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Garmin Colorado FAQ and Issues List


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Apparently you don't have City Navigator installed... world of difference!

 

No I don't and don't plan on buying it. I use this unit for Geocaching not for road navigation. I use the Tom Tom 920 for that. I just want it to be accurate for the maps that are installed on the unit. Is that to much to ask?

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Ok what do you all do in this case. I just solved a suduko puzzle cache. now when I have the cache loaded into my Colorado 400t I just can not change the cords to match the right ones now. does everyone just make do a waypoint to those cords? How is everyone else doing it?

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Ok what do you all do in this case. I just solved a suduko puzzle cache. now when I have the cache loaded into my Colorado 400t I just can not change the cords to match the right ones now. does everyone just make do a waypoint to those cords? How is everyone else doing it?

 

Since I use GSAK I just add corrected coordinates in GSAK when I complete a "solve at home puzzle". When I export from GSAK the corrected coordinates get used for the geocache coordinates and I stash the original away in a user note that gets saved as a log when I export my gpx file. The log can be read on the Colorado in case in need the original coordinates (for parking or some other reference).

 

GO$Rs

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You can also manually edit the GPX file and add the puzzled coordinates to the cache description. This would at least give you a paperless way to take the coordinates with you.

 

I've only tried this with a GPX file containing a single cache, but it would probably work with a GPX file containing multiple caches as well.

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No idea if this means anything other than its strange.

 

I went in to Diagnostics (rocker/power on) and the time on the diag screen was 2:21 Which was the proper time. However when I shut the 400 down and restarted normally The back light screen showed the time as 8:43 pm until I got a Sat lock. Then it showed the correct time. It was interesting that the internal clock was showing the correct time in Diagnostics and would not display current time until it had sat lock on a regular start.

 

No idea what it means but, as I said, it was interesting.

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I am starting to hear about the 400T having a hard time locking on to Satellites after the 2.51 Beta. I am now experiencing a 1.5 to 2.5 minute delay on acquiring sats myself after the upgrade. Anybody have any thoughts?

 

I received my new 400T last night. Out of the box, it locked onto my location (and I was indoors near a window) in less than 30 seconds. I was actually surprised. The unit has software version 2.4.

 

NIMH batteries are still an issue - can't really use them. And I think these newer shipping ones still have the battery drain problem. I put a fresh set of Duracells in and within 30 minutes of use with limited backight, the batteries are down 25%.

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NIMH batteries are still an issue - can't really use them. And I think these newer shipping ones still have the battery drain problem. I put a fresh set of Duracells in and within 30 minutes of use with limited backight, the batteries are down 25%.

I have had the similar problems with alkaline non-rechargeables. However, I get over 12 hours on a single pair of 2700mAh NiMH rechargeables for active caching (WAAS off, compass on, no backlighting, moderate panning, 2.40/2.60). If your NiMH's are properly conditioned and charged, and if you have the GPSr set for NiMH, and you still get less than 10 hours on a pair, it's time to send it back to Garmin.

 

I have had zero luck with Garmin support with regard to the alkaline issue. All I have ever managed to get out of them is "we fixed the NiMH issue." That part seems to be true, but I have been unable to get them to acknowledge that there is an issue with alkalines. So I just quit using them.

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I'm using the latest non-beta firmware and have noticed the following issues:

  • Unit Hard Locks sometimes requiring removal of the batteries to get it going
  • No Trackback (not really a flaw, but a big oversight IMO)
  • Direction arrow gets "stuck" oftentimes when exiting a vehicle while looking for a geocache
  • Unit failed to record any tracklog data for me for an entire day this past weekend
  • Poor screen visibility
  • This thing probably would run best with a small nuclear reactor given the rate at which it burns through batteries.

I know I'm probably restating issues that others have had, but my hope is that the more of us that voice these issues then the more likely Garmin will respond.

 

At this point, I'm past the return window for the unit so I'll just stick it out and hope that Garmin addresses these problems. As it stands, I find the Colorado to be an outstanding (albeit expensive) Geocaching tool first with everything else a distant second.

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I'm using the latest non-beta firmware and have noticed the following issues:

[*]Unit Hard Locks sometimes requiring removal of the batteries to get it going

Any idea what is causing it? 2.51 seems to fix freezes in geocaching mode.

 

[*]Unit failed to record any tracklog data for me for an entire day this past weekend

 

If you are using multiple profiles make sure the tracklog is enabled in all of the profiles you use. I don't think Automotive mode, for example, has it enabled by default.

 

GO$Rs

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If you are using multiple profiles make sure the tracklog is enabled in all of the profiles you use. I don't think Automotive mode, for example, has it enabled by default.

 

GO$Rs

 

It's possible, though I've never used any profile other than the default (recreational I believe). It seems to be working ok now, so we'll see what happens.

 

As for the hard locks, unfortunately I've seen no pattern so far.

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Unfortunately I do not see much of an improvement in the new BETA when it comes to display of cache descriptions. In my area there are many caches with HTML tables, one column for English text and one column for local text. When displayed on a Colorado both colums overlay and one can't read anything.

 

I am not expecting that all HTML tags are treated correctly, but aqs a start just ignoring those that are "unsupported" would be better than a garbled display...

 

Olaf

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NIMH batteries are still an issue - can't really use them. And I think these newer shipping ones still have the battery drain problem. I put a fresh set of Duracells in and within 30 minutes of use with limited backight, the batteries are down 25%.

I have had the similar problems with alkaline non-rechargeables. However, I get over 12 hours on a single pair of 2700mAh NiMH rechargeables for active caching (WAAS off, compass on, no backlighting, moderate panning, 2.40/2.60). If your NiMH's are properly conditioned and charged, and if you have the GPSr set for NiMH, and you still get less than 10 hours on a pair, it's time to send it back to Garmin.

 

I have had zero luck with Garmin support with regard to the alkaline issue. All I have ever managed to get out of them is "we fixed the NiMH issue." That part seems to be true, but I have been unable to get them to acknowledge that there is an issue with alkalines. So I just quit using them.

 

I am sending this one back for a replacement. THe NIMH's are new batteries and I use a conditioning charger so I don't beleive my issue is with them. I am pleased with the improvement of the backilight display. Tracking seems to be really good too. I took a flight yesterday from Newark, NJ to Norfolk, VA (about 1 hour flight time) and the GPS was able to keep up with the plane moving at close to 600 MPH. The elevation was commpletely inaccurate as I beleive this may be due to the pressureization of the cabin. I couldn't find out how to turn off barametric elevation, but IMO it is not a big deal - this device is meant to be used outdoors.

 

I lost 25% more battery life during that hour (no backlight) but was able to track my complete flight from runway to runway. I am using the 400t and the refresh rate in 3D mode doesn't keep up that well in flight, but again, not a big deal since this is not what it was intended for.

`

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I lost 25% more battery life during that hour (no backlight) but was able to track my complete flight from runway to runway. I am using the 400t and the refresh rate in 3D mode doesn't keep up that well in flight, but again, not a big deal since this is not what it was intended for.

Can't tell whether or not you're running with 3D mode on at all times. If so, I suspect your battery life will be significantly shorter than normal. 3D mode has to be very CPU-intensive. If you have been using it all the time, I suggest you try running without it for a while to see what kind of battery life you get.

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I found this thread this morning. I have reported couple of issues in other threads, but felt that it should be reported here instead. I have 400t. Here are the two issues I am facing (which I haven't seen discussed yet):

  1. The compass is not working even when I am standing still with the unit held horizontal - set to Auto after calibration. I have tried it in the Geocaching or Recreational profiles. The needle is locked to N-S permanently. Maybe the unit is defective. I am using 2.51 beta.
  2. When the compass is in Auto mode and I was in any of the profiles, unit will stay in "North Up" mode and refuse to show Track Up even though I set it to Track Up. I took it for geocaching and was struggling to make it change until I switched the Compass OFF. As soon as I put it back to Auto, I got the problem back. This is reproducable 100% of the time.

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  1. The compass is not working even when I am standing still with the unit held horizontal - set to Auto after calibration. I have tried it in the Geocaching or Recreational profiles. The needle is locked to N-S permanently. Maybe the unit is defective. I am using 2.51 beta.

Not sure I understand fully. When you say "the needle", do you mean the red arrow or the bearing ring around the outside of the compass display? If you are standing still and the compass is on, calibrated, and working, the bearing ring will show the direction you are facing (at the top of the ring). This should always be true, whether you are currently navigating or not.

 

The red arrow, on the other hand, is only relevant when you are navigating. If you are navigating (that is, if you have set a destination waypoint, cache, or route), you are standing still, and the compass is on, calibrated, and working, the red arrow will point toward the current navigation target. I've never used the compass when not navigating, so I don't know if the red arrow is visible or not. If it is visible, I would not be surprised to see it behave like a real compass needle (head points north).

 

Edited 04/18/08 to add: Checked this with 2.40/2.60. No red arrow unless navigating. Unless this behavior has changed on 2.51, sounds like the compass is toast on this unit.

Edited by twolpert
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What is "Chart Information"? Its an option my Colorado 300 gives me when I pan somewhere and save a waypoint. Its under options. It just gives me a blank white screen and then it gets hung up. Could this be an implementation not fully developed yet or is it a BUG?

 

Instructions for replication:

 

1) Go to the MAP screen and pan away from your current location.

 

2) Hold down the center of the rocker switch and, when point is saved, under the OPTIONS tab choose "Save As Waypoint".

 

3) The map screen will now show your waypoint on the map and will give you another OPTIONS tab.

 

4) Now hit the OPTIONS tab and scroll down to "Chart Information". Click on it and wierd things happen.

White screen with a shorthcuts menu. When you click on the shortcuts menue because its the only option you will get put rioght back into the white screen but this time with the option to "Show Notes".

 

I have tried to enter some text in the waypoint description thinking that "Chart Information" is simply displaying waypoint descriptions but that isn't the case. Anyone have any ideas?

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I lost 25% more battery life during that hour (no backlight) but was able to track my complete flight from runway to runway. I am using the 400t and the refresh rate in 3D mode doesn't keep up that well in flight, but again, not a big deal since this is not what it was intended for.

Can't tell whether or not you're running with 3D mode on at all times. If so, I suspect your battery life will be significantly shorter than normal. 3D mode has to be very CPU-intensive. If you have been using it all the time, I suggest you try running without it for a while to see what kind of battery life you get.

 

Since the 3D mode didn't work well in flight, I only used it for about 5 minutes. The other 3 hours of use were strictly in normal map view. Something is definitely wrong with this particular unit if both alkaline and nimh batteries are giving me trouble.

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I used my Colorado about 4 1/2 hours Sunday for caching, then a full 8 hours on a road trip Wednesday. Same set of Maha 2700 mAh batteries. Did get a low battery warning about 20-30 minutes from my destination, but the unit stayed on and continued mapping. Very little backlight use during caching, and none while driving -- WAAS was on (I think) and compass was off.

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Hmm just a couple small things I noticed tonight:

 

1) When I go to my found caches and click on the See GC Code: it still just tells me the name. So it takes me forever to find the darn cache since it's not anywhere near my home coords.

 

2) The file for the found geocaches that you upload to geocaching.com always says nothing in it but if you open it with a txt editor there's info on it. Guessing that's a gc.com issue?

 

darn backlight still needs to be fixed. c'mon how much longer to resolve that, really?

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What is "Chart Information"? Its an option my Colorado 300 gives me when I pan somewhere and save a waypoint. Its under options. It just gives me a blank white screen and then it gets hung up. Could this be an implementation not fully developed yet or is it a BUG?

 

Instructions for replication:

 

1) Go to the MAP screen and pan away from your current location.

 

2) Hold down the center of the rocker switch and, when point is saved, under the OPTIONS tab choose "Save As Waypoint".

 

3) The map screen will now show your waypoint on the map and will give you another OPTIONS tab.

 

4) Now hit the OPTIONS tab and scroll down to "Chart Information". Click on it and wierd things happen.

White screen with a shorthcuts menu. When you click on the shortcuts menue because its the only option you will get put rioght back into the white screen but this time with the option to "Show Notes".

 

I have tried to enter some text in the waypoint description thinking that "Chart Information" is simply displaying waypoint descriptions but that isn't the case. Anyone have any ideas?

 

 

I can duplicate this as well. The word chart makes me think that it might have something to do coastal waters.....

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I can't change position format in Colorado300 from "W" to "E".

 

Bug , or I miss a method ?

Christopher

 

I don't have my Colorado with me right now, so I can't tell you whether or not that's a bug, but in the interim, can you put in a negative value? So, for example, the coordinates would be W-95 00.000.

 

Kind of a bad workaround, but perhaps it will work.

Edited by tcatkins99
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What is "Chart Information"? Its an option my Colorado 300 gives me when I pan somewhere and save a waypoint. Its under options. It just gives me a blank white screen and then it gets hung up. Could this be an implementation not fully developed yet or is it a BUG?

 

 

Its a bug, you'll find it on the issues list. I reported to Garmin a few weeks ago and they seemed to agree it wa an issue.

 

GO$Rs

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I can't change position format in Colorado300 from "W" to "E".

Bug , or I miss a method ?

Christopher

 

Might be a bug, I've seen several issues like this. Garmin fixed a similar issue in the British Grid system in 2.51.

 

Which software are you using?

What is the coordinate system you are using?

 

GO$Rs

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Hmm just a couple small things I noticed tonight:

 

1) When I go to my found caches and click on the See GC Code: it still just tells me the name. So it takes me forever to find the darn cache since it's not anywhere near my home coords.

 

Are you using GSAK to generate your gpx file? If so, you are probably putting the %name in the waypoint name. Change this to %code.

 

2) The file for the found geocaches that you upload to geocaching.com always says nothing in it but if you open it with a txt editor there's info on it. Guessing that's a gc.com issue?

 

darn backlight still needs to be fixed. c'mon how much longer to resolve that, really?

 

Do you have the ignore field notes before some date check box selected when you do the upload? If so, gc.com will ignore field notes before this date. Uncheck the box and reupload, you should get all field notes in the file.

 

GO$Rs

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I can't change position format in Colorado300 from "W" to "E".

Bug , or I miss a method ?

Christopher

 

Might be a bug, I've seen several issues like this. Garmin fixed a similar issue in the British Grid system in 2.51.

 

Which software are you using?

What is the coordinate system you are using?

 

GO$Rs

======================

1. I found, that each "Profile" keeps his own set of Position Format, map Datum and Map Spheroid.

So I try to have "Topografic Profiles" ( Pulkowo 1942, PUWG 1992 ) to show coordinates on older paper maps with this coordinates sysytem. Using different paper maps, I can only change "Profile" and I will have data for different projections. In 60CS yuo need always to rewrite all this again, and it was not practical.

2. Trying to do it, I found this difficulty with "W" and "E". I think , it is a bug.

----------------------------------------

3. I use normal Garmin maps for Poland and Europe. These maps dont need any manipulations, so all that "Profiles" are only for reference to paper maps.

4. Of course it is possible to make a transparent map showing kilometer grid in Pulkowo 1942 and PUWG 1992 systems. It was prepared recently by GPSManiak (for Poland area) and seems to be very practical.

Screenshot showing this:

puwgdul9.jpgpuwgcpr4.png

you see greed line numbers.

 

and map without this transparent grid net:

a400bu5.png

you see only forest quarter numbers.

 

So it is for better orientation in tourism with older paper maps, but seems very interesting.

Christopher

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My 400t joined the ranks of those with the auto shut-down problem today. It died about 5 times--each time when I had selected a geocache from the cache list. I don't think it had anything to do with the cache itself, because each time after rebooting I could select the cache O.K. A nuisance, yes, but I was able to keep moving. Running 2.51Beta.

 

Check your batteries. This isn't the normal shutoff/freeze that people have been seeing. I haven't seen a geocaching freeze with 2.51. If the batteries are good you should probably talk to Garmin.

 

GO$Rs

 

I had mine shut off on me once the other day. Prior to exiting my cachemobile, I had checked the battery level indicator and it showed all bars (full). After about 15 minutes into the hike, it just went dead, no warning or anything and it had a dark line showing in the display from the top to the bottom. I attempted to turn it back on with no luck. Knowing that it is a battery hog, I keep an extra set in my pocket. I changed them, my 400t came back to life and the problem has not reoccurred.

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======================

1. I found, that each "Profile" keeps his own set of Position Format, map Datum and Map Spheroid.

So I try to have "Topografic Profiles" ( Pulkowo 1942, PUWG 1992 ) to show coordinates on older paper maps with this coordinates sysytem. Using different paper maps, I can only change "Profile" and I will have data for different projections. In 60CS yuo need always to rewrite all this again, and it was not practical.

2. Trying to do it, I found this difficulty with "W" and "E". I think , it is a bug.

----------------------------------------

3. I use normal Garmin maps for Poland and Europe. These maps dont need any manipulations, so all that "Profiles" are only for reference to paper maps.

4. Of course it is possible to make a transparent map showing kilometer grid in Pulkowo 1942 and PUWG

and map without this transparent grid net:

 

Sorry, I'm being dense here. Can you send me your exact settings from Settings->Position Format? What are Position format, Map Datum and Map Spheriod all set to?

 

GO$Rs

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GO$Rs : Sorry, I'm being dense here. Can you send me your exact settings from Settings->Position Format? What are Position format, Map Datum and Map Spheriod all set to?

=======================

1. First. Changing from "W" to "E" ( and N to S) is possible:

-/ place marker on next field to "W" (it is field with "0" -zero)

-/ put here "-" (minus)

-/ push right button

in that moment "W" changes to "E".

-----------------------------------------------------------

2. Exact settings. I set them according to commonly known numbers. Tomorrow I'll present it. It is midnight in Poland now.

-----------------------------------------------------------

If You are interesting in this grid (map with grid) for PUWG 1992 , here is link from GPSManiak site:

http://gpsmaniak.com/new/Download/puwg92.exe

He prepared it some days ago as result of discussion (on Forum) about "Ideal GPSr" , where grid presentation at the screen was proposed.

 

Like normal map it installs in MapSource, but of course You see only lines ( and numbers on GPSr screen), and You can load it with other maps. You can change this map on/off selectively, because it has ist own Family number. It is transparent map and can be used together with any other map.

Christopher

Edited by sokolo0
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g-o-cashers :

Screenshots corresponding to Pulkowo 1942 ( region4):

a160lo1.jpga107ps5.jpga141gm8.jpg

and one screenshot from PUWG 1992:

a332fz5.jpg

 

As You see I prepared background images for each coordinate system.

 

Today I found, that it is possible to have only 2 different user defined coordinate systems. When I prepared third set, all coordinates in previous set return to default ( W095.000 and so on). I think, it won't be difficult for Garmin to give the possibility of 9 - 10 different user defined systems, with possibility to choose them from "Profiles".

Another question - maximum number of profiles.

 

All that coordinate numbers I have from :

http://galka.mountlab.net/download/gps/Mapy_a_GPS.pdf

http://galka.mountlab.net/www/topografia/mapy_a_gps

and from GPSManiak site:

http://gps.astronet.pl/new/mapy.htm

 

It is in Polish, but You can find many illustrations, explaining all.

Christopher

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I am starting to hear about the 400T having a hard time locking on to Satellites after the 2.51 Beta. I am now experiencing a 1.5 to 2.5 minute delay on acquiring sats myself after the upgrade. Anybody have any thoughts?

 

I received my new 400T last night. Out of the box, it locked onto my location (and I was indoors near a window) in less than 30 seconds. I was actually surprised. The unit has software version 2.4.

 

NIMH batteries are still an issue - can't really use them. And I think these newer shipping ones still have the battery drain problem. I put a fresh set of Duracells in and within 30 minutes of use with limited backight, the batteries are down 25%.

 

It sounds to me, from the lack of information provided by you on this issue, that you're not changing the battery setting on the Colorado 400t. Have you done this and just not mentioned it here?

 

Also, if as you say that "within 30 minutes of use ... batteries are down 25%," where are you getting this information? Do you mean that the 400t is showing 3 bars instead of 4 bars? Are you getting battery voltages from a multimeter? When you then recharge the batteries, is it taking a fraction of the time to recharge (about 25% of the normal time) or do they charge in 5 - 10% of the time?

 

With firmware version 2.40 (you said software version), you shouldn't be having issues with NiMH batteries. This was resolved previously and confirmed working.

 

I think there's a misunderstanding of how the unit needs to be set, etc.

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I don't know if this issue has been brought up before. I have noticed on my 300 since I got it that when using the roller function in the shortcut menu (or a sub-menu), sometimes you cannot get it to move just one icon when you turn the roller. It stops and you have to move the roller quite a bit to get it to move and when it does, it jumps past the icon your want. Then when you try to go back it stops just before or after the desired icon. I can use the 4-way pad to move to it unless it's text entry I was just backing out of the particular screen and re-entering before to correct this annoyance but yesterday I was editing coordinates of a way point and could not select the zero. I backed out several times, even soft reset the unit twice to no avail. I can tolerate having to misspell a name but coordinates have to be correct. That has become more then just an annoyance, it needs to be fixed. Anyone ese experiencing this bug?

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I saw this mentioned the other day on the wiki forums and the issue may not be a software problem. You just might need to pop off the rock'n'roller, clean out any crud and replace it. There's a video on the FAQ (H6) about how to do this and Garmin tech support seems to recommend this as well.

 

As a side note, when I talked to tech support last week they indicated that Garmin is the process of putting together a part number for the Rock'n'Roller so you can purchase a spare or two.

 

GO$Rs

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Do you have the ignore field notes before some date check box selected when you do the upload? If so, gc.com will ignore field notes before this date. Uncheck the box and reupload, you should get all field notes in the file.
This option no longer works.

It always uploads all Field Notes.

Makes the feature next to useles for now.

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