Garmin - A tale of woes!

[Geodes]

So a new O300 (complete with re-ID'ed maps) for a bit over half price. Now we have his&hers Oregons, but more importantly, we have one that can stay plugged into the car charger on trips.

Bear in mind that it is not necessarily the plugging/unplugging that may be wearing the USB connector - it may also be (at least, partially) due to vibrations from the car which are transmitted via the lead and have a "hammer-drilling" effect on the socket and connector.

[Jardry]

I'm not impressed with the Garmin windscreen mount for the Oregon 300!
The suction seal came adrift and the mount with the Oregon 300 still in it fell off the windscreen, dropping onto a can of drink in the centre console with the end result - a cracked screen. I can turn the unit on (and off) but the touchscreen is kaput!!
Whilst the repair/replacement is covered by insurance, it will take a few weeks to sort out.
Back to using the eTrex Legend HCx!!

[Big Matt and Shell]

I'm still waiting for Johhny Appleseed to call me about my problems trying to unlock my topo maps so I can load them on my shiny new O450

I've always sent my emails to unlock@ja-gps.com.au. I've always found Fiona to be very efficient! (Isn't that sad when you know her by her first name...)

[mtrax]

BTW I sent my GPS for repair an got a replacement unit in just under 10 days..

[FarmerFrentzen]

BTW I sent my GPS for repair an got a replacement unit in just under 10 days..

Paul, wasn't that a fairly new unit?

I'm a little concerned about upgrading my Etrex Vista HCX given the number of people I know that have had to send their units back to Garmin, in some cases 3 times.

Sure if they replace it that's good, but there must be something wrong if units are getting replaced after minimal use.

[Bewilderbeest]

I'm still waiting for Johhny Appleseed to call me about my problems trying to unlock my topo maps so I can load them on my shiny new O450

I've always sent my emails to unlock@ja-gps.com.au. I've always found Fiona to be very efficient! (Isn't that sad when you know her by her first name...)

Fiona has been very helpful in getting me a version of mapsource compatible with the topo maps. Unfortunately its now Mapsource itself that wont run, with a very unhelpful error message. I'll be back in touch with Fiona tomorrow, but Im worried the problem might get bumped to Garmin, and I just end up going round in circles.

I considering abandoning the purchased topo for open source...any recommendations?

[Dooghan]

I considering abandoning the purchased topo for open source...any recommendations?

Start a new thread Bewilderbeest so this thread can be kept on topic.

[Shael6636]

Just an FYI for Garmin Dakota 20 users.....

After having to send my Dakota 20 back to garmin twice now due to corrupted firmware (which seems to happen after transferring GPX files onto the device) and only having the replacement for less than 24 hours before the firmware was corrupted again; Garmin have advised / informed me that MapSource should not be used for transferring GPX / Maps onto the Dakota 20 as it is incompatible and can cause issues

You need to use the BaseCamp program for the managing maps and GPX files.

Which is really weird as I had no issues until 2 weeks ago and i use GSAK for transferring caches etc...