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Garmin Montana 650


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garmin write me : ( after my bugs notification mail )

 

"Can you send us your system.xml file? It will help us track down the shutdowns. We believe we have a fix for the compass calibration issue and are currently testing that is solves the issue."

 

Garmin Montana Software Development Team

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Here are my observations after using for a couple of hours. I'm coming from a Nuvi 780 and 60CSx so still getting used to the menu system.

 

Unit shipped with 2.20. I upgraded to 2.40 before doing anything else.

 

Calibrating compass - fails on third step like others have reports

 

Putting into car mount with unit turned off turns the unit on. Turning off the ignition and not hitting any buttons results in the device turning off and staying off when car is turned back on (one time resulted in a blank white screen). Turning the unit off when prompted results in the unit turning back on when car is started again. I'm assuming this isn't the way it is supposed to work. My nuvi turns on and off when I expect it to without human intervention when turning the car on or off.

 

Battery door tends to move a little when holding in hand. Not too bad but something worth noting. No squeaks that I have heard.

 

Screen is very readable in car and outside. I huge improvement over the 60CSx.

 

GPS lock is crazy fast. Very nice.

 

I still have to get used to the menus but so far I'm really liking the unit. I haven't tried routing yet or doing any caches. Might do a cache tonight.

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...Hey come on, atleast the case doesn't squeek. :lol:

My Montana SQUEEKS - it is the batterie case which makes the noise.

 

Does your Montana batterie case work as designed without any squeek?

 

It was just sarcasm, I have no squeaks. However, my battery cover does move when closed.

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Fresh form Garmins Beta Team working on the Montana.

 

The Montana is able to calibrate the compass automatically in lieu of manual calibration.

1. Go to the compass page

2. Do not enter manual calibration mode

3. Proceed through the same motions as you would normally do in manual calibration mode

4. You may have to repeat the previous instruction once or twice

5. The compass will be calibrated

 

The automatic calibration will either be very close to or even exactly correct. The more you use the device after that, the more accurate the compass will become. We are currently working on fixing the issue related to manual compass calibration.

 

Looks like an auto-calibration feature in the Montana series. That will be nice, about time. No more calibrating between battery changes? Awesome.

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Looks like an auto-calibration feature in the Montana series. That will be nice, about time. No more calibrating between battery changes? Awesome.

And automatic decalibration when you happen to have magnetic interference around. Not sure if I like that.

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Fresh form Garmins Beta Team working on the Montana.

 

The automatic calibration will either be very close to or even exactly correct. The more you use the device after that, the more accurate the compass will become. We are currently working on fixing the issue related to manual compass calibration.

 

Looks like an auto-calibration feature in the Montana series. That will be nice, about time. No more calibrating between battery changes? Awesome.

 

Nice news. Thanks for tracking down that piece of information.

Edited by Barrikady
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Looks like an auto-calibration feature in the Montana series. That will be nice, about time. No more calibrating between battery changes? Awesome.

And automatic decalibration when you happen to have magnetic interference around. Not sure if I like that.

 

Hence the reason they're going to fix the manual calibration... hopefully.

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Looks like an auto-calibration feature in the Montana series. That will be nice, about time. No more calibrating between battery changes? Awesome.

And automatic decalibration when you happen to have magnetic interference around. Not sure if I like that.

Hence the reason they're going to fix the manual calibration... hopefully.

Only helpful if there's a way to disable the automatic calibration.

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Help me to understand your reasoning dfx. If the unit is autocalibrating to true north, if you have magnetic interference that strong, you're not going to be able to use the compass (any compass) anyways. Are you saying if you happen to be by powerlines? In a car? You can't manually calibrate it properly if you have such an interference anyways. Maybe I'm just dense, I just think that the auto-calibration, for the majority of people and majority of circumstances is going to be a major plus.

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Help me to understand your reasoning dfx. If the unit is autocalibrating to true north, if you have magnetic interference that strong, you're not going to be able to use the compass (any compass) anyways. Are you saying if you happen to be by powerlines? In a car? You can't manually calibrate it properly if you have such an interference anyways. Maybe I'm just dense, I just think that the auto-calibration, for the majority of people and majority of circumstances is going to be a major plus.

 

I'm riding in the car. The car's body is magnetic interference. You can see that by the compass not being right. If the unit constantly tries to autocalibrate, the ride in the car will decalibrate the compass. Or rather, it will try to calibrate to match the magnetic field in the car, which would be fine if I cared for the compass to be right inside the car. Once I'm out of the car, the compass will be off. I don't care for that at all.

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Help me to understand your reasoning dfx. If the unit is autocalibrating to true north, if you have magnetic interference that strong, you're not going to be able to use the compass (any compass) anyways. Are you saying if you happen to be by powerlines? In a car? You can't manually calibrate it properly if you have such an interference anyways. Maybe I'm just dense, I just think that the auto-calibration, for the majority of people and majority of circumstances is going to be a major plus.

 

I'm riding in the car. The car's body is magnetic interference. You can see that by the compass not being right. If the unit constantly tries to autocalibrate, the ride in the car will decalibrate the compass. Or rather, it will try to calibrate to match the magnetic field in the car, which would be fine if I cared for the compass to be right inside the car. Once I'm out of the car, the compass will be off. I don't care for that at all.

 

Um, won't the compass auto calibrate again once you're out of your car and you DO care for the compass to be right? I'm not seeing your beef here.

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Um, won't the compass auto calibrate again once you're out of your car and you DO care for the compass to be right? I'm not seeing your beef here.

 

Eventually, yes, but it's gonna take some time.

Is everyone sure it is even likely to happen? I'm questioning how long it would take me to rotate the unit through one of those forward flip motions during the course of finding a few caches. I can only envision it being rolled through at most two of the three, and not even that for a while after pulling it out and turning it on. To auto-calibrate, doesn't it need to go through a rotation in each axis at least once?
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Is everyone sure it is even likely to happen? I'm questioning how long it would take me to rotate the unit through one of those forward flip motions during the course of finding a few caches. I can only envision it being rolled through at most two of the three, and not even that for a while after pulling it out and turning it on. To auto-calibrate, doesn't it need to go through a rotation in each axis at least once?

 

Depends on how it's implemented. You may have read threads about exactly this kind of problem as it occurs in smartphones. They had a magnet in their pocket (or something like that) and it caused the compass to get totally thrown off. I'd say it's eventually bound to happen with automatic calibration.

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If rotating the unit through all of the axis to auto-calibrate the compass is unlikely by accident, it will also be unlikely to do the same while in a car (in theory, potentially decalibrating the unit). Until we use and understand the feature, it will be difficult to pass judgement either way.

 

The figure-8 motion used in the new Magellan Explorist line may be all the Montana would take to do a quick auto-calibration.

Edited by yogazoo
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Until we use and understand the feature, it will be difficult to pass judgement either way.

 

Yup. All I'm saying is that it may have the potential to cause problems, and if it does then I'd like the option to turn it off. If it doesn't, then so much the better.

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Until we use and understand the feature, it will be difficult to pass judgement either way.

 

Yup. All I'm saying is that it may have the potential to cause problems, and if it does then I'd like the option to turn it off. If it doesn't, then so much the better.

 

Agreed. As with many things Garmin emails me about, the theory doesn't always manifest itself in practice.

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Changes made from version 2.40 to 2.50:

 

Improved manual calibration of compass.

Fixed pressure trending while unit is powered off.

Fixed issues with Daily Track Archiving.

Updated Track Auto-Archiving naming convention.

Fixed intermittent problem when changing a Profile from a Shortcut.

Fixed finding of Address or Intersection using TOPO 24K maps.

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The crash when pressing the altimeter plot dashboard to go to the main altimeter page is still present (when barometer plot is being displayed).

 

they are working for fix it...

 

"Thanks for the report. We have reproduced it here and are in the process of fixing it. Garmin Montana Software Development Team "

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How does the Montana hold up for Geocaching? I currently have a garmin gpsmap 60csx. And i am still doubting what new unit i want.

 

2 choices:

 

- Garmin montana 600

- Garmin gpsmap 62s

 

Does the Montana bring any benefits to geocaching that is not present on the 62s? Ofcourse besides the Nuvi features.

 

Does the montana require an extra map for the nuvi features or is it already included?

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Does the Montana bring any benefits to geocaching that is not present on the 62s? Ofcourse besides the Nuvi features.

There's certainly a big difference between a button device (62s) and a touchscreen device (Montana). If you are one who tends to enter extensive "field notes" when you cache with a paperless unit, you'll find a touchscreen speeds that process up considerably.
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Screen is very readable in car and outside. I huge improvement over the 60CSx.

 

Aside from the higher resolution/size of the screen, how exactly is readability improved over the 60CSx? That's been the gold standard of hand held GPS units for readability, especially outside and usually needing no backlight (i.e. battery) used at all...

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Aside from the higher resolution/size of the screen, how exactly is readability improved over the 60CSx? That's been the gold standard of hand held GPS units for readability, especially outside and usually needing no backlight (i.e. battery) used at all...

 

See post # 24 written by Yogazoo on this topic (Garmin Montana 650)

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another bug

 

Current FW 2.50

 

Plan a new trip

Add first star point using map and current position

select a second position..as you want

end trip planner

select the trip, select "map"

select go/follow ( "vai" in italian )

select Cycle mode

select Reduce time

then exit map with "x"

dashboard go away...no more dashboard in home

after this..shut down

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Aside from the higher resolution/size of the screen, how exactly is readability improved over the 60CSx? That's been the gold standard of hand held GPS units for readability, especially outside and usually needing no backlight (i.e. battery) used at all...

 

Unlike my Oregon 300, and sometimes (rarely) with my 450, I've never been outside and said to myself "Man, the screen's a little hard to see.". I've even had the terrain shading on since I've gotten my Montana and haven't wanted to turn it off to make the screen more readable. When you compare the Montana's screen to the 60 series and other old units, it's hard to make an apples to apples comparison because there have been so many changes in presentation. Those who are reluctant to purchase a touchscreen unit for fear of poor map readability in certain conditions, the Montana series puts those concerns soundly to rest.

 

Bright sunlight at a good angle, the Montana is as bright or brighter than the 60/62. In any other situation you may need to turn on the backlight but the screen will be very readable. In my opinion, in overcast light, or bright indirect light, the Oregons backlight just couldn't be turned up enough to compensate for the lack of reflected light.

 

Concerns with battery life are for real with the Montana. Battery saving measures need to be minded a little more because the consequences of not doing so can mean a big difference in battery life. So using the backlight at 100% should be relegated to times when its really needed which is rarely.

 

There is one reason why the Montana may never become "The" top of the line handheld and that reason is because it pushes the limits of how big a handheld unit can be for the most number of uses. Garmin could make a best seller by taking the screen resolution and menu system from the Montana and sticking it in an Oregon sized unit.

 

For my big hands, and non go-lite gear hauling habits, the Montana's size is no problem at all. Actually my large digits are quite at home tapping around the Montana's screen.

 

Anyway, I got away a bit from my original point. In my opinion the screen (all factors considered) is as nice as it gets in a handheld GPS unit today. Feel free to decide on your own by checking one out at your local retailer.

Edited by yogazoo
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I don't know if these problems persisted from v2.4 or where introduced by v2.5.

 

1) When "Lock Landscape" in the Automotive Profile is selected and a power cycle is then initiated, the unit boots up and displays in portrait mode. When the display setup is double checked, it indeed says "Lock Landscape". When "lock landscape" is again selected the display corrects itself.

 

2) When selecting the "Coordinates" "Where to" as a display item on the main menu screen, this button will do nothing when pressed from the main menu screen.

 

3) Setting up a shortcut to enable or disable a map product, the BirdsEye imagery map product isn't able to be selected either to enable or disable. Major bummer as this is the map product most (who purchase BirdsEye) like to enable and disable the most. All other mapsets are able to be set as a shortcut to be enabled or disabled.

 

4) I'm still freezing up when booting the unit mounted in the Garmin Montana suction mount cradle in my vehicle.

 

5) Has anyone noticed a difference in photo's taken in "Low Light Mode" opposed to "Standad Mode"??

 

 

It seems as though the new interface/menu system is an infant in many respects. I base this on the facts that 1) it is a major overhaul of the previous models and 2) there are so many random little bugs rearing their ugly heads. And based on my communication with Garmin it seems to me like their in triage mode, trying to fix the big problems first. It might take a few months before I go 30 minutes without experiencing some sort of oddity.

Edited by yogazoo
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I don't know if these problems persisted from v2.4 or where introduced by v2.5.

 

1) When "Lock Landscape" in the Automotive Profile is selected and a power cycle is then initiated, the unit boots up and displays in portrait mode. When the display setup is double checked, it indeed says "Lock Landscape". When "lock landscape" is again selected the display corrects itself.

 

2) When selecting the "Coordinates" "Where to" as a display item on the main menu screen, this button will do nothing when pressed from the main menu screen.

 

3) Setting up a shortcut to enable or disable a map product, the BirdsEye imagery map product isn't able to be selected either to enable or disable. Major bummer as this is the map product most (who purchase BirdsEye) like to enable and disable the most. All other mapsets are able to be set as a shortcut to be enabled or disabled.

 

4) I'm still freezing up when booting the unit mounted in the Garmin Montana suction mount cradle in my vehicle.

 

5) Has anyone noticed a difference in photo's taken in "Low Light Mode" opposed to "Standad Mode"??

 

 

It seems as though the new interface/menu system is an infant in many respects. I base this on the facts that 1) it is a major overhaul of the previous models and 2) there are so many random little bugs rearing their ugly heads. And based on my communication with Garmin it seems to me like their in triage mode, trying to fix the big problems first. It might take a few months before I go 30 minutes without experiencing some sort of oddity.

 

send all to oregon.beta@garmin.com, with system.xml file as attachment

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It seems as though the new interface/menu system is an infant in many respects. I base this on the facts that 1) it is a major overhaul of the previous models and 2) there are so many random little bugs rearing their ugly heads. And based on my communication with Garmin it seems to me like their in triage mode, trying to fix the big problems first. It might take a few months before I go 30 minutes without experiencing some sort of oddity.

 

Most of my shut downs involve panning the map and clicking in waypoints, points of interest etc. I have noticed in the past few days using nuvi mode, that the speed limit does not always show. I can be driving to work and the current speed limit will be shown but on the way home it will not or vise versa. Their is also significant lag after you take a turn before it will update to the next, or miss a turn.

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"There is also significant lag after you take a turn before it will update to the next"

 

Driving on a secondary road, automotive mode Nuvi screen, the screen is locked in landscape view and locked on road setting, you can have enormous lag and a totally wrong arrow placement on the map. It might keep showing on the nearest principal road.

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I concur with the two previous posts. The Automotive mode Nuvi (landscape) screen has serious problems. Sometimes I'll be a mile off my previously calculated route and it fails to recalculate a new route. Sluggish is a word.

 

I also noticed that when in 3D mode the arrow is off by quite a bit from where it's supposed to be. I'm talking 500ft to a quarter mile. I hope they can get the dog-gone bugs worked out soon. I thought that by spending what I did on the Montana 650 they'd be a bit further along on it's software refinement. Not so.

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Yogazoo, thanks for taking the time to actually write an explanation unlike someone else who lazily referred me to a previous post which didn't help much. :rolleyes:

 

"Lazily referred me to a previous post."

 

I was the person who "lazily referred you to a previous post."

 

I wasn't being lazy, I was trying to be helpful.

 

I assure you that will not happen again.

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Yogazoo, thanks for taking the time to actually write an explanation unlike someone else who lazily referred me to a previous post which didn't help much. :rolleyes:

 

"Lazily referred me to a previous post."

 

I was the person who "lazily referred you to a previous post."

 

I wasn't being lazy, I was trying to be helpful.

 

I assure you that will not happen again.

 

No big loss here! :anibad:

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Sounds as though there are a lot more bugs on the 'automotive' side than there are in the rest of the code. To all of those who have been reporting .. At this point, if a person were interested in this unit almost exclusively as a NON-automotive solution, with what frequency would COMMON functions cause crashes? I'm trying to get a sense as to whether it's currently 'close enough' for caching.

 

ktog rcgroups kahrtalk 1911forum acuraworld

Edited by ecanderson
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Yogazoo, thanks for taking the time to actually write an explanation unlike someone else who lazily referred me to a previous post which didn't help much. :rolleyes:

 

"Lazily referred me to a previous post."

 

I was the person who "lazily referred you to a previous post."

 

I wasn't being lazy, I was trying to be helpful.

 

I assure you that will not happen again.

 

No big loss here! :anibad:

You are a rude and boorish fool.

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Since I, quite apparently, get your knickers up in such a wad, why don't you just use the ignore list? Ain't that hard, ya know... :rolleyes:

 

I can highly recommend that. I just had to disable ABP just to read what's going on here and to reply to this post. I'm gonna enable it again right away.

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