IEFBR14

PS - As I re-read my last posting, I noticed that I said "barometer" when I really s/h said "barometric altimeter." Also, I missed some capitalization. What an idiot I am! (Just wanted to save someone the trouble of pointing those things out!)

WOW - I just checked back here and found what a fire I started. In my own defense, I feel compelled to clear up a few items. #1 - my initial posting was to warn others who might wish to use their Etrex according to published allowances, so they might avoid the hassle I've experienced. It was not to 'gain sympathy'. Don't need sympathy. Actually, I don't even LIKE sympathy. #2 - I haven't given them the $59 YET, but likely will because I have accessories for it and don't want to re-buy them. #3 - on the first fry I was NOT trying to find my 'absolute altitude', which is very unrealistic with this unit, or any other with no barometer and not even DGPS. To further embarrass myself, I was trying to measure the RELATIVE difference at the surface of the water versus the tree branch I had just jumped from [NOT holding the GPS]. (It was about 30 feet). YES - I could hold it a few inches above the water. YES - those few inches would make no meaningful difference. YES - I let it float 'because I thought I COULD.' #4 - on the SECOND fry, I was INTENDING on swimming out a few hundred yards to a GEOCACHE that's underwater. http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?ID=20440 Get it? NO - I did not plan on swimming down below one meter - I intended on letting it float on the surface once I got to the vicinity while I swam down to the cache. However, I didn't get that far. While putting on my fins in waist-deep water, the unit went blank and never came back, EVEN AFTER drying out the battery compartment. In just seconds, the unit became saturated with moisture, evidenced by condensed beads on the inside of the display. #5 - The Etrex [fully loaded with batteries] does not float, according to reliable sources. That's why I bought a BodyGlove neoprene case for it when I first bought it. The case DOES float, even when fully loaded down with a GPS and batteries. As has been mentioned by others, I have used this unit WELL INSIDE the limits given by Garmin. I did NOT sink it the FULL METER, in some campaign to prove its tolerances. I didn't leave it submerged for 29 minutes. Didn't even come close to the parameters that are supposedly allowed. Guess I am "stupid" for believing what I was told by the manufacturer. I'm still going to that underwater cache, tho. I'll carry the next GPS in a ziploc bag inside a ziploc bag. Oh, and, I've owned many "waterproof" watches over the years, and they all withstood swimming.

Nothing in the warranty precludes you from using it in the water. In fact, I asked the very same Garmin rep whether, if I take the replacement unit they are sending me, sink it 12 inches into a bowl of water, and it fries, Will they replace it under warranty? And they said Yes.

My second Etrex has fried. Garmin is a RIPOFF company. The basic Etrex is marketed as being "waterproof". Then, when you look for more detail on HOW waterproof, they say "Submerged to 1 meter for 30 minutes." NOT true. My first etrex fried when it got wet. I allowed it to float in a freshwater lake (reading elevation) for about a minute, and it never worked again. Still under warranty, so returned it and they sent me another (refurbished) one. Months later I took the refurbished one to the shore, and again let it float on the surface. Figured my original one just didn't get properly sealed or something, right? WRONG. In under a minute it fried too. Called Garmin, and they said since it was no longer under warranty I have to pay $59 to have it replaced. She also explained that "This is an electronic piece of equipment. Didn't they tell you the last time not to get it wet?" !!! I read to her the statement on their own web site, that "The eTrex is completely waterproof so it can take an accidental splash or dunk in the water and still continue to perform." She then expounded on the "IPX7 standard" and said the water had to be completely still - "not moving". (Of course, that's nowhere in their marketing or anywhere else on the web site.) Then she said that "it should not be put in salt water because that will ruin it." So, they've taken my $59 because of their false marketing. BEWARE.