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New Garmin Oregon 600 Series


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So you're saying the Topo Maps have better road maps than the Basemap. Wow, that's pretty crappy if you ask me. I would have sprung for the 600t, but REI was out of stock and I wanted to make sure I have it before heading out to Geowoodstock next week. I'm out of town this weekend (Boy Scout campout and all.)

 

I'm just glad REI has a good exchange/refund policy. I'll be exchanging it as soon as they have a 600t in stock and I'm in town.

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Just install free detailed maps. There are many good ones available.

 

Founds some good hiqh quality routable OSM IMG of the use - 3.6GB on a uSD card I tossed in from an old phone. Also found where I can generate some KMZ's for topo's should I want them. I normally don't use them as my area (Houston) is flat, flat, flat.

 

20130517_193433.jpg

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Anyone with the Garmin Oregon 600t, can you confirm that it only has 300MB available on the device? I can easily run out of this, and I don't want to trust to using a uSD card on it. I'm thinking about going ahead and picking up a 600 instead of the 600t just because it has 1.5GB of available internal memory.

 

According to the Garmin Oregon 6xx Wiki (at http://garminoregon6xx.wikispaces.com/Hardware) the memory in the various models is as follows:

600 - 1.8GB total with 1.5GB free

600t - 3.6GB total with 809MB free

650 - 3.6GB total with 2.6GB free

650t - 7.2GB with 4GB free.

 

These figures are backed up by screenshots, but the t models will presumably vary a bit depending on which country's topo map is installed. The 650 models are still not released yet so the figures must be based on pre-production units.

 

The Oregon 6xx Wiki has a lot of other very useful answers to some of the questions being asked here, and is being created by early users.

 

Chris

 

A word of warning

 

I have had my Oregon 450, now Oregon 600, lose track of my loaded Geocaches. Keeping them on the internal memory means finding a computer to delete then reload them between power down/power up cycle, to clear memory.

 

I find it a very good idea to get a MicroSD card, 8G or better, depending upon your needs for maps, mostly, and keeping maps and pocket queries on it. If it looses track of things you only need to power down, remove batteries, MicroSD card, replace batteries, power up, power down, remove batteries, replace MicroSD, replace batteries and power up again, to recover - something you can do in the field, away from computer.

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Will the 10,001th track point actually be the first point for the subsequent tracklog that will be created? Then it'll just rinse and repeat until I turn off the Oregon 600 right?

 

will the track log be stopped even though it hasn't reached a 10,000 track point limit and a new track log be created because it's now a new day?

 

 

Yes and Yes

 

Do you have the answers for my other questions?

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So you're saying the Topo Maps have better road maps than the Basemap. Wow, that's pretty crappy if you ask me. I would have sprung for the 600t, but REI was out of stock and I wanted to make sure I have it before heading out to Geowoodstock next week. I'm out of town this weekend (Boy Scout campout and all.)

 

I'm just glad REI has a good exchange/refund policy. I'll be exchanging it as soon as they have a 600t in stock and I'm in town.

 

Consider it this way. If you are next to a highway entrance in SF and want to go to a highway exit in LA it will take you on the highways. Once you leave the major highway it has nothing. Has always been that way. By the way the t model is not routable if yox are looking for that.

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Anyone with the Garmin Oregon 600t, can you confirm that it only has 300MB available on the device? I can easily run out of this, and I don't want to trust to using a uSD card on it. I'm thinking about going ahead and picking up a 600 instead of the 600t just because it has 1.5GB of available internal memory.

 

According to the Garmin Oregon 6xx Wiki (at http://garminoregon6xx.wikispaces.com/Hardware) the memory in the various models is as follows:

600 - 1.8GB total with 1.5GB free

600t - 3.6GB total with 809MB free

650 - 3.6GB total with 2.6GB free

650t - 7.2GB with 4GB free.

 

These figures are backed up by screenshots, but the t models will presumably vary a bit depending on which country's topo map is installed. The 650 models are still not released yet so the figures must be based on pre-production units.

 

The Oregon 6xx Wiki has a lot of other very useful answers to some of the questions being asked here, and is being created by early users.

 

Chris

 

A word of warning

 

I have had my Oregon 450, now Oregon 600, lose track of my loaded Geocaches. Keeping them on the internal memory means finding a computer to delete then reload them between power down/power up cycle, to clear memory.

 

I find it a very good idea to get a MicroSD card, 8G or better, depending upon your needs for maps, mostly, and keeping maps and pocket queries on it. If it looses track of things you only need to power down, remove batteries, MicroSD card, replace batteries, power up, power down, remove batteries, replace MicroSD, replace batteries and power up again, to recover - something you can do in the field, away from computer.

 

Interesting. I never had this happen on my 400t. I'll keep an eye out on my 600, but everything that I have on my 600, I'll also have on my Samsung Galaxy S4 and my Moto Xoom. I wonder if this issue comes up w/ .ggz files. I haven't had GSAK create these yet, but it seems to be good on a couple 10K+ .gpx files I've got loaded on the 600.

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Anyone with the Garmin Oregon 600t, can you confirm that it only has 300MB available on the device? I can easily run out of this, and I don't want to trust to using a uSD card on it. I'm thinking about going ahead and picking up a 600 instead of the 600t just because it has 1.5GB of available internal memory.

 

According to the Garmin Oregon 6xx Wiki (at http://garminoregon6xx.wikispaces.com/Hardware) the memory in the various models is as follows:

600 - 1.8GB total with 1.5GB free

600t - 3.6GB total with 809MB free

650 - 3.6GB total with 2.6GB free

650t - 7.2GB with 4GB free.

 

These figures are backed up by screenshots, but the t models will presumably vary a bit depending on which country's topo map is installed. The 650 models are still not released yet so the figures must be based on pre-production units.

 

The Oregon 6xx Wiki has a lot of other very useful answers to some of the questions being asked here, and is being created by early users.

 

Chris

 

A word of warning

 

I have had my Oregon 450, now Oregon 600, lose track of my loaded Geocaches. Keeping them on the internal memory means finding a computer to delete then reload them between power down/power up cycle, to clear memory.

 

I find it a very good idea to get a MicroSD card, 8G or better, depending upon your needs for maps, mostly, and keeping maps and pocket queries on it. If it looses track of things you only need to power down, remove batteries, MicroSD card, replace batteries, power up, power down, remove batteries, replace MicroSD, replace batteries and power up again, to recover - something you can do in the field, away from computer.

 

Interesting. I never had this happen on my 400t. I'll keep an eye out on my 600, but everything that I have on my 600, I'll also have on my Samsung Galaxy S4 and my Moto Xoom. I wonder if this issue comes up w/ .ggz files. I haven't had GSAK create these yet, but it seems to be good on a couple 10K+ .gpx files I've got loaded on the 600.

 

Would be interesting to know. I'm on the "old" version of GSAK. I take my PQs straight from zip to MicroSD/Garmin/GPX What is weird is seeing Waypoints show, but no caches.

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The ones who already tried 600 - what gps accuracy do you get ? I got mine few days ago and I'm quite disappointed - where etrex 30 shows 3-4 meters - 600 manages 12-13 meters at the best. Went to woods - and accuracy went to 30 (!) meters, etrex at the same place had 8 meters. Firmware is the latest available at the moment - 2.60.

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I have had my new Oregon 600 (replacement for Etrex Vista C and Colorado 400C) for 3 days and must say that I am very impressed so far. Satellite acquisition is always at least 3-4 bars in my house with 2 windows between my location and the outside. The screen visibility gets better the more direct sun that is on it, which is a blessing here in south FL. My Colorado was nearly invisible in direct sun.

 

I didn't notice the EPE, but it took me to within 2' of my last find. As I am using a Linux computer, I can't send direct to the 600, but simply drag and drop my PQ's into the GPX folder.

 

I have yet to experience any malfunctions or loss of data/waypoints/caches. It does take a bit of experimentation to become familiar with customizing the various Profiles and Dashboards. I am using Eneloop rechargeables and have yet to lose more than one bar even after hours of use. I did check for the latest firmware and found that my 600 was shipped with the latest version. (2.60)

 

I dropped in a Cities Navigator micro SD from my Colorado and it works perfectly although of course by now it is several years out of date. When in the Geocaching Profile, the map will show a direct route to the cache. In the Automotive Profile, it will use roads. (assuming you have an appropriate map chip installed).

 

I am still becoming familiar with all the various options, but as of now, I am very pleased with my purchase.

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The ones who already tried 600 - what gps accuracy do you get ? I got mine few days ago and I'm quite disappointed - where etrex 30 shows 3-4 meters - 600 manages 12-13 meters at the best. Went to woods - and accuracy went to 30 (!) meters, etrex at the same place had 8 meters. Firmware is the latest available at the moment - 2.60.

 

First make sure that you enable GPS+GLONASS sat's for best accuracy. Mine shipped with only GPS enabled (also enable WAAS/EGNOS.) This is quickly accessed by going to Setup -> System. That said, I think the reported accuracy numbers on the 600 seems to be vary pessimistic. It seems to be pretty spot on for me and not hopping around, that said I've only had it for 1 full day now. It seems to be more stable than my Garmin Oregon 400t so far.

Edited by TAZ427
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The ones who already tried 600 - what gps accuracy do you get ? I got mine few days ago and I'm quite disappointed - where etrex 30 shows 3-4 meters - 600 manages 12-13 meters at the best. Went to woods - and accuracy went to 30 (!) meters, etrex at the same place had 8 meters. Firmware is the latest available at the moment - 2.60.

Yes, I noticed the same unpleasant results. My eTrex 20 shows 10-15 feet accuracy, the Oregon 600 shows 30-50 feet accuracy. I am disappointed with the findings... but based on past performance, Garmin will tweak the firmware for many months to resolve most, but not all, glitches. I believe that GPS accuracy is high on their list of items to fix.

 

The eTrex20 and Oregon600 GPSr's are configured to receive both GPS & Glonass transmissions. Oregon firmware: 2.60. eTrex 20 firmware: 2.70

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I would ignore estimated accuracy numbers and try to test real accuracy and repeatibility. This is a more useful tests than estimate accuracy numbers:

 

Get thee to a known location. Some say it has to be USGS benchmark but that's not really needful - any fixed spot you can come back to over a period of many days is suitable for this casual test.

 

Put the GPS in place and get an averaged waypoint. Go back the next day and set another on the same spot. Repeat a few days in a row. Compare the various waypoints to each other. Try navigating to the waypoints the same way you would to a geocache.

 

Hw does your 600 seem by this measure?

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I second what user13371 said. The EPE doesn't really mean anything. I mean it does relative to the same GPS model but comparing between GPS models it holds little value. What parameters are used to calculate the values? Nobody knows and nobody will.

 

Consider this, let's say a more sensitive GPS unit receives more "noise" from bounced signals and jumps around more than a less sensitive GPS. Is the noise part of the equation? Is jumping around position-wise effecting the EPE number? All I'm saying is that depending on the equation used to calculate EPE, a more sensitive unit could have a higher EPE number. We simply don't know enough about the calculation to draw any conclusions between different Garmin models.

 

Between the same model sure, the antenna is the same, the processor is the same, and hence the signal reception and processing should also be the same and the calculation of EPE should ultimately be the same.

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I emailed Garmin about this and one of the representatives said the archive folder have a limit of 2000 tracks. He did not explained what will happen for the 2001th track. What will happen to the 2001th track?

 

If I were to set the option for the tracks to be archived on a daily basis, using the scenario that I had described above with a track log that is about half filled and now approaching midnight again, will the track log be stopped even though it hasn't reached a 10,000 track point limit and a new track log be created because it's now a new day?

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Has anyone had any issues using this gps with windows8? Such as mapsource, basecamp, or easygps recognizing the oregon 600. I'm curious, thanks.

 

Running Win 8 on my laptop and so far so good. No problems w/ Basecamp and Mapsource that I can tell. I haven't tried EasyGPS.

 

This w/ a Garmin Oregon 600.

Edited by TAZ427
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Sure because the Gpsr camera is not the top of the line. <_<

Just curious, how do you get the waypoint coordinates in the picture?

I just mark a way point of where the picture was taken. When I pull everything into BaseCamp I know which photo goes where. Kind of a PITA but not that difficult. But if you really wanted to add lat/long and altitude to a photo you can edit the exif data with 3rd party programs. Or just spend the extra money and get a 650 B)

 

I use Geosetter http://www.geosetter.de/en/, it will sync your photos and your track log and geotag your photos automatically. It will also create a KMZ file of your photos so you can view them from google earth. My camera has a gps in it, but it’s not as accurate as my gps, so I sync my photos with Geosetter to give them the best accuracy. A thing to note, your camera and your GPS need to have the same time and date setting for the best accuracy.

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Has anyone noticed Not Chosen cache size caches not showing on the map?

 

They show in a search, but not on the map display.

 

Using a 600 with latest release of firmware.

 

BTW, they will show if you search and select them, so long as there's a line pointing to the destination of the cache.

Edited by DragonsWest
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By the time we get them in Europe, I hope you will have sorted all the bugs out!

 

Amazon UK is saying all variants will be released on the 1st of August, while other retailers are varying from late April (a date that hasn't been updated for weeks) to late May. :mad:

 

If Garmin want to keep us interested they had better start handing some out for reviewers to report back on or they'll lose sales to their competitors.

 

Chris

Go Outdoors in the UK have had the Oregon 600 on sale for a few weeks now and a few other sites are now beginning to show thema as available.

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Has anyone noticed Not Chosen cache size caches not showing on the map?

 

They show in a search, but not on the map display.

 

Using a 600 with latest release of firmware.

 

BTW, they will show if you search and select them, so long as there's a line pointing to the destination of the cache.

 

Is your geocaching filter set up to show them? It affects the map, too.

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By the time we get them in Europe, I hope you will have sorted all the bugs out!

 

Amazon UK is saying all variants will be released on the 1st of August, while other retailers are varying from late April (a date that hasn't been updated for weeks) to late May. :mad:

 

If Garmin want to keep us interested they had better start handing some out for reviewers to report back on or they'll lose sales to their competitors.

 

Chris

Go Outdoors in the UK have had the Oregon 600 on sale for a few weeks now and a few other sites are now beginning to show thema as available.

 

Yes, Go Outdoors and Cotswold Outdoors now have the 600 for sale, with the 650 being rumoured for early June. Judging by the number of queries and bugs being reported on the Oregon 600 Wiki, I'm quite glad we're not getting them yet! And the minimal manual provided by Garmin seems to be backfiring on them judging by the number of very basuc queries being asked in this thread!! (It doesn't even tell you what capacity SD cards will work!) They seem to be relying on the Wiki to find the bugs and provide the detailed documentation.

 

I'm still waiting for some objective reviews too...

 

Chris

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Briefly checked out an Oregon 600 at REI over the weekend. The touch screen is much, much smoother (likely due to the glass), and the screen refresh/redraw rate is pretty darn good, too. Reminds me more of a smartphone than a GPS, which isn't necessarily a bad thing since it's a touch screen device. I don't want to be a beta firmware tester, but once this thing has whatever quirks it may have addressed, and the price drops a bit, I might have to pick one up.

Edited by Pacific NW
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By the time we get them in Europe, I hope you will have sorted all the bugs out!

 

Amazon UK is saying all variants will be released on the 1st of August, while other retailers are varying from late April (a date that hasn't been updated for weeks) to late May. :mad:

 

If Garmin want to keep us interested they had better start handing some out for reviewers to report back on or they'll lose sales to their competitors.

 

Chris

Go Outdoors in the UK have had the Oregon 600 on sale for a few weeks now and a few other sites are now beginning to show thema as available.

 

Yes, Go Outdoors and Cotswold Outdoors now have the 600 for sale, with the 650 being rumoured for early June. Judging by the number of queries and bugs being reported on the Oregon 600 Wiki, I'm quite glad we're not getting them yet! And the minimal manual provided by Garmin seems to be backfiring on them judging by the number of very basuc queries being asked in this thread!! (It doesn't even tell you what capacity SD cards will work!) They seem to be relying on the Wiki to find the bugs and provide the detailed documentation.

 

I'm still waiting for some objective reviews too...

 

Chris

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I used my 600 alongside a 550t yesterday for a short spot of caching along the river Chelmer in Essex (so not very challenging for either unit). Only a basic comparison at the moment but my first impression was as expected i.e. that the 600 was slightly quicker to fix positions and change screens, clearer to view and generally more responsive. Too early to say much more but my daughter did give her approval of it even though she still thinks I didn't need to buy it as there is nothing wrong with the 550t (I did get a good price from Go Outdoors though as I invoked their beat the competition by 10% policy).

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Judging by the number of queries and bugs being reported on the Oregon 600 Wiki, I'm quite glad we're not getting them yet!

 

Really?? You own a Garmin handheld in the past 5 years? 6xx software is refined and already has fewer bugs than some models on the market for years now.

 

And if you're looking for objective reviews you're in the right place. There aren't too many suck-up fanboys around here, mostly grumpy old Garmin users just waiting to bash them over the head at any sign of deficiency. :)

Edited by yogazoo
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Really?? You own a Garmin handheld in the past 5 years? 6xx software is refined and already has fewer bugs than some models on the market for years now.

 

Well I bought my Oregon 400t in September 2009, when it had been out for about a year, and got used to adding bug fixes until Garmin gave up on it in May 2011!

 

I prefer the sound of the 650 to the 600, and won't bother with the Topo map models this time, so hopefully will be ready to splash out by the summer. :)

 

Chris

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Really?? You own a Garmin handheld in the past 5 years? 6xx software is refined and already has fewer bugs than some models on the market for years now.

 

Well I bought my Oregon 400t in September 2009, when it had been out for about a year, and got used to adding bug fixes until Garmin gave up on it in May 2011!

 

I prefer the sound of the 650 to the 600, and won't bother with the Topo map models this time, so hopefully will be ready to splash out by the summer. :)

 

Chris

 

I agree with forgetting the Topo Maps as you can get them free with a little effort, and there's some really nice routable OSM maps that get updated on a monthly basis as well. The base maps shipped on the unit are total crap, but once you install a uSD card and download some good maps then you're set. I'm using the OSM Maps of North America from here http://garminoregon6xx.wikispaces.com/Maps - it's a 2.5GB download and takes up about 3.6GB of a uSD card - but it's really quality maps.

 

I've only used it to go around and check a couple of my caches so far, but I've uploaded 3 GPX files w/ 10K+ caches in each - no problems. I generated a single GZZ of 30K+ waypoints using GSAK macro. No problem. I've added multiple .ggz files. No problem.

 

So far the only thing I've experienced issue wise is the distance the filtering works at. I'm not sure if it's a distance or a cache count from current point, but there's some sort of limit in place as to how far you can reach with the filtering. For example, I can set a filter for some caches that I know are are Lakeland, Fl and it they won't show up, they're on the GPSr and I can see them if I scroll the map over, but it won't filter that far away. But I can see caches in Beaumont, TX (3hr's East of Sugar Land, TX where I'm from.) So, it's got some range or cache count going from a central location limit on the filtering. This to be honest, I can live with. That said, the filtering UI is awesome, it's extremely intuitive (something I don't say often about Garmin products) it's quick and easy to use.

 

The menu's are much more intuitive this generation (coming from a 400t perspective, I haven't played much with the 500 series but it seemed to have pretty much the same UI as the 400 series from my perspective.) Having a touch screen that's very responsive and usable is nice, I've been using smart phones now for about 4yrs and this has been my 2nd biggest complaint on the 400 series. The biggest being cache count that could be held. Both were addressed.

 

Here's my mini review based on one weekend of ownership.

 

Pros:

- Boots up much faster than previous generations

- Faster Sat lock times

- UI much more intuitive than previous generations

- Nice touch screen that's on par with mid level smartphones

- Pin on screen is much more precious, easy to move to a cache (or move map under cache w/ fast redraw capability of screen.)

- Screen is a lot more visible in direct sunlight

- Ability to rotate screen (or lock it to one orientation depending on preference - I locked my to standard orientation - I do this with my smartphone too while caching.)

- Ability to hold a lot of very large GPX or GGZ files, and GGZ file supporting HUGE quantities of caches. (Waiting on people to start hosting large GGZ's of their caching area's)

 

Cons:

- Screen resolutions is still a dismal 240x400 (480x800 is considered subpar for a smart phone these days, at least get to subpar level if you're going to support camera functionality)

- Screen size is still very small - there's enough space to get to a small smart phone screen size (iPhone size.) This can be done while keeping it a ruggedized design and should be done.

- Very poor quality basemaps shipped on the units. This can be rectified by getting free offline OSM maps (and other sources) but this isn't something everyone knows to do and can be a daunting task for others.

- Loss of Wherigo functionality - Not too big of an issue as most cachers have smartphones and can use the App. The stability of Wherigo SW is shaking and often frustraighting no matter what tool you're using - having more than one Wherigo cartridge player is often nice to have.

- Orientation of the mini-B USB plug. The rotated the orientation 90degs such that you need to pull the caribiner clip off in order to plug in the mini-B USB plug. Oversight during testing? Maybe they didn't have people using the clip who also needed to connect to the unit. Moving it 2-3mm south of it's current location or orienting it the same way it was on the previous generations and this wouldn't have been a problem.

 

Meh's (this is personal opinion) :

- 8G pixel camera - Something most of us don't need or want as we all have smart phones, most with superior camera capabilities and Geotagging supported. Is it worth an extra $80 - Not in my opinion, but others may like this.

- Expensive Rechargeable battery that's effectively two AA's taped together to be able to push a button to enable charging. Personally this adds little to no value. I use a pair of AA's that tested to 2600mAH that I could go over a weekend of caching w/o coming close to running down, but always carry two pair of enelope AA's with me as backups for me, and anyone who may end up caching with me. I mean $26 for a pair of NiMH AA's taped together, who are you kidding.

 

That said, so far so good. I'll be able to comment a lot more on it after I get back from Geowoodstock, because that will be the proof.

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Has anyone noticed Not Chosen cache size caches not showing on the map?

 

They show in a search, but not on the map display.

 

Using a 600 with latest release of firmware.

 

BTW, they will show if you search and select them, so long as there's a line pointing to the destination of the cache.

 

Is your geocaching filter set up to show them? It affects the map, too.

 

Double checked all those settings on Sunday, didn't bring them to life on the map. Did I mention they show in the filtered list?

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Thanks TAZ427 for your review.

 

Personally I don't have or need a smartphone, so I will miss the lack of Wherigo functions - although there are very few of them near me anyway. But keeping my Oregon 400t will solve that problem :-)

 

Although I currently take a small digital camera when geocaching, I like the idea of having one less bit of kit to carry by using the 650 camera instead. And although I currently use rechargeable cells in my 400t, I like the idea of being able to just recharge them in situ rather than having to keep removing and replacing batteries and then recalibrating the compass.

 

As I'm in the UK, I'll be getting our OS Discover maps on a uSD card, and hope to be able to copy them onto a larger uSD card so I can add Open Street maps as well (for the UK and European trips). If there's any problem in copying the OS maps on to a new card, then the extra memory in the 650 (over the 600) will come in very handy.

 

In short I think the minimal extra cost for the 650 over the 600 (£430 against £370 when both include the OS Discoverer maps) before discounts.

 

Chris

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What is a uSD card and why would you use one for this GPSr?

 

Apologies for any confusion. The Oregons take the microSD cards and I used u as an approximate abreviation for the correct symbol "μ" as it's not present on my keyboard. :-)

 

Chris

Wow - I learned something new! Thanks for the explanation, I was starting to think there was a new SD card standard out there!

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Thanks TAZ427 for your review.

 

Personally I don't have or need a smartphone, so I will miss the lack of Wherigo functions - although there are very few of them near me anyway. But keeping my Oregon 400t will solve that problem :-)

 

Although I currently take a small digital camera when geocaching, I like the idea of having one less bit of kit to carry by using the 650 camera instead. And although I currently use rechargeable cells in my 400t, I like the idea of being able to just recharge them in situ rather than having to keep removing and replacing batteries and then recalibrating the compass.

 

As I'm in the UK, I'll be getting our OS Discover maps on a uSD card, and hope to be able to copy them onto a larger uSD card so I can add Open Street maps as well (for the UK and European trips). If there's any problem in copying the OS maps on to a new card, then the extra memory in the 650 (over the 600) will come in very handy.

 

In short I think the minimal extra cost for the 650 over the 600 (£430 against £370 when both include the OS Discoverer maps) before discounts.

 

Chris

 

Yeah, I new those two items were more my opinion and that some folks would have a different opinion on them, and thus I had marked them as (Meh! - This is just my opinion)

 

What is a uSD card and why would you use one for this GPSr?

 

Apologies for any confusion. The Oregons take the microSD cards and I used u as an approximate abreviation for the correct symbol "μ" as it's not present on my keyboard. :-)

 

Chris

 

Yeah, I used uSD as well out of habit being an Electrical Engineer and "μ" symbol not being available. I figured the good-looking, handsome and intelligent folks of this forum would figure it out though.

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Judging by the number of queries and bugs being reported on the Oregon 600 Wiki, I'm quite glad we're not getting them yet!

 

Really?? You own a Garmin handheld in the past 5 years? 6xx software is refined and already has fewer bugs than some models on the market for years now.

 

And if you're looking for objective reviews you're in the right place. There aren't too many suck-up fanboys around here, mostly grumpy old Garmin users just waiting to bash them over the head at any sign of deficiency. :)

 

Good ol' 60CSx still truckin' along here! :laughing:

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As I'm in the UK, I'll be getting our OS Discover maps on a uSD card, and hope to be able to copy them onto a larger uSD card so I can add Open Street maps as well (for the UK and European trips). If there's any problem in copying the OS maps on to a new card, then the extra memory in the 650 (over the 600) will come in very handy.

 

You'll be lucky - GB Discoverer maps supplied on a card are locked to that card which you can put on any compatible Garmin device - but you can't put the contents onto another card and have your Garmin read them off that card, not without using some rather "dodgy" software to create an unlock file for that card. Each card has a unique ID which is used to lock the mapping to that specific card.

 

Conversely, if you download the mapping, you can copy it to any card you want, but it will be locked to the specific Garmin device you registered it to, as you have to register that device's ID when you download the mapping.

 

It's basically designed to prevent you making unlimited copies of the mapping which could then be run on any device. One way ties your mapping to a potentially corruptible memory card, the other way ties your mapping to a device which you may want to upgrade in years to come (and then you'll have to buy new mapping).

 

[Rant]

In marketing terms, it's called a cash cow - you milk it for all it's worth.

 

Personally, I think it's high time Garmin put some resources into a more flexible licensing approach which reflects that many of their customers have a number of devices they'd want to share the mapping across, or upgrade their device(s) but keep their mapping that they've already paid good money for. However, what I suspect they'll do is carry on as they are until such time as the free OSM sources become so good and encroach on their market share so much that they have to offer something more flexible and competitive.

 

Sorry.

[/Rant]

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As I'm in the UK, I'll be getting our OS Discover maps on a uSD card, and hope to be able to copy them onto a larger uSD card so I can add Open Street maps as well (for the UK and European trips). If there's any problem in copying the OS maps on to a new card, then the extra memory in the 650 (over the 600) will come in very handy.

 

You'll be lucky - GB Discoverer maps supplied on a card are locked to that card which you can put on any compatible Garmin device - but you can't put the contents onto another card and have your Garmin read them off that card, not without using some rather "dodgy" software to create an unlock file for that card. Each card has a unique ID which is used to lock the mapping to that specific card.

 

Conversely, if you download the mapping, you can copy it to any card you want, but it will be locked to the specific Garmin device you registered it to, as you have to register that device's ID when you download the mapping.

 

It's basically designed to prevent you making unlimited copies of the mapping which could then be run on any device. One way ties your mapping to a potentially corruptible memory card, the other way ties your mapping to a device which you may want to upgrade in years to come (and then you'll have to buy new mapping).

 

[Rant]

In marketing terms, it's called a cash cow - you milk it for all it's worth.

 

Personally, I think it's high time Garmin put some resources into a more flexible licensing approach which reflects that many of their customers have a number of devices they'd want to share the mapping across, or upgrade their device(s) but keep their mapping that they've already paid good money for. However, what I suspect they'll do is carry on as they are until such time as the free OSM sources become so good and encroach on their market share so much that they have to offer something more flexible and competitive.

 

Sorry.

[/Rant]

 

Well back in 2009, I followed the instructions in the Oregon Wiki and was able to copy the OS Discovery map I bought onto a bigger card before registering it to my 400t. (I think the secret may be to copy it before your register the map and to use the same file identity.)

 

But the doubt over whether it's still possible is why I want to go with the 650 with its extra free memory over the 600. I quite agree with you over the restrictive practice of not the owner use it in a new device - I had to get a special unlock code when my Etrex was replaced by Garmin after its rubber side grip started slipping off.

 

Another gripe is why we can't get a cheap update for our maps - TomTom sell regular updates, and the OSM maps are updated every month!

 

Chris

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Given that many Garmins come with free lifetime maps and if not you can buy them as an add on relatively cheaply its difficult to understand the comparison with TomTom?

 

Well I'm probably miscomparing different kinds of maps. But TomTom send me regular emails to update my car's satnav maps (and free corrections whenever I connect my Go XXL to a PC), and while Garmin update their on the road maps I've never been able to update my Topo GB or Topo Europe maps in my Oregon without buying a full-priced new one :-).

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Really?? You own a Garmin handheld in the past 5 years? 6xx software is refined and already has fewer bugs than some models on the market for years now.

 

Well I bought my Oregon 400t in September 2009, when it had been out for about a year, and got used to adding bug fixes until Garmin gave up on it in May 2011!

 

I prefer the sound of the 650 to the 600, and won't bother with the Topo map models this time, so hopefully will be ready to splash out by the summer. :)

 

Chris

 

I agree with forgetting the Topo Maps as you can get them free with a little effort, and there's some really nice routable OSM maps that get updated on a monthly basis as well. The base maps shipped on the unit are total crap, but once you install a uSD card and download some good maps then you're set. I'm using the OSM Maps of North America from here http://garminoregon6xx.wikispaces.com/Maps - it's a 2.5GB download and takes up about 3.6GB of a uSD card - but it's really quality maps.

 

I've only used it to go around and check a couple of my caches so far, but I've uploaded 3 GPX files w/ 10K+ caches in each - no problems. I generated a single GZZ of 30K+ waypoints using GSAK macro. No problem. I've added multiple .ggz files. No problem.

 

 

Taz

 

How do you download you pocket queries? I'm puzzled as a pocket query is limited to 1000.are you generating 30 pocket queries at a time ?

 

Thanks

 

Nick

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Really?? You own a Garmin handheld in the past 5 years? 6xx software is refined and already has fewer bugs than some models on the market for years now.

 

Well I bought my Oregon 400t in September 2009, when it had been out for about a year, and got used to adding bug fixes until Garmin gave up on it in May 2011!

 

I prefer the sound of the 650 to the 600, and won't bother with the Topo map models this time, so hopefully will be ready to splash out by the summer. :)

 

Chris

 

I agree with forgetting the Topo Maps as you can get them free with a little effort, and there's some really nice routable OSM maps that get updated on a monthly basis as well. The base maps shipped on the unit are total crap, but once you install a uSD card and download some good maps then you're set. I'm using the OSM Maps of North America from here http://garminoregon6xx.wikispaces.com/Maps - it's a 2.5GB download and takes up about 3.6GB of a uSD card - but it's really quality maps.

 

I've only used it to go around and check a couple of my caches so far, but I've uploaded 3 GPX files w/ 10K+ caches in each - no problems. I generated a single GZZ of 30K+ waypoints using GSAK macro. No problem. I've added multiple .ggz files. No problem.

 

 

Taz

 

How do you download 30,000 geocaches? I'm puzzled as a pocket query is limited to 1000.are you generating 30 pocket queries at a time ?

 

Thanks

 

Nick

Edited by TheHillWalkers
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Well I did it. I broke down and just purchased a 600. I had ordered a 650T from L L Bean back on 30 Jan. Every couple of weeks I have received email updates with shipping date delays. These emails needed to be read carefully as sometimes you needed to log on to your account and accept the new shipping date and other times you didn't. Well three days ago I received an email stating that shipping date was now going to be June 30th and if that was acceptable I didn't need to do anything. I let it go. Though not too happy about it because by June I will be in my summer home where I would now have to pay sales tax (there is a store in the state). Yes I know I'm cheap <_< . Well today I checked my account and it shows that the order was processed. :lol: So I check the details..... bummer they canceled my order. So on the phone I went. I decided to not wait any longer and bought the 600. They list it at $399. but I had ordered the 650t during a 15% sale ...... Beans honored that (-$59.85), plus I had a $10 promo card expiring today, plus for good faith they waived the express shipping charge. So my new 600 should be here sometime on Weds. And the best part is it will cost me only $329.15 a whole lot less than the 650t would have cost me.

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