ETrex Ownership Page

[+MaxEntropy]

The topic of hacking the firmware on a GPSr to display owner's infoprmation has been discussed here before. So I thought that some Etrex owners would be happy to know that the next firmware revision of the Etrex legend and possibly others will have a feature that lets you edit the new Ownership page of the Etrex. It's in beta right now (V2.41)

Now if they would only add waypoint averaging, I'd be doing the happpy dance.

[targetdrone]

The 2.43 beta for the Legend is already on the Garmin website and has it.

 

"A good compromise leaves everybody mad." - Calvin

[+BigNick]

But what is to stop someone who finds or steals your GPSr from just changing the owner info? Is it protected somehow? This is the nice thing about hacking the firmware, it makes it quite hard to change the details by a dishonest person.

Still, it is a nice feature - hope it migrates through the whole product line.

Cheers

Nick.

[+MacBWizard]

I believe that this built-in page is just as good as the hacked version, if not better. First, an honest person is going to give it back to you, whether, or not the screen is hacked or from the firmware. A dishonest person is not going to care either way that someone's name pops up at startup. They don't care if it is permanent or not, they want the GPS. The only reason I might want the hacked version is if you're concerned about losing it to a dishonest person who will try to sell it to make money. In this case he could just erase the contact info. But, if you lose the eTrex to someone who is dishonest you aren't going to get it back, regardless of how your contact information got on the unit.

 

Proud new owner of a Vista

[+mrcpu]

The nice thing about the hack is that the info comes up RIGHT AWAY when you turn it on! The way I figure it, if someone found my GPS, the chances of them actually figuring out how to turn it on are slim (Garmin Venture, you hold the button down on the right side but their not very well marked).

 

Secondly, IF the person got the unit on, finding the Owner's page would be unlikely, if not impossible, HOWEVER the startup screen is THE perfect place to put this because you see it without having to do anything.

 

Another example of this type of thing is the Palm OS devices. There is an owners page but it is BURIED in the preferences. It took me a few minutes to remember where it was, so the chances of someone finding you Palm and finding your owner's page is slim.

 

There was a company that shipped a sticker with my palm IIIe from a company, http://www.returnme.com/ It was a neat idea to.

 

Cheers,

 

Rob

Mobile Cache Command

[+MacBWizard]

Yes, Garmin's version of the ownership page is the first thing you see when you press the power button.

 

Proud new owner of a Vista

[+Trikster]

Mm. ReturnMe is okay, but I've gone with StuffBak. They've got about twenty different tag sizes, including aluminum ones for luggage and keychains, and you only pay if your lost item gets returned to you (and for the label purchase). Check out StuffBak for their info.

 

And incidentally, I've put my StuffBak label info on my Legend's owner page, which gives the finder an 800 number and a website rather than your phone number and address. Rather efficient, I thought.

 

Just my tuppence...

 

-Trik