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Great to hear, I will be calling REI tomorrow to see if they have the units in stock. I will be doing the same thing you did and return my Oregon 400t for the Oregon 550 non-t. I really don’t need the topo maps.
Christmas came early… 😀
I thought we’d try to sell the 400t but I think we’ll keep his and hers Oregons instead. 8)
On the Left Side of the Road...Well REI still does not have the 550 yet. I am going tonight to return my 400t and get the store credit. I will order the 550 on-line and it will be here in a week.
Oh I’m so excited about a feature I found on the 550. It has tide scheduals. Pick a spot on the map and it shows the time the tides will be high and low. It also shows water depth at all times in the area on a graph. It is very cool.
@lostby7 wrote:
Oh I’m so excited about a feature I found on the 550. It has tide scheduals. Pick a spot on the map and it shows the time the tides will be high and low. It also shows water depth at all times in the area on a graph. It is very cool.
Are you hoping to pick the optimal time to approach a T5 somehwere?
On the Left Side of the Road...@gotta run wrote:
@lostby7 wrote:
Oh I’m so excited about a feature I found on the 550. It has tide scheduals. Pick a spot on the map and it shows the time the tides will be high and low. It also shows water depth at all times in the area on a graph. It is very cool.
Are you hoping to pick the optimal time to approach a T5 somehwere?
My next vacation will near some “dramatic” tides….this feature is gonna be awesome helpful…
No. If you saw one of Lostby’s threads elsewhere on this board, he wants to visit coastal tides either on the east coast or west coast.
Edit: Yeah, what he said.
@lostby7 wrote:
My next vacation will near some “dramatic” tides….this feature is gonna be awesome helpful…
Well then you my friend have the tools you need!
On the Left Side of the Road...Having had some time with the 550, we essentially concur with LB7s assessment of the unit. It is virtually identical to the 400 with a few key upgrades–screen brightness and camera among the most notable.
The “upgrade” price of $100 over the 400t is well worth it for the included camera, battery, charger, and hardware tweaks. Of course you do not get the topo maps, but I have found them not necessary and they don’t work for autorouting anyway.
The camera is not only a great feature, but the size of the viewfinder makes it very easy to use and very easy to respond to the inevitable “let me see!” requests from the kids after a picture is taken.
As far as the functionality of the unit, it shares the strengths of the 400:
-Incredibly fast lock-on (seconds) and outstanding signal lock in cover
-Fast and reliable routing. I know this is probably just a regular feature but this is our first foray into autonav and it’s great, especially for solo caching. Having it all on one unit, versus using a Nuvi/handheld approach, is a big plus.
-Great performance on rechargables with decent battery life–a full day in always-on mode, haven’t had to recharge yetThe main drawbacks relate to Garmin-specific “features” which I’ve already mentioned in other threads; namely, the lack of any robust device-level geocache (GPX file/waypoint) management.
But for what it sets out to do–get you to a cache and give you accurate coordinates to find it–it does so very well. And as an all-in-one device, it only needs a phone. (Sorry, I’m still not sold on the iPhone given its GPSr limitations and overall limitations if you lose the network.)
On the Left Side of the Road...I’ve been reading this thread with interest, especially after having seen the Oregon 550 at geowoodstock. Today I finally made my decision, and am making the switch from Magellan to a Garmin Oregon 550. My Magellan still works pretty good, but I was disapointed that I can no longer upgrade the maps, and that Magellan no longer even provides repairs for this unit. I think that caching is about to get a whole lot more fun. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences with this model.
@frizz wrote:
I’ve been reading this thread with interest, especially after having seen the Oregon 550 at geowoodstock. Today I finally made my decision, and am making the switch from Magellan to a Garmin Oregon 550. My Magellan still works pretty good, but I was disapointed that I can no longer upgrade the maps, and that Magellan no longer even provides repairs for this unit. I think that caching is about to get a whole lot more fun. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences with this model.
Good luck…..it will be a fun ride.
Oh come on now Frizz. I could of swore you had magellan Repair on Retainer!!!
Good to hear your getting a new unit man. Very cool.
I think I am going to be going the same route as well!
@frizz wrote:
I’ve been reading this thread with interest, especially after having seen the Oregon 550 at geowoodstock. Today I finally made my decision, and am making the switch from Magellan to a Garmin Oregon 550. My Magellan still works pretty good, but I was disapointed that I can no longer upgrade the maps, and that Magellan no longer even provides repairs for this unit. I think that caching is about to get a whole lot more fun. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences with this model.
I predict you will not be disappointed with this unit! There is a learning curve but it’s pretty fast.
On the Left Side of the Road...@frizz wrote:
I’ve been reading this thread with interest, especially after having seen the Oregon 550 at geowoodstock. Today I finally made my decision, and am making the switch from Magellan to a Garmin Oregon 550. My Magellan still works pretty good, but I was disapointed that I can no longer upgrade the maps, and that Magellan no longer even provides repairs for this unit. I think that caching is about to get a whole lot more fun. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences with this model.
That’s a big switch. I still use my good old Magellan. I love it!! HAHA But I “cheat” I use my Magellan with my iPhone. It works pretty well. I must remain strong on the Magellan team.
step away from the dark side, and get the Garmin (the force will be strong with you)
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