This topic contains 66 replies, has 16 voices, and was last updated by 
Lostby7 16 years, 2 months ago.
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@hogrod wrote:
I seen there is a new BETA firmware available for the Oregon series. I’m not sure which model this is for, or if it’s a generic firmware that works for all. THis fixes a few issues that some of you might have came across.
Beta is 2.85 for the Oregon. Seems to have just been posted yesterday and the jury is still out as to what it fixes. 2.7 and 2.8 broke more stuff than they fixed. 2.6 to this point is the most stable update. If the white paper is correct, in 2.85 the big corrections are the battery meter and issues with tracks.
Thanks for the reminder to check updates. I was a couple behind with the CO 300. Doesn’t look like it fixed much.
OK. I found 18 (or so) today using only the Oregon300.
1.The accuracy seemed very good.
2. The routing worked well.
3. The display was tough to see compared to the Garmin GPS60Cx I had to shield the screen a few times to see what it was trying to tell me (while hiking and at full brightness).
4. Having rearranged all the function buttons the oft-required mode switching wasn’t too bad but if you really want to concentrate on the road while you drive this may not be the unit for you (I highly recommend pulling over to switch screens / functions which you will have to do fairly often).
5. I did notice that several times when the cache was near to the road the routing function (routing on road) would stop once I got to the destination. At that point the GPS was no longer looking for a geocache. I would have to go back into the geocache mode and select the cache again and prompt it to go to that location….(using several screens to get it to the “Off Road” mode). Be aware you will be doing lots of screen changing.
6. The logging function is cool and I used it today. All you need to do is select found / not found / needs maintenance etc and put in some notes about the find. The main drawback here is that the number of letters one is allowed to use is pretty small. When you get home you can transfer your logs to the cache pages by using the “Field Notes” link on GC. Once you upload your notes they appear as a list and you can click on each cache in the list which will bring you to the cache page with your notes already in the comments section on the cache page. From there you can edit and then hit “Submit log entry” just like any other log you have done. It might be best to just jot a few notes about each cache you find and then do the write up at the time you actually Submit your log entry that way you aren’t spending tons of time keying each letter in what is already a limited space on the unit itself (plus there was a lot of going back and correcting missed letters while typing on the unit).
7. Finally the user interface on the unit is strangely limited for example you cannot delete geocaches from the unit….this must be done from your computer when you plug the unit in. You will see some folders pop up and you will need to delete your geocaches from there (using your computer) to get them out of the unit. The notes you place about finds also appear here and will need to be deleted as well if you don’t want old finds confusing you. In other words unless you are comfortable working in Windows type folders with little direction from Garmins woefully inadequate user manual, you may want to skip this unit.
All things considered though it’s a fairly good model….but it could have been thought out a bit better. Perhaps there will still be some Garmin updates which will improve this model.
p.s. when the low battery indicator pops up believe it…you have about 10 seconds before the unit shuts down.
@lostby7 wrote:
OK. I found 18 (or so) today using only the Oregon300.
1.The accuracy seemed very good.
2. The routing worked well.
3. The display was tough to see compared to the Garmin GPS60Cx I had to shield the screen a few times to see what it was trying to tell me (while hiking and at full brightness).
4. Having rearranged all the function buttons the oft-required mode switching wasn’t too bad but if you really want to concentrate on the road while you drive this may not be the unit for you (I highly recommend pulling over to switch screens / functions which you will have to do fairly often).
5. I did notice that several times when the cache was near to the road the routing function (routing on road) would stop once I got to the destination. At that point the GPS was no longer looking for a geocache. I would have to go back into the geocache mode and select the cache again and prompt it to go to that location….(using several screens to get it to the “Off Road” mode). Be aware you will be doing lots of screen changing.
6. The logging function is cool and I used it today. All you need to do is select found / not found / needs maintenance etc and put in some notes about the find. The main drawback here is that the number of letters one is allowed to use is pretty small. When you get home you can transfer your logs to the cache pages by using the “Field Notes” link on GC. Once you upload your notes they appear as a list and you can click on each cache in the list which will bring you to the cache page with your notes already in the comments section on the cache page. From there you can edit and then hit “Submit log entry” just like any other log you have done. It might be best to just jot a few notes about each cache you find and then do the write up at the time you actually Submit your log entry that way you aren’t spending tons of time keying each letter in what is already a limited space on the unit itself (plus there was a lot of going back and correcting missed letters while typing on the unit).
7. Finally the user interface on the unit is strangely limited for example you cannot delete geocaches from the unit….this must be done from your computer when you plug the unit in. You will see some folders pop up and you will need to delete your geocaches from there (using your computer) to get them out of the unit. The notes you place about finds also appear here and will need to be deleted as well if you don’t want old finds confusing you. In other words unless you are comfortable working in Windows type folders with little direction from Garmins woefully inadequate user manual, you may want to skip this unit.
All things considered though it’s a fairly good model….but it could have been thought out a bit better. Perhaps there will still be some Garmin updates which will improve this model.
p.s. when the low battery indicator pops up believe it…you have about 10 seconds before the unit shuts down.
Glad you’re liking the 300 over the 200 Lostby. We popped for the 400t right away, so didn’t have any experiences with the 200’s routing limitations. The accuracy is definitely better than I expected after reading complaints in the online reviews. The people with complaints need to get out caching more. In open ground, especially on highway, I’ve seen accuracy as low as 8 feet. Often in cover the accuracy will list up into the 30s, but I “felt” that it was reasonably close to our 60CSx in actual performance. We’ll see what canyons and foliage do in the spring.
I mentioned the screen legibility in bright sunlight before. No getting around that one, but I feel it is tolerable for what I gained in utility. Definitely does a lot more than the 60.
I have moved the buttons around too, and the mode button is always on the first screen. With some time with the unit under my belt, I’m able to change screens with some facility, and just as fast if not faster than on my 60. I have no problem switching over while driving, only needing to hit Profile Change, then Geocaching, then Compass. Just did it to test now, and less then two seconds to off-roading. I think things will improve as you use it more.
The logging function is great, working much like Express Logger without having to toggle between screens. I just wish the oregon had more space for notes, as I find that on earthcaches I can’t fit the entire answers in and have to bring paper once again.
Apparently the reason you can’t delete caches on the unit is because you can’t modify a file that has already been loaded. Because it doesn’t show caches you’ve already found on the Find a Geocache list, I’m okay with that, because the biggest issue was the found caches cluttering up the list of nearest caches on the 60CSx.
The battery life indicator definitely bites. I’ll be trying the latest firmware after the weekend, and we’ll see if that fixes things. I get about a full day out of a set of batteries, whereas I used to get about a day and a half on the 60CSx, both using NiMH rechargeables. I pretty much ignore the indicator until it redlines, and then have found that actual battery life remaining is all over the place. We shall see.
Glad you like the unit 8). Maybe we’ll end up around the campfire again this year and we can swap tips on it.
Another item which is at least interesting (well to me in any case) is that you do not have to live with the profile background screens they provide you with. I created my own jpegs and uploaded them to the unit. You can also do a search and find 240×400 phone wallpapers and use those. I’m not sure if you can use images other than 240×400 and have them show up correctly.
Here are some I found online and put on my Oregon300 (there is also a handy screen capture mode).
(I’m not sure how the bottom center one got in there 😉 )
Took the plunge this week and loaded 2.85Beta on our Oregons. No problems at all and the battery meter is working.
Garmin also released 2.86Beta yesterday and the initial testers are saying that it does a much better job of locking on to WAAS and they feel the position accuracy has improved.
OK two months later and I finally figured out how to get geocaches into the unit en mass. I had been opening the pocket query with Mapsourse then sending them to the Oregon…that doesn’t work. The files are saved as waypoints so there are no cachepage descriptions, hints and other paperless information (and the wpts appear in the waypoint screen not the geocaching screen). Even saving the Mapsource file as GPX and transfering them doesn’t work. I had a heck of a time figuring this out but finally it dawned upon me that Mapsource might be the problem.
This time I just dragged the raw files right from GC (after I unzipped them) to the correct folder in the unit and woohoo the files showed up where and how they were supposed to. I still say Garmin really made this way too complicated by forcing folks to mess with folders on the unit…and not telling you how to do it; the user guide is pitiful.
Also there have been many new updates to the operating software for the unit and the latest changes are very exciting with lots of new screen changes and other “stuff.” Many folks continue to test these updates…I’m waiting until the bugs to get worked out but the newest stuff looks pretty cool. There is hope for this unit yet.
LB7 – if you use GSAK, you can generate a customized GPX file with way more logs than a standard pocket query. I also use the user sort to order all my caches in a route that I am planning for the day. Also I just replace the same file on the unit. Overall, I am pleased with how the process works.
But more importantly, Garmin released Beta 2.95 for the Oregon this week. For those that have not upgraded in a while, the accuracy is up, there are several new screen updates, and the POIs are much more organized. Other than a problem with a marine map, no one is reporting any problems with this one. Garmin programmers also threw in a few Easter eggs in reference to an old game called Oregon Trail.
Who knows, maybe the next one will be the Yellowstone.
@sammyclaws wrote:
LB7 – if you use GSAK, you can generate a customized GPX file with way more logs than a standard pocket query. I also use the user sort to order all my caches in a route that I am planning for the day. Also I just replace the same file on the unit. Overall, I am pleased with how the process works.
But more importantly, Garmin released Beta 2.95 for the Oregon this week. For those that have not upgraded in a while, the accuracy is up, there are several new screen updates, and the POIs are much more organized. Other than a problem with a marine map, no one is reporting any problems with this one. Garmin programmers also threw in a few Easter eggs in reference to an old game called Oregon Trail.
Who knows, maybe the next one will be the Yellowstone.
I can’t bring myself to learn GSAK…not sure why.
I did download 2.95 about 15 minutes after it went up. The version is really good. Other than the recalculating when you go off route, the unit seems pretty awesome..but the route recalculate slowness really sux.
Another interesting feature (I’m not sure if this is unique to the Oregon)….the cache pages it loads into the unit includes several of the last finder logs…BUT it also includes all logs you yourself have posted on that cache even if it was a couple of years ago…pretty cool. I had DNFd a cache twice over a space of three years and my attempts showed up along with the last couple of finders logs.
@lostby7 wrote:
Another interesting feature (I’m not sure if this is unique to the Oregon)….the cache pages it loads into the unit includes several of the last finder logs…BUT it also includes all logs you yourself have posted on that cache even if it was a couple of years ago…pretty cool. I had DNFd a cache twice over a space of three years and my attempts showed up along with the last couple of finders logs.
That’s a very cool feature. I notice the Delorme PN-40’s paperless caching feature works with the Delorme Send to GPS plugin, I was wondering does the Oregon models also give you cache info using garmins Cumminicator plugin(send to gps button)? They don’t with my 60Cx but I thought it might be different with a model that supports Paperless caching.
More info on the PN-40 paperless:
http://blog.delorme.com/2009/01/31/paperless-caching-update/The send to GPS button does send the cache page with all page text and hints / logs to the Oregon.
The latest beta release 2.96 is available for download and packs some very much requested enhancements. I’ll be downloading it and testing a little later on this week.
@sammyclaws wrote:
The latest beta release 2.96 is available for download and packs some very much requested enhancements. I’ll be downloading it and testing a little later on this week.
Just a note on this…the “300” file will not open…it is corrupt or incomplete…I’m going to try later in the week.
Late to the party…. but as a Colorado owner for over a year now, I can almost laugh at how long it takes the 60CSX friends of mine keep up with me on a cache run. I would love the touch screen Oregon, but the wheel does just fine, and I can navigate and enter co-ords faster than any other garmin out there.
The only negative, is you can’t move a location on multis, you have to make a new waypoint, but all that takes is a two second hold of a button to mark, then you edit the co-ords. pretty smooth.
At at the camp out last year, the unit was too new for GSAK to work well with it, and I couldn’t load any of the temps…. but that’s not the units fault.
Besides, ANYTHING from Colorado is bound to be the best!! (says the born and raised Coloradoan)
But I bet the Garmin Colorado will come with a bottle opener built in, and pre loaded waypoints to all the bars…
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