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Garmin Montana Screen Calibration Way Off


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Are other people finding that the calibration of the screen is way off and the calibration routine does not correct this? On my unit, if I press the screen with a map displaying, the pin icon appears around 3/4" higher than where I pressed. With drop down menus such as Where To, if I press on a button, the button one or two rows higher will light up. Customer support says they know about this and a software upgrade is in the works but they don't know when it will be released. Think this is true or is it a hardware problem? This flaw makes my unit very aggravating to use. Are others experiencing this problem??

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Are other people finding that the calibration of the screen is way off and the calibration routine does not correct this? On my unit, if I press the screen with a map displaying, the pin icon appears around 3/4" higher than where I pressed. With drop down menus such as Where To, if I press on a button, the button one or two rows higher will light up. Customer support says they know about this and a software upgrade is in the works but they don't know when it will be released. Think this is true or is it a hardware problem? This flaw makes my unit very aggravating to use. Are others experiencing this problem??

Hi,

 

Annoyingly I got mine just when I was going on holiday from UK, I have now driven all the way to Montenegro and have an unusable GPS, it has been getting worse and worse. In the process of trying to use it I deleted all my tracks yesterday... I am really annoyed about this as I have lost all my holiday data...

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Mine was behaving fine until yesterday. Now, in portrait, the bottom right corner is off such that I cannot get the sub-menu in the Nuvi screen. I can get the options by rotating the screen around so I can work with it. I'm not sure if this is hardware or software since I haven't made any updates to the firmware a couple of weeks ago (2.60). I don't have time to call today or this weekend but maybe on Monday. Weird that it just started happening though...

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I purchased mine from megagps.com

I called Garmin last Monday. They said they had never heard of this happening. Never mind its all these forums. They said there was nothing they could do. I called megagps.com and told them I had talked with Garmin support. I gave them a credit card and they send me a new unit and an RMA to return the defective unit to Garmin and get a credit back. I had a new unit by Wednesday. Hope this helps. Jim

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Since this issue is hardware related, is there anyone who knows or has an idea of what component goes bad? What component could fail in such a short amount of time to cause this issue? AND is it isolated to just defective components or should all Montana owners be worried about failure over time? My guess is that the resistive screen itself goes bad but I don't know what components or how many are involved in controlling the screen.

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Garmin should be aware by now, they must have swapped thousands over the whole world.

 

All had the same symptoms, a good working Gps, after about 2 3 weeks we had a calibration issue, getting worse by the minute, until unusable.

 

What gives ME a bad feeling, "how do I know it won't happen again" my new model has an older serial the first unit had.

 

Was it the heat or maybe cold, while charging it got rather warm sometimes, was it the usb cable (charger) in the car, maybe someone has a bright view on this.???

 

I surpassed the 3 week with my 2nd unit and still no issues, also I tried recalibrate, because I had an itch it has something to do with it.

Edited by splashy
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I sent my unit in as well. Exactly the same issues, even with 2.7. And it only got worse.

 

It doesn't give me a very nice feeling about such an expensive unit. I had to go back and use my 60CSX again, and it surprised me how good it actually was. The build quality of the 60CSX is definitely superior to the modern Garmin units. :(

Edited by crewone
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Mine has been fine until I updated the firmware to 2.8. Immediately the calibration was way off, after a recalibration it has worked fine since. Hopefully it stays that way.

 

Looks like I spoke too soon, mine is almost unuseable now. The area closest to the words "Montana 650" seems to wok fine but anything diagonally opposite that is way off. Doesn't matter how many times I calibrate it always says "Calibration successful" yet the problem persists.

I spoke with Gpscity.ca today and they are nice enough to offer a replacement for me even though I am outside of the 30 day RMA period (I just have to pay shipping). Garmin warranty in canada is handled by Raytech in Quebec, I am not sure what their turn around time is, but I will drop them an email (since its after hours there now.)

 

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Mine has been fine until I updated the firmware to 2.8. Immediately the calibration was way off, after a recalibration it has worked fine since. Hopefully it stays that way.

 

Looks like I spoke too soon, mine is almost unuseable now. The area closest to the words "Montana 650" seems to wok fine but anything diagonally opposite that is way off. Doesn't matter how many times I calibrate it always says "Calibration successful" yet the problem persists.

I spoke with Gpscity.ca today and they are nice enough to offer a replacement for me even though I am outside of the 30 day RMA period (I just have to pay shipping). Garmin warranty in canada is handled by Raytech in Quebec, I am not sure what their turn around time is, but I will drop them an email (since its after hours there now.)

 

I have dealt with Raytech twice now. If I were you and gpscity offered a replacement, take it cuz you have to pay shipping to Rayteck anyways and Raytech is notorious for being SLOW!!

 

They advertise an average turn around time of 2 weeks or used to.

 

First unit was a Colorado, 7 weeks and I called twice, end of the 3rd week and beginning of the 7th when they magically had just looked at it and determined it had to be replaced.

 

Second was an oregon 450, 2.5 weeks and I believe that was because #1, after talking with Garmin for over an hour they agreed it was FUBAR and wanted it sent to them (in the US) from Raytech. #2, Garmin emailed them with instructions to replace and return my unit to them.

 

However, they ignored the email or had no procedure to track incoming units to spot it and did NOTHING until I called, complained and pointed out that Garmin had sent them an email with replacement instructions which they CC'd me also. Once they read said email, they had a replacement unit shipped out the next morning.

 

Overall, kinda poor service having only one repair center in Canada.

 

You"ll be up and caching again a lot sooner dealing with GPSCITY then Raytech.

Edited by Styk
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I started this thread. I just sent my unit back to Garmin in Kansas today for repair/replacement. After reading all the replies I wish I had never bought this unit. I wonder if when I get it back it will act up again in the future. I had a beautiful 60CSX full of all kinds of maps that I sold on Ebay in order to buy the Montana. That old 60CSX was a fabulous unit that is bullet proof. Wish I could turn the clock back. I wouldn't have bought the new Montana. No confidence in it now.

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I started this thread. I just sent my unit back to Garmin in Kansas today for repair/replacement. After reading all the replies I wish I had never bought this unit. I wonder if when I get it back it will act up again in the future. I had a beautiful 60CSX full of all kinds of maps that I sold on Ebay in order to buy the Montana. That old 60CSX was a fabulous unit that is bullet proof. Wish I could turn the clock back. I wouldn't have bought the new Montana. No confidence in it now.

 

I think your low confidence is because all you see is the people having problems. You never hear of the hundreds or even thousands of units that are working flawlessly.

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I think your low confidence is because all you see is the people having problems. You never hear of the hundreds or even thousands of units that are working flawlessly.

 

It's no hearsay it's a fact and even if thousands are working now doesn't mean a thing, I KNOW from my own experience it can be over in a few minutes.

The Gps basically keeps working fine, so it will bring you back to your car or whatever, thus there's no real danger, but it really can spoil your trip.

 

Also it's important people know about this.

 

And YES I'm happy with the Montana.

Edited by splashy
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Mine has been fine until I updated the firmware to 2.8. Immediately the calibration was way off, after a recalibration it has worked fine since. Hopefully it stays that way.
Looks like I spoke too soon, mine is almost unuseable now. The area closest to the words "Montana 650" seems to wok fine but anything diagonally opposite that is way off. Doesn't matter how many times I calibrate it always says "Calibration successful" yet the problem persists.I spoke with Gpscity.ca today and they are nice enough to offer a replacement for me even though I am outside of the 30 day RMA period (I just have to pay shipping). Garmin warranty in canada is handled by Raytech in Quebec, I am not sure what their turn around time is, but I will drop them an email (since its after hours there now.)
I have dealt with Raytech twice now. If I were you and gpscity offered a replacement, take it cuz you have to pay shipping to Rayteck anyways and Raytech is notorious for being SLOW!!They advertise an average turn around time of 2 weeks or used to. First unit was a Colorado, 7 weeks and I called twice, end of the 3rd week and beginning of the 7th when they magically had just looked at it and determined it had to be replaced.Second was an oregon 450, 2.5 weeks and I believe that was because #1, after talking with Garmin for over an hour they agreed it was FUBAR and wanted it sent to them (in the US) from Raytech. #2, Garmin emailed them with instructions to replace and return my unit to them.However, they ignored the email or had no procedure to track incoming units to spot it and did NOTHING until I called, complained and pointed out that Garmin had sent them an email with replacement instructions which they CC'd me also. Once they read said email, they had a replacement unit shipped out the next morning.Overall, kinda poor service having only one repair center in Canada. You"ll be up and caching again a lot sooner dealing with GPSCITY then Raytech.
Thanks for the info!I took GPSCity up on their offer and sent it back to them today for an exchange. Was sad to see her go, I love that fatty. laugh.gif

 

Raytech never even responded to my email.

Edited by savant9
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My 650 was put in the post to Garmin Australia today. Amazing that some icons/letters/menus work fine and others.... I was having to guess if I pressed the item above or below the one I actually wanted. The map screen was worst as it would invariably reset to default.

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Got my exchanged unit back from gpscity today.. Even after two separate emails to raytech, I never got a reply. Really not happy with the way Garmin handles repairs in Canada, but I am very happy with the way gpscity stands behind their customers. Just have to wait for Garmin to switch my Birdseye sub to the new unit...

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Got my 600 on 12 August from Amazon proper (not an Amazon third party vendor). Worked perfectly until Tuesday of this week when calibration of the lower right corner (in a portrait orientation) went bad. Trying to zoom in to the map, or scrolling menus down using the down arrow, causes instead a pushpin to appear 3/8 inch above the icon, or if in a menu, selecting whatever function is 3/8 inch above that point. There is another problem area in the upper left (lower left in landscape orientation) which affects scrolling menus up or reverting to the previous screen in landscape mode the same way. From the discussions on several other forums the issue unfortunately seems to be hardware related to the early units (my S/N series is 2T005XXX, and the problems seem to be solved with 2UXXXXXX and higher); it'd be nice if this could be solved through a firmware upgrade like the compass calibration issue (which I never experienced). As of today I'm running 3.20 firmware.

 

Other than that the unit has exceeded all of my expectations for speed, accuracy, caching, memory, and versatility. My eyes are not what they used to be and this is the only handheld out there with a big enough screen for me to use, so I have no desire for a refund, just replacement. I am seeing that not everyone has the screen problem. Will call Garmin on Monday morning and hopefully I can get a new unit. Sending it back to Amazon will render my City Navigator 2011 purchase useless since it's tied to the broken unit, but Garmin has allowed reassignment of the license for defective units sent back to them.

 

If anyone else has some insights or advice please post.

Edited by motorcity0628
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So 3.20 didn't help at all with the screen calibration?

 

Someone had posted about doing a couple downgrades and upgrades and that resolved there screen issues.

 

It did not. I've seen downgrades alluded to in various forums but nowhere have I been able to find adequate, non-vague instructions on how to do that; also the web updater makes no provision to downgrade. If possible I'd like to downgrade to 2.7 or 2.8; the problems started soon after an upgrade to 3.1.

Edited by motorcity0628
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It's no software matter and down- upgrade will not help.

You have to swap with Garmin.

 

If you still want to downgrade

Place the GUPDATE.GCD file in your Garmin folder.

Disconnect the gps, push the on button,

the unit will see the OLD software and ask you if you want to downgrade,

from there it's like any upgrade.

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It's no software matter and down- upgrade will not help.

 

Someone posted that theirs was fixed by downgrading and upgrading firmware. It's worth a shot.

 

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=280448&view=findpost&p=4816796

 

Edit: Added link to post that talked about downgrading and upgrading brought screen back.

Edited by Bullygoat29
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It's no software matter and down- upgrade will not help.

 

Someone posted that theirs was fixed by downgrading and upgrading firmware. It's worth a shot.

 

http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=280448&view=findpost&p=4816796

 

Edit: Added link to post that talked about downgrading and upgrading brought screen back.

 

Link alludes to a completely different issue.

 

Downgraded to 2.8, which was the version I used before this started happening (it started several days after I installed 3.1) and it failed to fix the problem entirely, though I can now get the lower right screen button to work if I hit it just right. Looks like Splashy is right; it's hardware and I'll have to send it back, which bites since by the time the replacement gets sent back here to Florida I'll have moved back to Korea. Grrr. Will call Garmin on Monday and we'll see what happens.

 

What I don't understand is how people having this problem, like me, reported that their units all worked perfectly for two weeks and then their screens suddenly began to malfunction, almost like a bad piece of crippled shareware with a time limit. Also, touchscreen technology is now advanced in the electronics industry; I know of no smartphone user with this type of problem - must be a bad component batch from a supplier.

Edited by motorcity0628
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It happens from one MOMENT to the other, only sometimes you're not aware, therefore check everyday

 

In the nuvi screen (landscape) the right + (zoom in), if it say no route active, it's probably wrong.

The menu screens in portrait, the middle highest icons and lowest in the corners.

The 'keyboard' in landscape, the boarder letters.

 

My 1st unit stopped working after 2 weeks,

the 2nd after about 4 weeks

 

The serials where high in the 400th, so actually I was expecting it a bit.

Dealer says Garmin is delivering a different hardware batch now, so the problem should be over now.

I would like to know until what serial it goes wrong.

Edited by splashy
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From the discussions on several other forums the issue unfortunately seems to be hardware related to the early units (my S/N series is 2T005XXX, and the problems seem to be solved with 2UXXXXXX and higher

 

My first unit that had problem after about 3 weeks was # 28U001XXX, my replacement is 28U011XXX, ten thousand units later... we will see how that goes, but I wouldn't claim that all 28U units do not have this problem as my first one did.

 

 

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It happens from one MOMENT to the other, only sometimes you're not aware, therefore check everyday

 

In the nuvi screen (landscape) the right + (zoom in), if it say no route active, it's probably wrong.

The menu screens in portrait, the middle highest icons and lowest in the corners.

The 'keyboard' in landscape, the boarder letters.

 

My 1st unit stopped working after 2 weeks,

the 2nd after about 4 weeks

 

The serials where high in the 800th, so actually I was expecting it a bit.

Dealer says Garmin is delivering a different hardware batch now, so the problem should be over now.

I would like to know until what serial it goes wrong.

 

My problem was consistent - lower right corner in portrait orientation and (to a lesser degree) the upper left corner (lower left in landscape). No intermittent periods of working/not working. The unit is still usable by switching orientations, i.e. I can still zoom in on the map by rotating to landscape orientation so that control moves to the upper right corner, which still works. So, I can geocache or hike with it (not that I've done any hiking with it yet since this is central Florida in August!) But using it in auto profile with the auto suction mount is problematic if I have to hit the lower left corner.

 

No other problems. In all other respects it's the best, most versatile GPSr I've ever had. Seeing how I started out with a wonderful 60Csx that was unfortunately lost in an accident, that's saying a lot. In particular, I don't want to give up on the Montana because I need the large, bright screen. My eyes are not what they used to be and using the Colorado became a chore, especially in bright sunlight.

 

I'm hoping by now the problem is resolved in manufacturing, but have heard no confirmation. Is there anyone with a fully working unit for the past 2+ weeks and, if so, what are the first five of your S/N?

Edited by motorcity0628
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Okay, this is getting wierder and wierder - in a good way.

 

As I was powering on the unit for the purpose of clearing out my waypoints and custom maps prior to shipping it back, I absentmindedly rubbed my thumb lengthwise across the screen. It then asked me if I wanted to reset the unit upon powerup. I replied yes, and after a bit it started up. Intrigued, I opened up the map and, voila, as long as I make a conscious effort to hit the exact lower right hand part of the screen, the unit is working perfectly. I can now zoom into a map at will while holding the unit in a portrait orientation for the first time in days. I also have no issues whatsoever with the lower left corner in landscape orientation. Menus and buttons are all working just fine. I'll try using it further for another week (I have another 10 days to go before my 30 day evaluation period runs out at Amazon) and if the touchscreen degrades I'll send it back then.

 

I'm wondering now if the problem might be caused by exposure to heat. I haven't used it outside in a few days. It's a good 110 degrees plus in direct sun here in central Florida and the problems started appearing after heavy exposure to the afternoon sun out in the field. In the car I had disconnected it from the auto mount and placed it in the glovebox, which isn't as hot as the car interior but hot enough. I'll have to take it with me when I exit the car from here on in.

 

Upgraded back to firmware 3.20 and the touchscreen is still working fine. Ghost in the machine, huh? Anyone else have their unit get better again like this?

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My calibration was perfect when the unit was new and then kept getting worse. I had calibrated it may times and am running 3.20. After 6 weeks I took it in and exchanged it for a new one. Sportsmans Warehouse. The new one SN # 992 is perfect. Hope this one keeps working.

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I've stated before that my Montana 600 was one of the good ones. I have used it for over 2 months without any issues. Yesterday while caching I started getting the deadly Montana screen problems. First it wouldn't respond to my touches , then it started putting flags down instead of moving through the screens. I had to reboot it twice to get through a cache find. Today it was not much better, it had trouble displaying the count down feet when I got close to a cache. Maybe that was a reception problem. But I fear I have the start of screen issues. I called Garmin and without to much explanation I got a RMA and sent it back today for a new one. I also got them to give me some new Garmin screen protectors. They would not however cover my shipping costs for sending it back. I am a little disappointed to say the least. Hopefully I get a much newer serial # with screen issue corrected.I am now without a gps for a few weeks.

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My calibration was perfect when the unit was new and then kept getting worse. I had calibrated it may times and am running 3.20. After 6 weeks I took it in and exchanged it for a new one. Sportsmans Warehouse. The new one SN # 992 is perfect. Hope this one keeps working.

There are a few of us that would prefer that your Garmin work perfectly, but that your evil Makita cordless didn't work so well! We WILL conquer 19!
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Wow, what have I gotten myself into?!?

 

I got a brand new 650T on Saturday. The touchscreen started to get a bit flaky on Sunday, when I used it for a grand total of three cache finds. Tonight, it has progressed to being virtually impossible to use. You guys who get a few weeks are lucky...mine died in TWO DAYS!

 

Background: it's been treated with great care, no exposure to temperature extremes, not dropped, not exposed to more than a few raindrops; so ironic that one of the big reasons I got it was its supposed ability to withstand all of those things. Its serial number starts with 28Vxx, so it's supposedly newer than the bad batch...so much for that idea. It shipped with v3.10; I upgraded it to 3.20 the night I got it, and since it developed the problem I've downgraded and upgraded to various versions, all with no improvement at all. Tried all of the possible resets, and numerous recalibration attempts; no joy.

 

I've designed embedded systems with resistive touchscreens, and I've never seen behavior quite like this. I'm not sure what sort of hardware failure could even cause this. It's really not rocket surgery to make a functional touchscreen...

 

All I know for sure is that I am highly disappointed by this experience. I really liked the build quality of the Montana when I first held it. Little did I know... :(

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You seem to have another problem, with the calibration the screen doesn't go flaky, only responding wrong on keypress.

I assume you're replying to my post...

 

I guess I didn't describe the problem clearly. The LCD display portion of the unit is fine; the problem only manifests itself in terms of its interpretation of where I press on the screen.

 

At first it worked fine. The next day, it would sometimes misinterpret my presses and give a result as though I had pressed above or below the 'button' which I had actually pressed, usually in the middle to bottom of the screen. It was worse with smaller buttons, such as a 3x3 grid of icons or text entry in portrait mode, while the 2x2 icons usually registered OK. The next day, it got to the point where it would register a press randomly up to 3 or so button positions away on the virtual keyboard, and sometimes would not accept any input at the top or bottom of the screen (in portrait; landscape was similarly hosed). Even the larger 2x2 icons are very difficult to access; often they move themselves off of the active screen instead of actuating. I experienced the same problem described previously of having trouble even selecting English after doing a hard reset (which, despite the claim of erasing all user data, did NOT erase my waypoints, but that's another story).

 

I called the retailer where I purchased the unit, and they're going to get another one in so I can get an exchange. I got one of the first couple of units that they ever got, and the last remaining one at the time.

 

I'd really like to know that they found and corrected the cause of this problem...I love the unit otherwise!

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I sent my Montana back on Friday last week. They got it on Tuesday. I am hoping to have it or a replacement back soon.

 

While I was waiting I emailed a couple of email addresses at Garmin and asked them if they could tell me if the issue was hardware or software related, if they planned to fix it by hardware or a software fix (fudge!). I asked them if they understood where in the production the issue stopped. I also asked where I could find official notification of the issue...

 

I got a two responses the first was crap. The second from one of the other addresses I emailed said that it was a batch issue with the LCD's and that it should not be an issue on my replacement. The final question was not answered.

 

Obviously I can't say what serial number they will send me yet, but the item I sent them was a 28T0003xx.

 

I guess time will tell, I just thought I would let you know I got a response from them.

 

Dan

 

Corrected the serial number...

Edited by danward79
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Danward79, this is disheartening news. I sent in a defunct unit to Garmin and they returned an apparently brand new unit (although they labeled it a "refurnished unit") a week or so ago with a serial number 28T006xxx. This replacement unit has a lower serial number than the unit you just sent in! I wonder what gives?? So far it has been working fine, but I haven't used it too much as yet. It took a a few weeks for my first unit to go bad.

 

I wish Garmin would come clean with an explanation of what's wrong. Wish I hadn't sold my trusty 60CSX to get this Montana. I have very little confidence in this unit.

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I got my original 650t a week ago today. 2 days later, it had deteriorated to nearly unusable. I called the retailer on Tuesday. Today, I got a call that they had gotten a new one in. I went there and exchanged it, and so far the new one is working perfectly. Original and new one are both in the 28V00xxxx range, but the new one is a higher number. Interestingly, the screen on the new one looks different (much nicer) in direct sunlight; the original had some visible artifacts which appeared to be part of the resistive touch layer. This would line up with a bad batch of LCDs. I'm quite impressed with how the store (Bass Pro Shops) handled the exchange, no problem at all, and how quickly they got a new one in.

 

Hopefully the new one will just keep working!

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