Garmin Oregon 650

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maccamob
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Re: Garmin Oregon 650

Post by maccamob » 22 August 13 10:39 pm

Will try it out today. Not convinced it will help, though. I think the problem lies with the GPS compass at low (walking pace) speeds. The 3-axis compass works fine when you are standing still (and the Oregon knows you're standing still). It switches over to GPS compass mode almost as soon as you start to move or if the Oregon thinks you are moving). Hopefully, this change is to make the 3-axis compass stay on to a higher speed.

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Re: Garmin Oregon 650

Post by maccamob » 23 August 13 1:13 pm

Hard to say, but there may be a small improvement. It still switches to GPS compass mode at around 3 km/h, and I saw the needle snap around by up to 90 degrees off course a couple of times while walking, and snap back again when still. First impression is that it does this less than before.

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Re: Garmin Oregon 650

Post by mtrax » 23 August 13 2:56 pm

yes only a small improvement essentially the problem still exists from my short tests anyway..

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Re: Garmin Oregon 650

Post by Aushiker » 23 August 13 6:03 pm

Tip of the Day from Ray at DCRainmaker: How to display your name and phone number when your GPS starts up. This post is about the Garmin Edge 810 but it works just the same with my Garmin Oregon 600 so I am guessing the 650 and probably other models as well.

Image

Andrew

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Re: Garmin Oregon 650

Post by mtrax » 23 August 13 11:29 pm

Yep have done this on all my gps units from garmin

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Re: Garmin Oregon 650

Post by maccamob » 13 November 13 9:59 pm

Firmware Ver 3.5 now available.

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Re: Garmin Oregon 650

Post by gmj3191 » 24 November 13 6:30 pm

My Oregon 550 locked up about ten days ago.
None of the usual tricks worked so I upgraded to a 650.

So far like :
It's very responsive
It holds many caches, as a test I have loaded all of Australia's caches into it, 50,000 +, still very responsive.
It can charge batteries (its own battery pack or Eneloops INiMh)
Can use my phone power bank or car to charge it while I'm driving along (not a big advantages as I have lots of Eneloops anyway)
Touchscreen makes it easy to set up profiles just the way you want them
With 50k caches, and All Australia OSM maps on board, Windows Explorer reports that I still have 3.12 Gb free out of 3.60 Gb available.
No need to use an SD card unless you don't clean up photos or you want to use SD Card maps. So one less thing to go wrong.

Don't like:
It's too responsive, but just have to use lockscreen a bit more often
You can have 50,000 caches loaded in, but it will only search through the "available list" which is those within about 185km (although they say 100 miles).

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Re: Garmin Oregon 650

Post by maccamob » 24 November 13 8:21 pm

gmj3191 wrote:Don't like:
It's too responsive, but just have to use lockscreen a bit more often
You can have 50,000 caches loaded in, but it will only search through the "available list" which is those within about 185km (although they say 100 miles).
For the screen response, you could try Setup/Accessibility/Touch Sensitivity/Normal (Default is High).
You can search beyond 185km if you know roughly where the relevant cache is. Use Search Near/A Map Point. If you can plan your trip beforehand, you can save waypoints at major towns along your route, then use Search Near/A Waypoint.

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Re: Garmin Oregon 650

Post by gmj3191 » 24 November 13 10:13 pm

maccamob wrote:
gmj3191 wrote:Don't like:
It's too responsive, but just have to use lockscreen a bit more often
You can have 50,000 caches loaded in, but it will only search through the "available list" which is those within about 185km (although they say 100 miles).
For the screen response, you could try Setup/Accessibility/Touch Sensitivity/Normal (Default is High).
You can search beyond 185km if you know roughly where the relevant cache is. Use Search Near/A Map Point. If you can plan your trip beforehand, you can save waypoints at major towns along your route, then use Search Near/A Waypoint.
Hi Maccas,
Yes, I tried changing the sensitivity but I think my main issue is that I keep brushing the screen accidentally and even on Normal this is a problem.
It wasn't quite as bad with my Oregon 550 with a screen protector on it as well.

I know I can do a search near but that's a bit painful if you quickly want to check where a cache is. Also, it's a limitation which did not exist in the Oregon 550.
Perhaps it's a trade off for using the GPZ compression method.

Another thing which I don't think Garmin have done well is that there does not seem to be a quick easy way to find additional waypoints for a cache.
You can do it but you have to know the lengthy procedure.
You have to stop navigating to the primary coordinates, go to another database, well, try it for Grave Situations.
The short namelength makes it even trickier.
While navigating to a cache, a button to list Additional Waypoints associate with that cache would have been so much better. (No improvement from the 550).

I think it's great hardware, but the package could have been so much better.

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Re: Garmin Oregon 650

Post by Alansee » 25 November 13 9:25 am

gmj3191 wrote: Another thing which I don't think Garmin have done well is that there does not seem to be a quick easy way to find additional waypoints for a cache.
You can do it but you have to know the lengthy procedure.
This is one that I find a bit odd indeed, and yes, poor design.

Geoff, just how do you find those Cache Waypoints?

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Re: Garmin Oregon 650

Post by gmj3191 » 25 November 13 10:17 am

Alansee wrote:
gmj3191 wrote: Another thing which I don't think Garmin have done well is that there does not seem to be a quick easy way to find additional waypoints for a cache.
You can do it but you have to know the lengthy procedure.
This is one that I find a bit odd indeed, and yes, poor design.

Geoff, just how do you find those Cache Waypoints?
Well, assume your navigating towards a multi.
When you're in the vicinity :-
Where to ? > Stop Navigation>
Where to ? > Extras ...takes you to a number of databases containing all the additional waypoint types, such as Parking, Question to Answer etc.
You then try to find the one you want.
Now in the GSAK Garmin GPS Export macro I send Child waypoints as POIs so I might be doing this the wrong way.
I'm not sure what happens if leave that unchecked. I need to experiment.

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Re: Garmin Oregon 650

Post by Alansee » 25 November 13 11:27 am

Many Thanks Geoff, I had not managed to find where the Child Waypoints went to, but also had not really looked.

Overall I think that the new Oregon series is great. One thing that I do find frustrating about the Oregons as a whole though is that to navigate to a waypoint, Child or otherwise, you have to get out of one system (Geocaching) and get into a different one (Waypoints). My Legend HCX, among others, has them all together, which is surely how we would want them. Not all waypoints of course, just Children or ones that we create. It would be a simple programming job to allow you to choose for yourself which ones you wanted to include for that matter. I would want to include Food and Drink! As Maccamob know I like that one!

I have now put Extras as a selection on my Main Menu, but it is certainly not as seamless as it should be.

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Re: Garmin Oregon 650

Post by Alansee » 25 November 13 11:36 am

When I did a test on looking for Child Waypoints, it came up with three lots of Parking Areas, and two of a Stages of a Multicache. All three of the Parking ones, and both of the Stages, were identical, and when I entered All Databases, it either comes up with only three waypoints (there are lots more) or none at all!

Interesting to say the least. Does anyone else get this?

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Re: Garmin Oregon 650

Post by gmj3191 » 25 November 13 11:44 am

What I have found is this.

Using the GSAK Garmin GPS Export macro
=============================
Checking the "Include Child points in GPX" will leave the additional waypoints listed at the bottom og the cache description in the GPS.
They don't seem to appear in the device anywhere as clickable waypoints.

Checking the "Send Child points as POIs will create databases called "Trailhead", "Parking", Question to Answer" etc and place the waypoints in there where you can try to find them.
Searching for them is assisted by the macro the cache name at the beginning of the waypoint name, but you need to be looking in the correct database.
Perhaps an easier way to select the additional waypoints is to pick them off the map view using a pin to select them, if you can tell which one you want.
This becomes hard if the cache has a longish name.


Using the Send to my GPS option from the listing in gc.com
============================================
Where to? > A folder called Waypoints will have the waypoint stored in it with a name like PK4JATT where the cache was GC4JATT and it was a Parking Waypoint.
Again selecting them from the map view might be easiest.


The implementation in c:geo, and the gc.com app, is great, the additional waypoints are listed with all details and selectable.

BUT you can see the difficulty here as really it's an interface issue. Garmin will not be able to get cooperation from gc.com I wouldn't think, as there seems to be a frosty relationship.
If Garmin did come up with a nice way to do it I'm sure Clyde could get it right from his end with GSAK.

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Re: Garmin Oregon 650

Post by gmj3191 » 25 November 13 11:50 am

Alansee wrote:When I did a test on looking for Child Waypoints, it came up with three lots of Parking Areas, and two of a Stages of a Multicache. All three of the Parking ones, and both of the Stages, were identical, and when I entered All Databases, it either comes up with only three waypoints (there are lots more) or none at all!

Interesting to say the least. Does anyone else get this?
Alan, I would delete everything in the following folders, and then reload.
All these are sub folders under GARMIN.
GGZ
GPS
GPX
POI
POI Stash

They will all get rebuilt when you reload your caches, but you shouln't have any duplicate waypoints then.

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