Garmin Colorado Firmware Version

[+Turtle3863]

I just got my Colorado 400t last night. I love it.

 

Software Version 2.20

 

GPS Software Version 2.50

_______________________________________

 

As I read almost everyone's comments here, you'all remind me of myself when I fought to get geocaching.com to fix issues on cache pages. Unfortunately, most of my "issues" were not seen as issues. I'm not one to see standing on my head to accept bugs as a solution. I eventually just gave up!

 

With the Garmin Colorados: I wish more would realize that these GPS units are NOT the Garmin 60 units. Why would they be? We already have those! The Colorado units appear to be designed from the ground up and NOT a redesigned GPS 60.

 

To get the most out of this new unit, we need to embrace it for what it is, not for what it isn't. You're going to scare potential buyers who never owned the GPS 60 units and mess up a good thing.

 

Also, why not focus on true issues? Not just the differences between these units vs GPS map60 units, but how these units perform. If we don't, we waste time and effort "missing" the GPS 60s.

 

With that being said, I haven't played enough with this new device. It seems that there are more ways to set up functions than I have discovered. I am forgetting the mold of how I think about caching and where I plan my trips. This new unit is excellent at keeping the task in focus (finding nearest caches, say). It seems to be designed for the hunt (except for the lack of being able to "find" a cache) and keeps you on task both for the closest caches and viewing the map of the area you are in.

 

Let's leave the planning part of the hunt to other packages like Google Earth, Trip and Waypoint Manager, and other programs, and enjoy these new units for what they are.

 

- just my thoughts.

LifeOnEdge!

 

I agree with you that this is a NEW unit built from the ground up, but to take a feature like the cache box that you could mark as found (and then the box would open) then the unit would ask if you wanted to find the next cache. When you got home from a large caching day you could simply ask for all open boxes and get a list of all caches found that day. For this unit to not have this feature is simply unacceptable. I can onlt hope this will be resolved soon or I will be using my Colorado as one expensive PDA and going back to my 60c .

[+g-o-cashers]

Not sure if this has already been mentioned.....if I mark a waypoint and want to modify the coords only by a digit or two, I have to input every digit in the entire coordinate even if I do not need to change most. Seems to be no way to "scroll" past the digits that don't need to be changed. Is there a shortcut I'm missing on this or just another Garmin oversight?

 

Hit the right/left side of the rock'n roller to move one character to the right/left

 

GO$Rs

[+geochicken]

Not sure if this has already been mentioned.....if I mark a waypoint and want to modify the coords only by a digit or two, I have to input every digit in the entire coordinate even if I do not need to change most. Seems to be no way to "scroll" past the digits that don't need to be changed. Is there a shortcut I'm missing on this or just another Garmin oversight?

 

Hit the right/left side of the rock'n roller to move one character to the right/left

 

GO$Rs

Duh! Thanks!

[+Marky]

Not sure if this has already been mentioned.....if I mark a waypoint and want to modify the coords only by a digit or two, I have to input every digit in the entire coordinate even if I do not need to change most. Seems to be no way to "scroll" past the digits that don't need to be changed. Is there a shortcut I'm missing on this or just another Garmin oversight?

The ring around the center button acts as cursor keys, so just press right to move to the digit you want to change.

 

--Marky

[yogazoo]

I just got my Colorado 400t last night. I love it.

 

Software Version 2.20

 

GPS Software Version 2.50

_______________________________________

 

As I read almost everyone's comments here, you'all remind me of myself when I fought to get geocaching.com to fix issues on cache pages. Unfortunately, most of my "issues" were not seen as issues. I'm not one to see standing on my head to accept bugs as a solution. I eventually just gave up!

 

With the Garmin Colorados: I wish more would realize that these GPS units are NOT the Garmin 60 units. Why would they be? We already have those! The Colorado units appear to be designed from the ground up and NOT a redesigned GPS 60.

 

To get the most out of this new unit, we need to embrace it for what it is, not for what it isn't. You're going to scare potential buyers who never owned the GPS 60 units and mess up a good thing.

 

Also, why not focus on true issues? Not just the differences between these units vs GPS map60 units, but how these units perform. If we don't, we waste time and effort "missing" the GPS 60s.

 

With that being said, I haven't played enough with this new device. It seems that there are more ways to set up functions than I have discovered. I am forgetting the mold of how I think about caching and where I plan my trips. This new unit is excellent at keeping the task in focus (finding nearest caches, say). It seems to be designed for the hunt (except for the lack of being able to "find" a cache) and keeps you on task both for the closest caches and viewing the map of the area you are in.

 

Let's leave the planning part of the hunt to other packages like Google Earth, Trip and Waypoint Manager, and other programs, and enjoy these new units for what they are.

 

- just my thoughts.

LifeOnEdge!

Dear LifeOnEdge,

 

Your comments filed me with a warm and fuzzy feeling. As though I should give my Colorado a hug and tell him that there's no one quite like it him the world, or hold it in my hand and sing kumbya as I walk down the street whose name I cant see on the maps. Last time I checked it was newest addition to the "Handheld Mapping" gps page on the Garmin website and marketed as such.

 

Look, please forgive me for the sarcasm. I'm really trying to love this GPS but they're not making it easy.

 

I think that at the root of it all it comes down to this. This is Garmin we're talking about here. Not Lowrance, not Bushnell or any other sub-prime GPS maker, we're talking about Garmin. Garmin is supposed to be the WORLD leader and for good reason. As far as handhelds go you couldn't beat a Garmin and they got that way because of all the functionality, stability, and reliability of the older lines. That is why this new one is so baffling to us all. It deosn't make sense reguardless of all the excuses about new formats and awkward transitions. We're told that it will just take some getting used to. I may get used to the roller wheel and the startup time. What I won't get used to is not seeing street names or wierd NIMH performance, or how un-customizable this "customizable" unit is,or any of the many smaller issues that effect everyday usage.

[+Team GPSaxophone]

Not sure if this has already been mentioned.....if I mark a waypoint and want to modify the coords only by a digit or two, I have to input every digit in the entire coordinate even if I do not need to change most. Seems to be no way to "scroll" past the digits that don't need to be changed. Is there a shortcut I'm missing on this or just another Garmin oversight?

Just press to the right of the click stick and you can go past the numbers you don't want to change.

[+g-o-cashers]

Image viewer only seems to work if you put images on an SD card. I haven't found a place to put them on the internal memory and have the image viewer display them (other than background images which do seem to work).

 

GO$Rs

[+nicolo]

Here's a funny thing.

 

"Corrected issue that changed map setting to north up if reviewing a point on the map."

 

In other words, when you scroll around it makes North up!

 

This problem reportedly fixed by a firmware update still occurs even after I uploaded the new update. Could it be that the changes are not working?

I noticed that on the weekend, drove me freaking crazy!

 

Hopefully it works for me ... I'll give it try in a bit.

 

Seemed to work for me ...

 

1 - Selected Geocaching profile

 

2 - Confirmed that I was in track up mode, yup

 

3 - Went into the Map screen

 

4 - Panned to a POI geocache, selected it, didn't "Go" to it, backed out

 

5 - Checked tracking, still in track up

 

I also checked this by selecting the POI geocache and "Go"ing to it, then confirmed that I was still in track up mode.

 

I only checked this in the house, I'll try it while moving as well.

I don't know what I was thinking, it doesn't work.

 

I could've sworn that it was working when I checked in my driveway today. It is definitely not working when I'm checking indoors ... hmmm, maybe it's because I wasn't moving while indoors ...? But then again, I thought that it was working last night, when I first checked.

 

... maybe I'd better just go to sleep,

Edited January 25, 2008 by nicolo

[+LifeOnEdge!]

I just got my Colorado 400t last night. I love it.

 

Software Version 2.20

 

GPS Software Version 2.50

_______________________________________

 

As I read almost everyone's comments here, you'all remind me of myself when I fought to get geocaching.com to fix issues on cache pages. Unfortunately, most of my "issues" were not seen as issues. I'm not one to see standing on my head to accept bugs as a solution. I eventually just gave up!

 

With the Garmin Colorados: I wish more would realize that these GPS units are NOT the Garmin 60 units. Why would they be? We already have those! The Colorado units appear to be designed from the ground up and NOT a redesigned GPS 60.

 

To get the most out of this new unit, we need to embrace it for what it is, not for what it isn't. You're going to scare potential buyers who never owned the GPS 60 units and mess up a good thing.

 

Also, why not focus on true issues? Not just the differences between these units vs GPS map60 units, but how these units perform. If we don't, we waste time and effort "missing" the GPS 60s.

 

With that being said, I haven't played enough with this new device. It seems that there are more ways to set up functions than I have discovered. I am forgetting the mold of how I think about caching and where I plan my trips. This new unit is excellent at keeping the task in focus (finding nearest caches, say). It seems to be designed for the hunt (except for the lack of being able to "find" a cache) and keeps you on task both for the closest caches and viewing the map of the area you are in.

 

Let's leave the planning part of the hunt to other packages like Google Earth, Trip and Waypoint Manager, and other programs, and enjoy these new units for what they are.

 

- just my thoughts.

LifeOnEdge!

Dear LifeOnEdge,

 

Your comments filed me with a warm and fuzzy feeling. As though I should give my Colorado a hug and tell him that there's no one quite like it him the world, or hold it in my hand and sing kumbya as I walk down the street whose name I cant see on the maps. Last time I checked it was newest addition to the "Handheld Mapping" gps page on the Garmin website and marketed as such.

 

Look, please forgive me for the sarcasm. I'm really trying to love this GPS but they're not making it easy.

 

I think that at the root of it all it comes down to this. This is Garmin we're talking about here. Not Lowrance, not Bushnell or any other sub-prime GPS maker, we're talking about Garmin. Garmin is supposed to be the WORLD leader and for good reason. As far as handhelds go you couldn't beat a Garmin and they got that way because of all the functionality, stability, and reliability of the older lines. That is why this new one is so baffling to us all. It deosn't make sense reguardless of all the excuses about new formats and awkward transitions. We're told that it will just take some getting used to. I may get used to the roller wheel and the startup time. What I won't get used to is not seeing street names or wierd NIMH performance, or how un-customizable this "customizable" unit is,or any of the many smaller issues that effect everyday usage.

 

You don't like it? Take it back! I got a 100% satisfaction guarantee with my purchase.

 

A question: If you didn't like the unit, WHY did you buy it?

 

You have a GPSmap 60 unit and love it, right? Use it. Hug that one. Heck, I can think of one other thing you might do! Make sure you wash it carefully, following. LOL

 

Shoot, if you're not happy, get your $600 back AND call Garmin and tell them about your dissatisfaction. PROBLEM SOLVED

[+jtrump]

I'm running into an issue where the backlight automatically turns off and won't turn back on. This is happening while I am actively using the unit, so it is not the standard 15sec timeout thing. The only way to get the backlight to turn back on is to restart the unit.

 

Is anyone else having this issue? I have the 400t with the latest 2.3 & 2.6 updates.

 

Is your battery dead or close to it? The backlight (and I think the audio beeps) will be turned off below a certain battery level.

 

GO$Rs

 

I think it was a battery related issue, though there was no warning message or beep. I've not had a chance to thoroughly test it, but for now I'll assume that was the issue.

[yogazoo]

I just got my Colorado 400t last night. I love it.

 

Software Version 2.20

 

GPS Software Version 2.50

_______________________________________

 

As I read almost everyone's comments here, you'all remind me of myself when I fought to get geocaching.com to fix issues on cache pages. Unfortunately, most of my "issues" were not seen as issues. I'm not one to see standing on my head to accept bugs as a solution. I eventually just gave up!

 

With the Garmin Colorados: I wish more would realize that these GPS units are NOT the Garmin 60 units. Why would they be? We already have those! The Colorado units appear to be designed from the ground up and NOT a redesigned GPS 60.

 

To get the most out of this new unit, we need to embrace it for what it is, not for what it isn't. You're going to scare potential buyers who never owned the GPS 60 units and mess up a good thing.

 

Also, why not focus on true issues? Not just the differences between these units vs GPS map60 units, but how these units perform. If we don't, we waste time and effort "missing" the GPS 60s.

 

With that being said, I haven't played enough with this new device. It seems that there are more ways to set up functions than I have discovered. I am forgetting the mold of how I think about caching and where I plan my trips. This new unit is excellent at keeping the task in focus (finding nearest caches, say). It seems to be designed for the hunt (except for the lack of being able to "find" a cache) and keeps you on task both for the closest caches and viewing the map of the area you are in.

 

Let's leave the planning part of the hunt to other packages like Google Earth, Trip and Waypoint Manager, and other programs, and enjoy these new units for what they are.

 

- just my thoughts.

LifeOnEdge!

Dear LifeOnEdge,

 

Your comments filed me with a warm and fuzzy feeling. As though I should give my Colorado a hug and tell him that there's no one quite like it him the world, or hold it in my hand and sing kumbya as I walk down the street whose name I cant see on the maps. Last time I checked it was newest addition to the "Handheld Mapping" gps page on the Garmin website and marketed as such.

 

Look, please forgive me for the sarcasm. I'm really trying to love this GPS but they're not making it easy.

 

I think that at the root of it all it comes down to this. This is Garmin we're talking about here. Not Lowrance, not Bushnell or any other sub-prime GPS maker, we're talking about Garmin. Garmin is supposed to be the WORLD leader and for good reason. As far as handhelds go you couldn't beat a Garmin and they got that way because of all the functionality, stability, and reliability of the older lines. That is why this new one is so baffling to us all. It deosn't make sense reguardless of all the excuses about new formats and awkward transitions. We're told that it will just take some getting used to. I may get used to the roller wheel and the startup time. What I won't get used to is not seeing street names or wierd NIMH performance, or how un-customizable this "customizable" unit is,or any of the many smaller issues that effect everyday usage.

 

You don't like it? Take it back! I got a 100% satisfaction guarantee with my purchase.

 

A question: If you didn't like the unit, WHY did you buy it?

 

You have a GPSmap 60 unit and love it, right? Use it. Hug that one. Heck, I can think of one other thing you might do! Make sure you wash it carefully, following. LOL

 

Shoot, if you're not happy, get your $600 back AND call Garmin and tell them about your dissatisfaction. PROBLEM SOLVED

 

Easy LifeOnEdge, I was merely joking. Well, partially.

[+Turtle3863]

I am not a computer expert and maybe some of you can make me feel better about a firmware upgrade, but what concerns me is IF it will be possible to have the same type set up as the 60CX that opens a box when found and logs it in a list of finds when after looking into it more I realize that it is because the GPX file being added as one file and not as individual waypoint that is is why we are not able to change their symbol or even delete a single log when in geocaching mode. I hope this can be fixed. One thing I have also noticed that is a big concern to me is that the screen is dark and hard to see without the back light. I wonder if someone who has installed CN is still having the dark screen or if this has improved when running CN.

Edited January 25, 2008 by Turtle3863

[+g-o-cashers]

I tried that earlier and it didn't seem to work. It complained that I need to upgrade the Communicator but the Communicator test page claims everything is fine and up to date - I can also use it to download caches to my 400t. Seems like they will credit your account even if you are already a premium member.

 

GO$Rs

 

After receiving the LOBOT email alert from Groundspeak today I tried again to register and was successful.

 

When I tried it the first time it failed saying that the Communicator wasn't installed. So I went through each of the steps again from the Groundspeak page and was able to get it register. I also removed the SD card from my Colorado since Communicator seemed to be seeing two Colorados with it installed.

 

GO$Rs

[+3 Bugs & A Nut!]

... It deosn't make sense reguardless of all the excuses about new formats and awkward transitions. We're told that it will just take some getting used to. I may get used to the roller wheel and the startup time. What I won't get used to is not seeing street names or wierd NIMH performance, or how un-customizable this "customizable" unit is,or any of the many smaller issues that effect everyday usage.

 

Hmmm.... That gave me a flashback to about 13 years ago when Windows went from 3.1x to 95. And even earlier from DOS to Windows. Sure, the OS forced the PC to operate at exponentially lower speeds, but the convenience and "easy-ness" made both Windows ever more popular.

 

Garmin and Microsoft have many things in common across the spectrum. (I only hope they never put Vista CE on a Garmin, however!) One of those things is bugs in their stuff. And that's really what were talking about in terms of not working as expected. Usability / GUI is an entirely different matter and not necessarily bugs.

 

To solve this, Garmin really should allow people to choose their interface as well as change just about any setting the machine has up to the point (but not exceeding) where potential damage may occur. BTW, even Windows 95 was able to be configured to emulate Windows 3.11 in just a few seconds, and XP was customizable to look very much like Windows 98 or 2000.

 

Bottom line, Garmin should make the unit as customizable as possible regardless of support issues. For those support issues, they can do what the PC manufacturer's do: reset to factory default as a first line of defense. We end-users need to understand there is a paradigm shift in the technologies involved here. as an example, I hated the mouse and later detested the scroll wheel as useless. Once I became accustomed to the scroll wheel, like the mouse, I hated to be without it.

 

Cheers,

Robert~

(Note, I'm not a big fan of either company, so please don't confuse me as such.)

Edited March 4, 2008 by SIXIT

[+qlenfg]

Migrating from an Garmin eMap and a Lowrance iFinder Go2, the Colorado was a big change. Yup, things didn't work like the old units and it was more complicated. I expected that.

 

So I stuck a fresh set of batteries in it and messed around with every screen / profile / setting until it made sense. I also ran across some issues and bugs, some of which Garmin addressed in their 2.4 upgrade. I think Garmin still has some work to do, but I'm confident they'll make it right.

 

The eMap was really buggy when it first came out, and subsequent firmware updates fixed the issues and made it a nice unit. I'm sure the 60Cxyz units were buggy when first released, and I'll bet the early adopters were pulling their hair out as well.

 

I seriously looked at the 60Cxyz units when I was GPS shopping recently, but the number of buttons and the ugly design really put me off. I also looked at the eTrex models, but I don't think they are any more splash resistant than my eMap and the shape makes it look like it would slip out of your hand easily.

 

My suggestion? Either learn to like the Colorado and accept that its different than what you have / are used to, or return the sucker and get your money back.