+Mopar Posted January 26, 2003 Share Posted January 26, 2003 Just went back and searched all the old forum threads. Back in 2001 the 300 series Magllans were rated IPX2. quote:IPX2Protected against falling water. When tilted up to 15 degrees same as above but unit is tested in 4 fixed positions - tilted 15 degree in each direction from normal operating position. There was some discussion at the time because Magellan made the waterproof claim along with the floats statement, but to find the actual degree of waterproofness required a fair amount of digging at the time. While yes, IPX2 is a so some degree waterproof, and yes it floats, I would be even more careful about dunking these units then the old models. My point about bringing it up was, it's unlikely Magellan actually redesigned these old units to conform to the higher standards. Its seems more likely they just carefully got one to pass the IPX7 standards, and would be willing to eat the few units out there still under warranty that do get dunked. Tae-Kwon-Leap is not a path to a door, but a road leading forever towards the horizon. Quote Link to comment
Rxprt88 Posted January 26, 2003 Share Posted January 26, 2003 Maybe it's only waterproof if it is accidently put in water. I have a older Garmin II+ that took a dunk in the Gulf of Mexico when the boat it was on almost sank. After getting the boat to shore and pumping out most of the water I inquired about my unit. the guy in the boat fished around in the water and came up with it. after approximately 45 minutes of being submerged it worked fine. Quote Link to comment
+Crusso Posted January 26, 2003 Share Posted January 26, 2003 IEFBR14, Go buy another unit from a retailer, put yours in the box & return it. (Oh boy is this gonna start a war!) Wherever you go, there you are! Quote Link to comment
mudhuggers Posted January 26, 2003 Share Posted January 26, 2003 I can't believe the dialogue that this posting has generated. Quote Link to comment
shabbasuraj Posted January 26, 2003 Share Posted January 26, 2003 anything goes i guess... lates... Quote Link to comment
ptv99jgc Posted January 29, 2003 Share Posted January 29, 2003 Well there certainly are numerous definitions for waterproof. I can not complain about my Vista's waterproofness. I do some Kayaking (not white water, but on lakes and slow moving rivers). My Vista regularly winds up in the drink. I tie the lanyard to the deck straps, and the vista can really only get about 6-8 inches deep, but it definitely has been fully submirsed MANY times. I had the rubber outer grip strip replaced, so I got to see what it looked like under it, and it also got submerged with that strip no where near fully atached. So I can say that it definitely does nothing for the water tightness. I never even opened the back to drain the water, just shook it off and kept on going. It does in no way float by the way, kind of like dropping a Cell phone (I would imagine ), just straight to the bottom. Paul Quote Link to comment
+apersson850 Posted January 31, 2003 Share Posted January 31, 2003 I found this text in another GPS-related forum: quote:I Stavanger hade de på en sportaffär ett ca 1 m högt plexiglasrör, ca 50 Cm i diameter. Röret var inrett som akvarioum och hade fiskar luftpumpar och allt. I botten på detta akvarium låg en Vista påslagen och i demo-mode i flera månader. Jag talade med dem och de sa att de bytte batterier med någon dags mellanrum, och att de inte haft några problem med den. Det tog faktiskt upp den och visade att den inte var preppad med silikon eller nåt runt batteriluckan. In English, it would be something like this: In Stavanger (Norway) they had a one meter high plastic pipe, about half a meter in diameter. It was a complete aquarium, with air pump, fishes and everything. At the bottom of the pipe they had a Vista laying for several months, turned on and running in demo mode. I spoke to them and they said that they took it up and changed the batteries once a day or so, but they hadn't had any problems at all with that Vista. They actually took it up and showed that the battery compartment wasn't sealed with silicone or something similar. So it seems that at least some of these units do work even being submerged. Anders Quote Link to comment
+blindleader Posted January 31, 2003 Share Posted January 31, 2003 I see this thread is probably a dead horse in most minds, but in skimming it, I haven't seen much of the beating even come close to the corral. I'll skip addressing most of the posts and stick to the first few by the original poster. I don't have a copy of IEC 529 and am too cheap to pony up. But, I am a retired electronics test engineer and am familiar with how such standards are written. Tests such as the above standards describe are virtually never done on operating equipment. The tests are for "survival". After the test unit is removed from the environment it is generally "serviced" (Dry off, put the batteries back in, etc.) before functional testing. If Garmin intended the etrex to work while submerged (a very expensive capability) they would be trumpeting that at the top of all their advertising, not just slipping the word "waterproof" into the copy. You also wouldn't be able to buy one for much under twice the current price. quote: She then expounded on the "IPX7 standard" and said the water had to be completely still - "not moving". (Of course, that's nowhere in their marketing or anywhere else on the web site.)Well, yes it is. The word IPx7 covers it. Common sense tells me that a GPSr is not intended to be used while submerged, the word waterproof notwithstanding. Your common sense might be different from mine. Since "common sense" is a term without any legal meaning, a lawsuit claiming the unit did not operate as advertised would probably fail based on the presence of the term "IPx7" in that same advertising copy. quote: they say "Submerged to 1 meter for 30 minutes." NOT true. My first etrex fried when it got wet Nobody owns a GPSr which has actually had this test performed on it before it left the factory. The test was done maybe once or twice on "qualification" units. What it means is that the etrex is designed to withstand the test, not that they all will. Garmin's (and all manufacturers') strategy is to sell a unit suitable for use outdoors, meaning that it should stand up to normal use in, say, western Washington in January, or the occasional accidental dunking. They have calculated the cost of the warrantee for some small fraction of the units that might not be up to the task or belong to owners without "common sense" and that cost is rolled into the selling price for all the units. BTW, Don’t think that I hold my common sense in high regard. Common sense is like an opinion; pretty much worthless without testing. Quote Link to comment
+Bloencustoms Posted February 3, 2003 Share Posted February 3, 2003 If IP X7 means a device can remain submerged to a depth of one meter for thirty minutes, does that imply a cumulative effect of time on water resistance? If your unit gets wet for ten minutes, then dries off, can it only be submerged for twenty more minutes before it fails? Quote Link to comment
+apersson850 Posted February 4, 2003 Share Posted February 4, 2003 After, say, 32 minutes, you can just hold it a little bit over the ocean level, and it will actually lift the water level up just high enough to enter and harm the unit. The more time that passes, the higher the lifting capacity will be. Anders Quote Link to comment
BunnyB Posted February 8, 2003 Share Posted February 8, 2003 I was holding a Magellan Blazer 12 in my hand whilst walking in a creek in north Georgia and went ***-over-teakettle down a sluice. Minutes later, a companion called out to me - they had picked up the GPS, still on and functioning after it had been beaten against the rocks, submerged, and floated 100 yds downstream. If my new Etrex can't go over this bar, I'm back to Magellan (I don't care if Magellan DOESN'T have side controls). Also, try the Energizer lithium batteries if you are concerned about weight, they're 1/2 as heavy as alkaline, perform 2.5x longer, and haven't presented any problems I can see. BunnyB Quote Link to comment
+Bloencustoms Posted February 8, 2003 Share Posted February 8, 2003 Etex Vista replacing Archimedean Screws in water lifting applications throughout the Nile region! This is the best use for the little unit as of yet! Get off the cellphone and DRIVE! Quote Link to comment
+Bill D (wwh) Posted February 12, 2003 Share Posted February 12, 2003 User profile: Found 0 Hidden 0 TBs owned 0 TBs found 0 Benchmarks 0 Troll 1 Bill Quote Link to comment
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