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My eTREX is broken?!? What?....


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I was involved in a tipover yesterday, and my etrex went for a quick swim. I was thinking it would be alright and I tried to turn it on and nothing happened! Thinking I just needed to dry it out, I waited a few hours and tried again...it worked, but couldn't lock on any sattellites and the data was messed up.

 

I tried this morning after drying all night, and the screen was full of condensation and the unit turned on, but I couldn't shut it off! I had to take out the batteries! the Up and Down buttons are non-functioning (stuck) and so is the ENTER button. Basically it is broken. I have NEVER had it in the water, and I thought it would be fine...it was even in the GARMIN neoprene case. For something that supposedly can withstand 1M for 30 min., it didn't even come close!! Should I send it back to Garmin? OR take it back to Best Buy where it has an Extended Warr.?

 

This is not good that something that should be waterproof faired this poorly...

 

Thanks!

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Garmin is outstanding with customer service issues. They'll ask exactly what a "quick swim" is though. Warranty covers 1 meter deep for 30 minutes. Battery compartment is not water proof and must be dried out if dipped.

 

Good Luck! icon_smile.gif

 

~Honest Value Never Fails~

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Garmin is outstanding with customer service issues. They'll ask exactly what a "quick swim" is though. Warranty covers 1 meter deep for 30 minutes. Battery compartment is not water proof and must be dried out if dipped.

 

Good Luck! icon_smile.gif

 

~Honest Value Never Fails~

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Call Best Buy and ask them. If its their warranty, most likely you'll be taking it there.

 

I hope its a good warranty. I have a warranty from Staples on the digital camera that I take caching - basically I just hafta bring back whatever pieces I can find for a replacement icon_biggrin.gif

 

snazzsig.jpg

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Call Best Buy and ask them. If its their warranty, most likely you'll be taking it there.

 

I hope its a good warranty. I have a warranty from Staples on the digital camera that I take caching - basically I just hafta bring back whatever pieces I can find for a replacement icon_biggrin.gif

 

snazzsig.jpg

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quote:
Originally posted by arcteryx79:

I was involved in a tipover yesterday, and my etrex went for a quick swim. I was thinking it would be alright and I tried to turn it on and nothing happened! Thinking I just needed to dry it out, I waited a few hours and tried again...it worked, but couldn't lock on any sattellites and the data was messed up.

 

I tried this morning after drying all night, and the screen was full of condensation and the unit turned on, but I couldn't shut it off! I had to take out the batteries! the Up and Down buttons are non-functioning (stuck) and so is the ENTER button. Basically it is broken. I have NEVER had it in the water, and I thought it would be fine...it was even in the GARMIN neoprene case. For something that supposedly can withstand 1M for 30 min., it didn't even come close!! Should I send it back to Garmin? OR take it back to Best Buy where it has an Extended Warr.?

 

This is not good that something that should be waterproof faired this poorly...

 

Thanks!


 

Mine was soaked in the rain in Florida and worked fine. However, a friend of ours has a similar problem and after two days of drying, it still was not working. They called Garmin and a unit was cross-shipped to them. They even paid the shipping.

 

I thought I was a little off, then I looked at my GPS and discovered I accurate to 12 ft.

 

Geocachers don't NEED to ask for directions!

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You may also want to let it dry longer.

 

The reason I say this is because of an incident I had with a cell phone. It got drowned - while in my pocket, no less. I took it apart, let it dry overnight. Tried it again about 24 hours later - nothing. So I called my service provider and made arrangements to get a replacement. I got it three days later, along with a box and shipping materials to send to old phone back. Just out of curiosity, I tried to turn it on before I shipped it - it worked!

 

Since the phone has no waterproofing at all, it seems like the eTrex is even more likely to survive this incident.

 

Anyway, just a thought.

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He hasn't responded back yet...

 

Anyway, the problem is, the "waterproofing" feature that's keeping the water out is also keeping the water in... If you can't warranty it, you can pop the case. Soak it again with bottled water and use compressed air to blow the water out, especially under the IC's on the board. The reason you want to soak it again is you want to wash anyway any of the minerals and gunk that will dry on the board from your water trip...

 

Any questions just hollar... I was in PCB design for many years... water on boards was our business icon_smile.gif

 

geosig.jpg

Contents Under Pressure...

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He hasn't responded back yet...

 

Anyway, the problem is, the "waterproofing" feature that's keeping the water out is also keeping the water in... If you can't warranty it, you can pop the case. Soak it again with bottled water and use compressed air to blow the water out, especially under the IC's on the board. The reason you want to soak it again is you want to wash anyway any of the minerals and gunk that will dry on the board from your water trip...

 

Any questions just hollar... I was in PCB design for many years... water on boards was our business icon_smile.gif

 

geosig.jpg

Contents Under Pressure...

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Somewhere between a few months and a few weeks before my venture warranty was up it started being pretty messed up. Garbled screen, click stick malfunctions, long lag times, etc. However I was travelling the country at the time and still needed it (it still sorta kinda worked sometimes) anyway I wouldn't be back home til months after the warranty was up. Well I emailed them and they responded saying they knew how the units were used and just to contact them when i got home and it would be fixed. I just got back and have to send them an email here soon to have it sent out.... only problem is now what do I do while it's getting fixed... can probably still find caches, but placing could be tough.

 

"...Not all those who wander are lost..."

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