Oregon 450 battery Woes

[+PoppCulture]

I am using Amazon basics rechargeable batteries in my Garmin Oregon 450, with the setting for NiMH batteries on, and they are losing their ability to hold charge extremely fast (1-2 days). Is this most likely a problem with the device or the batteries?

 

One more thing, I got some topo map .kmz files from TopoView and they are showing up in really low resolution on my device, even though I viewed them on Google Earth and they look fine. It did have a message that "Image file too big" or something like that when I first put them on, so I'm not sure how to fix this even though they are only around 3 MB.

[robertlipe]

Two days of moderate caching seems about right. If you want to stretch it, you can run the backlight down but on that era of devices, they're just hard to see in the daylight without strong backlight use. 

To save money on batteries and be a little kinder on environmental impact, NiMH rechargeables these days are really good. Eneloop is the most recognized brand, but there are lots of >= 1900mAh options around.  I don't much recomment the actual Lithiums that are 3.7V and regulated down or the fancy ones that give up the top 1/4 of their capacity in order to have a USB connector built-in but there are many, many review sites around (I won't spam referral links) but a search ilke [rechargeable nimh aa batteries] will bring up many options. If you're Team Amazon Basics, those are fine options, too.  Remember to pair them with an appropriate charger. I used a Ray-O-Vac 4-cell traveling charger when I was on the road and a fancy one with LCD display, reconditioning options, and a bunch of other nerdy features when I had 2+ days to rejuvenate a bucket of well-used ones. Remember to carry spares.

When I was caching sun-up to sundown and a little beyond on each edge, I used to budget about two pairs a day and just not worry about backlight. That allowed easy charging in a 4-cell charger in the hotel overnight.

[+PoppCulture]

I am using the Amazon Basics Rechargeable batteries. Is it the case that you can only charge them outside of the Garmin? I have been putting them inside the device, and then charging through the cord. Is this wrong or am I doing it right? While charging the NiMH batteries through the coord, I have to charge them every so often, of course, and then the time between those charges is getting very short very quickly, so much so that I can't even turn the device on after a few days. After that happens, can I recharge the NiMH batteries through the wall charger and start that whole process over again?

[+Atlas Cached]

The Oregon x00/x50 series do not charge the batteries while inside the device. 

[+BAMBOOZLE]

On 12/31/2023 at 12:19 PM, robertlipe said:

When I was caching sun-up to sundown and a little beyond on each edge, I used to budget about two pairs a day and just not worry about backlight. That allowed easy charging in a 4-cell charger in the hotel overnight.

We did the same. Eneloops in a MAHA charger is the way to go period and you will VERY seldom have to calibrate your compass.

[robertlipe]

On 12/31/2023 at 3:41 PM, Atlas Cached said:

The Oregon x00/x50 series do not charge the batteries while inside the device. 

Does not charge *that type* of batteries while inside the device. 

AC may have me on the model numbers. Some of the later Garmins will allow charging "Garmin approved" battery packs from the USB port, but it's late and I don't remember if that exact model will charge the batteries ... that you clearly don't have.

Wait, looks like at least the 600's will do it:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00B1QUF8O claims to fit the Oregon 600.

So some Oregons ending in 00 will charge specific battery packs while in the unit that have ben specifically created and vetted to be less likely to exlpode. :-)

[+Atlas Cached]

58 minutes ago, robertlipe said:

Does not charge *that type* of batteries while inside the device. 

 

The original Oregon 200/300/400 series was commonly referred to as the x00 series,  while the update 450/550 models were known as the x50 series.

 

None of these models will charge batteries inside the device. 

 

The 'second generation' 600 series,  also known as the 6x0 series,  a well as the third and final generation 700 series (7x0) can charge Garmin battery packs inside the device,  as well as your own NiMH batteries when using something to press in on the button inside the battery compartment. 

 

All of this information is available at GPSrChive.

[+Bergbauer]

19 hours ago, robertlipe said:

Does not charge *that type* of batteries while inside the device.

Does not charge *any type* of batteries.

As Atlas Cached already wrote, the Oregon 450 has no built-in charger. No matter what kind of batteries you use, it's just not possible to charge them in that GPSr, so you must use an external battery charger.

The Oregon 450 has a power supply function. When connected to the computer's USB port, it takes the power supply from there and does not discharge the batteries - but doesn't charge them either.

[robertlipe]

Cool it with the condescension, you two.

The quoted statement was "The Oregon x00/x50 series do not charge the batteries while inside the device."

I amended that by pointing out that's not true for the later members of that family, with larger values of x. Atlas Cache is using some new mathematical convention where "x" = "x <=4" which of course any grade schooler will tell isn't how that works. If you look at a page like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_HTTP_status_codes, for example:  you don't get to define "x <= 4" at random times. The page would make no sense. I know you know the details of all these devices.  I'm just pointing out that any x00 from the last 13 years will do it in some circumstances. I know you know those, too. No need to further squabble about it.

Bergbauer. Don't lecture me on Garmin trivia without checking credentials and without actually reading the quote you're chastising me about. The quote was not about the 450. The quote clearly was about x00's (for all integer values of x), not 450. I even underscored that at the end: "So some Oregons ending in 00 will charge specific battery packs while in the unit that have ben specifically created ". 450 does not in in 00. 600 does end in 00. 700 does end in 00. We're done.
 

[JaVaWa]

The naming convention has nothing to do with mathematics...
The Oregon 200, 300 and 400 all use the same firmware, and were referenced by Garmin simple as "Oregon": https://www8.garmin.com/support/download_details.jsp?id=4051
The 450 and 550 had different hardware and software, and were referenced by Garmin as "Oregon x50": https://www8.garmin.com/support/download_details.jsp?id=4524
The Oregon 600 and 650 share the same firmware (the difference was the camera in the 650), and are referenced as "Oregon 6x0": https://www8.garmin.com/support/download_details.jsp?id=6157
The Oregon 700 and 750 are referenced as "Oregon 7xx": https://www8.garmin.com/support/download_details.jsp?id=10378
When the 450 and 550 arrived on the market, the x00 designation was used (by users, afaik not by Garmin) to differentiate between the older and newer device ranges. So the use of x00 and x50 does not simply refer to the last two digits, but to a specific generation. Well known for longtime Oregon users, but it can be confusing for others...

[+Bergbauer]

On 1/14/2024 at 8:38 AM, robertlipe said:

Don't lecture me on Garmin trivia without checking credentials and without actually reading the quote you're chastising me about.

 We're done.
 

Cool it with the condescension.