phlatlander

Not to be provocative, GPSCity.ca (Calgary) has had the O450 on sale for @199.95cdn for a couple of months. The O550 is still listed at $350cdn but today is "sold out". As you state it looks like they are getting rid of 450/500 stock.

Info just for another way of description. Oregon550 - my map setup. H: is the micro sd card (Windows7/64). I only use Windows Explorer to install maps. Active maps are stored in the H:\Garmin\subdirectory The micro sd card: H:\DCIM\ (for geotagged photos and photos) H:\Garmin\gmaprom.img gmapsupp_CA.img gmapsuppUSA.img \Garmin\GPX\ \Garmin\MAPS\ \Garmin\POI\ Under Garmin\Maps\ I keep other not activated maps (gmapsuppUSAplains.img,gmapsupp_2013UK.img, gmapsupp_PragueCZ.img, gmapsupp_danube.img) Under Garmin\POI\ all manner of POI (PointsOfInterest, from restaurants, to speed radar cameras, geocaches and TourGuides)

IF you are buying a gps and IF you are getting a Garmin, check out this link. I have an Oregon550 (there was a good sale) and the touchscreen works well here in Canada. I would recommend an Oregon450 over the Etrex. Just my 2c. Regardless of what gps you buy, purchase a screen protector! GpsCity comparion

Check out this topic

You can check out the Oregon specific information at WIKI Orgeon

This post is not meant in the least to be flippant, but what how do your know your Legend CX is "...always 15-20 feet off, even on a clear day." ? Most commerically available handheld gps are "off" but that doesn't mean they are inaccurate. To establish the accuracy of your device you have to locate a nearby geodetic benchmark location. The position of these benchmarks is considered to be exact inasmuch as this is possible. I have taken both my (long gone) Etrex Legend and my newer Oregon550 to such a location (West of Winnipeg MB CA) and left it sitting on the benchmark for 20 minutes. I don't recall the reading for the Etrex but it wasn't more than .001 from my Oregon. 49 51.255 // Oregon550 = .256 97 28.695 // Oregon550 = .694 As I understand it my Oregon550 is "off" by 8-12 feet to the North and 7-10 feet to East. When I set a geocache I average three, 5 minute readings and each reading is on a different day or separated by several hours. Check out the archived geocache GC2FNTX to see real-life gps results. ** UPDATE ** Hmm, I think I misread your post. I have never (yet) used the built-in waypoint averaging so perhaps my response is off target - excuse the pun. I'll give it a try and also use my old method and compare results.

I would recommend purchasing an micro sd card (8gb minimum) and load ALL extra maps and ALL geocaches etc on the micro. Your O450 is quite capable of displaying maps of all of North America, the UK and Europe. Garmin maps are available and free from http://garmin.openstreetmap.nl/ and http://www.gpsfiledepot.com/ There is a bit of a learning curve with OpenStreetMaps but if you are going to Europe (for example), OSM is an excellent resource. There are many posts about maps. Read them and ask questions as this forum has attracted a large number of well-informed gps users. Take the time to learn about your O450 and have fun!

If you check the properties/details of this image you will find embedded lat/long. If this image is loaded into an Oregon 450 (for example), when you view the image a little globe will appear near the bottom of the screen. If you have an appropriate map, your unit will go to the exact location. When you use geotagged photos the possibilities are endless. I use GoogleEarth images, add the lat/long and go geocaching. [the statue of the little prince in Budapest, Hungary]

(sorry about this almost duplicate post, the above posting arrived while I was 1-finger typing mine... When in doubt and most things don't fix the problem, HARD RESET power on. If this does not cure your problem, if you have a micro sd card, remove it, HARD RESET power on, unit starts, power off, insert micro sd card, power on. I would check the number of .gpx files you have under the garmin/gpx/archive, also the size of the current .gpx file. If you have not been removing the old files then storage may be becoming a problem. These are the simple things. If this does not work then you will have to selectively remove certain files one of which may have become corrupt over time. Others on this forum will provide this info. Your mileage may vary... In other words, good luck!

Depending on prices, I would recommend an Oregon450. Regardless of your choice, it is most important that the gps can accept an sd or micro sd card (at least 4gb) Another vote for www.talkytoaster.co.uk for the UK and add OpenStreetMaps for Europe. Last fall we went on a Danube river cruise from Budapest to Prague via Nuremburg and I loaded Europe map segments from OpenStreetMaps trip on my Oregon550. The maps worked so well we found a little restaurant in Old Town Prague, at night under overcast skies. Our friends were impressed! As an aside, friends here in Canada are going to England & Ireland next week and I downloaded the entire UK from OpenstreetMaps onto their Nuvi255w sd card. Great detail!

O550 running 6.20 since last week - all ok that I have checked.

I've had an Orgeon550 for 2 years now and while the camera is adequate, I seem to forget I always have a camera with me. On holidays I now carry the O550 and a Canon digital. If I want to make sure of the location I use the O550 and then use the Canon for better shots (I usually take 2 or 3 snaps per scene). Where the gps camera really shines though is in adverse conditions. This scene was taken at about -2f outdoors while walking the dog. Generally one doesn't carry a camera in these temperatures but I always carry my O550. Did I mention it's also able to survive a dunk in the water too... Another really useful feature we have used to great advantage is to geotag GoogleEarth pictures of cities you are going to visit then download them to an Oregon (or similar). The ability to GOTO the picture location is a real plus. To geotag those photos I use a program called GeoSetter which another forum member recommended - easy to use.

Don't know where you live but here in Canada $199.95cdn (and I'm pretty sure there is a GPScity in the USA). Costco Canada is also selling this unit for $199.95cdn and they have an excellent return policy if you are not satisfied. http://www.gpscity.ca/garmin-oregon-450.html http://www.costco.ca/gps.html?srchKeyword=gps&ddkey=http:CatalogSearch

Here goes one of those "if you've tried everything else..." - Presuming your Oregon has a micro sd card, remove the card and remove the batteries. - Reinstall the batteries (not the micro sd card!) and power up the gps. - Once the unit is happy, turn it off, reinstall the micro sd card, and power up the gps. If that doesn't work then the next step is a bit more radical, as in saving all of the files and re-booting clean. There will be others on this board who can advize the correct steps to follow in that case.

Well said simpjkee.

Winnipeg Canada I check prices and in the last 3 years I bought a Garmin Nuvi 1350 and Garmin Oregon 550 from GPSCity in Calgary. No problems and good prices.

Thanks for giving us a glimpse of this interesting technology.

Just to add to the satellite fix time; last October we flew from Winnipeg-Toronto-Montreal-Franfurt-Budapest. I use an Oregon550 loaded with at least 10 maps (including UK Talkie Toaster) on the micro sd card. While enroute I turned on the O550 every hour or so until it got a fix. When we finally arrived in Budapest the unit was fine and located our hotel instantly (preloaded gpx file). The maps from OpenStreepMaps were excellent and we used the unit to find a restaurant in Oldtown Prague in the dark - that's faith in technology.

I have a premium membership with Geocaching and I use GSAK 8.2.011 Nuvi1350: With geocache info loaded into GSAK via a Geocaching query, I use the macro Nuvi_GPX_by_CT_v086.Gsk. I load everything, maps, geocaches, extra gpx files, pictures, everything on a 4gb micro sd. Iphone3G: The Geocaching app will download queries. Simply perform the query from your PC and then after a while, your App can download it, provided of course you are on the internet.

Well, tonight I installed the Geocaching app on my iPhone 3g and downloaded a pocket query and lo and behold, ATTRIBUTES WERE DISPLAYED ! So now all three of my gps devices display geocache attributes. Pretty slick stuff out there in etherland.

Here is the info about the current version as posted on GSAK GarminExport 1.3.39 lignumaqua 2013-02-25 Universal Garmin GPX Export - Oregon,Colorado,Dakota,GPSMap 62,GPSMap 78, Montana Using a database a few months old (don't cache in the winter...) I used the 'GarminExport' macro, v1.3.4., Oregon550 screen display of attributes. I set the macro to display the last 20 logs so the entries are sometimes quite big! BTW, my Nuvi1350 displays exactly the same info. I also use GSAK to create a duplicate geocache file in a TourGuide format to have my Nuvi (and Oregon) sound off when I am "near" a cache.

With an excellent selection of macros, GSAK is a very powerful database program. You can experiment with a couple of macros that display attributes. Judging from my experience first with a Nuvi1350 and later with an Oregon550, the coding seems to work the same, only the screen size is different. I'll crank it up this week and see if I can post a couple of screenshots.

Yes. I can display (text) attributes on my Oregon 550 and Nuvi 1350. I use GSAK and the appropriate macros.

I bought an Oregon 550 last January after a friend lent me his 450 for a couple of weeks. A bit of a learning curve but an excellent unit. At the time the price difference between a 450 and 550 was only $25 at GPScity.ca. Good deal for an acceptable camera, 2 NiMH batteries and a slick charger (works in NA and Eu). If you can afford to wait for a sale, either Oregon is a good gps - water proof to boot and the touch screen works well down to about -20c . My O550 is used for daily dog walks in the outskirts of Winnipeg MB CA and funny thing, I seldom remember to use the camera. We recently did a trip down the Danube and I had loaded maps for several countries and city maps for Budapest and Prague. The O550 worked flawlessly and other members of our tour group were simply amazed. Sometimes you see the strangest things when you're out walking and then you remember your gps has a camera!

You might want to ask your question on the Wiki forum for Oregon