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Beta update eTrex 20/30 v. 2.73

ThreeTrees

By ThreeTrees
in GPS technology and devices

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ThreeTrees

+ThreeTrees

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Changes made from version 2.71 to 2.73:

Improved ability to clear unit settings on power up: now only requires menu key and enter key to be held when powering the unit on

Improved size of roads drawn on map in 'automotive mode' orientation

Fixed issue that was causing some devices to display a 'memory full' message followed by bad device behavior

user13371

+user13371

Posted
Posted (edited)
no mention of the Etrex 20 on the download page...just the E30

Yes there is. Sub-title on this download page says eTrex 20/30 software version 2.73 Beta as of April 9, 2012 and the download filename itself is eTrex20_30_273Beta.

Edited by Portland Cyclist
GrnXnham

+GrnXnham

Posted
Posted

Changes made from version 2.71 to 2.73:

 

Improved size of roads drawn on map in 'automotive mode' orientation

 

 

I like the sound of this. I don't use "automotive mode" orientation on my eTrex 20 because the roads are too large/wide/thick at the bottom of the screen. Hopefully, they are now smaller.

teamhough

+teamhough

Posted
Posted

Still gonna sit on the side lines....... and see how this plays out.

 

Smart move! I wish I had done that. 273beta is a little better. I can get the quick park-n-grabs but bushwacking off the trails, with power on over a half hour, the thing can't handle.

jholly

jholly

Posted
Posted

Still gonna sit on the side lines....... and see how this plays out.

 

Smart move! I wish I had done that. 273beta is a little better. I can get the quick park-n-grabs but bushwacking off the trails, with power on over a half hour, the thing can't handle.

So revert to 2.6 and enjoy the stickys.

teamhough

+teamhough

Posted
Posted

Nope, a reboot fixed it, the second programming run worked.

 

What are you calling a reboot? A power off then on? yanking the batteries? A three button reset?

Croesgadwr

+Croesgadwr

Posted
Posted

Nope, a reboot fixed it, the second programming run worked.

 

What are you calling a reboot? A power off then on? yanking the batteries? A three button reset?

 

Same happened to my Etrex 20...just pulled the batteries, refitted 'em, and away to go.

No probs...

tr_s

tr_s

Posted
Posted

Nope, a reboot fixed it, the second programming run worked.

 

What are you calling a reboot? A power off then on? yanking the batteries? A three button reset?

 

Jerk batteries, insert again, power on.

teamhough

+teamhough

Posted
Posted

having used the Etrex30 out on the trail geocaching with 2.73 it seems to be performing better. Here is what seems to work for me

recreational profile

gps+glonass sats

waas on chirp off

north up (track up will make screen flip/flop at ground zero)

new england topo enabled only

 

I might also add that I've gotten more used to it. It's been an ugly learning curve!

knightswift

knightswift

Posted
Posted

How many geocaches do you have on your etrex? I always had about 1000 to 1100, but since 2.73 i had to go back to about 750 or the device won't boot until i delete the gpx and do a three-button-reset.

Lineman101

+Lineman101

Posted
Posted

How many geocaches do you have on your etrex? I always had about 1000 to 1100, but since 2.73 i had to go back to about 750 or the device won't boot until i delete the gpx and do a three-button-reset.

 

I've got 2500 hundred caches on my e-trex 20 with the new 2.73 update and it seems to work fine.

teamhough

+teamhough

Posted
Posted

How many geocaches do you have on your etrex? I always had about 1000 to 1100, but since 2.73 i had to go back to about 750 or the device won't boot until i delete the gpx and do a three-button-reset.

 

I'm only at 650. The lit says you can have 2000 poi's. Geocaches have a lot more data than a poi will. You can be out on a cache and not finding it, so you can go to the Etrex and read everything the owner said, and maybe find it. You can do the same with an Iphone, if you have coverage, at this spot. The etrex doesn't need coverage, because the data was previously stored internally. Some day Garmin will produce a gps designed just for geocaching. When they do I will be the first in line.

The Frosties!

+The Frosties!

Posted
Posted
The lit says you can have 2000 poi's. Geocaches have a lot more data than a poi will.

The etrex 30 (I have one) will hold up to 5000 geocaches (tested myself), waypoints are stored/counted separately. Any more than 5000 will result in an error message as the device boots, but 5k will still be loaded (which takes a minute or 2 first time)

knightswift

knightswift

Posted
Posted

The etrex 30 (I have one) will hold up to 5000 geocaches (tested myself), waypoints are stored/counted separately. Any more than 5000 will result in an error message as the device boots, but 5k will still be loaded (which takes a minute or 2 first time)

 

Yes, thats why i'm confused. Like is said, more than 750 caches and the device boots, loads all the waypoints but the next time you boot it shows the garmin logo and shuts down after a few seconds. I then have to force storage mode by holding stick up and plugging in the USB, then delete the GPX file and then make a three-button-reset. After that i can copy a new GPX file onto it. Strange. Til 2.70 everything worked fine with my ~1100 caches file.

ChefRd2000

ChefRd2000

Posted
Posted

The etrex 30 (I have one) will hold up to 5000 geocaches (tested myself), waypoints are stored/counted separately. Any more than 5000 will result in an error message as the device boots, but 5k will still be loaded (which takes a minute or 2 first time)

 

Yes, thats why i'm confused. Like is said, more than 750 caches and the device boots, loads all the waypoints but the next time you boot it shows the garmin logo and shuts down after a few seconds. I then have to force storage mode by holding stick up and plugging in the USB, then delete the GPX file and then make a three-button-reset. After that i can copy a new GPX file onto it. Strange. Til 2.70 everything worked fine with my ~1100 caches file.

 

Might explain the delay of 2.8 release...

Indotguy

+Indotguy

Posted
Posted

How many geocaches do you have on your etrex? I always had about 1000 to 1100, but since 2.73 i had to go back to about 750 or the device won't boot until i delete the gpx and do a three-button-reset.

 

I'm only at 650. The lit says you can have 2000 poi's. Geocaches have a lot more data than a poi will. You can be out on a cache and not finding it, so you can go to the Etrex and read everything the owner said, and maybe find it. You can do the same with an Iphone, if you have coverage, at this spot. The etrex doesn't need coverage, because the data was previously stored internally. Some day Garmin will produce a gps designed just for geocaching. When they do I will be the first in line.

 

I'm holding out for a device that can store at least 1,728,669 active caches!

tr_s

tr_s

Posted
Posted

Making a device quickly handle hundreds of thousands of caches wouldn't exactly be technically hard, the processor strength and memory is enough. Another type of file format akin to a sorted/searchable database would be required though.

user13371

+user13371

Posted
Posted (edited)
How many geocaches do you have on your etrex? I always had about 1000 to 1100, but since 2.73 i had to go back to about 750 or the device won't boot until i delete the gpx and do a three-button-reset.

Right this minute? 4217 caches plus 225 child waypoints. The GPX files take up about 20 megabytes. I also have an OpenStreetMap containing roughly the northern third of he USA, 771MB. No problems noted so far.

 

Are you sure you're giving it enough time to start up? After refreshing/reloading a set of GPX files, it can take several minutes -- and it will seem much longer if you're staring at an apparently unmoving, unchanging splash screen. On a day I'm planning to go caching, I dwnload the batch, restart the GPS, and then go have another cup of coffee. When I come back it's done, without fail.

 

...Some day Garmin will produce a gps designed just for geocaching...
I'm holding out for a device that can store at least 1,728,669 active caches!

With only one premium membership and a very carefully composed/scheduled set of pocket queries, it'd take a few weeks short of one year to fill that up. And the majority of your data would always be stale with regards to logs, enabled/disabled status, etc.

 

Rather than holding more caches, I'd like a much simpler improvement:- code an "unzip" processor into the thing so I can drop a zipped pocket query right into the GPS (and Basecamp, while they're at it) without having to do that step in another program first.

Edited by Portland Cyclist
ChefRd2000

ChefRd2000

Posted
Posted

On a day I'm planning to go caching, I dwnload the batch, restart the GPS, and then go have another cup of coffee.

 

After your initial "cup of coffee" start up.... How long does it take to start up after that?

user13371

+user13371

Posted
Posted (edited)
After your initial "cup of coffee" start up.... How long does it take to start up after that?

Let's see -- I'll restart it now and put a stopwatch to it ...

 

19 seconds.

 

Edit to add: Repeated a few times and it stays within a second or two of that. I think it varies -- longer, by a few sconds -- if you've edited/changed any of your waypoints or geocaches since you did the last load of files. I know adding/changing the files directly bumps you back to that much longer startup time.

Edited by Portland Cyclist
Indotguy

+Indotguy

Posted
Posted

How many geocaches do you have on your etrex? I always had about 1000 to 1100, but since 2.73 i had to go back to about 750 or the device won't boot until i delete the gpx and do a three-button-reset.

 

I'm only at 650. The lit says you can have 2000 poi's. Geocaches have a lot more data than a poi will. You can be out on a cache and not finding it, so you can go to the Etrex and read everything the owner said, and maybe find it. You can do the same with an Iphone, if you have coverage, at this spot. The etrex doesn't need coverage, because the data was previously stored internally. Some day Garmin will produce a gps designed just for geocaching. When they do I will be the first in line.

 

I'm holding out for a device that can store at least 1,728,669 active caches!

 

(My intent was to be factitious. Guess I should have used an appropriate emoticon) <_<

user13371

+user13371

Posted
Posted
...holding out for a device that can store at least 1,728,669 active caches! ... My intent was to be factitious...

Yes, I knew that even without the smiley. But it always makes me wonder when some people - quite seriously -- complain that 5000 or 10000 or (pick some larger value) isn't enough. I live in an absurdly cache-dense metro area and think 5000 is just about right for my purposes.

user13371

+user13371

Posted
Posted (edited)
After your initial "cup of coffee" start up.... How long does it take to start up after that?

Let's see -- I'll restart it now and put a stopwatch to it ... 19 seconds. ...if you've edited/changed any of your waypoints or geocaches since you did the last load of files. I know adding/changing the files directly bumps you back to that much longer startup time.

 

More data: I just deleted the larger set of GPX files from the GPS, put a simple GPX of 500 caches on and restarted - SEVEN MINUTES to start up. I guess a lot of that time is spent clearing thousands of caches OUT of memory as well as loading the new set.

 

I can see why an impatient screen watcher might think it had locked up. Those who just go away and come back later will never notice a problem.

Edited by user13371
knightswift

knightswift

Posted
Posted (edited)

 

Are you sure you're giving it enough time to start up? After refreshing/reloading a set of GPX files, it can take several minutes -- and it will seem much longer if you're staring at an apparently unmoving, unchanging splash screen. On a day I'm planning to go caching, I dwnload the batch, restart the GPS, and then go have another cup of coffee. When I come back it's done, without fail.

 

 

I can see why an impatient screen watcher might think it had locked up. Those who just go away and come back later will never notice a problem.

 

Again: I have a gpx file with about 1100 caches. It works with all firmwares til 2.70 (i dont have 2.71). If i flash 2.73 it boots once, loads the gpx (yes this time it last very long, couple of minutes) and is fully functional. But if i shut down the device it will not boot a second time. It turns on, shows the garmin logo and after a few seconds it turns off. At this point i have no other chance to get it working again than delete/modify the gpx and then do a three-button-reset. It has nothing to do with impatience. The device shuts down itself.

Edited by knightswift
knightswift

knightswift

Posted
Posted (edited)

KnighSwift - Do you have a data card installed? If so, pull the card and try loading caches onto intenral memory, see if that makes any difference.

 

I have installed a card since i own the device. On the card i have OSM maps, the caches are on the internal memory of the GPSr. Will try without card later.

 

edit: happens with and without microSD, makes no difference

Edited by knightswift
knightswift

knightswift

Posted
Posted

Sussamb: Have you tried forcing it into mass storage and placing the GUPDATE.GCD file for 2.73 in the Garmin folder?

 

Yep, problem is that while I can do that it then won't 'boot' so the GUPDATE file never runs. I even tried compiling a rgn file but that didn't work either :mad:

 

Delete the .gpx file forcing mass storage mode and then hold pgdwn+enter+back while you turn the device on and hold both about 15secs. If this doesnt work the first time simply try again.

tr_s

tr_s

Posted
Posted

Oh bummer. The lack of a true hardware reset is again, a serious design problem. Every piece of consumer electronics should have it.

hydrodis

+hydrodis

Posted
Posted

Swapped my broken Etrex for a brand new one at Go Outdoors yesterday, excellent service :)

Agree with the service. Had to change mine when back panel lock broke.Not sure the new one is as accurate as the swopped one. Only tried once.

Can't test at the moment as done my back in. Happy days.

tr_s

tr_s

Posted
Posted

Swapped my broken Etrex for a brand new one at Go Outdoors yesterday, excellent service :)

Agree with the service. Had to change mine when back panel lock broke.Not sure the new one is as accurate as the swopped one. Only tried once.

Can't test at the moment as done my back in. Happy days.

 

You had to swap the whole device for a broken back panel lock? Mine broke at the second or third battery change as well (...great)... but then I just sent the lid back in an envelope to the store and got a new one.

hydrodis

+hydrodis

Posted
Posted

Swapped my broken Etrex for a brand new one at Go Outdoors yesterday, excellent service :)

Agree with the service. Had to change mine when back panel lock broke.Not sure the new one is as accurate as the swopped one. Only tried once.

Can't test at the moment as done my back in. Happy days.

 

You had to swap the whole device for a broken back panel lock? Mine broke at the second or third battery change as well (...great)... but then I just sent the lid back in an envelope to the store and got a new one.

I suggested just swop the back but they said they prefered a compleat change. May be because I went to the actual store.

Croesgadwr

+Croesgadwr

Posted
Posted

Swapped my broken Etrex for a brand new one at Go Outdoors yesterday, excellent service :)

I'm confident that I already know the answer to the question that I'm about to ask, but.........

what firmware are you running on the new unit?

I had a premonition that the answer may contain the number 3...

Was I right?

As a fellow E20 owner I hope you can continue to "fight for the (Etrex 20) cause".

Good luck with it...

Croesgadwr

Croesgadwr

+Croesgadwr

Posted
Posted

Actually 2.50 ... I'm away from home at the mo with a flaky wifi connection, but it'll be 2.73 tomorrow when I get home :)

Ahh, so my premonition, whilst not right, was a sign of things to come....I'm happy with that!!

hydrodis

+hydrodis

Posted
Posted

Actually 2.50 ... I'm away from home at the mo with a flaky wifi connection, but it'll be 2.73 tomorrow when I get home :)

Ahh, so my premonition, whilst not right, was a sign of things to come....I'm happy with that!!

 

Now installed 2.73 ... phew !!!!!!!!!!!!

All you need now is a cache test.!!!!

ChefRd2000

ChefRd2000

Posted
Posted

Actually 2.50 ... I'm away from home at the mo with a flaky wifi connection, but it'll be 2.73 tomorrow when I get home :)

Ahh, so my premonition, whilst not right, was a sign of things to come....I'm happy with that!!

 

Now installed 2.73 ... phew !!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Was wondering if you could get your new one to "stick" before the firmware update. Would have answered that lingering question... Was it a hardware, software or location problem ?

 

2.73 has been a joy for me! It still lags and rubber bands on hills and thick cover.... But it keeps working and continues to locate me when stopped or moving slow. It's predictable now so I'm getting used to it. Well within the usable range for me. Let us know how your new 20 is different...

tr_s

tr_s

Posted
Posted

Has there been any further testing / field trials with this FW ?

 

Some people in here have reported that the device will no longer take more than 750'ish geocaches after 2.70.. Don't use that feature myself so can't comment. From my experience 2.73 seems better than all prior versions but they still have quite a way to go before the firmware is fully worthy for field use!

jholly

jholly

Posted
Posted

Has there been any further testing / field trials with this FW ?

 

Some people in here have reported that the device will no longer take more than 750'ish geocaches after 2.70.. Don't use that feature myself so can't comment. From my experience 2.73 seems better than all prior versions but they still have quite a way to go before the firmware is fully worthy for field use!

That was probably me. It will take more than 750, but locks up sometimes when trying to update the found status. I submitted the bug to the beta email and they asked for my system.xml file so I expect they are looking at the problem.

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