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GPS Chipset Type M software version 2.80 Out


Red90

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GPS Chipset Type M software version 2.80 and M2 out today. Not sure what models, but might be the etrexssss and/or the Colorados!!!

 

http://www.gpsinformation.org/allory/new.htm

 

Edit: OK, these should be for the "H" series etrexes and the Colorado, AFAIK!!

Just updated to system FW 2.80 for my Vista HCx, and got this as well under "additional updates". I have also updated the wife's Venture HC. So yes, it'd definitely for the etrex H series Mediatek chipset, and I assume also Colorado's with the same chipset.

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Just updated to system FW 2.80 for my Vista HCx, and got this as well under "additional updates". I have also updated the wife's Venture HC. So yes, it'd definitely for the etrex H series Mediatek chipset, and I assume also Colorado's with the same chipset.

 

Same with Colorado 300, got it under "Additional Updates":

GpsTypeM.jpg

ColoFirm28.jpg

Edited by balga
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One can only assume this is to rectify the strange miscalculation of position that has been occurring is normally rare occurrences that people have been calling "drift".

 

For me I have not had it happen since June, so people that see it more often will need to test.

 

Anyway, I installed it without any hitches and the GPS is doing a cold start. Had a position in a couple of minutes inside my house.

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I took the plunge and installed 2.8 just now. Before I was getting 9 birds. Only 2 were getting a really good signal. EPE of 35' with heavy cloud cover and storms approaching.

After the update I'm getting 11 birds. 9 with signal strength above the top line on the graph, 1 with 3/4, and one with about 1/3. The EPE was down to 9'

I can't wait for tomarrow to try it out on the trail.

So farit looks very promising.

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Is a chipset upgrade reversible in case things don't go well?

If you are using a Vista HCx, there is a link to chipset 2.50 available in another thread on this board. If you are going to backdate, go to that, not 2.60.

I've got a Colorado 300. But it seems like this is reversible from your comment. Thanks.

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Can someone who has already upgraded test if it is possible to downgrande from 2.80/2.80 to 2.60/2.60 or 2.60/2.50 (doesn't matter to what lower version, I just want to be sure that it's still possible to downgrade unlike on Nuvis where downgrading is blocked with newest firmwares.)

 

It is a simple process to downgrade both the system and chipset software on the Vista HCx (and, presumably, all of the units in the eTrex series that connect to the computer with a usb cable). The only difficulty, is that you have to have a copy of the older version and, sometimes, that is difficult to come by. It's not to big a deal with the system software because that can be installed with either WebUpdater or by downloading the file from Garmin. The only way to install the current version of the chipset software is with WebUpdater, so it is a little more difficult to find the older versions - that's the reason I noted the availability of a link to chipset 2.50 in one of the other threads.

 

And, to repost a tip that someone else mentioned in a different thread - even when you use WebUpdater, the chipset software is first downloaded to your computer. You can find it in the temporary internet folder - if you are running xp, you have to have the folders option set to show hidden files to be able to find that folder. So, after running WebUpdater, retrieve the updates from the temporary internet folder and save them somewhere else. That way you will have a copy of the software if you do a future update and want to revert to the software you just installed.

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I know how to do it. BUT on Garmin Nuvis the last firmware update is NOT REVERSIBLE. I fear that the same might be true for the Vista HCx Firmware. (the chipset update.rgn 2.80 I suppose to be revervisble). So it would be good to know if going to 2.80/2.80 going back to 2.70/2.80 is indeed possible like normal or if they block this downgrade (as for Nuvis).

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Yogazoo; It isn't the Garmin that is affected in the cold weather - it's the batteries themselves. You remember the old auto battery commercials where they were starting cars in the freezing temps?

 

Battery Performance Characteristics This site has some information on life, discharge, temperature, etc.

 

I've seen all sorts of battery powered devices perform poorly in cold conditions such as snow skiing...since most portable electronics are metalic or at least partially, they transfer heat and cold well and hasten the weather affects. Or so I would believe.

 

The battery life on my 300 has increased since updating the chipset firmware. I never got more than 12 hours on a pair of 2500mah NIMH's and today I got 15. Super! I hope this translates into better cold weather performance.

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What he is getting at is that the battery meter in the Colorado is poor. If you take the batterys out that the unit says are dead, you will find they still have lots of life left in them.

 

As the batterys get cold their voltage drops, but the capacity is still there to a point. Because the CO's battery meter looks at voltage and is set at a voltage that is too high, it pronounces that the batteries are dead before they really are.

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Doh! :)

What he is getting at is that the battery meter in the Colorado is poor. If you take the batterys out that the unit says are dead, you will find they still have lots of life left in them.

 

As the batterys get cold their voltage drops, but the capacity is still there to a point. Because the CO's battery meter looks at voltage and is set at a voltage that is too high, it pronounces that the batteries are dead before they really are.

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What he is getting at is that the battery meter in the Colorado is poor. If you take the batterys out that the unit says are dead, you will find they still have lots of life left in them.

 

As the batterys get cold their voltage drops, but the capacity is still there to a point. Because the CO's battery meter looks at voltage and is set at a voltage that is too high, it pronounces that the batteries are dead before they really are.

 

Sorry for not being clear but your right Red90. I know the chemical reactions inside batteries (or most anywhere for that matter) slow down when the temperature drops. What I mean is that I hope the percieved more efficient use of the power supplied by the batteries will translate into a longer runtime in the cold. I fully expect lousy runtime when it's cold, but if the chips now use power more efficiently and/or the battery meter is more accurate, it should do so in the cold weather as well.

Edited by yogazoo
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just installed the 2.8 update and the unit seems to do things (menu pages, map draws) faster than it had been.

I have high hopes for this one...When I got my Co. in May it came with the 2.6 software and worked great right out of the box. Right before 2.7 came out I think I saw a location error once or twice but for the past month or so it's been happening constantly!

 

Anything has to be better that 2.7!

 

It seems to be placebo effect that CO is faster after upgrading of GPS chip firmware to 2.8. .. GPS Unit firware is still 2.7 as far as I know ..

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It seems to be placebo effect that CO is faster after upgrading of GPS chip firmware to 2.8. .. GPS Unit firware is still 2.7 as far as I know ..

Not necessarily. The processsor has to interact with the chipset and chipset software and dedicate a number of processor cycles to getting the sat info from it, constantly. If the chipset software has speeded up then the unit won't have to wait for it as much and everything will be a bit faster.

JD

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It seems to be placebo effect that CO is faster after upgrading of GPS chip firmware to 2.8. .. GPS Unit firware is still 2.7 as far as I know ..

Not necessarily. The processsor has to interact with the chipset and chipset software and dedicate a number of processor cycles to getting the sat info from it, constantly. If the chipset software has speeded up then the unit won't have to wait for it as much and everything will be a bit faster.

JD

 

I agree. It is hard to test it .. Just feeling and within each upgrade we are full of hope (waiting for some kind of miracle) :laughing:

Edited by kafkar
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I may be seeing a bug with WAAS. With WAAS enabled, anytime I power on my 300 it goes through its WAAS search sequence beginning with SV 33. Mine seems to get stuck attempting to use 33 and will not move on to (in my case) 48 or 51. I have repeatedly seen this behavior now. I have to go into Setup/System and select Normal, then go back and select WAAS again. It then immediately sees 51 (in my case) and gets diff corrections, within seconds. If I do not go through these steps it will never leave 33, thus never getting WAAS corrections.

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The WAAS behavior isn't really a bug. Its working the way the Garmin's (different models including Nuvi's and Streetpilots) I've tried do. Garmin seems to have made the decision at some point that it will only use one channel for WAAS reception so you get one at a time. If it can connect to 48 (sometimes shows as 33 but that's just a number change not satellite), then it uses it. If it can't see that satellite or the info won't come in for some reason it will use 51. The sequence you mention seems to be an undocumented way of forcing a change from 48/33 to 51. So, its not unique to 2.8 chipset software and its not problem with the Colorado series either.

 

The different data you mention is probably due to how WAAS works. It updates at least every three minutes and the is info slightly different. The WAAS systems broadcasts how to correct for the current satellite cluster. Satellites move in orbit, come into view over North America and disappear from North America view continuously so the WAAS system has to update the info. It may do that more frequently than 3 minutes but the PC system I use to follow the satellites and their operational status gets a push from the WAAS centre every 3 minutes so its that frequent at a minimum.

 

JD

 

edited due to spelling error and to make sentences easier to read

Edited by JDandDD
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The thing that I find strange is that when I toggle WAAS (vs. power cycling) I've never seeing my CO lock to anything other than 51. Power cycling leaves me with 51 about 75% of the time and 33 the remainder of the time. What happens after I lock on 33 is similar to what Timpat observed although eventually it does seem to give up and lock to 51, in some cases it has been much longer than 10-20 minutes (close to an hour in one case).

 

GO$Rs

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"GPS Chipset Type M software version 2.80 and M2 out today. Not sure what models, but might be the etrexssss and/or the Colorados!!!

Edit: OK, these should be for the "H" series etrexes and the Colorado, AFAIK!!"

 

I updated the firmware on my Nuvi 270 with this after reading the post the the GPS chipset Type M was for the etrex H series. Works like a charm now...thanks

Edited by Gracie's Posse
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