have made useless several pairs of batteries in my photo camera (Sony H5) - I think - simply because it doesn't use the whole charge of the batteries, instead, it seems to "turn off" when the voltage gets just a little bit lower than normal - but yet way far from getting "empty". So, just by recharging the batteries again and again after the camera refuses to turn on, after some time these batteries just seem to not hold a charge anymore. Eventually the camera won't even turn on anymore, despite I have tried to charge the batteries or even (strange?!) doing a full "recondition" of the batteries (I also have a couple of intelligent MaHa chargers/analysers). So, in summary, for me it seems that there is indeed a "memory effect" for the NiMH batteries. Now I'm starting a different approach. Everytime a device such as the camera stops due to battery drainage I proceed a full cycle with those batteries (fully discharge then fully recharge). Let's se if it solves the problem. Hugs, WF

I use HTC car adapter with my Oregon 300 just fine, it seems to be a great combination. I've actually read somewhere about it and bought just for this reason, and I'm happy with it...

Strange thing I've noticed also... The barometer doesn't have the option to be changed/calibrated (only altitude). And the pressure reading is certainly a few numbers off of an "official" barometer, at a sea level airport, for example... Ah, I'm talking about an Oregon 300.

But don't make a confusion between Li-Ion rechargeables and those disposeable lithiums (1.5v AA form factor). In my opinion AAs are better because you can get rechargeables (which in turn you can find of different types/advantages), that are easy to find (even in the long-term, which is a great differential) and somewhat cheap... And you can always put in alkalines (definately not good for the Oregons) and also the disposeable lithiums (excelent). On the other hand, IMHO, the great advantage of the Li-Ions/Li-Polys is the complete lack of "memory effect" whatsoever and a much better capacity assessment (energy gauge).

Hello everyone! What is this extension about? What's in the file? Sorry for asking if this is a dumb question, but I tried to search with no avail. Also tried to google it, results nothing to do with it... Thanks!

Or get a HTC cable. It seems to be equivalent to Garmin's, as it works like a charm. Maybe cables from some other brands might behave similarly.

Oregon 300 W760i cellphone (SonyEricson) Had an old eTrex Euro (yellow one), but sold to a friend.

Yes you can, as long as the unit has enough free memory (and normally it does).

I thought "slow" usually refers to C/10, which takes 10 hours to fully recharge a completely drained batteries But a good charger can do 2 to 4 hours without damage to batteries. Some people say that a very slow charging might be a problem in terms of detecting the right time to stop the charge, it's more prone to stopping the charge process much earlier. Regards, WF

Normally the narrowbody planes allow better acquisition of the sats. Last week I came back home in a flight of about an hour in an A319, I was seated in a window seat just close the the trailing edge of the wing (maybe row number 17), and wow! I got quite a good lock all the way thought the flight with my Oregon 300, and this is not normal to get. Perhaps it depends on the "ceiling" of the aircraft in that point, wiring, equipment, etc...

I would agree with you if I still had my old yellow eTrex Euro (from 7 years ago) and considering my usage pattern, but my current Oregon 300 runs so miserably on alkalines - and lithiums are so expensive (I keep some as spares).

I have an Oregon 300 for almost an year and my father bought very recently a Nuvi and I had the chance to use and try it a little bit, and this is sooooo good that I own an Oregon 300... :-) :-) :-)

In my Honda Civic (not those newest ones) I use it in the arm rest in the door. There´s a hole in there where the Oregon fits in a perfectly good way! Rgds, WF

I´ve had a similar problem with my Oregon 300, maybe a few weeks after I bought it. I´ve solved it by backing-up all the files to my PC (except the wrong named ones) and then I´ve formatted it (FAT16). It was all gone and I just have had to copy the files back to the unit. No more issues since then. I remember that I´ve also tried to delete via DOS and downloaded some utilities that were supposed to get rid of strange-named files, but all to no avail. Rgds, WF

Which would be better to use my Oregon 300 in the car: 1) buy an adapter cigarette lighter --> USB ports to be used together with the Garmin´s original USB cable, or; 2) buy a generic cigarrete lighter --> USB cable to plug directly in the Oregon? When I bought my Oregon I tried to look for a car adapter (not the original one, as I had read that it didn´t fit very well, oddly), but I didn´t find enough information and was really concerned about voltage/wattage that could "burn" the unit. Rgds, WF

Just curiosity, really. Just checking if anyone thinks it´s interesting to upgrade the factory basemap anytime in the future...

I have noticed that Garmin sells this basemap (https://buy.garmin.com/shop/shop.do?pID=662), which seems to be compatible with the Oregon 300... Question is: does it worth "overwriting" the original basemap from the Oregon with this one? Data more accurate/up-to-date?! Better contour of the costline/shoreline?! What about shaded relief?

Four rechargeables is plenty. Depending on costs, you might be better off getting a charger that runs on both AC and 12 volts. Jim Bear in mind that rechargeable batteries (in this case probably the NiMH ones) have a "high" self-discharge rate, so if you´re not going to use it strongly (use them all in a couple of days) you´ll have to recharge often. As for me, I normally have a pair of NiMH from Phillips (which are the best that I have ever tested, followed by the MaHa Energy ones) and "ordinary" lithium ones as spare. Rgds, WF