Garmin Oregon 600 series, now that we have them!

[+murfster]

I'm starting a new topic now that we actually have the Oregon 600 series in our hands.

 

Mostly happy with mine but for a "hang up" issue which I'm sure will be resolved or back it goes. Loving the bright screen and the "smartphone" like screen. Nice little touches like the flashlight, the charge on the go, and the big memory.

 

Comments? Issues? Tips? Suggestions?

[+collapsibletank]

I moved from an iPhone4 to the Oregon 600. I thought I was a bit of a second-class cacher without a 'proper' GPSr, but now I've got one I feel the opposite - that I have been spoiled with high functionality and excellent interface... I'm disappointed for a variety of reasons (many of which I am sure people will point out are down to me rather than the device, but still...)

 

• 
   
  
• Why won't it show the Personal Cache Note field? It exists in the GPX file...
  
• Why can I not re-order my cache list by Name (say) rather than only by distance?
  
• If I "Search Near" another location, the list defaults back to ordering from my present location whenever I return to the list screen.
  
• Why can I not (seemingly) import a number of PQs and toggle them each on and off rather than, it appears, just tip all of their cache data and additional waypoints into one enormous unwieldy list?
  
• Why is it such a pig to navigate around (the menus, not the world...!)
  
• WHY is the keyboard ABC and not QWERTY in portrait mode?
  
• Why does it keep telling me the batteries are too low for full backlight or tones when tones are off and backlight is at 0.5? Could Garmin be bullying me into buying the rechargeable NiMH pack, just as they pretend that opencaching.com is the only way to import caches in the manual?
  

 

I do think that with time, a lot of advice, and a lot of fiddling I might be able to make this my device of choice. However so far the only thing people have said to me is "what if you get your phone wet or run out of battery half-way round?" Well, I'd buy a waterproof battery pack for one sixth of the price! The other is accuracy, but I've had no trouble finding so far and nobody has commented on the accuracy of my own hides... Go on - ask me why I bought one then...!

 

Please tell me what I am missing! I want to love this unit but right now would not recommend it to anybody.

[+splashy]

Goming from a smartphone it's like being in the dark ages again.

The good thing is, you have a decent batterylife and a rugged unit. BUT you used your phone also in the rain, did you?

You might have your batterysetting wrong.

The unit has about 30 serious issues on the moment, so it's not you making errors.

 

Read this

http://garminoregon6xx.wikispaces.com/Common+Issues

 

Btw there is a good thread about these units already, where all opinions and options are discussed already.

Edited July 12, 2013 by splashy

[insig]

Why does it keep telling me the batteries are too low for full backlight or tones when tones are off and backlight is at 0.5?

 

Are you using alkaline batteries? This only shows up when you have the battery type set to alkaline (Setup->System). When alkaline batteries are nearing the end of their lives, they have a rather disturbing voltage drop when you try to pull too much current through them. The voltage drop can be so bad that the electrons are not flowing fast enough to power the unit (like a traffic jam on a highway). Using a full backlight will pull more current from the batteries which drops the voltage when the alkaline batteries are low.

 

Alkalines are 1.5 volts each, while NiMH batteries are 1.2 volts each. If you are telling the Oregon that you have alkalines in it, it reads the 1.2 volts from the NiMH batteries and thinks that they are alkalines that are partially used up. If the NiMH batteries get drained a bit, the Oregon then thinks that they are alkalines nearing the end of their lives, so it tries to stay on as long as possible by limiting the current you are drawing from the batteries rather than having it shut off when there is still some charge left in the batteries.

 

If you are using a pair of rechargeable NiMH batteries, then make sure to change the battery type to NiMH. If the NiMH batteries are low self-discharge (which means they probably came charged up and ready to go when you bought them), then make sure to use the "precharged NiMH" as the setting.

[insig]

WHY is the keyboard ABC and not QWERTY in portrait mode?

 

My guess is that not everyone has tiny fingers, especially when using gloves. The portrait keyboard has 5 letters to a line. Could you imagine trying to fit 10 letters on one line? the buttons would be tiny and make it really hard to accurately enter text if you've got fat fingers or if you're wearing gloves. It is also probably a legacy thing from older devices that used a resistive touch screen. With a resistive touch screen, pinpoint precision is more difficult.

 

Disclaimer: I use slide-out keyboard phone, so I am slightly biased against the on-screen qwerty keyboard on my phone.

[+BAMBOOZLE]

Goming from a smartphone it's like being in the dark ages again.

The good thing is, you have a decent batterylife and a rugged unit. BUT you used your phone also in the rain, did you?

You might have your batterysetting wrong.

The unit has about 30 serious issues on the moment, so it's not you making errors.

 

Read this

http://garminoregon6xx.wikispaces.com/Common+Issues

 

Btw there is a good thread about these units already, where all opinions and options are discussed already.

 

What a nightmare list of problems.....that's why its best to wait about 1 1/2 years to buy a newer unit as it takes about that long to get rid of bugs. At around the time it becomes fully functional, oddly the price drops...its a win-win for the late buyer.