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Garmin Montana: FW 3.63 Beta


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Late to the party here as I've been out of town for a bit....

 

Does anyone (yogazoo?) know what the new "track distance" field does differently? Earlier, we had a separate thread going about errors in actual distance traveled versus what the trip computer distance was reporting. The conclusion from that was to set the track log to 1-second updates to solve the problem. I wonder if this new field is a better solution. I'll have to try it out and see, unless someone has already done so.

 

Based on my tesing this weekend here is how the "Track Distance" field works. "Track Distance" appears to be simply another field to display your horizontal movement at one second intervals, just like your Trip Odometer. The only difference is that the two fields reset differently. The "Trip Odometer" resets when you reset the Trip Data and the "Track Distance" is zeroed out when you reset the Tracklog. That's it, plain and simple. When I was done hiking the "Trip Odometer" and "Track Distance" fields were the same but my actual track distance, when viewed in the Track Manager, was shorter (as expected set to Auto / Most Often.)

 

One might think that this is kinda hokey since the readout isn't the true distance as recorded in your tracklog but it's actually kinda nice when you think about it. For me It's a bit redundant since I usually clear my Trip Data and Tracklog Data before each hike anyway but, for some, having these two fields being the same but independently reset could be a huge benefit. After all, the true distance you travel is a recording of your positional movement once per second. Your tracklog, if it's set to record at any interval less than once per second isn't a reading of your true distance anyway.

 

If your concerned with the true distance being recorded in your tracklog then set the interval at once per second. A tracklog has other purposes other than recording a true distance and having an interval of less than once per second has it's advantages. Garmin is simply giving those of us who record at less of an interval to see a true representation of distance independent from the Trip Odometer and the truncated tracklog.

 

Again the only difference is how the two fields, "Trip Odometer" and "Track Distance", are reset. Other than that they both display your distance travelled on the horizontal plane at one second intervals.

 

I hope this made sense.

 

ADDED: I just want to say to those people on the fence about the Montana. The Montana, after owning every conceivable model of Garmin since the green venture, leaves very little to be desired. The firmware is still not what I would call "mature" but it's getting there.

Edited by yogazoo
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I liked the Colorado but the Montana is MANY leaps forward, it's a dream gps.

 

Don't worry about errors you see here, it's only if you do 'this or that' or in a cradle sometimes.

And as with other errors, Montana problems normally are fixed fast with new software.

Edited by splashy
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Well, the barometer "Save Always" issue is back again. WHen you select "Save Always" in the barometer setup and turn the unit off for the evening it doesn't record any data overnight. Instead when you turn the unit on in the morning you'll see a straight line from power off to power on (no dynamic data). This issue was identified a few months back and it was fixed but it's broken again in 3.36.

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ADDED: I just want to say to those people on the fence about the Montana. The Montana, after owning every conceivable model of Garmin since the green venture, leaves very little to be desired. The firmware is still not what I would call "mature" but it's getting there.

 

I agree, for all the foibles and irritations I've had with my Montana I wouldn't want to be without it.

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