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Colorado Barometer not recording data during Power Off


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Howdy All!

 

The failure of "SOME" Colorado units to record barometric data when SAVE ALWAYS is selected and the unit is powered OFF has been confirmed by a Garmin engineer as a hardware failure. This failure requires replacement of the unit. The good news: NOT ALL UNITS ARE AFFECTED BY THIS PROBLEM. :anitongue:

 

To test for this problem select SAVE ALWAYS in the altimeter set-up page, Turn the unit off overnight, turn the unit on in the morning. If your Unit is working correctly you should see dynamic data on the barometer graph spanning the time you had your unit powered off. If your unit has this problem you will see a linear line (no peaks or valleys) between the point taken at power off and the point taken upon powering up in the morning.

 

This was the fourth time calling over this particular issue. :laughing:

 

Call#

1) Hard Reset the unit. Problem persisted.

2) Set up a testing period with engineers with units at Garmin with various firmware and models.

3) Confusion. Someone remembered hearing about the problem. Promised a call back. Never happened.

4) Today! Phone technician conferenced with an engineer confirming a hardware problem requiring replacement.

 

I have (had) a Colorado300 with Firmware 2.54.

 

I hope this information helps.

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Howdy All!

 

The failure of "SOME" Colorado units to record barometric data when SAVE ALWAYS is selected and the unit is powered OFF has been confirmed by a Garmin engineer as a hardware failure. This failure requires replacement of the unit. The good news: NOT ALL UNITS ARE AFFECTED BY THIS PROBLEM. :anitongue:

 

To test for this problem select SAVE ALWAYS in the altimeter set-up page, Turn the unit off overnight, turn the unit on in the morning. If your Unit is working correctly you should see dynamic data on the barometer graph spanning the time you had your unit powered off. If your unit has this problem you will see a linear line (no peaks or valleys) between the point taken at power off and the point taken upon powering up in the morning.

 

This was the fourth time calling over this particular issue. :anicute:

 

Call#

1) Hard Reset the unit. Problem persisted.

2) Set up a testing period with engineers with units at Garmin with various firmware and models.

3) Confusion. Someone remembered hearing about the problem. Promised a call back. Never happened.

4) Today! Phone technician conferenced with an engineer confirming a hardware problem requiring replacement.

 

I have (had) a Colorado300 with Firmware 2.54.

 

I hope this information helps.

 

Yes, this is happening with my Colorado 400T. I have the firmware 2.54 installed. I will be calling Garming this coming week. I was expecting this to be fixed with the new firmware, but if this is a hardware issue, no firmware will ever fix this problem! :laughing:

 

By the way, this issue was not listed as fixed or improved with the new firmware.

Edited by raxxal
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Why is this feature important?

 

I'll give you an example. I used to spend almost every single day of the summer in the field using a GPS to navigate to specific locations and to record data. I live in Montana where the weather has trends but changes quickly. When I had the old Vista C that recorded barometric data over night, I would always check the data in the morning to see what was happening as far as trends. You could usually predict what the weather would be for at least half the day depending on the trend (upwards or downwards) recorded overnight. I would know to pack a rainsuit that morning, or whether I could leave it behind to save weight/space in my pack.

 

One situation had us held up in our tents for two days at 9,000 feet and 20+ miles from a road in the Bob Marshall. It was because of a weather system that blew in and brought hard rain/wet snow. We were going to pack up and call the week a wash but It came down to a descision on when/if the weather was going to improve. Observing the trends I noticed an increase in pressure even though the clouds and precipitation showed no signs of improvement. The trend was sharply upward overnight and we decided to base our decision on this info. The barometer was right, three hours later the weather lifted and we could continue our field work after two days stuck in our tents. In this case, checking trend in the morning halped us tremendously in our decision and saved us from hiking out, getting halfway to our cars as the sun would have come out (prompting us to turn back around and hike back).

 

Having an overnight trend is very useful to those who spend alot of time on overnight hiking/backpacking trips.

Edited by yogazoo
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Thanks for that explanation. Obviously, the ultimate is satellite animation, no small trick 20-miles into the Bob Marshall.

 

What impact on battery life does the feature impose?

 

I turned on that feature on my Colorado 300 about 30 hours ago. When I enabled it, my unit was right at the border between 2 & 3 full green bars. I just checked my unit and it is still a solid 2 full green bars, and I used my GPSr a few short times off the external power, so I would say that the drain is rather minor.

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Thanks for that explanation. Obviously, the ultimate is satellite animation, no small trick 20-miles into the Bob Marshall.

 

What impact on battery life does the feature impose?

 

I turned on that feature on my Colorado 300 about 30 hours ago. When I enabled it, my unit was right at the border between 2 & 3 full green bars. I just checked my unit and it is still a solid 2 full green bars, and I used my GPSr a few short times off the external power, so I would say that the drain is rather minor.

 

I have a 400t and my pressure trending works great. Looks like a hot clear day tomorrow. Now if we can just get those fires out...

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Thanks for that explanation. Obviously, the ultimate is satellite animation, no small trick 20-miles into the Bob Marshall.

 

What impact on battery life does the feature impose?

 

I turned on that feature on my Colorado 300 about 30 hours ago. When I enabled it, my unit was right at the border between 2 & 3 full green bars. I just checked my unit and it is still a solid 2 full green bars, and I used my GPSr a few short times off the external power, so I would say that the drain is rather minor.

 

I have a 400t and my pressure trending works great. Looks like a hot clear day tomorrow. Now if we can just get those fires out...

 

My Colorado's barometer is doing a quiky thing. I have trending set to save always, but when the unit is off the barometer will start trending towards 0 inHg overnight before reseting to the current pressure. Has anyone experienced this? I can do a hard reset, but I was just checking to see if it's worth the trouble or should I be contacting Garmin.

 

Barometers are a nice feature to have to see what kind of weather might be rolling in within the next 24-48 hours.

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My Colorado's barometer is doing a quiky thing. I have trending set to save always, but when the unit is off the barometer will start trending towards 0 inHg overnight before reseting to the current pressure. Has anyone experienced this?

Now that you mention this, Yes, my 300 w/v.2.54 beta is doing the same thing. It's like it is smoothing out the trend dropping any variations. Either that or just drawing a straight line between the current and last known data, hmmm.

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My Colorado's barometer is doing a quiky thing. I have trending set to save always, but when the unit is off the barometer will start trending towards 0 inHg overnight before reseting to the current pressure. Has anyone experienced this?

Now that you mention this, Yes, my 300 w/v.2.54 beta is doing the same thing. It's like it is smoothing out the trend dropping any variations. Either that or just drawing a straight line between the current and last known data, hmmm.

 

Wonder if this is a software or hardware issue? It sounds like it might be software. Since it's still beta, it's hard to tell. Yeah, when it's off it will report pressures decreasing all night and I think it even recorded a negative value at one point. Once the unit is powered on it will report the current barometer, although it seems like it's about .2 inHg too high. It would be nice to be able to calibrate it. On my Explorist 600, the barometer is always within .01 inHg, which is pretty impressive for a piece of equipment not designed specifically for weather.

Edited by ryguyMN
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Wonder if this is a software or hardware issue? It sounds like it might be software.

 

Dude, did you not read the Topic of this thread? :)

 

Garmin confirmed a HARDWARE ISSUE requiring unit replacement.

 

Not so fast. It's a similar issue involving the barometer. For my issue, the unit is charting the pressure, albeit not the correct one. The issue in question from the original poster, is no plotting at all if I understand correct. After doing some more testing, the issue appears to correct itself after the unit has been powered on 5-10 minutes and is taking more readings. You just can't power on the unit and look at past readings while it was off. It's strange to say the least, but I'm convinced it's a software plotting issue.

Edited by ryguyMN
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I sent this request to Garmin: "With barometer set to save always, the plot takes a steady dive to zero overnight"

 

Garmin Support's solution, and I quote:

 

"Thank you for contacting Garmin International. I'll be glad to help you,

make sure you do not have the barometer set to save always, as this will

try to record when the unit is off as well giving you poor result

sometimes."

 

I must be misunderstanding something in the purpose of "save always"

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Garmin Support's solution, and I quote:

 

"Thank you for contacting Garmin International. I'll be glad to help you,

make sure you do not have the barometer set to save always, as this will

try to record when the unit is off as well giving you poor result

sometimes."

 

:lol::huh::huh:;)

 

Gotta love Garmin tech support. In the early days of the Colorado they seemed to have the better techs field the questions. Now that they have moved on it seems like, when I call them, I'm talking to a popsicle stick. The above quote is a perfect example.

Edited by yogazoo
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My question to the Colorado Crowd is this; Are there people who have a perfectly working, dynamically recording barometer during power off????? Is anyones working? Could anyone indulge us with a screenshot with arrows that point to when you turned the unit off and then when you turned it back on again?

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I wish I could. Mine does not record during off periods. When I turn my 300 on after overnight or between sessions it connects a straight line from whence it ended and when I turn it back on. Wierd thing though, I saw it flash at about 15 min intervals one night on my bedside table! Firgured it was recording then?

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Let me get this straight.

 

You have a GPS and you keep it in your cars glove compartment. You want to know your altitude during the 16 hours your car is sitting in your driveway every night?

 

Of you do not use your GPS for 2 weeks and it's sitting on your desk, you want to know the altitude of your house every second or whatever interval that the barometer records a point?

 

I think you are misreading the intent of SAVE ALWAYS, and interpreting it as ALWAYS ON. For that you have to have your GPS ON.

 

I for one wouldn't want the massive battery drain that a sensor uses to constantly discharge my battery even when I'm not using my GPS.

 

P.S. And suppose that you are driving all over the mountains and you have your GPS off, if you are like me you do not have your GPS on all the time. In this situation, if the barometer is supposed to record points while it is off, you have absolutely no idea what that graph is of, since your altitude is all over the place. I would say that Garmin should record a coordinate every second when the GPS is OFF too, but that and the barometer thing is rediculous. Keep your GPS on if you want to record something on your GPS.

Edited by trainlove
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Let me get this straight.

 

You have a GPS and you keep it in your cars glove compartment. You want to know your altitude during the 16 hours your car is sitting in your driveway every night?

 

Of you do not use your GPS for 2 weeks and it's sitting on your desk, you want to know the altitude of your house every second or whatever interval that the barometer records a point?

 

I think you are misreading the intent of SAVE ALWAYS, and interpreting it as ALWAYS ON. For that you have to have your GPS ON.

 

I for one wouldn't want the massive battery drain that a sensor uses to constantly discharge my battery even when I'm not using my GPS.

 

P.S. And suppose that you are driving all over the mountains and you have your GPS off, if you are like me you do not have your GPS on all the time. In this situation, if the barometer is supposed to record points while it is off, you have absolutely no idea what that graph is of, since your altitude is all over the place. I would say that Garmin should record a coordinate every second when the GPS is OFF too, but that and the barometer thing is rediculous. Keep your GPS on if you want to record something on your GPS.

 

You may not have read post number 4 above; and you probably don't need a barometer at all, or want one. Others may. Some would just like to have a function work as designed.

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You may not have read post number 4 above; and you probably don't need a barometer at all, or want one. Others may. Some would just like to have a function work as designed.

 

I have read post #4, I've read all the posts.

As a designer of electronic equipment myself, I don't see Garmin being dumb enough to have actually designed that barometer as described. But I'm wrong and apparently Garmin has hired some Magellan designers, LOL.

 

I have addressed his issue by stating in my post above, that if he wants to record the barometric points, then he should keep his GPS ON all the time. That's what I would do if I had a barometer.

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The intent of the function is to record barometric pressure continuously, even with the unit off. This provides a low battery usage method for tracking weather changes. Extremely helpful in the wilderness.

 

If the unit were left "on", the battery would be drained quickly as that powers the screen and GPS receiver.

 

All previous barometer equipped Garmin handhelds have done this and people just want it to work correctly on these units.

 

As stated, YOU do not have a use for it. Other people do.

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Trainlove has a wierd take on this issue. IMO. He sounds like he's annoyed with anyone who expects the feature to work as stated in the PDF manual available online that CLEARLY DESCRIBES THE FUNCTION OF "SAVE ALWAYS". :anitongue:

 

And I quote, Page 32 of the Garmin Manual

 

"PRESSURE TRENDING - selct Save Always to record pressure data every 15 minutes, even when the Colorado is turned off."

 

I know of alot of people who use this function. It's very useful to have the ability to record data while the GPS is OFF, saving batteries.

 

The joke about Magellan designers was a real knee slapper! :laughing:

Edited by yogazoo
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UPDATE

 

I have received my replacement unit from Garmin with a serial number up in the 55*** range and THE UNIT STILL DOES NOT RECORD PRESSURE DATA WHEN POWERED OFF.

 

In light of this development, I now do not believe anyone has a unit that records dynamic data when powered off and I am challenging EVERYONE who claims to have a working unit to post some screenshots of overnight trend data.

 

This issue is a potentially huge one for Garmin. The Colorado manual is rather vague in many respects but to this feature it is really quite specific (see above post).

 

I am calling Garmin this morning about this issue, again (6th time). We wil see where this goes but as far as I'm concerned, I'm in the drivers seat. They clearly advertised a feature when they began selling the units back in January that does not work, has never worked. I believe there are legal protections against this type of thing.

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The joke about Magellan designers was a real knee slapper! :laughing:

 

I can't criticize Magellan for a lack of vision. They did market a touch screen handheld way back when, and also a road/trail hybrid. They have just had trouble getting the bugs out. Wait...Garmin is having some of the same trouble. Technology is spurred on by new ideas. I do like my Colorado. I do not doubt that they will be successful in making things work soon, and then dazzle us with more gizmos in the future.

 

In the meantime, this is the latest suggestion from Garmin Tech to remedy the non-plotting barometer in "save always" mode when the power is off:

 

"Thank you for contacting Garmin International.

 

I will be happy to assist you. I would recommend you to calibrate the

Altimeter before you shut the unit off for the night and also update

your software to 2.60. You can click the link below to download the

software update for your 400T. If you have any other questions please

contact us."

 

I hope this helps someone else.

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Thank you for contacting Garmin International.

 

I will be happy to assist you. I would recommend you to calibrate the

Altimeter before you shut the unit off for the night and also update

your software to 2.60. You can click the link below to download the

software update for your 400T. If you have any other questions please

contact us."

 

I hope this helps someone else.

 

Been there, done that, still does not work.

 

I would like to add that Garmin has had me do everything this side of the sun to get this feature to work (soft resets, hard resets, battery replacement, unit replacement, firmware upgrades, firmware downgrades) and still it does not work as stated on page 32 of the online PDF manual.

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I contacted Garmin this morning and their tune took a 180 since two weeks ago. They told me that it IS NOT AN ISSUE. They said that the units they tested worked.

 

Well, well, thats quite a different tune than two weeks ago when I was told it was a hardware issue and told to send the unit back for replacement.

 

 

My question is; where can people go from here? My Barometer never recorded data when turned off from day one (January) regardless of which of the four units I had at the time.

 

It says that this feature is supposed to work in the Colorado manual on page 32. The feature does not work. Garmin deny's any problem(depending on the day). What option(s) are left? Who can I call? Or write?

 

This feature was a factor in my descision to purchase the Colorado 300.

 

According to Garmin, anyone who is experiencing this problem is lying (they told me today it wasn't a problem). I'm not lying. I don't believe the others on this forum are lying either.

Edited by yogazoo
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Thanks Yogazoo. I've tried 2.6 but haven't tried the calibration before shut-off. I wasn't too hopeful that would make it start plotting actual readings. I'm more interested in obtaining a reliable trend than in precision. I'll humor the techs for a while longer, though.

Edited by jws2go
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Is it just that the unit does record a reading every 15 minutes, but when you turn it on that it does not graph it?

Perhaps the data exists but the graphing is what's not working. There might be a way to download the data and import it into excel or something.

But of course who's going to have a laptop with them up in the mountains.

If they 'advertise' a feature and that feature does not work then they are exactly like Magellan corp as described on my web page. http://ray.jerome.jobs.googlepages.com/majormagellanproblem

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Is it just that the unit does record a reading every 15 minutes, but when you turn it on that it does not graph it?

Perhaps the data exists but the graphing is what's not working. There might be a way to download the data and import it into excel or something.

But of course who's going to have a laptop with them up in the mountains.

If they 'advertise' a feature and that feature does not work then they are exactly like Magellan corp as described on my web page. http://ray.jerome.jobs.googlepages.com/majormagellanproblem

Trainlove, I don't know if mine takes a reading during power-off, but if so it sure doesn't plot it when I turn it back on..

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Trainlove, I don't know if mine takes a reading during power-off, but if so it sure doesn't plot it when I turn it back on..

 

Then how is that feature supposed to work?

How do you see any trend of the data that they say is supposed to be recorded while the unit is off?

How can the people who have responded to this post state anything like, the pressure trends down to 0 overnight?

 

Rhetorical question, I think you are just re-stating that the featiure does not work at all, right?

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The Colorado is taking readings, it's just not displaying the plotting properly upon power on. I'll bet dollars to donuts it's a software issue. If you change the x-axis scale using the left and right keys inside the rocker, you can determine over 3/6/12 hours if your unit has been plotting. After the unit takes it's first reading 15 minutes after power on, the plotting seems to correct itself on the 45 minute scale.

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The blinking screen when powered off indicates something. You may be right, the barometer is probably waking up and doing something. It's either not taking a reading altogether or simply doesn't log the data like you've said.

 

We'll see, I plan on calling Garmin every day until they provide me with some type of satisfactory resolution.Don't worry, I'll mention the handful of other issues that bug me too.

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I tested my CO to see if by some magical change I had one that worked. Nada. Just a steady falling line. I'd love to do anything if it would help... bugging Garmin with phone calls? I just want it to work. Sounds like, from your experience, they are no longer replacing units for this problem?

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Nah, I'd call them anyway. They did offer to replace my recently replaced unit but I told them to forget it since I had just recieved the unit yesterday!

 

Calling them does make a difference. If nothing else you could get a new unit out of the deal. If enough people call them they may wake up (I'm sure they're aware, they just aren't letting on for some reason.).

 

Also, If I were a betting man, I'd say that NO-ONE has a working unit in this respect. I have yet to see proof of operation (screenshots) that confirm any unit has ever plotted pressure data when powered off. I have only heard rumors from folks in other forums that their units worked. I doubt very much that they did.

Edited by yogazoo
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I tested my CO to see if by some magical change I had one that worked. Nada. Just a steady falling line. I'd love to do anything if it would help... bugging Garmin with phone calls? I just want it to work. Sounds like, from your experience, they are no longer replacing units for this problem?

 

That's what I get too...a steady falling line when it's off. It's like when I have it on for a while and scroll back looking at history it seems to correct itself and also playing around with the time scale (x-axis). I can't quite pinpoint when the correction occurs...still working on it.

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When you say "Corrects itself" you mean that it starts recording dynamic data when the power is back on right? I have never had the unit go back and add all of the data points over the time period when it was off.

 

It corrects itself almost immediately upon power up does it not? As soon as it gets it's frst auto-calibration?

Edited by yogazoo
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Mine works. When powered off it tracks the pressure list is should. Sometimes when I turn it on it shows the steady dropping line for about 12-15 hours before. If I leave it alone in about 15 minutes its like it refreshes and the info is shown correctly. cant explain why but it does self correct and it does track when its off.

 

FYI this unit is a replacement for one that did not save while powered off.

 

0cd6d183-632a-455b-a88e-03e5eff0de0d.jpg

This is when I started the unit with fresh batteries and set it to save. Unit was then turned off and left alone

 

db994196-1048-4ec2-a4ba-30911e8eaa56.jpg

This is when I powered it back on and looked. It had saved the pressures and displayed them correctly.

 

I set the display to show the whole range I had saved. Normally I set the hrs at 3.

 

Sorry those that dont't believe it works but it does. :D

Edited by Michael
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A new curiosity (it may be normal) reared its head today. On my drive to work this morning, with power on, the elevation plot maintained a blank screen. Maybe the power wasn't on long enough. Its only a 30 min drive in the mountains. Does anyone know how frequently the elevation plot take a reading with the power on?

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A new curiosity (it may be normal) reared its head today. On my drive to work this morning, with power on, the elevation plot maintained a blank screen. Maybe the power wasn't on long enough. Its only a 30 min drive in the mountains. Does anyone know how frequently the elevation plot take a reading with the power on?

 

Make sure you have your track log on?

 

My understanding is that it plots a point everytime your track log records a point.

Edited by yogazoo
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Mine works. When powered off it tracks the pressure list is should. Sometimes when I turn it on it shows the steady dropping line for about 12-15 hours before. If I leave it alone in about 15 minutes its like it refreshes and the info is shown correctly. cant explain why but it does self correct and it does track when its off.

 

FYI this unit is a replacement for one that did not save while powered off.

 

This is when I started the unit with fresh batteries and set it to save. Unit was then turned off and left alone

 

This is when I powered it back on and looked. It had saved the pressures and displayed them correctly.

 

I set the display to show the whole range I had saved. Normally I set the hrs at 3.

 

Sorry those that dont't believe it works but it does. :laughing:

 

Michael,

 

What I'm seeing is the same straight line in your record that indicates it actually does not work!

 

So, when the unit was turned off, the pressure climbed steadily and at the same rate for 16Hrs? No variation? Are you sure? That isn't normal no matter where you live. Your screen looks pretty similar to mine, no peaks and valleys, no subtle drops or increases for 16 Hrs? Do you know how rare that would be?

Sorry, your screen shots indicate that it still doesn't work unless there is something I'm missing.

 

You obviously turned the unit back on briefly around the 16hr mark, allowing the data line to "anchor". From that point until you turned the unit on near the end (roughly 8 hours), you have the same linear line, only this time, because the pressure is higher at the end point, the line has an increased slope (basically drawn from the last logged point to the new pressure point).

 

I would like to add that when you leave your unit on and plot the barometer, you will see all kinds of variation, little peaks and valleys that can be quite variable. It should look like a mini mountain range, in a way. It would be quite an anomoly to have a linear increase or decreas in barometric pressure over a 16 hour period. Sorry, your screenshots are actually a perfect depiction of how the "save always" function does NOT work.

 

This also indicates to me where the reports of working "Save Always" units come from. Many people think that just because there is a green line that it's working. I'm now convinced entirely that there are no units that operate properly in this respect.

Edited by yogazoo
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The ultimate test that would show graphically that the Colorado does not record barometric data when powered off would be:

 

Get a 60cs (not csx) and a Colorado. Set them to "Save Always", let them sit side by side overnight, and compare the barometer plots in the morning. The older 60CS's operated flawlessly in this respect, I owned one and was always impressed with the detailed (and variable) plots I would get in the morning. In the morning, after you run this test, you would see a straight line on the Colorado and a variable line on the 60CS. The 60 would actually log a data point and plot the actual pressure on the graph whereas the Colorado doesn't. The Colorado draws a linear line from the last known data point (when you turned it off) to the current data point when you power up.

 

If anyone could do this and post screen shots we could show everyone (most importantly Garmin) that the "Save Always" function does not work on the Colorado series. Unfortunately I don't own an old 60CS. But I do know a friend who does... Hmmmm.

Edited by yogazoo
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A new curiosity (it may be normal) reared its head today. On my drive to work this morning, with power on, the elevation plot maintained a blank screen. Maybe the power wasn't on long enough. Its only a 30 min drive in the mountains. Does anyone know how frequently the elevation plot take a reading with the power on?

 

Make sure you have your track log on?

 

My understanding is that it plots a point everytime your track log records a point.

Yep, track log was off. Thanks!

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Mine works. When powered off it tracks the pressure list is should. Sometimes when I turn it on it shows the steady dropping line for about 12-15 hours before. If I leave it alone in about 15 minutes its like it refreshes and the info is shown correctly. cant explain why but it does self correct and it does track when its off.

 

FYI this unit is a replacement for one that did not save while powered off.

 

0cd6d183-632a-455b-a88e-03e5eff0de0d.jpg

This is when I started the unit with fresh batteries and set it to save. Unit was then turned off and left alone

 

db994196-1048-4ec2-a4ba-30911e8eaa56.jpg

This is when I powered it back on and looked. It had saved the pressures and displayed them correctly.

 

I set the display to show the whole range I had saved. Normally I set the hrs at 3.

 

Sorry those that dont't believe it works but it does. :laughing:

 

That my exact same phenomenon. There is some kind of refresh that takes place that corrects the trending downward plotting. I thought maybe it was because I played around with it, but now I've come to the conclusion it's just the refresh that occurs. The software needs to be fixed for faster refreshes.

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I've been playing with this more. What appears to be going on is that the data is saved in the tracklog. The tracklog won't record a point unless there is a GPS fix. This EXACT same problem was present in the 60Csx...

 

http://www8.garmin.com/support/download_details.jsp?id=1245

Changes made from version 3.30 to 3.50:

 

* Improve track log recording for sensor products to continue recording sensor data even when GPS doesn't have a fix.

 

I always laugh when people say the 60csx is so bug free. When it came out, OMG, the bloody thing was a mess of broken features.

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Here's What I'm talking about. This is a DYNAMIC plot recorded by the Colorado when the power is turned ON and "Save Always" is selected. The time scale is 1hr per division. In these few hours, on a relatively clear day, you can see the variation that is present in the graph. These peaks and valleys are common and normal if the barometric pressure is being recorded correctly.

 

9c5186dc-0954-4fa4-b3d8-8a825ce3a4fb.jpg

 

 

Now, here's another graph only this time the unit was powered off. There is NO variation, simply a LINEAR line that does not indicate any data being recorded. One line, from the last known plot to the next, skipping all of the data in between (while off).

 

e7e4e6d6-ee69-4536-86f7-fae6080aca20.jpg

Edited by yogazoo
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Sorry guys but My pics show exactly what happened around here during that period. we had a rather stable weather front and the local weather showed the same basic trend during the same time. I have also had it where it showed major swings during the same time frame. Its just been a real stationary front around here during the test time. I just took another one and its still tracking the current rise. This shows that it has changed the same way the pressure is rising here in Denver since the one I took last night.

 

 

da0300c6-5eef-4184-8026-0b2d5aa986b7.jpg

This is the same starting point as before plus of minus a few minutes but with a different scale for the vertical.

 

 

6df59b52-1d96-44b8-8f9b-20c38796916a.jpg

This is the one I took a few minutes ago. I also checked it against the local weather and its tracking the pressure changes over the last 12 or so hours since the last one I posted.

 

 

Sorry guys. Its working. I know there are those that really don't want it to work so they can complain to Garmin but this is working and tracking the current weather pattern in Denver. Remember its going to be slightly less jagged as it only takes 4 reading an hour while its "off" as opposed to the more constant logging it does when on. The graph I posted while rising is not linear you can see that there are differences in the rate of rise at times. a "linear" line would be straight.

Edited by Michael
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I'm sorry Michael, but that looks like straight lines between power cycles. I can guarantee the weather NEVER changes pressure in a perfectly linear fashion over 18 hours periods as shown on your screenshot.

 

The last 12 hours on your screen shot is a straight line between two points.

 

Please:

1) Note time unit is turned off.

2) Leave off for 12 hours.

3) Note time unit is turned on.

4) Make two screen shots: One with the pointer at when the unit was turned off and a second with it when turned on.

Edited by Red90
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Remember its going to be slightly less jagged as it only takes 4 reading an hour while its "off" as opposed to the more constant logging it does when on.

 

Actually the rate of logging the data is the same according to the manual. Every 15 minutes whether on or off. Too bad it doesn't work when off.

 

Your data is linear between power cycles Michael. I don't really know how else to explain that to you other than what I've already written. Every time you post your images it is further demonstrating that the Colorado does NOT record Barometric data when powered off.

 

I would follow the steps described by Red90.

 

You can see my image of DYNAMIC data in my previous post. It's taken over 4 hours and during a stable high pressure system.

 

Your graph may represent the general trend BUT in actuality you only have an approximate four or five data points that are all connected by lines. Over this 36 hour period, thats not right, that's what were saying. You can see in your graphs when you turn your unit on, it's clear, the GPS logs a point and connects it to the last point via a straight line. When you cycle your unit on again in 4-8-12 hours you get another log with a straight line connecting them. Your unit is not recording data between your power cycles.

 

A linear line is a straight line between two points. That's what you have. I think you're thinking of straight as flat, horizontal. Think of it as without variation.

Edited by yogazoo
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I've been playing with this more. What appears to be going on is that the data is saved in the tracklog. The tracklog won't record a point unless there is a GPS fix. This EXACT same problem was present in the 60Csx...

 

http://www8.garmin.com/support/download_details.jsp?id=1245

Changes made from version 3.30 to 3.50:

 

* Improve track log recording for sensor products to continue recording sensor data even when GPS doesn't have a fix.

 

I always laugh when people say the 60csx is so bug free. When it came out, OMG, the bloody thing was a mess of broken features.

 

Interesting and it sort of makes sense. I wonder if the CO is left with a clear view of the sky whether it will gain lock fast enough to record a track point when it does wake up. I ran my CO and OR last night side by side and the OR seemed to work but the CO did not -- straight line from begin to end. I wonder if the HotFix allows it to get a lock faster than the CO so that it works properly.

 

This might explain why Michael is getting some points -- depending on where he left the GPS maybe on a few occasions it woke up and was able to get lock before going back to sleep.

 

GO$Rs

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That could be but the 60CS (old 60 series) NEVER obtained a sat lock while off and it recorded the barometric data just fine. The 60CSX never had the barometer when off feature. Remember they stripped the alarm clock and barometric pressure while off features in the 60CSX. Unless you guys are talking about elevation plotting?

 

I'm pretty sure that the units that do record barometric data while off do so in a fixed position mode. The unit doesn't even wake up in a power-on sense. It simply logs the data from the barometer sensor.

 

This makes sense really when the benefit of recording barometric data when the unit is off is waking up and checking the barometer to determin that days weather outlook. Unless you're sleeping on an airplane, who changes elevation while sleeping?

 

One thing to note here is that the Barometer plot records data whether or not the track log is running (provided the unit is on). The barometer data is NOT dependent on the tracklog data whatsoever. The elevation plot however is.

Edited by yogazoo
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