Garmin Oregon 650

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mtrax
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Re: Garmin Oregon 650

Post by mtrax » 10 March 14 3:27 pm

I installed the latest firmware last week and touch wood so far so good. However the previous firmware to current one I had some amount of crashes when I used it last weekend so go figure.

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gmj3191
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Re: Garmin Oregon 650

Post by gmj3191 » 10 March 14 11:18 pm

Nothing major affecting me, but I don't much bother with tracks and routes, only caching.
The very occasional crash which is easily fixed by a battery break, but this is pretty rare.

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EuDes
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Re: Garmin Oregon 650

Post by EuDes » 04 April 14 11:07 am

I had this happen to me the other day while at Eldercrevice (GC4ZQQ3):

Image

This is not photoshopped nor was I travelling at 41693 km/h at any stage! Thank goodness that I had just found the cache as it (Garmin Oregon 650) did not reset to the correct coordinates for the entire trip back to work even though it tracked the journey. :shock: It wasn't until I jumped in the car to go home that it finally realised where I was. ](*,)

I'm getting frequent crashes (Firmware version 3.8 with a v2 circuit board) and in fact, while in Geelong a few weeks ago, it crashed 3 times in the one day for periods of between 9 minutes up to a phenomenal 75 minutes (although there was a 45 minute break in the middle of that one).

This is simply not good enough from a company that has previously put out high quality equipment. I've now got a Magellan user sniggering at me whereas as before, they were always on the back foot about what my Oregon 300 could do! Bad form Garmin. :x

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Re: Garmin Oregon 650

Post by gmj3191 » 04 April 14 1:48 pm

Have you thought about sending it back and putting in a warranty claim.
You seem to have some hard evidence there.
Give them a call on 1 800 235 822
I found them excellent to deal with.

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EuDes
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Re: Garmin Oregon 650

Post by EuDes » 04 April 14 3:02 pm

Thanks G but unfortunately, I don't think I'm on my Pat Malone here. This from the Garmin Oregon 6XX wiki:

Image

I'm hoping that Garmin will fix this issue shortly but it looks like they're more interested in "Improving average ascent and average descent data fields" and "Improving vertical speed and grade data fields" than improving stability! :shock:

BTW, which Firmware version are you running? People seem to be reporting in the Wiki far better stability using v3.6.

In many ways, I'm quite disappointed with the unit despite how sensational it could/should be.
  • Bluetooth that is effectively proprietary;
  • having to use an angled mini USB plug to provide external power;
  • batteries that effectively only last a few hours at best;
  • a touch screen that is so sensitive (I've got it set to the least sensitive setting) that it jumps around like you wouldn't believe and even turns functions on and off in the process;
  • camera function and flash that aren't synchronised :shock: (that one is beyond my comprehension :?: );
  • I don't have a great deal of confidence in the accuracy, notwithstanding my previous post which was outrageous in and of itself; and
  • any number of other issues
I might give them a call so thanks for the number. Unfortunately, I get the feeling I know what the answer will be. "Yep, warranty claim - send it back" and I'll get the same unit back a few months later and nothing will be different! :roll: :(

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Re: Garmin Oregon 650

Post by gmj3191 » 04 April 14 4:42 pm

Well my rubber USB cover breaking off was a pain, but apart from the very rare lockup, I'm pretty happy with it operating in straight geocaching mode.
I'm running on 3.8 and hadn't noticed that 3.9 has become available.
I have found that once you get within 5 or 6m then sometimes the pointer is unreliable, but at stage the job is pretty much done, and it's simple to just follow the numbers.
As for the things you mention:
- Haven't used the bluetooth yet
- Angle of the USB hasn't worried me. I usually charge it, or connect it to my PC, by hooking it up and placing it face down on the desk. It's similar to my old Oregon so not a change for me.
-I have a 650 and the rechargeable battery lasts me pretty much a full day, and I carry spares anyway
- Yes it is sensitive, and I use screen lock quite a bit, but that's also an advantage, and you can adjust it too. Default is "High" have you tried "Medium"?
- My flash operates in sync, no problem for me there. I just took a pic in a dark cupboard to test it.
- I think it's about the same as my Oregon 550 was as regards to accuracy. Once calibrated it's fine.

In terms of Garmin service, I think they're great. I found the retailer would have been a problem because they batched repairs sending them interstate, and told me the whole thing could take 3 months.
I rang Garmin and they said 10 days to 2 weeks, and it was just over a week for my replacement to arrive after they noted the broken rubber plug.
You just ring Garmin and they send you a Case Number.
You then send it yourself to Garmin. With mine, they were quite speedy in resolving the problem and couriering it back.
Not sure about yours as the problem is a lot less tangible.
If you have a backup GPS or a Smartphone, I think I'd be sending it back however, and you do have some hard evidence above.

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Re: Garmin Oregon 650

Post by setsujoku » 10 April 14 10:57 pm

gmj3191 wrote: I just took a pic in a dark cupboard to test it.
I'm not even going to ask what you were doing in a dark cupboard :D

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Re: Garmin Oregon 650

Post by gmj3191 » 11 April 14 12:56 pm

I get embarrassed with the light on.

Seriously though, the camera's not great, but fine for web use.
If the flash is not syncing properly it's a clear fault with that unit.
If you send it back to Garmin by ringing 1800 235 822 and following their instructions I'm sure you'll have a replacement unit within 2 weeks, if my experience is anything to go by.

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EuDes
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Re: Garmin Oregon 650

Post by EuDes » 23 August 14 11:22 am

Whoops, I meant to post an update earlier than this. :oops:

Thanks for your advice gmj3191, I gave Garmin a ring on the number you provided and got a job number from them. From the conversation with them though, I had a sneaking suspicion that they would be sending it back to me after "5-10 working days" with a note to the effect that our technicians checked your unit and found no fault blahdy-blahdy-blah. So, I decided not to send it off and figured that I'd just put up with no flash.

A few weeks later however, I was in the supermarket and spotted a packet of 4 Varta 2600 mAh, low-self-discharge rechargeables for $17.95 and thought why not. After a bit of a glitch where the first couple of attempts at photos crashed the unit, not only was it back to taking pickies but synchronised flash photos as well!!

Also, my 40 minute ride to work doesn't end up with flat batteries any more, it ends up with 4 bars on the battery charge graphic. :D

So it looks like it was the junk batteries that Garmin provide all along. ](*,)

As a word of warning though, an electronics friend of a friend of a friend (etc.) has advised that recharging high capacity batteries like the Vartas in the O650 from totally flat might burn out the charging circuitry resulting in an expensive repair. Whether or not this is true, it's a warning I intend to heed JIC.

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Re: Garmin Oregon 650

Post by gmj3191 » 23 August 14 11:50 pm

I've always used the rechargeable battery that came with the unit.
Lately it has taken a long time to settle down, and yesterday the battery was low so I swapped in a couple of eneloops.
That seemed to have a dramatic effect on the accuracy and I then got a steady lock on the cache I was looking for, and found it soon afterwards.
You may be right about the Garmin battery.

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Re: Garmin Oregon 650

Post by Team Conquest » 24 August 14 12:32 pm

I can also attest to the poor quality of the provided batteries. After probably six months of semi-regular use it got to the point that I'd take a couple of photos and all of a sudden the charge would drop from full to near empty. Replaced with eneloops and now get excellent performance, and they charge a lot faster with an external battery charger.

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Re: Garmin Oregon 650

Post by EuDes » 03 October 14 1:49 pm

I've recently had a problem with the unit. I'll call it 'jamming' onto a particular screen after which it was nigh on impossible to get it to go back to any other screen. Even if I could, it would quickly revert to the item that it had come from. Using the Geocaching dashboard, this would be the cache select screen. On the screen brightness screen, the satellite dashboard would rapidly flicker between the graph and the satellite skymap but it would ultimately end up at the dashboard select screen.

If I could get in quick enough, I was able to lock the screen on the map and all would be well but trying to navigate to a cache required unlocking the screen and risking the above problem. I've returned the unit to Garmin under warranty and they are now sending me a replacement unit. :shock:

I'll be interested to see how the new unit goes. First things first though, the batteries are going to be turfed!!

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Re: Garmin Oregon 650

Post by maccamob » 10 February 15 6:11 pm

gmj3191 wrote:Well my rubber USB cover breaking off was a pain ...
That happened to ours recently too. Hunted around on eBay and found a (Russian) supplier selling replacement caps. (http://stores.ebay.com.au/partsforgarmi ... 7675.l2563) Bought one and a spare. They arrived on Monday, and fairly easy to install. Just one screw to remove, although it is a special security screw. All good again.
Last edited by maccamob on 10 February 15 6:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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mtrax
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Re: Garmin Oregon 650

Post by mtrax » 10 February 15 6:14 pm

can you post a link for future reference please?

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Re: Garmin Oregon 650

Post by maccamob » 10 February 15 6:17 pm

Done. Edited the original post to include the link.

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