Oregon 550

Discussion about software such as GSAK, OziExplorer etc, as well as all things hardware, GPSrs, laptops, PDAs, paperless caching, cables etc
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tronador
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Oregon 550

Post by tronador » 05 October 12 2:21 am

My GPS has just died. It was working perfectly fine.I reset the trip data and as Iresetthe waypoints,itfroze midway and shut off. Now it won't work at all. Itturns on then mid way through loading it shuts off, screen fades out. Itdoes not connect to PC and it doesn't recognize sd card. It's only 3 months old. My old vista never had any problems. Any suggestions on getting it working? Very frustrating.

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Cheesy pigs
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Re: Oregon 550

Post by Cheesy pigs » 05 October 12 8:08 am

return it to where you bought it and get it fixed/ replaced?

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tronador
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Re: Oregon 550

Post by tronador » 05 October 12 9:33 am

Yes but im os at the moment.Using cachemate onmyphone. Not ideal but can find simple ones.

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Re: Oregon 550

Post by LouiseAnn » 05 October 12 9:47 am

Mine did something that sounds a bit similar a few months ago. I was very worried!! I just kept turning it on again, taking the batteries out and back in and trying to load data to it from GSAK and eventually it worked again. It's been smooth sailing ever since

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gmj3191
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Re: Oregon 550

Post by gmj3191 » 05 October 12 10:48 am

I'd completely remove the SD card and recharge the batteries, and then try starting it up or connecting it the PC.
Sorry if you've already tried this, but can't think of anything else.

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tronador
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Re: Oregon 550

Post by tronador » 07 October 12 4:19 am

Yep done all those things, removed sd card, cant connect to pc as it doesn't recognize it, batteries are recharged, but it still keeps shutting itself off. There is not reason for this as it was fine. Like
i said i turned it on, it loaded as normal I touched reset and reset the trip data, no problem then when I tried to reset the waypoints it froze and then totally would not reset or recognize the sd car and now keeps turning itself off half way between the load. No recognition with the pc. Probably need to get it replaced, it should be under warranty and I bought it from Johnny appleseed. At least I have my trusty Vista at home, that has never had a problem. thanks for the suggestions though.

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Re: Oregon 550

Post by Earthbound Chief » 07 October 12 8:54 am

Both my Oregon 550 and Montana have done this a couple of times.
Felt like I wanted to smash them on the driveway.
Always after trying to load new waypoints.
I think it has to do with a corrupted gpx file, but not sure.

Can you connect to your computer without any batteries in your gpsr?


If so, delete all gpx files. Disconnect from the computer and insert fully recharged batteries. Then turn on.
If that is successful then,
On your computer run and create a new gpx file

Reconnect gpsr, with fully recharged batteries, to computer and add new waypoints

Hope that helps

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roundcircle
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Re: Oregon 550

Post by roundcircle » 07 October 12 11:36 am

My Oregon 450 occasionally regulary has issues after loading GPX files. I load the GPX files from a Linux machine, and have always blamed this process, but it still shouldn't do it.

I find I have to delete the offending file. Power the unit off and on. Then load the file again. Making sure I "eject safely" prior unplugging helps I think. I've tried doing with and without batteries and am not convinced that it makes any difference.

The final check before heading out is to power the unit up on batteries, checking that I can select a cache and also read the description and stuff with out the unit hanging.

I don't think that resetting the way points in the unit reset screen will clear the gpx file with caches. I think you can only do that from a PC. If a corrupt GPX file is the issue, that would explain why what you've tried hasn't fixed it.

Nothing worse than stuffing around with a GPX file, then getting on the road and the unit says there are no caches loaded, or hangs when the description is opened etc.

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Re: Oregon 550

Post by ian-and-penny » 07 October 12 12:16 pm

Have you tried a "Master Reset"?
All settings, user data*, and satellite data may be erased when resetting the GPS. User data can be backed up to the computer by referring to the FAQ article "How do I back up user data from my outdoor GPS with a USB interface?" before performing the reset.

To perform the master reset:

Power device off
Press and hold a finger on upper-left corner of display
Power device on while continuing to press corner of display
Release power button once Oregon powers on
Touch 'Yes' on Do you really want to erase all user data? message
The Oregon is now reset. It will be necessary to leave the device outside with a clear view of the sky for 20 minutes to acquire satellite data.

*User data consists of waypoints, routes, tracks, and geocaches

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tronador
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Re: Oregon 550

Post by tronador » 08 October 12 2:19 pm

Tried all of the above. It will not connect to pc cannot erase data, it just fades out and shuts off.

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Re: Oregon 550

Post by maccamob » 08 October 12 2:28 pm

I watched Mr Coffee get one like this going on saturday night. Power off. Press power to turn it on. While it is starting, click the power button 3 times fairly quickly, pause for a second, then click power button 3 times again. Might have to try this a couple of times.

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tronador
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Re: Oregon 550

Post by tronador » 08 October 12 4:14 pm

Thanks will give it a go and let you know if that works.

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Re: Oregon 550

Post by GJMMelb » 08 October 12 5:22 pm

We had that happen last night on our Oregon450!

I had loaded a file to the GPS whilst GMelb got ready to go out for a FTF mini meet up. He got to the cache and the GPS wouldnt turn on, it stopped with the green line halfway across the screen then turned off. This happened several times! He gave up and joined up with another cacher to find the cache lol.
When he got home we tried several things to get it to start and it wouldnt do anything.
Finally after googling we found this info

http://forums.groundspeak.com/GC/index. ... pic=247579

First time we tried it we clicked "no" to the reset all data question and it still wouldnt work so then we clicked yes and it worked!!

Soooooooo WARNING - It will reset back to original (factory) settings and you will have to recalibrate and change to metres and whatever other personalisations you have previously made etc etc etc

However it DID keep all marked waypoints!

But at least it works now and all the caches were still there lol - INCLUDING the one that corrupted it!!

Today I did a new upload of files (via GSAK which also deletes all files) to it and it's working perfectly :-)

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tronador
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Re: Oregon 550

Post by tronador » 09 October 12 6:45 am

thanks sounds exactly what mine is doing, gets half way then turns off. I have already tried the above, it wont let me. I get the message do I want to erase all data and the yes no option but when I press yes, the screen fades out like when it tries to load and the gps shuts off. It seems well and truly screwed for absolutely no reason at all.
Tried turning it on then quickly pressing the on button 3 times but this doesn't work either. :evil: :evil: :evil: :evil: Looks like a trip back to Johnny Appleseed and a reload of the trusty Vista when I get home before heading over to NZ for the Mega.

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Re: Oregon 550

Post by quiet1_au » 09 October 12 8:24 am

I had something similar with my Nuvi, it would reset rather than fade though. My problem was caused by copying a POI .gpx source file to the POI folder instead of compiling it to a .gpi file - talk about fragile!... If you have a SD card in it - take it out - if there's a dodgy file on it you might then be able to boot the GPS - then you can use a card-reader to track down the culprit (the file(s) that you last uploaded to it)

If not, it's trickier - these were the instructions for a Nuvi device to get it to connect to the PC - it may work with the Oregon too, just make sure to use the correct corner of the screen (the hard boot one previously discussed)
Now, this next part is tricky because it appears to vary with the software version you are using. My unit would turn on as soon as I plugged it into the USB and begin looping. What I did was push my finger on the top left corner of the touchscreen while plugging it into the USB with the other hand. If you did it correctly, the screen will stay on the Garmin logo and the computer will install the device. Otherwise, if it continues to loop, push the top-left corner again and turn it on and hold the switch in the on position while plugging it in. However you get it to stay on the Garmin screen and install to windows, DONT LET GO!
Then track down and remove/replace the dodgy file(s) - be careful not to play with the Garmin's own data though (in fact - its a good idea to backup the GPS data files as I had a glitch that lost many of them including the basemap on my first Oregon - took a lot of hassling Garmin to get them to send me replacements...


:-$

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