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Has Ver. 2.4/2.6 Fixed Colorado's Clock Problems?


Didjerrydo

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Where did Garmin say this?

 

Edit: oh, maybe I should have read your post a bit slower, as you already answered that. I don't see how they could fix a hardware problem with a firmware update. It's obvious that the clock this is a hardware issue, since it only affects a certain percentage of units.

 

--Marky

Edited by Marky
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So far it looks like it fixed my clock problem. But I'm still keeping an eye on it.

 

My previous post

Of course, I could be wrong...

 

On the other hand I did drop it yesterday, that might have fixed it :) Seriously tho, I had also thought it must be a hardware issue. It's possible that pressure trending is still active. I know when I first got my Colorado I couldn't get pressure trending to turn on. Maybe now it won't turn off. That's why I'm still going to keep an eye on it for a few days and see what happens. When it gets dark tonight I'll watch for the tell tale light flicker that lets me know pressure trending is working.

 

Greg

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Update to my above post... I had also had an email into Garmin about clock issue and they just sent me this:

 

Dear Ray Peterson,

 

Thank you for contacting Garmin International.

 

We released a software update last night that should help that issue. You can download it at https://buy.garmin.com/shop/store/downloads...5&pID=11022.

 

With Best Regards,

 

Damon A

Product Support Specialist

Outdoor/Fitness Team

Garmin International

913-397-8200

00-800-1020

913-397-8282 (fax) Att: Damon A

www.garmin.com

 

Original Message Follows: ------------------------

 

Form Message

Knowledge Job Ticket: {ea7469f0-de75-11dc-7803-000000000000}

KnowledgeBase: garmin

Subject: colorado 400t internal clock/acquiring sats

Message Body: Purcahsed my 400t around Jan 17th. When the unit is turned off after acquiring sats and using awhile, and then turned back on, many times it cannot re-acquire sats even though I am in the same location area and the time is "off".... hours behind. After waiting 3-5 minutes, I have to go to "auto location" feature to re-acquire sats. Is this the "time drift"issue I have been reading about on the forums? In any case, having to "auto locate" to reacquire sats all the time is unacceptable. This is one of the "early" units according to the serialnumber. Is their a software upgrade (I am at the latest versions now) that will fix this or do you need to send me a new unit? Thnak You in advance...

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I called and asked Garmin's handheld team if the new firmware update addressed the clock problem in the Colorado's and they claim it supposedly fixed it. I'm just wondering if it really did though. Has anyone updated yet still see a clock problem (losing time)?

 

I received a replacement 400t from garmin yesterday. Did the update, took it to my sat free office, turned it on on 5 pm, it still displayed 7:52 am... yet another return for me.

Edited by 4America
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I called and asked Garmin's handheld team if the new firmware update addressed the clock problem in the Colorado's and they claim it supposedly fixed it. I'm just wondering if it really did though. Has anyone updated yet still see a clock problem (losing time)?

 

I received a replacement 400t from garmin yesterday. Did the update, took it to my sat free office, turned it on on 5 pm, it still displayed 7:52 am... yet another return for me.

 

Did you give it the 20 minute period with a clear view of the sky AFTER doing this last update in order for it to totally reset its almanac data prior to your test? If not, this can easily happen.

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I have had the clock problem when the Colorado was new and after each update.

But after using it for a while outside, the time was ok and stays ok.

 

So I think as well it has definitely something to do with a proper almanach and is no hardware problem.

 

Don't 20 minutes of a clear view to the sky do good for all of us? :rolleyes:

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I called and asked Garmin's handheld team if the new firmware update addressed the clock problem in the Colorado's and they claim it supposedly fixed it. I'm just wondering if it really did though. Has anyone updated yet still see a clock problem (losing time)?

 

I received a replacement 400t from garmin yesterday. Did the update, took it to my sat free office, turned it on on 5 pm, it still displayed 7:52 am... yet another return for me.

 

Called garmin today. They said they couldn't duplicate the error in house. They wanted me to set my alarm for sometime after the next 12 hour time period, and see if the alarm went off. they pretty much refused to swap my unit until the alarm outcome.

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I called and asked Garmin's handheld team if the new firmware update addressed the clock problem in the Colorado's and they claim it supposedly fixed it. I'm just wondering if it really did though. Has anyone updated yet still see a clock problem (losing time)?

 

Well, it's been several days now since the update and just as I thought it had fixed the Colorado's clock problem, yesterday I found my 300 dropped a couple of hours for no good reason. Apparently, there's more to this than a firmware issue. Maybe hardware related after all?

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The clock doesn't work on my 300. It will be off anywhere from 1/2 an hour to several hours when I first turn it on in the morning without satellites. The alarm clock doesn't go off at the correct time either.

 

I assume you have the newest firmware?

 

As I stated, I checked and mine was dead on this morning.

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The clock doesn't work on my 300. It will be off anywhere from 1/2 an hour to several hours when I first turn it on in the morning without satellites. The alarm clock doesn't go off at the correct time either.

 

I assume you have the newest firmware?

 

As I stated, I checked and mine was dead on this morning.

 

Yep, latest firmware as per title of topic.

Edited by Dog Knows
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My Colorado 300 has this clock problem after software v 2.40 alarm is working properly but when switched on the clok is not correct which leads to slow locating of the satellites.

So this are my thoughts:

If the alarm is correct and it is set on or off by software. Then this should be a software problem but there are people without this problem and this is very strange?? May be there are different hardware versions and they behave differently but I've heard that units with close serial numbers behave differently????

And I cant understand how many people have this problem and know about it and how many have it but do not know.

I understood about it after slow locating of the satellites. But with v. 2.40 some people may not understood that they have the problem.

Also many people without the problem don't write in the forum.

So it is difficult to understand how wide the problem is.

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I have been also going back and forth with Garmin tech support email for the clock on my 400t... Sometimes the alarm would work, sometimes not... Anyway, there suggestion today was to do the "reset"... left key, right key, and power on... Did that and it rebooted what I thought was OK, except the400t had "lost" its base map... All the "correct files" where on the internal memory (and verified thru a garminlive session thru my PC and 400t... But no base map... Not even on the selection list... No locate on map menu item... anything to do with the basemap was goooon.... But all the correct files were there... Something got wigged out...

 

So, they are sending me a new unit. My old serial number was 18Z000364. I am still veryhappy with the unit... especially with the available 24K topos available for my area in the Pacific Northwest.

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If the alarm is correct and it is set on or off by software. Then this should be a software problem but there are people without this problem and this is very strange?? May be there are different hardware versions and they behave differently but I've heard that units with close serial numbers behave differently????

Which once again supports my theory above, i.e. that this is a timing problem for signals between some circuits in the unit. If you have such a timing problem in a design, then not only may different units behave differently, in spite of being from the same batch, but the same unit may behave differently from one time to another, due to random variations, temperature drift etc.

 

Software changes can sometimes fix these hardware problem, by simply reacting appropriately. If you know some signal may not be stable at some time, then you may be able to wait for it a little longer, or you may reset some circuit at some time and ignore its signals before that or whatever. There are several possibilities, besides a redesigned hardware.

Such software fixes may of course suffer from not fixing the problem in all units, if there are tolerances to components, that makes the problem slightly different in different units.

 

Finally, all this is pure speculation, based on my experience from nearly 30 years of electric and electronic systems design. But Garmin exists in the same universe as the rest of us, so...

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Hi,

 

Not sure if my inaugural post helps but what the hey.

 

I am now on my third Colorado 300 in as many weeks.

 

The First one (I’m UK based) suffered from exhausting Duracell Ultra cells in 4 hours flat (169002044). Thus unit also had a significant time drift until Satellites were acquired.

 

The Second unit (169002052) displayed the same issue but in an even more pronounced fashion. I picked it up on Friday last, let it see the sky for 2 hours then packed it away for a caching trip on Sunday. On Sunday morning I was reliably told it was Friday night for around 10 minutes and the satellite acquisition took forever. Garmin UK support told me they would investigate and call back. But under UK (and I assume elsewhere) law I returned the device to the local store.

 

My new unit (169002429), runs for 15 hours on the same type of cell, plus the clock (and trust me I’ve tested it by sneaking up and switching it off and on at random times) has not lost a second it two days.

 

So, they seem to be getting there and maybe a batch or two was not as good as it might have been.

 

Cheers,

 

Neil

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My 300 (169000579) has not kept time when turned off since I first got it on Jan 24th. Updates have not fixed my problem. The alarm has not worked properly either, due to this I'm sure. I've talked to many Garmin techies about this and get the same answer of a firmware update will fix this. I've got a RMA in hand but hold on to hope the next fix will correct it.

 

If anyone has returned their 300 to Garmin how long should I expect to receive my replacement? I don't want to give up my 300 for a week or more ;) but may have to bite the bullet.

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My first Colorado 300 had the clock problem. I took it back to GPSCentral and exchanged it for a new one.

 

The clock worked fine on the second one, unfortunately the battery cover was almost impossible to remove. It was such a tight fit that it rolled the top of the gasket around the battery compartment up and out of position when replacing the cover. Two of the folks at GPSCentral were unable to remove it. Since my rechargeable batteries and memory card were still inside, I worked away at the thing until it finally opened.

 

So now I am on unit number three. I just got it today, but so far it appears to be keeping time when turned off. The battery cover is certainly not too tight, in fact it slides on and off very easily. And the latch clicks into place with almost no resistance. It unintentionally opened tonight when I slid the unit into the pocket of my backpack. :laughing:

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...GPSCentral....

 

Cough, cough.....I hope you made them price match GPS City...

 

For one day in February GPSCentral had the 300 for $435 ($5 more than gpscity). I was just lucky enough to buy it that day. The deciding factor was that gpscity has a 10% restocking fee and GPSCentral doesn't.

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My 300 (169000579) has not kept time when turned off since I first got it on Jan 24th. Updates have not fixed my problem. The alarm has not worked properly either, due to this I'm sure. I've talked to many Garmin techies about this and get the same answer of a firmware update will fix this. I've got a RMA in hand but hold on to hope the next fix will correct it.

 

If anyone has returned their 300 to Garmin how long should I expect to receive my replacement? I don't want to give up my 300 for a week or more :laughing: but may have to bite the bullet.

 

Timpat - I'm in the same boat as you, I have the RMA number in hand but keep on hoping that Garmin will get their act together and figure out the real cause of this issue before I send my 300 back. (i.e. hardware or software) I don't want to be forced to live with this problem, but I would really be irked if I received a "fixed" version from Garmin and it turned out to be an even bigger lemon than this one. I'm kinda spooked by the conflicting information I've received from the Garmin techies themselves.... :P

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Timpat - I'm in the same boat as you, I have the RMA number in hand but keep on hoping that Garmin will get their act together and figure out the real cause of this issue before I send my 300 back. (i.e. hardware or software) I don't want to be forced to live with this problem, but I would really be irked if I received a "fixed" version from Garmin and it turned out to be an even bigger lemon than this one. I'm kinda spooked by the conflicting information I've received from the Garmin techies themselves.... :D

 

I returned my 400T on March 4th. I have not yet received a replacement. I called earlier this week and they said it would be 2 more weeks. They claim to have sent all of their 400t units back to the factory for a hardware problem. I don't know if the 300's are in the same boat or not.

 

The good thing is they ARE addressing a hardware problem. I am hoping the new units are better than the current ones out there.

 

-Keith

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In 2 months I've observed the time delay/slow to lock issue on my 400t twice. Both times it has happened it was proceeded by a "reboot freeze" at the Garmin logo. I wonder if there is a relationship between the two issues. I've seen the freeze at the Garmin logo 6-8 times in the last month but I don't always check to see if the time is off after I pull the batteries and restart.

 

GO$Rs

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My 300 (169000579) has not kept time when turned off since I first got it on Jan 24th. Updates have not fixed my problem. The alarm has not worked properly either, due to this I'm sure. I've talked to many Garmin techies about this and get the same answer of a firmware update will fix this. I've got a RMA in hand but hold on to hope the next fix will correct it.

 

If anyone has returned their 300 to Garmin how long should I expect to receive my replacement? I don't want to give up my 300 for a week or more :D but may have to bite the bullet.

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My 300 (169000579) has not kept time when turned off since I first got it on Jan 24th. Updates have not fixed my problem. The alarm has not worked properly either, due to this I'm sure. I've talked to many Garmin techies about this and get the same answer of a firmware update will fix this. I've got a RMA in hand but hold on to hope the next fix will correct it.

 

If anyone has returned their(sic) 300 to Garmin how long should I expect to receive my replacement? I don't want to give up my 300 for a week or more :D but may have to bite the bullet.

 

I am a long time Garmin owner and had been the beneficiary of their up to now great products and service. I teach a GPS outdoor user class and have previously recommended their products. This all changed when early-adopter me bought a CO 300 (s/n=yours-8) Mine has had every problem seen in the Groundspeak blogs, including 60CS feature envy, battery life, freezes, lack of useful manual, sticky wheel, clock loss, 90 second boot-ups, lack of Mac support, clumsy GUI, wheel spell,...........Allegedly some of these were fixed with v2.4 firmware, but mine quit completely before I could evaluate. Two and a half weeks ago I sent my failed CO back to Garmin—I’m still waiting. When issuing the RMA they said it would be 10 days for turnaround. Called them yesterday–a very conciliatory young lady informed me that replacement units are on backorder and it will be mid-April before a working CO shipment is available. I then requested my money back–no can do–was told to see the dealer for a refund–but Garmin has my hardware! I checked with web dealers and find that new units are in stock ready to ship– this means that Warranty victims are relegated to the back of the line! They have had my $$ for over 2 months, I have had (marginal) use of the unit for about a week. It will be another month before having another shot at usage. I have a major outing coming up next week and I am out of luck. Maybe the new shipment will have units with corrected hardware? It's hard to imagine that s/w can fix what I have seen. So maybe the wait will be worth it.

 

This dog is clearly not ready for prime time, I haven't seen such a torrent of negative blogs on a new product since Vista, but then no one expected much from microsoft. It appears that Garmin's service department is overwhelmed with the aftermath. I hope that some marketing/sales VPs get canned for overriding the engineering VP. Maybe Garmin has learned a lesson about releasing a product without doing a bit of beta testing; any serious user would have found many of these problems in a day (I did). You are only as good as your last product.........but Garmin now has a wary public who will no longer be willing to buy on reputation, I hope they can recover from this black eye.

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I am a long time Garmin owner and had been the beneficiary of their up to now great products and service. I teach a GPS outdoor user class and have previously recommended their products. This all changed when early-adopter me bought a CO 300 (s/n=yours-8) Mine has had every problem seen in the Groundspeak blogs, including 60CS feature envy, battery life, freezes, lack of useful manual, sticky wheel, clock loss, 90 second boot-ups, lack of Mac support, clumsy GUI, wheel spell,...........Allegedly some of these were fixed with v2.4 firmware, but mine quit completely before I could evaluate. Two and a half weeks ago I sent my failed CO back to Garmin—I’m still waiting. When issuing the RMA they said it would be 10 days for turnaround. Called them yesterday–a very conciliatory young lady informed me that replacement units are on backorder and it will be mid-April before a working CO shipment is available. I then requested my money back–no can do–was told to see the dealer for a refund–but Garmin has my hardware! I checked with web dealers and find that new units are in stock ready to ship– this means that Warranty victims are relegated to the back of the line! They have had my $$ for over 2 months, I have had (marginal) use of the unit for about a week. It will be another month before having another shot at usage. I have a major outing coming up next week and I am out of luck. Maybe the new shipment will have units with corrected hardware? It's hard to imagine that s/w can fix what I have seen. So maybe the wait will be worth it.

 

This dog is clearly not ready for prime time, I haven't seen such a torrent of negative blogs on a new product since Vista, but then no one expected much from microsoft. It appears that Garmin's service department is overwhelmed with the aftermath. I hope that some marketing/sales VPs get canned for overriding the engineering VP. Maybe Garmin has learned a lesson about releasing a product without doing a bit of beta testing; any serious user would have found many of these problems in a day (I did). You are only as good as your last product.........but Garmin now has a wary public who will no longer be willing to buy on reputation, I hope they can recover from this black eye.

 

I'm still buying based on their reputation. even AFTER reading this post, it seems to me, that while turnarounds have been slow (I understand your anger) at LEAST they are making sure to send you out a CORRECT WORKING unit and not juts another broken one out of the bin.

 

Think of it this way, if they sent you junk back...you would have had to return it again... and be in the same boat, but with TWO defunct units fueling your ire.

 

Yes, things aren't perfect. Yes, they should have caught some of this stuff early, Yes, they ARE trying to correct it. I have yet to see ONE person with any of these issue be told it was "user error". So yes I WILL still buy Garmin. I WILL still buy my Colorado. And as the creedo of ALL early adopters, I will hope the kinks get worked out soon.

 

I'm not saying your anger isn't justified, just maybe trying to put a different outlook on your problem.

Edited by CacheARRRS
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