tr_s
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Posts posted by tr_s
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Well I regularly hike and use freely available topo maps based on Open Street Maps data. I haven't used any ExpertGPS maps so can't comment on them but I certainly find the OSM maps that I use perfectly adequate for hiking. I have used some Garmin maps (provided free initially with my GPS) but don't use them anymore as I find the OSM maps better.
I have visited the british isles a couple of times, and agree those maps were very good.
However, I think you are lucky with that. For many countries with swaths of uninhabited backcountry, the commercial topos can't be beat.
For instance for Sweden I can get the Openmtbmap which contains almost all of the state produced topography data; however, many features such as streams, marshland, shelters etc seems to be missing.
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Now: the great surprise:
With this method I've just doubled the capacitiy of the internal storage from 850 MB to 1.8 GB
Hah! Interesting.
Have you verified the whole space is writable?
Wouldn't surprise me if this is the case. Many manufacturers restrict functionality between models by software only.
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I once accidentally deleted the partition on an USB drive. Windows disk management was unable to reinstate it rendering it useless.
I think I ended up used fdisk on windows 95 command prompt from virtualbox (!) to do the same thing which strangely enough worked...
Do you see the internal drive in windows disk management - without the partitions - or is it completely gone?
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I find it hard to believe that this is done deliberately, at least.
Some android apps generate GPX files that are incorrectly parsed in mapsource for instance, or just fail to open.
I looked for a bit at them and realised that they simply do not follow the standard, with improper termination etc.
Garmin probably meant to say that, we can't guarantee that any site other than ours properly creates Geocaching files.
Applications can be more or less fluent in dealing with corrupt data. My opinion is that they don't have to be at all.
If possible the corrupt block should be ignored and parsing continue where it looks reasonable again.
But ignoring the file completely is also okay.
Now, the fact that a corrupt GPX can actually prevent some Garmin devices from even booting until corrupt file is removed by mass storage.. THAT's terrible design.
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For those of you who rubbed up your eTrex x0 screens without a protector:
Vigorous rubbing with Autosol chrome polish and ordinary household paper does wonders to reduce scratches and make the screen readable again.
In case of very deep ones you might want to use some fine sandpaper on the scratches before the Autosol.
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I'm interested to see if this makes it to market. All it's missing is the kitchen sink! The e ink display won't be power saving if the map is being refreshed all the time, so maybe it was chosen for readability rather than battery life.
I haven't checked out how e-Ink displays work these days. Maybe it is possible to refresh just a few pixels to save power.
There is really no reason for the whole display to refresh for general outdoor use. Some pixels around the arrow that shows your location is enough.
When the arrow is too discentered by some measure, then the whole map could update and recenter.
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Highly interesting. e-Ink ought to be a dream for mapping devices.
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Etrex = original
Euro = original + major european language translations in the menus
H = original + high sensitivity receiver/new chipset vastly increases battery life + configurable trip computer page. Clearly the best and most usable of the three. It also differs from the other two by having a strong orange backlight instead of a weakish flourescent green.
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Remaining is also a bug where, despite the compass being turned off, the direction actually couples into the system somehow and rotates the goto arrow - but not the compass rose?!?!
Recorded some video proof. Note - only happens occasionally:
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Anyone else having problems with device enumeration after the upgrade to 3.0, when you plug it in via USB? I usually have to reconnect 3-4 times before the two drives actually appear as mass storage in Windows.... no problems at all prior to the upgrade.
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Chiming in with something positive about 3.00. It seems they finally tuned the direction filter properly. The arrow no longer jumps direction during bushwhaking.
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GPS in my Galaxy Pocket (which has a new 2012 chipset, also supporting Glonass) works great. A relative's 2011 Galaxy Gio not so much. For some reason it fails to lock unless there's a 3G signal?! My guess is some software error where there's unneccesary AGPS symbiosis implemented...
If one gets it to lock however, it's up to fine par with just any handheld.
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A new bug
I was trying to enter an address and the unit just turned off.
Seen that a few times even prior to this version. The search system is, in many ways, borked.
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There is one, huge problem with current FW 3.00.
It gets stuck if very detailed vectorial map (IMG) is rendering.
Sometimes to that extend that blank screen appears for long, long time...
Yah, saw that two times today too unfortunately. Once it blanked, the other time just turned off...
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This information is old, but I suspect it is still true for current units. So if there was 50 to 60 meters between the actual elevation and the barometric altimeter, that may be why the error was never auto-corrected.
Possibly.
Test today:
eTrex30 F/W 3.00 set to variable elevation
One hour with perfect sky view, GPS system only
Reported elevation at end of test 85m
True elevation as of topo map plus a couple of meters: 57m
Reported elevation eTrex H: 59m
Setting eTrex 30 to fixed elevation and rebooting: Values consistent to within two meters of eTrex H almost immediately
Not impressed, keeping mine on fixed
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Hi all,
I´m new to this activity but i'm wating to try for quite some time. I think this must be an extraordinary activity to keep my kids having a good time. I´m about to buy the mobile xperya go, because I love the design, i love the price and i love the fact that I can film under water. My only worry is the gps, as this will be my tool to geocash. Thoes any one uses it? Will I be alright with it?
Thank you so much in advance.
Ps: sorry for my poor english
Cell phone GPS are in general not fully as accurate as dedicated ones but fully okay for geocaching. Battery life might also be another gripe. But I think that in general you could be satisfied.
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I've downloaded the gcd file should I decide to do a manual update of my eTrex 20.
Given my experience with 2.90, I'll wait for someone else to try it first
At least didn't brick my device
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I understand it has a color screen, but is it's base map any better than the 10? Thanks in advance for the help.
In short yes. The basemap in the 10 is VERY basic. The 20/30 basemap actually has rough color elevation and some major trails/waterways.
Etrex 10 only country borders and large cities.
Size also tells it all, 20/30 = 50 MB; 10 = 2 MB.
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I've never checked the total ascent and descent numbers. What I repeatedly found out was that when variable elevation was enabled, readouts would be 50 or 60 meters off the topo during entire 24-hour field trips close to sea level and never calibrated away. Going with GPS altitude gave repeatedly consistent readouts. It might have gotten better with the 2.80+ firmwares though, haven't checked into it much.
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Yup, I guess it depends on in what conditions the GPS is used. "Weird" constellations prone to huge altitude errors, blocking mountains on one side, extreme foliage etc. then one might be better off with the barometer activated. Also, if one is interested in quick altitude changes rather than absolute altitude.
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Let me renew the topic.
I noticed (eTrex 30, FW 2.90) that pace of autocalibration is rapid after turning on. On the other hand - it takes more than hour if we calibrate it manually (by writing down altitude).
Also: if we turn off the unit during certain low-phase of autocalibration, it cannot be reverted after turing on (autocalibration starts again from the certain altitude which is remember by the unit).
Practical note: it'd be better to turn off unit for a short while (some 5 minutes) if going outside from an airplane cabin or air-conditioned room (due to more or less stable ambient conditions).
Or just recalibrate the altimeter. It should be understood that the barometer input can be turned off by choosing Settings->Altimeter->Fixed Elevation.
Not a fan of the Garmin algorithms in the 30 for combining GPS and barometer altitude myself. GPS only seems to give a better reading in most cases! Of course the barometer picks up quick and small altitude changes better, but enabling that input seems to introduce large constant errors which aren't magically just calibrated away even if reception is good.
Note: I see the thread is five years old. With old chipsets and poor reception - altitude readings sure weren't good. Back then there might have been a huge point with a barometric input, even with a poor algorithm behind it.
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Renaming the maps?
Yeah, if it were that easy. But thought it was hardcoded in the file? What is displayed isn't the file name, but some internal product name (the name displayed in mapsource)?
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Map select not working, I found this an issue. So tested it out on 2.90. Yes, it "works" now. Still a case of garmin software FAIL:
-Cpu cycles are seemingly still wasted on searching all maps on the device. Which means having one map on the device with an "older" not easily searchable database will slow the search down to minutes and render it useless!
-Map select can be done first after one initial search has already gone through. Which means waiting for a potentially long period.
-Many of the map names on my device are long, and begin with the same letters filling the screen. The device cannot display more than like the 13 initial letters. Hence there is no way of knowing which map is being selected for search other than learning the order of items. Hello???
I just cannot fathom how anything like this goes through five minutes of review or in house QC...
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Maybe I'm just OCDing about the numbers and it's no big deal to anyone but me.
You are not OCDing at all. An outdoor GPS device should calculate output quantities reasonably. If it doesn't, it should just be sent back, as you did.
It is clear the Garmin software team has not given the basic neo-eTrex software features (such as calculating distance and recording tracks correctly) proper attention. That's really all there is to it.
Garmin is having a 45% off sale on Handhelds
in GPS technology and devices
Posted
In many countries it constitutes a binding contract, but not if the price is so low that it's obviously incorrect (like $10 for a premium line GPS receiver).
Here it was only 40% off, so not very obvious I guess.