Garmin Colorado 2.54 Beta Firmware release

[+Marky]

Oops, I may have forgot the 2000 cache limit.

 

Even if I have to many Cache, the unit should not hang when I have them on SD card, still a bug.

While it is a bug, I prefer this to it not saying anything and letting me thing that all is well. The optimal solution would be for it to pop up a message telling you that you've exceeded the limit.

 

--Marky

[+Marky]

*dup post*

Edited July 5, 2008 by Marky

[+jotne]

The optimal solution would be for it to pop up a message telling you that you've exceeded the limit.

 

Agree

 

But after I found out that the Nüvi macro makes such a great job that I can have unlimited cache (only limited by size of SD card), it's not such a big deal.

[+ftscgb]

I installed 2.54 this morning, it was very quick to download and install. If anyone is keeping track:

 

1. No problems installing or running with a 4g sandisk sd card in.

2. Prompts for "usb mass storage Y/N" when conneted to pc, or 12v usb adapter in car whether on or off.

3. Prompts for "power off Y/N" when disconnected from 12v power in automotive profile.

4. Compass might be a little more stable than 2.51, hard to tell because I never really used it much due to the jumping around issue. It still jumped from "6 feet to cache" to "14 feet to cache" while I stood still, but I think that's the epe changing.

5. Entering field notes on the device is pretty slick.

6. Seems to take the same amount of time/distance to recalculate as it did before.

 

Basically it seems to work the same as it did before. To me it seems like Garmin did not hurt it with this release and actually made some improvements. I did verify I'm running v2.54.

[+Team Spike]

6. Seems to take the same amount of time/distance to recalculate as it did before.

 

I tried it with my City Select v7 and it recalculates when I am about 100ft - 150ft off course. Works just as well in this regard as my Streetpilot i3 (except the Colorado is a LOT faster).

 

Andy

[+Cacheoholic]

Here's a cache that made my Colorado shutdown last night. I tried to go to it but it caused my 400t on firmware 2.54 to shutdown everytime.

 

I just loaded that cache in my 300 and while it didn't crash, the beginning of the description was garbled. I stripped out the html table that The Selector inserts and everything worked fine.

 

I just checked it on my Colorado 300, firmware 2.54, loaded from the same GSAK data base, one right after another. The 300 doesn’t shutdown. I get distance and time to next but no cache description, web page, logs or hints.

 

Went back to 2.51b firmware in my 400t and this cache views fine (except for the Selector html).

[+The4B's]

Along with having a limitation of 2000 caches and 1000 waypoints which you greatly exceeded, there is also file limit size on the gpx files. While the exact file size is not specifically known it is anywhere between 8-10 megs you might have issues. I have gone as far as a 7 meg file and all is well.

I tried a test with the 2.54 firmware and confirmed that there is still a limit to the file size.

 

I copied 4 gpx files to the Colorado 300. These 4 files were generated by GSAK and were from 4 databases that are geographically sepaarate so there are very few overlapping caches. The files all had distinct file names. The files were created with unlimited logs per cache. There was a total of 1445 caches and 283 child waypoints. The total file size was 18.2 MB for all 4 files. I started the GPSr and none of the caches appeared. None.

 

I recreated the GPX files with unique file names using 5 logs per cache (like a pocket query). There were the same number of caches and child waypoints, only fewer logs per cache. The total size of all 4 files was 7.2 MB. After loading these files all the geocaches appear fine.

 

Long story short ... better stick to gpx file sizes less than 8 or 10 MB. If you're losing caches you might want to check your gpx file sizes.

[+GeekBoy.from.Illinois]

Here is a new one I just saw this afternoon on firmware v2.54... I was out and about (not caching) and had my GPSr with me. When we stopped for lunch I looked at my GPSr and it showed 3 green bars in the battery meter. After lunch, I turned the GPSr back on and got a "low battery" warning showing the short red bar. I went into system setup an changed the battery type from NiMH to Alkaline and the battery meter went back to 3 green bars. After that, I changed the battery type back to NiMH, and the battery meter stayed at 3 green bars... Here's the real funny thing, for the 20+ mile drive home the battery meter would jump from 3 green bars down to 2 green bars, then a little later it would go back to 3 green bars. One thing I noticed was that when it was at 3 green bars, my accuracy would be near 20 feet, and when it went down to 2 green bars, the accuracy would go to 10-13 feet. I also noticed that when it first reported the "low battery" condition, it was reporting a 40 foot accuracy...

 

I'm not exactly sure what to make of this, but it was interesting to see the meter going from 3 bars down to 2 then back up to 3 bars...

Edited July 5, 2008 by GeekBoy.from.Illinois

[+GeekBoy.from.Illinois]

I tried a test with the 2.54 firmware and confirmed that there is still a limit to the file size.

 

I copied 4 gpx files to the Colorado 300. These 4 files were generated by GSAK and were from 4 databases that are geographically sepaarate so there are very few overlapping caches. The files all had distinct file names. The files were created with unlimited logs per cache. There was a total of 1445 caches and 283 child waypoints. The total file size was 18.2 MB for all 4 files. I started the GPSr and none of the caches appeared. None.

 

I recreated the GPX files with unique file names using 5 logs per cache (like a pocket query). There were the same number of caches and child waypoints, only fewer logs per cache. The total size of all 4 files was 7.2 MB. After loading these files all the geocaches appear fine.

 

Long story short ... better stick to gpx file sizes less than 8 or 10 MB. If you're losing caches you might want to check your gpx file sizes.

 

I would caution about using more than 5 logs per cache. When I started using firmware v2.51beta, I started getting a corrupt geocache "database" on my Colorado 300 which would cause it to slow fade the screen to a power off state. I was using 10 logs per cache in my GSAK export. After reading some about this, I changed my GSAK export to limit to 5 logs per cache, and I have not seen this problem since.

[+storm180]

Here is a new one I just saw this afternoon on firmware v2.54... I was out and about (not caching) and had my GPSr with me. When we stopped for lunch I looked at my GPSr and it showed 3 green bars in the battery meter. After lunch, I turned the GPSr back on and got a "low battery" warning showing the short red bar. I went into system setup an changed the battery type from NiMH to Alkaline and the battery meter went back to 3 green bars. After that, I changed the battery type back to NiMH, and the battery meter stayed at 3 green bars... Here's the real funny thing, for the 20+ mile drive home the battery meter would jump from 3 green bars down to 2 green bars, then a little later it would go back to 3 green bars. One thing I noticed was that when it was at 3 green bars, my accuracy would be near 20 feet, and when it went down to 2 green bars, the accuracy would go to 10-13 feet. I also noticed that when it first reported the "low battery" condition, it was reporting a 40 foot accuracy...

 

I'm not exactly sure what to make of this, but it was interesting to see the meter going from 3 bars down to 2 then back up to 3 bars...

 

Thats strange, you should recharge your batteries and then try it again and see what happens. Your accuracy could have been effected if your WAAS is turned on and your running low on battery power. I replace my Powerex 2700Mah every year I have 8 batteries for each of my colorado and my 60csx. I don't have to worry about batteries losing their power or acting funny in the gps because they have been charged and refreshed too many time.

[+twolpert]

Here is a new one I just saw this afternoon on firmware v2.54... I was out and about (not caching) and had my GPSr with me. When we stopped for lunch I looked at my GPSr and it showed 3 green bars in the battery meter. After lunch, I turned the GPSr back on and got a "low battery" warning showing the short red bar. I went into system setup an changed the battery type from NiMH to Alkaline and the battery meter went back to 3 green bars. After that, I changed the battery type back to NiMH, and the battery meter stayed at 3 green bars... Here's the real funny thing, for the 20+ mile drive home the battery meter would jump from 3 green bars down to 2 green bars, then a little later it would go back to 3 green bars.

I don't think this is new (or particularly unexpected) behavior. The number of bars you see is determined by comparing the current battery voltage to a predetermined profile for that battery type. At any given time, the voltage will vary slightly according to the load on the battery. If the voltage is near the threshold between 2 and 3 bars (for example), it isn't unlikely that you will see the unit switch back and forth between 2 and 3.

 

On the other hand, getting one red bar when the batteries are still good is not expected behavior. But I have seen it on my Colorado. I write this off to the remaining problems with power management, which has always been poor on the Colorado.

 

BTW, switching the unit to a battery type which does not match the actual type of battery you are using virtually guarantees an inaccurate battery meter. For example, the voltage profiles for alkaline and NiMH are significantly different. Alkaline drops off much, much faster than NiMH. So you will likely get readings which are on the high side of reality if you use the alkaline profile with NiMH batteries.

 

If you have a charger that allows you to do it, you might want to check to be sure that the two batteries you are using have similar capacities. Your performance is only as good as the worst battery in the pair. And I would not be surprised to find that wildly mismatched batteries have something to do with eratic behavior of the power meter. (I assume you are not using brand new NiMH batteries, or that you have conditioned them if they are new.)

[+g-o-cashers]

I think I ran into another bug today with my 400t running 2.54. Start by going to WhereTo?->Geographic Points (assumes you have a 400t or Topo2008). Then hit Options->Spell... and begin to spell the name of a location and when you've keyed in enough letters to see the name hit Done.

 

It doesn't happen in all cases but the first thing I noticed was that in about 2/3rds of m searches the hourglass was still spinning after I hit Done (this used to stop the search immediately). At this point if I selected a POI from the remaining list the Colorado appeared to freeze. It turned out that if I waited a minute or two it would actually come back to life and end up on the Goto screen. Alternately, I could hit Done and wait for the hourglass to stop spinning before selecting the POI and it would perform the Goto properly. The amount of time for the hourglass to stop spinning was also on the order of 1-2 minutes. I seems that there is a bug in halting the actual search and that the search must fully complete before you can continue.

 

Can anyone reproduce this?

 

GO$Rs

[+northernpenguin]

One thing I've noticed with a couple other Colorado owners around these parts - the wireless transfer on 2.54 seems to be way quicker/more reliable than it was on 2.51. Although we have had it send the same waypoint multiple times in a couple cases.

 

My shutdown on 12V USB disconnect issue seems to be happening less often (in the car).

Compass / performance when less than 10M from the cache seems to be improved as well.

[+DavidMac]

After 2 days of use, I haven't had any power issues (yet!) or other major problems. Although I did notice one minor issue...

 

With 2.51 and earlier, when you log a cache as found, it is immediately marked as found. Now, the custom field notes feature is a great addition (nevermind that I won't ever use it so long as the only way to enter text is with the wheel like on a rotary phone! ), but I've noticed that I now have to click the "Done" button before the cache is actually marked as found. If you go to Log Attempt -> Found it then hit the shortcut button to go back to another screen without pressing Done, the cache status does not change.

[+ryan3295]

I think I found another bug, after deleting the geocache visits file from my colorado my found geocache still show. Marking another geocache as found doesn't add to the geocache visit file on the colorado only, instead it creates a new one. I tried this a few times and get the same result each time. The only way I found to remove the found caches was to do a hard re-set.

Anyone else getting these same results?

--Ryan3295

[+nicolo]

...

Uh oh!

 

I have tried this with the following :

 

1 - GPS "turned off", not searching for satellites ( via "Use with GPS off" in satellite screen )

 

2 - GPSr looking for satellites

 

3 - GPSr plugged into PC, turned off, turn on

 

4 - GPSr with signal lock

 

In all four cases, my 400t will not go into mass storage mode ... I think that I may be gaficked!

 

This the first serious issue since I bought my 400t, which was when back in Jan/Feb, when they came out at REI?

 

edit : I have also tried spanner mode -> mass storage mode with "use with GPS off", as above

Well, I'm holding my breath on this one. It may be a problem with my laptop or usb cable - I am also unable to mount my AT&T Tilt and digital camera as drives on my laptop ... please, please!

Whew!

 

I'm back home and tried connecting with my desktop PC, no problems mounting my 400t as a "disk drive" when the unit has a sat lock. I'll try the other tests when I wake up in a few hours ... I'm sleepy!

[+redhawk44p]

With 2.51 and earlier, when you log a cache as found, it is immediately marked as found. Now, the custom field notes feature is a great addition (nevermind that I won't ever use it so long as the only way to enter text is with the wheel like on a rotary phone! ), but I've noticed that I now have to click the "Done" button before the cache is actually marked as found. If you go to Log Attempt -> Found it then hit the shortcut button to go back to another screen without pressing Done, the cache status does not change.

 

Even when I hit done my 400T does not show the cache as found. I change the symbol manually to found and even that does not always work. I have many of the problems described above. The Colorado is a great concept but it is still very buggy. At this point I have to carry my 60CSX for backup. The 400T is untrustworthy at this time.

[+g-o-cashers]

Even when I hit done my 400T does not show the cache as found. I change the symbol manually to found and even that does not always work. I have many of the problems described above. The Colorado is a great concept but it is still very buggy. At this point I have to carry my 60CSX for backup. The 400T is untrustworthy at this time.

 

If you can change the symbol on your geocaches then you aren't using the Colorado's geocache feature, you are using standard waypoints. Geocaches on the Colorado cannot be changed. Look under Shortcuts->Geocaches, do you see anything there?

 

See http://garmincolorado.wikispaces.com/Geocaching for details on how to load geocaches on the Colorado.

 

 

GO$Rs

[+redhawk44p]

Even when I hit done my 400T does not show the cache as found. I change the symbol manually to found and even that does not always work. I have many of the problems described above. The Colorado is a great concept but it is still very buggy. At this point I have to carry my 60CSX for backup. The 400T is untrustworthy at this time.

 

If you can change the symbol on your geocaches then you aren't using the Colorado's geocache feature, you are using standard waypoints. Geocaches on the Colorado cannot be changed. Look under Shortcuts->Geocaches, do you see anything there?

 

See http://garmincolorado.wikispaces.com/Geocaching for details on how to load geocaches on the Colorado.

 

 

GO$Rs

 

My Geocaches are loaded in the geocaches area on the 400T. I go to Log Attempt -> Found it > Done. It still shows the closed lid icon.

[+g-o-cashers]

I think I found another bug, after deleting the geocache visits file from my colorado my found geocache still show. Marking another geocache as found doesn't add to the geocache visit file on the colorado only, instead it creates a new one. I tried this a few times and get the same result each time. The only way I found to remove the found caches was to do a hard re-set.

Anyone else getting these same results?

--Ryan3295

 

I think what you are describing is normal behavior but here's some information on how geocache_visits.txt works.

 

Think of geocache_visits as a simple log that records every "Log Attempt" you enter. If you delete the file a new one gets created the next time you Log Attempt. It does nothing more than that -- there is no synchronization with geocaches if you remove this file or conversely if you remove a geocache.

 

In order to delete geoaches from the unit you should connect to a computer and remove the gpx files from [drive]:\Garmin\GPX rather than doing a hard reset

 

http://garmincolorado.wikispaces.com/Geocaching goes into more detail.

 

 

GO$Rs

[+Leboyf]

I tried a test with the 2.54 firmware and confirmed that there is still a limit to the file size.

 

I copied 4 gpx files to the Colorado 300. These 4 files were generated by GSAK and were from 4 databases that are geographically sepaarate so there are very few overlapping caches. The files all had distinct file names. The files were created with unlimited logs per cache. There was a total of 1445 caches and 283 child waypoints. The total file size was 18.2 MB for all 4 files. I started the GPSr and none of the caches appeared. None.

 

I recreated the GPX files with unique file names using 5 logs per cache (like a pocket query). There were the same number of caches and child waypoints, only fewer logs per cache. The total size of all 4 files was 7.2 MB. After loading these files all the geocaches appear fine.

 

Long story short ... better stick to gpx file sizes less than 8 or 10 MB. If you're losing caches you might want to check your gpx file sizes.

 

I just updated to 2.54

I had the same problem with 2.51

 

I can view a .gpx file with 2000 caches, unlimited logs (30MB+)

I found a workaround that work for 2.51 (also works 2.54)

 

- Download the .gpx file to the internal memory

- Shutdown the GPSr

- Now this is important : Remove the SD card from the unit for the first boot.

- Boot the unit for the first time. It takes about 30sec. and you see "loading maps" at the bottom of the screen. At the first boot the Unit processes the caches (done only once when new gpx in Unit)

- Put the SD card back

 

The first boot is critical. You must do it without the SC card.

For Subsequent boot, the SD card can be in.

 

Voila

Edited July 6, 2008 by Leboyf

[+metazbad]

Redhawk44p

When you try to enter a cache as found and it will not show, is this after you have selected GOTO first or are you trying to place it into found before GOTO?

[+nicolo]

I tried a test with the 2.54 firmware and confirmed that there is still a limit to the file size.

 

I copied 4 gpx files to the Colorado 300. These 4 files were generated by GSAK and were from 4 databases that are geographically sepaarate so there are very few overlapping caches. The files all had distinct file names. The files were created with unlimited logs per cache. There was a total of 1445 caches and 283 child waypoints. The total file size was 18.2 MB for all 4 files. I started the GPSr and none of the caches appeared. None.

 

I recreated the GPX files with unique file names using 5 logs per cache (like a pocket query). There were the same number of caches and child waypoints, only fewer logs per cache. The total size of all 4 files was 7.2 MB. After loading these files all the geocaches appear fine.

 

Long story short ... better stick to gpx file sizes less than 8 or 10 MB. If you're losing caches you might want to check your gpx file sizes.

 

I just updated to 2.54

I had the same problem with 2.51

 

I can view a .gpx file with 2000 caches, unlimited logs (30MB+)

I found a workaround that work for 2.51 (also works 2.54)

 

- Download the .gpx file to the internal memory

- Shutdown the GPSr

- Now this is important : Remove the SD card from the unit for the first boot.

- Boot the unit for the first time. It takes about 30sec. and you see "loading maps" at the bottom of the screen. At the first boot the Unit processes the caches (done only once when new gpx in Unit)

- Put the SD card back

 

The first boot is critical. You must do it without the SC card.

For Subsequent boot, the SD card can be in.

 

Voila

Did you find that this problem existed using the 2.54 firmware? Is that why you tried this workaround?

 

I have loaded a 15mb ( 1017 caches, not limit on logs ) file on my 400t with 2.54 firmware and, while I can't confirm that any caches are missing, it isn't the case that no caches appear.

Edited July 6, 2008 by nicolo

[+redhawk44p]

Redhawk44p

When you try to enter a cache as found and it will not show, is this after you have selected GOTO first or are you trying to place it into found before GOTO?

 

I select GOTO from the geocache list.

[+Tequila]

I have had two incidents with 2.54 where I turned down a parallel street and auto-routing never detected it. The streets were probably 300 meters (depth of two properties) apart.

 

Just got CN NT 2009 and never tried it on 2.51. So I am not sure if it is 2.54 related. But it is disconcerting.

[+GeekBoy.from.Illinois]

Today I had the opportunity to confirm that the "show hints" bug still exists in the v2.54 beta firmware. I a cache is marked found, then later marked unattempted, the option of displaying the hint is not available.

[+xshooter]

I have had two incidents with 2.54 where I turned down a parallel street and auto-routing never detected it. The streets were probably 300 meters (depth of two properties) apart.

 

Just got CN NT 2009 and never tried it on 2.51. So I am not sure if it is 2.54 related. But it is disconcerting.

 

My 2610 does the same thing. It has something to do with "the lock on road". The unit figures that 300m is not far enough off route to recalculate.

 

shooter

[+metazbad]

Make sure when you select the GOTO that the unit is actually seeking the cache and then select found. I may be fishing but it is a thought.

[knowschad]

More BIG bugs.

 

Adding 6000 cache (20 files 34MB) to SD card (Garmin\gpx folder) and Colorado will not boot.

I don't see how this is a bug - there's a 2000 cache limit for the unit, so I wouldn't expect that a 6000 cache file would work.

 

The behavior is the bug, not the limit. Good programming will give notice of the reason for a failure and allow for a graceful exit. If it won't boot, then its not counting the caches before it tries to load them. Its a bug. Any good QA person will throw unreasonable limits at the software to see how it handles them.

[+Tequila]

Two more problems:

 

(1) Can't restore a Wherigo cartridge. Unit hangs saying "restoring cartridge.....". I have been able to restore cartridges in 2.51

 

(2) Unit powers off if you "Go To" a recent find that is a POI that no longer exists. Last night I updated my POI's and deleted my house. Duh. Anyway, today when I did Go To/Recent Finds/Home the unit just powers down. At the least it should give an error message.

[+g-o-cashers]

Yep, the restoring cartridge issue looks new. I just tried restoring one that I had played in 2.51 and I tried starting a new game under 2.54, quitting and restarting and it did the same thing. Seems to be a generic issue.

 

The second issue has been around since at least 2.4, its in the Issues List and I've reported to Garmin -- no word if they plan to fix it or not.

 

GO$Rs

[raxxal]

I have had two incidents with 2.54 where I turned down a parallel street and auto-routing never detected it. The streets were probably 300 meters (depth of two properties) apart.

 

Just got CN NT 2009 and never tried it on 2.51. So I am not sure if it is 2.54 related. But it is disconcerting.

It happened with the 2.51, I was expecting this to be fixed. Take a look a this picture. It's really bad. This thing will lost you very quick!

[+Team Spike]

It happened with the 2.51, I was expecting this to be fixed. Take a look a this picture. It's really bad. This thing will lost you very quick!

 

My streetpilot i3 does the same think your screenshot shows. But still I've managed to drive 4000 miles in unknown areas without a problem. I did this by using a combination of looking at the map in additional to the voice prompts and applying common sense.

 

Incidentally I tested a friend's Magellan Roadmate side by side with my Streetpilot i3 and the result was scary. The Magellan failed to give accurate distance and time information to two out of three locations I tested.

 

Andy

[monstergolf]

All, just spoke with tech support regarding the problem with deleting waypoints and geocaches. The agent was unaware of the problems and did not have the beta software loaded on his CO. He did that and was able to reproduce the problem. He indicated he would inform his supervisor right away. Was not able to provide a time frame for a fix though.

[+The4B's]

Did you find that this problem existed using the 2.54 firmware? Is that why you tried this workaround?

 

I have loaded a 15mb ( 1017 caches, not limit on logs ) file on my 400t with 2.54 firmware and, while I can't confirm that any caches are missing, it isn't the case that no caches appear.

I had the issue of disappearing caches with firmware 2.51. But it didn't happen all the time.

 

I wondered at one point if it was connected to loading waypoints at the same time. Sometimes when I copied gpx files and sent waypoints to the GPSr with Mapsource in the same session caches would disappear but the child waypoints and other waypoints were always there. I think I've narrowed it down to gpx file size but I can't say for sure that it isn't related to waypoints loading at the same time.

 

Do you have child waypoints in your gpx file?

[+GeekBoy.from.Illinois]

(2) Unit powers off if you "Go To" a recent find that is a POI that no longer exists. Last night I updated my POI's and deleted my house. Duh. Anyway, today when I did Go To/Recent Finds/Home the unit just powers down. At the least it should give an error message.

 

I had this problem with firmware v2.51 beta, but I thought it was related to my corrupt geocache "database".

[+nicolo]

Did you find that this problem existed using the 2.54 firmware? Is that why you tried this workaround?

 

I have loaded a 15mb ( 1017 caches, not limit on logs ) file on my 400t with 2.54 firmware and, while I can't confirm that any caches are missing, it isn't the case that no caches appear.

I had the issue of disappearing caches with firmware 2.51. But it didn't happen all the time.

 

I wondered at one point if it was connected to loading waypoints at the same time. Sometimes when I copied gpx files and sent waypoints to the GPSr with Mapsource in the same session caches would disappear but the child waypoints and other waypoints were always there. I think I've narrowed it down to gpx file size but I can't say for sure that it isn't related to waypoints loading at the same time.

 

Do you have child waypoints in your gpx file?

I don't load child waypoints.

[+g-o-cashers]

There seems to be a serious problem in 2.54 that is affecting users who use Cyrillic characters.

 

The problem goes like this:

 

- Create a waypoint with name using only Latin characters

- Edit the name of the waypoint to add Cyrillic characters (not clear if it is specific characters or not)

- Connect the Colorado to computer in mass storage mode

- The unit will freeze at some point during the connection process

- Subsequent power on's hang at the Garmin logo

 

It might be that uploading waypoints with Cyrillic characters in the name is all that it takes, still trying to narrow it down.

 

The only recovery that seems to work is the procedure described in M12 of this section of the FAQ:

 

http://garmincolorado.wikispaces.com/Miscellaneous

 

It is being discussed on the wiki here:

 

http://garmincolorado.wikispaces.com/messa...es+List/4819961

http://garmincolorado.wikispaces.com/messa...ew/home/4826215

 

GO$Rs

[+northernpenguin]

 

It might be that uploading waypoints with Cyrillic characters in the name is all that it takes, still trying to narrow it down.

 

The only recovery that seems to work is the procedure described in M12 of this section of the FAQ:

 

http://garmincolorado.wikispaces.com/Miscellaneous

 

Yikes! Suddenly want a GSAK macro that nukes all Cyrillic characters from my GSAK database, just in case....

[tceaves]

Thank you all for posting comments (good and things that need to improve) - I follow the Colorado threads and your posts are much appreciated. I think Garmin is listening to you guys based on the .54 release. Maybe one more firmware release and I'll be comfortable enough to replace my Vista HCx with the Colorado 300. I really want one but I don't want to adopt too early.

Edited July 8, 2008 by tceaves

[+g-o-cashers]

 

It might be that uploading waypoints with Cyrillic characters in the name is all that it takes, still trying to narrow it down.

 

The only recovery that seems to work is the procedure described in M12 of this section of the FAQ:

 

http://garmincolorado.wikispaces.com/Miscellaneous

 

Yikes! Suddenly want a GSAK macro that nukes all Cyrillic characters from my GSAK database, just in case....

 

If the problem is with just waypoints (since geocaches don't get uploaded into current.gpx) then avoiding child waypoints would be one easy workaround.

 

GO$Rs

[+Marky]

I think I found another bug, after deleting the geocache visits file from my colorado my found geocache still show. Marking another geocache as found doesn't add to the geocache visit file on the colorado only, instead it creates a new one. I tried this a few times and get the same result each time. The only way I found to remove the found caches was to do a hard re-set.

Anyone else getting these same results?

--Ryan3295

One possible thing is that if you are on a Mac, you have to make sure you empty your trash after deleting a file. I've seen the Colorado still access a file even though it has been put in the trash.

 

--Marky

[+g-o-cashers]

* Improved backlight behavior

 

I had a set of low batteries in the unit today so I cranked up the backlight to max and let the unit sit. I watched the battery go from 3 bars until it shut off and all I saw was a single warning about the battery being low when it went to one red bar. The backlight was never dimmed and was still on full when it shut off.

 

You'll need Setup->Display-Backlight Limiting set to Off in order for this to work.

 

GO$Rs

[raxxal]

Here in the UK we have 12,000 speed cameras.

 

 

I am lost here. The Colorado did not have proximity alerts before. Does it have now?

 

* Corrected behavior of proximity alarms in custom points of interest. <--- I guess they fixed that. I have to try it.

Edited July 9, 2008 by raxxal

[strumble]

 

I am lost here. The Colorado did not have proximity alerts before. Does it have now?

 

Yes as of the new 2.54 update

[raxxal]

 

I am lost here. The Colorado did not have proximity alerts before. Does it have now?

 

Yes as of the new 2.54 update

 

Cool! I will try it out very soon.

[+DavidMac]

 

I am lost here. The Colorado did not have proximity alerts before. Does it have now?

 

* Corrected behavior of proximity alarms in custom points of interest. <--- I guess they fixed that. I have to try it.

 

Yes, and it works great! When you run the POI loader, take a look at the advanced options. You can set the distance at which the unit will warn you of an upcoming camera, as well as the speed at which the warning will be triggered (so that if you pass a camera in a 60 MPH zone, you will not get a warning if you are traveling far below the speed limit, I think, but I haven't tested it).

 

Thankfully we don't have these cameras within 50 miles of my home (at least not yet!). I found out about this feature when I started getting "8 MPH speed limit" warnings complete with continuous beeping sound and a red message box. I had loaded a list of my previous finds as a POI several months ago, and the Garmin POI loader for Mac had set the resulting file to give speed alerts for some reason.

[+Nozzletime]

"Added ability to log a comment with geocaching Field Notes"

 

Is it just me or is there no decimal point in the scroll wheel when I try to type in the new comment part of a geocache found.

[+XenoPuTtSs]

"Added ability to log a comment with geocaching Field Notes"

 

Is it just me or is there no decimal point in the scroll wheel when I try to type in the new comment part of a geocache found.

 

I use the comment field not to leave a detailed message but as a reminder of what happened at that cache. If you do alot of caches in a day, or you only update your logs every week or so, the notes can be very helpful to job your memory.

[+Nozzletime]

"Added ability to log a comment with geocaching Field Notes"

 

Is it just me or is there no decimal point in the scroll wheel when I try to type in the new comment part of a geocache found.

 

I use the comment field not to leave a detailed message but as a reminder of what happened at that cache. If you do alot of caches in a day, or you only update your logs every week or so, the notes can be very helpful to job your memory.

 

I was actually trying to type in partial coordinates, for a mystery cache I was doing.