CelticDave

I received the Oregon car kit today and they have changed the fitting to plug in rock solid in the Oregon. Here are a couple of photos I took.

There is already a thread going on this topic. It is an IE problem and it works fine if you us Firefox

I called Garmin tech support this morning to switch maps from the CO to the OR. While on the phone I also asked about the car adapter issue, being that the 90 degree fitting does not work with the OR. The tech person was very helpful and took the time to go and get one of the adapters to see what I was talking about. It does connect and work but it does not lock in like it should. This was recognized as a problem and has been given to the engineers. The tech support guy even called me back later to tell me that he had checked the car kit and found that it is different than the one for the CO. Unknown at this point if it is the cable that is different or the mount but we will see as I went ahead and ordered one. If anyone has the car kit perhaps you could shed some light on the subject. I tried to get information about the chipset and found that this has been a common question being asked. For some reason the chipset appears to be a closely guarded secret now just as it has been for the CO. It is beyond me why what chipset is being used in a product already released to the public has to be a trade secret?? Other GPS companies rlease this information even before public release (Delorme PN40 for one). Still have not had the opportunity to really put the OR through it's paces and am trying to get used to the new way that it does things. Hopefully I will have something to add to the discussion soon. Question about drift verses accuracy. The problem I always had with the CO was that it was consistantly 30 to 50 feet off of gz of a cache. When you have drift is it more of an issue of losing contact with sats for whatever reason such as cover or poor reception? It just appears to me to be apples and oranges so I wanted to throw it out there to see what folks think.

You had better hope you're wrong because base on most of the early reviews, the Oregon is even less accurate than the Colorado, or at least just as drift prone. It is my belief, based on previous model releases such as the 60 series, Vista series and so on, that the WILL fix most of the accuracy/drift issues with software/firmware updates. It may take some more time but they'll get it right or their name isn't Garmin. If I am wrong then I will take the Oregon back to REI and get another 60csx (the GPSr that I use) for my wife and all will be well. It is really to early to tell how the Oregon is going to work out, but fool that I am, I am willing to give Garmin another chance...The PN40 will be out soon though Lets give the Oregon at least a few weeks out in the real world before we send it to the same graveyard the Colorado is destined for.

Thanks to GO$Rs for another great job providing information for the Garmin GPS units. We finally gave up the ghost on our last Colorado today and took it back to REI for the new Oregon. I have not had the chance to do much with it yet but I really do like the touch screen. I also like having the description and logs on the same page. getting back to the hint is a little weird but we will see how that works out. Only a couple of initial problems to put out there to see if others can repeat them. First is that if I try to add a waypoint, when I get to the screen to change location the screen is grayed out and I can only move my cursor position on the coords at the top of the screen and the rest of the touch screen does not work. This locks the unit up and I have to pull the batteries to reset it. Second is that the vehicle power cable supplied by REI puts the unit into mass storage when you plug it in. This just maybe the wrong one but it is the one with the straight rather than 90 degree end. Just a final rant on the Colorado. We have owned four of them now and none ever met our expectations. No, we did not give the final update a chance. Accuracy is not an issue that will be fixed with software IMHO so it was time to move on and see if the Oregon release has been handled any better...only time will tell.

I am having the same problem and I am four states from home on vacation. I only lost the ability to create one route for yesterday so it was not a huge issue. I used Firefox this morning and it worked fine. I hate it when things like this happen. Hopefully M$ will get it fixed.

I posted this in another Oregon thread but I think it applies here too. That and it gets it to one more place where I hope Garmin sees it. Oregons are currently waiting to clear customs so REI has started pre-sales. It would be really nice of Garmin to tell us the actual specs of the Oregon such as what chipset, what type of compass (3 axis would be a huge plus), How much on board memory, etc. I have been looking at the release specs for the PN40 and they have all of that information available, so why can't Garmin? I am curious about the spec of only 1000 waypoints? The Co was already changed to 2000. So this is another step backwards for a new release? That is getting to be a habit unfortunately. I am still pretty disgusted with Garmin over the Co release and lack of actual support. I really hope that they get it right this time. It would also be nice to see that Garmin is standing behind it's products and making some kind of offer to those of us that spent so much time trying to get the Co's to work right. I was going on my third Colorado when I switched over the a 60csx and my wife is still on her second Colorado. All I can say is I am very thankful of REI's return policy so I did not get caught up in having to return the bad ones back to Garmin. So come on Garmin!! step up and tell us what is really going on. Come clean with what the actual problems with the Colorado are and tell us what you are going to do for your customers to make it right. The release of the Oregon is your chance to gain back some respect and I for one hope you make the most of it. As far as I am concerned you owe it to us. End rant and still waiting for ...answers

I just got off the phone with the "mother ship" The Oregons are now in customs and that is when REI puts items on pre-order status. It could take days to weeks to clear customs and for REI to get them in and get them out to their 94 stores. This still begs the question of why Garmin has not released the actual specs when they have already been shipped from China.

It would be really nice of Garmin to tell us the actual specs of the Oregon such as what chipset, what type of compass (3 axis would be a huge plus), How much on board memory, etc. I have been looking at the release specs for the PN40 and they have all of that information available, so why can't Garmin? I am curious about the spec of only 1000 waypoints? The Co was already changed to 2000. So this is another step backwards for a new release? That is getting to be a habit unfortunately. I am still pretty disgusted with Garmin over the Co release and lack of actual support. I really hope that they get it right this time. It would also be nice to see that Garmin is standing behind it's products and making some kind of offer to those of us that spent so much time trying to get the Co's to work right. I was going on my third Colorado when I switched over the a 60csx and my wife is still on her second Colorado. All I can say is I am very thankful of REI's return policy so I did not get caught up in having to return the bad ones back to Garmin. So come on Garmin!! step up and tell us what is really going on. Come clean with what the actual problems with the Colorado are and tell us what you are going to do for your customers to make it right. The release of the Oregon is your chance to gain back some respect and I for one hope you make the most of it. As far as I am concerned you owe it to us. End rant and still waiting for ...answers

Custom POI's (caches) vs. Mapsource POI's (gas stations etc). I have read a couple of posts in this thread that address this issue. I only want my custom POI's to show up on the map. I know this is not possible but the work arounds posted don't fit the way I use my GPS. I have a 60csx. I would like the map POI's to show up below 200' and my custom POI's to show up at all levels. I had something like this on the Colorado but the 60 does not work the same way. I normally have my map set between 200' and .5 miles and I don't really care about anything over about 2 miles. Just trying to avoid the serious clutter that shows up anywhere between around 800' to .3 miles in urban areas. Is this possible?

I have the smartphone version that I just started using. It is very very slow. At first when I initially loaded a GPX file it was slow and then if I replaced the it with a new one and imported it again it was much faster. Now it makes no difference, it takes forever to import. Is there any way to use GSAK to import them into Cachemate on the Smartphone? I half hour per GPX file is a pretty long time.

I am using Cachemate for Windows Mobile as well. Other than really long import times for the gpx files, it works great.

Wow, back when I started this thread I had no idea we would still be asking the same questions on Saturday June 7th 2008 Since this all began there have been two firmware updates along with the current beta. While some issues have been improved, the basic performance of accuracy of the Colorado has come into question. Basic Functionality should never be a problem. If in fact the issue of inaccuracy is accurate as reported by those active here in the forums then Garmin obviously has bigger issues to deal with than a firmware update. There still has been no aknowledgement by Garmin, that I am aware of, that addresses the problems that we have encountered since the release of the Colorado. If I am ill informed and Garmin has given it's consumers this information please post it here in this thread or anywhere that we can get to it. We no longer have two Colorado 400t's. Before GWVI I was on my second Colorado and needing a third when I decided to replace it with a 60csx. Having one of each gives us the best of both worlds. It is just too bad that the Colorado has ended up being not much more than an expensive pda with a sub standard GPSR. In the meantime has anybody heard anything about what will be the NEW and BEST EVER gpsr? and how long it will be before it is released? Christmas is only six months away, ya know.

Just wanted to add a congrats here for the Mrs. Celtic Cacher Clan hit #1000 with GWVI being the 1000th. It was kinda funny as we knew she would make one 1k on the trip but we had no idea where it would happen. We were logging after getting home and she realized that GWVI was the one. Some things are just meant to be.

Unfortunately what you are probably referring to are the Colorado units with the hardware changes to fix all of the problems we have been encountering since the release. Maybe with the newest Sirf chip (I can dream). They will probably add a few features that we have been telling them we wanted and call it a new release. I am sorry to sound so down on Garmin but I am really disappointed in the fact that Garmin could not have a substantial firmware update by now that fixes the issues. If there are hardware issues then just tell us so we can move on as informed consumers. Some of you will ask why I am still complaining since I have replaced my Colorado with a 60csx. My wife still has the Colorado and we are holding out for the magic bullet firmware update that makes it all better. What used to be her Colorado being more accurate than mine (consistantly 60' off from one another) is now my 60csx being more accurate that her Colorado. So we are off to Geowoodstock with her Colorado (updateless) and my 60csx along with my old 60cs as a back up for hers. Regardless we are looking forward to a great weekend.

I really hope you are right, but I don't agree. The window for the Colorado is closing in rapidly, at least for me. I was on my second Colorado that was worse off than the first and would not stay on at all. The issue with crappy accuracy is the final straw for me. Yesterday I returned that one and exchanged it for a 60csx. My wife is on her second that has issues but we are holding out that it will be more functional after the next update. Having one of each at this point is the best solution for us. I remember when someone said they hoped all would be well with the Colorado by Geowoodstock VI. I thought that inconceivable at the time as it was still months away. Now, the week before the biggest geocaching event in the world and Garmin still has not delivered. I am truely disappointed in Garmin for the way they have handled the ongoing problems with their release of the Colorado. So lets hope you are right and the next software release exceeds all of our expectations.

I used your settings except for the backlight and ran one with and one without. Same batteries in both, freshly charged. We went out for two caches for just over a mile and a half walk. There were no problems and the tracks were pretty much dead on with each other. This is different for us in that both units were pretty close with each other at GZ.

We are in a unique position as we have two Colorado 400t's. We cache everyday because we are keeping an active streak going. I can tell that our two GPS units are never in agreement, or for that matter even close to one another. They are normally at least 25' off from one another and a lot of the time this goes out to 100' or so. I had written off the signal bouncing to the sats but the more I have read the forums on this issue I can tell you that I am seeing the same thing as others. I have taken my CO and my 60cs out for a cache and as others have stated the 60 held firm without bouncing and the CO bounced constantly. For those that will ask how many cell phones I was carrying etc. It does not matter, the results are the same.

I would venture to say that most 911 centers have access to programs that can make use of coordinates. This came up for me last summer when my wife and I found a stump and root fire along a trail on a mountain. When I initially called 911 and offered coordinates I was told they did not need them. When I was contacted a second time by a different agency they wanted the coordinates and used them for the response. The dispatcher was shocked that the other agency had turned me down when offering them. I would suggest offering coordinates whenever you are calling 911 for any location that is not readily accessible from street directions. Regardless of the type of emergency you are reporting, having coordinates for responding could save the time in responding that could save a life.

You have a bad unit. Return it..... None of that should happen. I have really been trying stay of of this until the next update, but...Red90, If everyone returned there "bad" units because of these issues there would be very few if any Colorados out in the real world. They would all be back at Garmin. I know that you see all of the same issues in the forums that the rest of us see, I am sure that you even have a few of them yourself even if you won't admit it here in the forums. Our two units one 15XX and one 21XX serial numbers are used daily for geocaching since their purchase (our current strreak is 218 days). We see at least one issue and sometimes more, every day. Do they function and are we able to find caches? Obviously, yes. Are there some really cool features? Yes. However, they are far from being stable and IMHO still have much more wrong than a "few minor bugs". Waiting for the next update

The point of the issue brought up was for a multi or mystery cache where you have to input a new waypoint. There is a difference between finding a geocache and a waypoint. What you descibe works fine for caches and I use it that way. The same is not true for waypoints. This is what has been reported to Garmin and hopefully will be addressed so that the funtionality is the same for both.

There is a MUCH easier way to go from auto-routing to off road and back.... than what is explained above......and it is not really any slower than a 60csx.... There is no need to switch profiles...... I know that all of us dealing with this issue would love to know what your solution is. I would bet that Garmin would also be interested since they have acknowledged that the Colorado lacks this function for going to a waypoint. Providing assistance to those of us asking questions about making the Colorado work better (or just to function as it should) would go much further in the forums than slamming people for asking questions. Waiting for the next update

As has been discussed, not much to be said until the next update is out. It is getting to the point that the next update could make or break the Colorado for many of us. For those of us that came from a 60 series and are missing that functionality in the Colorado it is yet to be seen if the platform change by Garmin to a Nuvi style platform will pay off for them or not. For me personally I think the refinement of the previous proven platform would have taken the 60 series into the next generation of GPSr. I can understand Gramin's attempt to standardize their newer platform and add layers (if you will) for trail units. The biggest problem I have is that they did not have much trail funtionality (let alone geocaching) when they released the Colorado. Now they are playing a game of catch up to make everything work like it should have to begin with. The final proof will be seen in the not too distant future if we see the Colorado remain the "new" and best, or is Garmin already working on the next new and best trail (and geocaching) GPSr? Once again, there are features of the Colorado that I like, so bring those new features together with what we already had in the 60 series and I would be much happier still. Waiting for the next update

Okay before the firestorm starts about this. I just called Garmin to confirm the fact CN NT2008 was being pulled because of safety concerns. Garmin denied that there has been any safety concern ever discussed with this mapping product. I just purchased two copies of this product a few weeks ago so I was greatly concerned with this thread. Once again there appears to be either a difference in tech reps for Garmin? or is this something else? No word on the next Colorado firmware update. Waiting for the next update

Our current streak is 199 days straight with finding at least one cache per day. Since it is a trackable statistic in most of the stat programs, insane might be a little strong. Obsessed? yes. addicted? maybe. Having fun? Oh I bet you are