eTrex 20/30 software version 2.61 Beta

February 11, 2012

http://www8.garmin.com/support/download_details.jsp?id=5557

Changes made from version 2.60 to 2.61:

Improved GPS response at low speeds

February 11, 2012

eTrex 20/30 software version 2.61 Beta

http://www8.garmin.com/support/download_details.jsp?id=5557

Changes made from version 2.60 to 2.61:

Improved GPS response at low speeds

Woot! Installing this now!

February 11, 2012

installing right now, not got any plans for caching today though...

2.6k · February 11, 2012

WHERE IS THE ONE FOR OREGON AND 62 ????

2.6k · February 11, 2012

WHERE IS THE ONE FOR OREGON AND 62 ????

You know, I guess it makes since to correct your brand new market entry first to head off tons of returns and save big bucks for Garmin......as for the rest of us who have been affected MUCH longer we have to WAIT.

February 11, 2012

WHERE IS THE ONE FOR OREGON AND 62 ????

And the Montana.....??? :surprise:

7k · February 11, 2012

I guess the eTrexers are just the guinea pigs for now... :anitongue:

4.3k · February 11, 2012

I can't believe Garmin only offered the beta update in a PC executable format. I thought it was only other GPS makers who did dumb stuff like that.

We shouldn't have to, but Mac users can work around this and install the beta anyhow:

- Download the updater EXE file from Garmin.

- Open it with StuffIt Expander to extract the files

- Look for GUPDATE.GCD in the Garmin folder of the extracted files

- Make sure you have fresh batteries in the garmin

- Connect your eTrex 20/30 to the Mac and wait for it to show up as a disk drive

- Copy GUPDATE.GCD to the Garmin folder on the GPS

- Make sure to correctly put away/eject the Garmin volume from the Mac

- Disconnect the eTrex cable (it will automatically turn off)

- Turn the eTrex on and wait a minute to let the software update to run.

See? Easy as pie

Now to march slowly up and down the square to see if it's any different.

February 12, 2012

Loaded up 2.61 beta on my eTrex 20 last night. Went out this morning to test it out. I don't want to speak too soon, but, WOO-HOO! It works! No matter how slowly I walked, it smoothly counted down feet to go to each of the 10 caches I found. At least for me, the new software made a tremendous difference - no "stickyness" at all.

February 12, 2012

Loaded up 2.61 beta on my eTrex 20 last night. Went out this morning to test it out. I don't want to speak too soon, but, WOO-HOO! It works! No matter how slowly I walked, it smoothly counted down feet to go to each of the 10 caches I found. At least for me, the new software made a tremendous difference - no "stickyness" at all.

Just put the final touches on my YouTube video to show how bad the sticky issue was.... And now , looks like I wasted my energy. Woo- Hoo is right!!!! Can't wait to try it out myself!

February 12, 2012

Loaded up 2.61 beta on my eTrex 20 last night. Went out this morning to test it out. I don't want to speak too soon, but, WOO-HOO! It works! No matter how slowly I walked, it smoothly counted down feet to go to each of the 10 caches I found. At least for me, the new software made a tremendous difference - no "stickyness" at all.

You could see the difference with the GPS sitting still. The map pointer was "twitchy" like my old Legend. Looks like they dialed down the deadband on detected motion...

Now they'll have to deal with the other percentage of folks that will complain "my pointers moving and I'm not..."

You'd think they'd make it switchable via a menu...

February 12, 2012

I can't believe Garmin only offered the beta update in a PC executable format. I thought it was only other GPS makers who did dumb stuff like that.

We shouldn't have to, but Mac users can work around this and install the beta anyhow:

- Download the updater EXE file from Garmin.

- Open it with StuffIt Expander to extract the files

- Look for GUPDATE.GCD in the Garmin folder of the extracted files

- Make sure you have fresh batteries in the garmin

- Connect your eTrex 20/30 to the Mac and wait for it to show up as a disk drive

- Copy GUPDATE.GCD to the Garmin folder on the GPS

- Make sure to correctly put away/eject the Garmin volume from the Mac

- Disconnect the eTrex cable (it will automatically turn off)

- Turn the eTrex on and wait a minute to let the software update to run.

See? Easy as pie

Not sure how you did this with your Mac. When I tried to open the .exe file using Stuffit Expander, I got a message that the file was not compressed or encoded and couldn't be opened. It said "Unable to determine file format."

8.3k · February 12, 2012

Loaded up 2.61 beta on my eTrex 20 last night. Went out this morning to test it out. I don't want to speak too soon, but, WOO-HOO! It works! No matter how slowly I walked, it smoothly counted down feet to go to each of the 10 caches I found. At least for me, the new software made a tremendous difference - no "stickyness" at all.

You could see the difference with the GPS sitting still. The map pointer was "twitchy" like my old Legend. Looks like they dialed down the deadband on detected motion...

Now they'll have to deal with the other percentage of folks that will complain "my pointers moving and I'm not..."

You'd think they'd make it switchable via a menu...

I liked how on my 76CSx I could set the speed at which it switched from the GPS compass to the electronic compass and how long the speed had to stay below the threshold before it switched.

4.3k · February 12, 2012

...Not sure how you did this with your Mac. When I tried to open the .exe file using Stuffit Expander, I got a message that the file was not compressed or encoded and couldn't be opened. It said "Unable to determine file format."

Might need the latest version of StuffIt Expander? I was just able to right-click on the EXE and select "Open With..."

PM me if you need more help on this.

7k · February 12, 2012

Loaded up 2.61 beta on my eTrex 20 last night. Went out this morning to test it out. I don't want to speak too soon, but, WOO-HOO! It works! No matter how slowly I walked, it smoothly counted down feet to go to each of the 10 caches I found. At least for me, the new software made a tremendous difference - no "stickyness" at all.

You could see the difference with the GPS sitting still. The map pointer was "twitchy" like my old Legend. Looks like they dialed down the deadband on detected motion...

That's gonna screw with people's odometer...

February 12, 2012

With 2.61 my eTrex20 only freezes in the woods, in the free field it doesn't stick

anymore. So 2.61 is an improvement indeed.

February 12, 2012

I loaded the 2.61 yesterday and went out today and did not experience any sticky issues at all.

Found 5 caches today, all were in cover of trees, some very heavy. Experienced some bounce, but was pleasantly surprised how quickly my eTrex 30 settled down. I'm very happy with the 2.61 beta update.

February 12, 2012

Yes, I looks like this beta version is the big improvement regarding sticky issue!

I was able "to stick" at most 5 meters in the woods today and I was trying really hard.

Many thanks to ones that participated in these "sticky" threads and big thanks to Garmin for listening!

I hope that other models will get this improvement too and sticky problem will be forgotten soon...

February 15, 2012

Yes, I looks like this beta version is the big improvement regarding sticky issue!

I was able "to stick" at most 5 meters in the woods today and I was trying really hard.

Many thanks to ones that participated in these "sticky" threads and big thanks to Garmin for listening!

I hope that other models will get this improvement too and sticky problem will be forgotten soon...

Just updated mine, I only had the sticky issue a couple of times but hope it's worked out.

Hope Apple would listen also to consumers and fix the battery issue on the 4S as well

8.3k · February 16, 2012

Did more geocaching with 2.61 today. Better, but still needs work. It stuck a time or two, mostly in the woods. Had to power down and back up to get it working again. I had some interesting times while the distance was counting down and the arrow on the compass was pointing backwards. My friend with a 60CSx did not have that problem. Other times as I varied my walking speed the compass arrow would flip back and forth about 90 degrees. Probably about the time they get to beta 2.64 it will be usable. It certainly does not measure up to my 76CSx.

February 16, 2012

we went out yesterday and it was fine (2.61), seemed to cope will with very slow walking (steep uphill covered in heather), so looking good

February 16, 2012

Did more geocaching with 2.61 today. Better, but still needs work. It stuck a time or two, mostly in the woods. Had to power down and back up to get it working again. I had some interesting times while the distance was counting down and the arrow on the compass was pointing backwards. My friend with a 60CSx did not have that problem. Other times as I varied my walking speed the compass arrow would flip back and forth about 90 degrees. Probably about the time they get to beta 2.64 it will be usable. It certainly does not measure up to my 76CSx.

Sound like the device is counting down correctly, but the arrow is flipping around? Do you have a 30?

8.3k · February 16, 2012

Did more geocaching with 2.61 today. Better, but still needs work. It stuck a time or two, mostly in the woods. Had to power down and back up to get it working again. I had some interesting times while the distance was counting down and the arrow on the compass was pointing backwards. My friend with a 60CSx did not have that problem. Other times as I varied my walking speed the compass arrow would flip back and forth about 90 degrees. Probably about the time they get to beta 2.64 it will be usable. It certainly does not measure up to my 76CSx.

Sound like the device is counting down correctly, but the arrow is flipping around? Do you have a 30?

Yes, a 30.

February 17, 2012

Did more geocaching with 2.61 today. Better, but still needs work. It stuck a time or two, mostly in the woods. Had to power down and back up to get it working again. I had some interesting times while the distance was counting down and the arrow on the compass was pointing backwards. My friend with a 60CSx did not have that problem. Other times as I varied my walking speed the compass arrow would flip back and forth about 90 degrees. Probably about the time they get to beta 2.64 it will be usable. It certainly does not measure up to my 76CSx.

I've had issues with the arrow pointing in the wrong direction. Last weekend I was out on a walking trip with no caching involved and on one day I had to calibrate the compass at least twice within a 6 hour period. At the time we were walking in the clouds with a lot of snow on the ground and navigation was extremely difficult. We were in the open all day and not in any tree cover. Luckily on the occasions when the 30 was pointing in the wrong direction I realised fairly quickly as I was also carrying a map and compass. I've had this problem in the past but have been unable to repeat at will.

I was using the map, moving the cursor and clicking to select the next destination. I had the distance and direction pointer as small icons. In the past I've suspected it's the use of these additional waypoints that have caused the problem.

I've also had arrow issues when navigating to a cache - I walk away from the arrow direction but the distance decrease.

I was using an Extrex 30 with the most recent (non-beta) firmware. I've now installed the beta and hope to test today.

Another thing I've noticed is that the if you rotate the gps in your hand whilst walking in a straight line to a cache/waypoint the arrow does not update until you stop moving. If you keep holding the gps at the same angle to your body but change your direction of walk the arrow does update whilst moving.

Edited February 17, 2012 by duncanhoyle

February 17, 2012

Garmin ought to come up with a setting that adjusts the sensitivity of the GPSr. Then the folks that complain, "My thingy says I'm moving but I am not" can be told to just turn down the sensitivity.

-Dave

February 17, 2012

Garmin ought to come up with a setting that adjusts the sensitivity of the GPSr. Then the folks that complain, "My thingy says I'm moving but I am not" can be told to just turn down the sensitivity.

-Dave

On my 60CSX I'd fix that by specifying "Record By Distance" and setting a distance of about 5 yards. That would mostly eliminate spiderweb tracks (erroneous samples when unit wasn't moving). Garmin software on more recent models seemed to take care of this pretty well on the "Automatic" setting, but maybe the software upgrades fine tuned "Automatic" a little.

8.3k · February 17, 2012

Did more geocaching with 2.61 today. Better, but still needs work. It stuck a time or two, mostly in the woods. Had to power down and back up to get it working again. I had some interesting times while the distance was counting down and the arrow on the compass was pointing backwards. My friend with a 60CSx did not have that problem. Other times as I varied my walking speed the compass arrow would flip back and forth about 90 degrees. Probably about the time they get to beta 2.64 it will be usable. It certainly does not measure up to my 76CSx.

I've had issues with the arrow pointing in the wrong direction. Last weekend I was out on a walking trip with no caching involved and on one day I had to calibrate the compass at least twice within a 6 hour period. At the time we were walking in the clouds with a lot of snow on the ground and navigation was extremely difficult. We were in the open all day and not in any tree cover. Luckily on the occasions when the 30 was pointing in the wrong direction I realised fairly quickly as I was also carrying a map and compass. I've had this problem in the past but have been unable to repeat at will.

I was using the map, moving the cursor and clicking to select the next destination. I had the distance and direction pointer as small icons. In the past I've suspected it's the use of these additional waypoints that have caused the problem.

I've also had arrow issues when navigating to a cache - I walk away from the arrow direction but the distance decrease.

I was using an Extrex 30 with the most recent (non-beta) firmware. I've now installed the beta and hope to test today.

Another thing I've noticed is that the if you rotate the gps in your hand whilst walking in a straight line to a cache/waypoint the arrow does not update until you stop moving. If you keep holding the gps at the same angle to your body but change your direction of walk the arrow does update whilst moving.

I've noticed the noticed the arrow not updating if you rotate the unit. I've also had problems with it not updating while rotating the unit when stopped. I'll have to try the changing direction while moving and see what happens.

February 17, 2012

Did more geocaching with 2.61 today.

I've also had arrow issues when navigating to a cache - I walk away from the arrow direction but the distance decrease.

I was using an Extrex 30 with the most recent (non-beta) firmware. I've now installed the beta and hope to test today.

Another thing I've noticed is that the if you rotate the gps in your hand whilst walking in a straight line to a cache/waypoint the arrow does not update until you stop moving. If you keep holding the gps at the same angle to your body but change your direction of walk the arrow does update whilst moving.

I've noticed the noticed the arrow not updating if you rotate the unit. I've also had problems with it not updating while rotating the unit when stopped. I'll have to try the changing direction while moving and see what happens.

Is this digital compass issue completely different than the sticky issue (static navigation) we are having on the 20? Also sounds like this isn't something that is new to 2.61 beta?

8.3k · February 17, 2012

Did more geocaching with 2.61 today.

I've also had arrow issues when navigating to a cache - I walk away from the arrow direction but the distance decrease.

I was using an Extrex 30 with the most recent (non-beta) firmware. I've now installed the beta and hope to test today.

Another thing I've noticed is that the if you rotate the gps in your hand whilst walking in a straight line to a cache/waypoint the arrow does not update until you stop moving. If you keep holding the gps at the same angle to your body but change your direction of walk the arrow does update whilst moving.

I've noticed the noticed the arrow not updating if you rotate the unit. I've also had problems with it not updating while rotating the unit when stopped. I'll have to try the changing direction while moving and see what happens.

Is this digital compass issue completely different than the sticky issue (static navigation) we are having on the 20? Also sounds like this isn't something that is new to 2.61 beta?

Probably an electronic compass issue, which is different from the compass on the 20. With that said, before 2.61 the thing would stick up just like your 20. If it is anything like my 76CSx there is a speed at which it switches from the GPS compass to the electronic compass. Once below this speed you need to stay below that speed for a given period of time. I was able to tune my compass on the 76CSx so it preformed pretty well, although I would stop 40-50 before GZ and let it switch and settle and then move again at a slow speed. Since Garmin does not expose this setting on the 30, we can only guess what it is. For all we know the switch speed could be 1 mile per hour.

February 17, 2012

You would think that the switch over to gps based compass would be well over walking speed? (greater than 5mph) Well... At least it sounds like they have the first sticky problem somewhat under control. Question... Can you turn off the digital compass on the 30 in settings?

8.3k · February 17, 2012

You would think that the switch over to gps based compass would be well over walking speed? (greater than 5mph) Well... At least it sounds like they have the first sticky problem somewhat under control. Question... Can you turn off the digital compass on the 30 in settings?

Yeah, but after upgrading to the 76CSx from a GPS 48 I kind of like the electronic compass. I would rather Garmin fix the compass.

February 22, 2012

All was GREAT with my E Trex 20 until I installed this beta software... it royally **** my GPSr. I was ready to throw it into the reservoir. I have to figure out how to roll back the firmware to an earlier version.

February 23, 2012

Non beta version 2.70 now available...

http://www8.garmin.com/support/download_details.jsp?id=5553

Changes made from version 2.60 to 2.70:

Improved GPS response at low speeds

Fixed issue that could occur when restoring map zoom level defaults

Fixed issue with track distance data field in stopwatch application

February 23, 2012

From a brief trial this lunchtime walking around the carpark at work, my experience is similar to jholly's - 2.61 is a definite improvement, but there's still some work to do.

Walking slowly, there is still some stickiness going on, and this is reflected in the tracklogs being rather variable and erratic. Once I start walking reasonably briskly, the tracklogs become much more accurate and consistent, and repeatable to the nearest metre or so.

The changes in lat/lon (or in my case OSGB) coordinates do seem to be more fluid though - it's almost as if there's a slight disconnect between the coordinates displayed and the tracklog (which I guess is possible using the "auto" setting for logging tracks).

February 23, 2012

I can't try the 2.61 or the new 2.7 either with my Etrex 30. After sending several emails to Garmin, they finally agreed to take my unit back and are sending me a new one. So, we will see if one of these manufactured later has the same problems. When I get the new one, I will load it up with the new software if necessary and see how it works.

8.3k · February 24, 2012

I see in another thread some have reported no or little improvement with 2.61 and 2.70. My Etrex with 2.60 works just fine. Will be interesting to see if your replacement does work better, it's possible that the sticky issue is related to something other than software.

I doubt it. My sticky issue improved significantly with 2.61. There are still problems, but not like there were.

February 24, 2012

My sticky issue improved significantly with 2.61. There are still problems, but not like there were.

Mine too, with 2.61 my etrex 30 was a pleasure to use! I'm trusting 2.70 to be at least as good, though not too sure right now when I'm out caching again

February 25, 2012

Garmin is actually going to run mine and some others through their lab, find the problem, and design the software fix based off of that and user reports. So, keep telling them about your problems so they can clear this up.

In the future, though, I won't buy another Garmin product until it has been out for several months and has all the kinks worked out.

February 29, 2012

Finally got out today (hey, leap day -- had to) and found 2.61 (Etrex 20) to be a definite improvement from my POV.

I'll go to 2.7 in a bit.

1.7k · February 29, 2012

As I was out and about today, I was walking at a brisk clip and my 20 was counting down normally. I came to a complete stop, stood still for about a minute and then slowly started walking, taking about 12 inch steps. The 20 continued to count down just like it should.

IMHO... and this is only for me.... v2.7 may have just done the trick.

April 7, 2012

...Not sure how you did this with your Mac. When I tried to open the .exe file using Stuffit Expander, I got a message that the file was not compressed or encoded and couldn't be opened. It said "Unable to determine file format."

Might need the latest version of StuffIt Expander? I was just able to right-click on the EXE and select "Open With..."

PM me if you need more help on this.

It works OK with StuffIt Expander 15.0.4 but not with version 14.0.1. I get a folder containing a folder named eTrex_20_30 containing a folder named Garmin containing the GUPDATE.GCD file.

eTrex 20/30 software version 2.61 Beta

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