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Garmin Oregon 2.98 Available


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I'm very satisfied with the new firmware. My Oregon 300 works really great. My accuracy was 8m when I was in the woods. Electronic compass works great.

 

The only problem I had was when I was in my car. The GPS froze for a few seconds and then it resumed with the tracking. I'll report this issue to Garmin.

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I really love my Oregon 400t as well. I have found over 450 caches with 2.98b and the accuracy has been reasonable on some, dead-on on most. Even in the woods, it has done pretty well. I have noticed a drift several times which is corrected by a power cycle. All-in-all I believe it's the best Paperless GPS out there!

I have and would recommend it to others!

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Ok.. up to 500 caches and a large road trip with 2.98 and no problems..period.

 

No drift issues as I saw with earlier couple of firmwares.. when I mean drift I mean sudden spikes in 100+ feet which stay in place until I power cycle..similar to which I saw with the Vista HCX. No issues with accuracy at caches, I'm right up there with the 60CSX boys. I get WAAS nore often than not, and it seems "believable"...WAAS correction continuously on a few birds at a time, rather then every bird and then vanishing.

 

I actually had a map freeze once as Team Veverca reported.. on an interstate and it simply froze. No crash. The power button worked and it jumped right back into routing.

 

My personal bugbears that remain with this unit in general is a too high threshold for route re-calculation, busted icon for Earthcaches still, no option for labeling (every) cache on the map (with a declutter option), slightly jumpy compass still, no "detour" option for routing, a freshly broken Wherigo player (but I read elsewhere that garmin have said this is fixed in the next release) and an inability to load custom cache icons (a la ximage).

 

I know there are other issues, but these are the big ones for me.

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Well said Maingray!

 

I made a couple of screenshots which show the problem with the stopped time indicator. In both cases I have walked continuously for the time indicated (stopped time + moving time), so reported stopped time should be 0:00.

 

737r.png

Screenshot #1. Taken after a hike along the base of a mountain.

 

1827.png

Screenshot #2. Taken at a park with no high terrain around.

 

The big difference in the stopped time/moving time ratio is interesting. The error in the mountain is bigger, despite better GPS accuracy. I didn't pay attention to the satellite page but it's possible that some birds were behind the mountain.

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In the Wherigo forum there is a confirmation that Garmin has fixed the current picture display problem in the OR 2.98 Beta and it is fixed in the next release.

 

So that infers there is another update coming.

Well that's obvious. They have to publish it with all the betas around. The only question is when will they publish it and if all the freezing problems are solved.

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In the Wherigo forum there is a confirmation that Garmin has fixed the current picture display problem in the OR 2.98 Beta and it is fixed in the next release.

 

So that infers there is another update coming.

Well that's obvious. They have to publish it with all the betas around. The only question is when will they publish it and if all the freezing problems are solved.

 

I was trying to say there was a 2.99 as opposed to making 2.98 a formal release.

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In the Wherigo forum there is a confirmation that Garmin has fixed the current picture display problem in the OR 2.98 Beta and it is fixed in the next release.

 

So that infers there is another update coming.

Well that's obvious. They have to publish it with all the betas around. The only question is when will they publish it and if all the freezing problems are solved.

 

I have only seen one freezing problem over a many 100s miles of road navigation with 2.98. I'd consider reloading maps on the SD card / unit.. is this with City Navigator?

 

And for the record, this current Beta phase with the Oregon has been one of the most responsive times I've seen with Garmin. Customer Support has always been top notch, but interface with the dev teams has always been ..well, non-existent IIRC. Give 'em time! I'm still quite shocked they did bolt on quite a few new features on the unit, so thumbs up to them.

Edited by Maingray
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Well said Maingray!

 

I made a couple of screenshots which show the problem with the stopped time indicator. In both cases I have walked continuously for the time indicated (stopped time + moving time), so reported stopped time should be 0:00.

 

Screenshot #1. Taken after a hike along the base of a mountain.

 

Screenshot #2. Taken at a park with no high terrain around.

 

The big difference in the stopped time/moving time ratio is interesting. The error in the mountain is bigger, despite better GPS accuracy. I didn't pay attention to the satellite page but it's possible that some birds were behind the mountain.

 

The issue with high stopped time has been around on the Oregon since day one, it isn't something new in the beta. You can see it while you are walking under tree cover and watching your current speed. You'll notice that periodically your speed will drop to zero for 5-20 seconds and then snap back to life.

 

I believe that the root of the problem is related to GPS accuracy on the Oregon. Under cover (or with a challenging constellation) and moving slowly the signal/noise ratio gets to a point where the unit thinks you've stopped moving because you're movement is close to the error in the position drift and it gets filtered out. When I've run these tests side-by-side with a 60csx it seldom does this.

 

GO$Rs

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Agreed. But the problem could still be resolved if the unit takes some time to verify whether it's position really changed rather than immediately logging stopped time. Especially at speeds under 5-6 km/h. Most of the time you're either walking or resting.

 

When I've run these tests side-by-side with a 60csx it seldom does this.

No surprises here I guess :grin:

 

By the way, I found my first cache today. It was a night cache in a forest. A bit scary but rewarding :P

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With a hint of a new Garmin coming out, the Garmin Dakota, I hope Garmin doesn't abandon the Oregon any time soon like it appears they did the Colorado!

 

Ready for an update!!!

 

The introduction of the OR 550 should negate that concern.

 

From what I have read, it sounds like the Dakota is an eTrex replacment, not an OR competitor.

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I've been using 2.97 since it came out and have had excellent success with it. Yesterday, I threw in the towel and loaded 2.98. Complete mess. After leaving it on the hood of my car out in the open for 20 minutes the best EPE I got was 40ft. I checked and I had 4 satellites with D's on them. When I turned WAAS off, the EPE dropped to 16ft. However, when I went to find a cache, as soon as I got under tree cover the EPE was all over the place. I managed to find the cache based upon it's hint. My GPS still said I was 35' away. I turned WAAS back on and now I was 100' off. I reloaded 2.97 today and went back to the same cache. At GZ I was 5 feet away. I guess I am not feeling the love with 2.98.

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I've been using 2.97 since it came out and have had excellent success with it. Yesterday, I threw in the towel and loaded 2.98. Complete mess. After leaving it on the hood of my car out in the open for 20 minutes the best EPE I got was 40ft. I checked and I had 4 satellites with D's on them. When I turned WAAS off, the EPE dropped to 16ft. However, when I went to find a cache, as soon as I got under tree cover the EPE was all over the place. I managed to find the cache based upon it's hint. My GPS still said I was 35' away. I turned WAAS back on and now I was 100' off. I reloaded 2.97 today and went back to the same cache. At GZ I was 5 feet away. I guess I am not feeling the love with 2.98.

 

Please be sure to send an email to Garmin at : OregonBeta@garmin.com

 

Let them know of your experiences with the latest BETA (2.98)

Edited by pratzert
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While I've seen problems in 2.98 on average it does about the same as 2.97 but it does not suffer from the problem around not being able to lock to visible satellites (which results in major inaccuracy). You really can't base the the performance of a given release on one or two tests, try it 6-8 times at different times of the day under different conditions to see how it works.

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2.97b would just turn off my unit for no reason several times an hour. Alos, the map would freeze up for no reason, resulting in having to take the batteries out and back in and restarting the unit.

 

I HAVE had 2.98b turn off for no apparant reason a few times, but other than that, it's worked pretty well.

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The issue with high stopped time has been around on the Oregon since day one, it isn't something new in the beta. You can see it while you are walking under tree cover and watching your current speed. You'll notice that periodically your speed will drop to zero for 5-20 seconds and then snap back to life.

 

I believe that the root of the problem is related to GPS accuracy on the Oregon. Under cover (or with a challenging constellation) and moving slowly the signal/noise ratio gets to a point where the unit thinks you've stopped moving because you're movement is close to the error in the position drift and it gets filtered out. When I've run these tests side-by-side with a 60csx it seldom does this.

This is not the case on my garmin. The tracking stoped on the road without any trees, bush, heck even grass near. And no mountains or planes either. :rolleyes:

It just stopped in then resumed and the accuracy was great and so were the number of satelites and waas was working so i'm sure that it wasn't a problem with the reception. It's something else.

Edited by Team Veverca
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This is not the case on my garmin. The tracking stoped on the road without any trees, bush, heck even grass near. And no mountains or plains either.

It just stopped in then resumed and the accuracy was great and so were the number of satelites and waas was working so i'm sure that it wasn't a problem with the reception. It's something else.

 

This has happened to me with my in car GPS, a Garmin Streetpilot 2720, a couple of times lately. Driving along on a route I often take and all of a sudden, for no reason, no signal. Then after a minute, give or take, it locked on to satellites again.

So I think that you are correct there is something else going on and not only with the Oregon which has been pretty stable for me using the 2.98b.

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I had a strange thing happen yesterday.

 

When I went into Track Manager, it automatically saved my current track into a file called #$%^&%$#&*(^.gpx

 

It won't let me delete the file.

 

Any ideas??

 

Tequila, I had that exact thing happen to me a day or two ago...it auto-saved the current track using the exact same "ID" you listed, then did it again using another string of random numbers.........what the heck????

 

I was able to delete both files after connecting as a mass storage device, and just selecting and deleting them from the Garmin/GPX location.

 

Hasn't done it again....but now I'll always wonder. Wish I had saved and sent those files to Garmin...if you haven't deleted yours yet....please send them in with an e-mail.

 

Billl

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I had a strange thing happen yesterday.

 

When I went into Track Manager, it automatically saved my current track into a file called #$%^&%$#&*(^.gpx

 

It won't let me delete the file.

 

Any ideas??

 

Tequila, I had that exact thing happen to me a day or two ago...it auto-saved the current track using the exact same "ID" you listed, then did it again using another string of random numbers.........what the heck????

 

I was able to delete both files after connecting as a mass storage device, and just selecting and deleting them from the Garmin/GPX location.

 

Hasn't done it again....but now I'll always wonder. Wish I had saved and sent those files to Garmin...if you haven't deleted yours yet....please send them in with an e-mail.

 

Billl

 

File Manager won't let me delete mine. I will send to Garmin.

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I had a strange thing happen yesterday.

 

When I went into Track Manager, it automatically saved my current track into a file called #$%^&%$#&*(^.gpx

 

It won't let me delete the file.

 

Any ideas??

I don't know if this is related to the same problem but today I got this. A power cycle fixed it.

3642.png

 

File Manager won't let me delete mine.

You cannot delete it because "*" is illegal in file names. Try using a different file manager, for example Total Commander. You can also try renaming it and then deleting it. Or drag it to the recycle bin. If nothing helps look here. Backup the data on the GPS before running chkdsk just to be on the safe side.

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I used my Oregon with 2.98 in heavy tree cover and found 4 geocaches pretty easily. Took a second for them to finally point in the right directionm but it finally did and I was able to get all 4 FTF's.

 

Still waiting for the next beta or better yet, release!

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Like rrtsb I've yet to be satisfied with the accuracy of the unit while moving (stationary after a few seconds is setisfactory). I've been on the horn with Garmin and I've also been sending the beta team e-mail requests to improve this aspect of the Oregons operation. I've been looking at purchasing a PN-40 since Delorme has addressed the issues with this type of accuracy and from the forums it seems that the PN-40 is now on par with the 60csx.

 

Garmin has alot of innovation built into their products. They always seem to have the resources to introduce new and interesting functionality. In spite of all the innovation, the Oregon leaves me often dissapointed when I return home from a day out hiking, load my tracks up on Google Earth or Arc GIS Explorer and look at the terrible tracking the Oregon line exhibits.

 

With the Oregon, finding waypoints (geocaches) once the unit settles down, seems pretty accurate. Moving (walking, hiking) at slow speeds the Oregon looses all credibility.

 

Garmin/Cartesio, are you listening?

 

Agreed, It's like having a Cadillac that's no better than a Lada !!!!

 

....carrying on from my last post on this subject. I spent good money on my Oregon and I expect to see it work properly. The garmin folk are not stupid...they don't need to be constantly hounded about the problems BUT they do need to fix it. I have never used other than Garmin over the last 10 years but after using an iPhone, I am asking myself why I am putting up with these steam-driven clunky Garmin graphicical interfaces. Just watch what happens when Apple release a proper GPS...LOL. Garmin will be out of the consumer market overnight....SO FIX THE PROBLEM!!!

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I've noticed my Oregon 300 shutdown a few times when I go off course while driving an active route. It appears to happen when the unit is recalculating. I'm using a Topo 24K West microSD card with WAAS on. Software version is 2.98 beta. Error log sent to Garmin.

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