The GPS was partially submerged and got a bit beat up when I fell. But as soon as I dried it out and powered it up, it worked!

Ofcourse. If you check the spec's you'll see it's waterproof to industrial standards and also quit shock and impactproof (don't know the exact figure, but I think 6 G)

Nice... isn't it?

Maarten


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- www.maartensworld.tmfweb.nl -

Just to continue the saga, the GPS has been returned to Brackens who are sending it back to Garmin.

So hopefully, they'll solve the probelms with it.

One thing that I don't understand, is that you have to go through the online registration process. Why does it not prompt you to load the latest software upgrade onto your unit?

If you look at the fixes in a few of the realeases it is alarming how many problems have been identified on the unit.

Cheers

Julio

Hi All

Have been waiting over three weeks for my GPS to be fixed, chased up Brackens who spoke to Garmin.

Apparently they are very busy at the moment and don't know when they are going to be able to fix mine.

Lucky I don't need to use it at the moment or I'd have been stuffed.

For the price I have paid for this unit I feel that it is a real poor show.

Julio

julio

It's been a while since you posted problems but stay with it. I have nothing but praise for the unit in all weathers it has never let me down but must confess never had heavy off road abuse,,yet...

My GarminV came with a little plastic figure of eight spring gizmo that you should insert between first two and second two batteries. Never needed it yet but sounds like a fix fot the problem you mentioned.

GPS4less sold me mine and they have been very helpful with all sorts of enquiries.
eg. sending me a backup copy of mapsource software while my faulty discs were returned to mapsource usa so I could use the unit, then new ones turned up a couple of weeks later. excellent product and retailler 10/10

alan

Hi all,

Just a quick question...

I've just bought a GPS V and want to find out how I check what software issue it is running. Any ideas?

Thanks

B

I've had a GPS V for a couple of months now, and in general I'm impressed. However I do have some issues with it. But first I liked the screen as it's big enough to read on the bike and in the car, the user interface is intuitive enough for first time users, and it's got more features than I possibly need at the moment.

However... Garmin have had this problem with batteries vibrating for a while now. I had a GPS 2+ with the same problem, and they haven't engineered a solution yet. I tend to run the unit off of the vehicle electrics, but it's a pain to carry batteries around loose for those times you want to go hand-held.

I've had a number of occaisions when I'm on the move and the map starts to continuously redraw itself. This usually happens after finishing a calculation, and by flipping pages it can be stopped. But it's an annoying software fault.

Also, when route finding, it doesn't give clear instructions at roundabouts. Instead of saying, 'take the 4th exit' it says 'turn left/right'. If you're going straight over at a roundabout it randomly selects to tell you 'right' or 'left'. This is probably because the Garmin software developers in the States don't have a lot of experience with roundabouts! http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/ubb/wink.gif Again, this could be fixed with a software update.

Other than these, I'm impressed.

Iain


BenW; read the manual! I don't remember exactly what to do off of the top of my head, but it's something like hit Menu twice, then select System, then hit Menu again. Anyway, I've done it, and I found out how to in the small spiral bound manual that came in the box.

about the batteries;

Ask your dealer for the small coil springs witch you can put between the batteries.

Freek (NL)

I have a Garmin etrex vista. It is comparable to the V but it has a larger memory. 24 meg if I remember. The down side is that it has a smaller screen. I don't mind this since I prefer to watch the road instead of the GPS and pull over to check it out. I also use it for backpacking and hunting so the smaller size and lighter weight works better for me. Just an option.

Does anyone know what Cycoactive does to the GPS 5 to make it more rugged? Ebay prices are attractive compared to theirs. Is it worth the extra money to buy from Cycoactive? I would get the Tourtech mount from them. It loks like the best one. What do others think. Bill.

Bill,
The Touratech mount for the GPS V is very good. I've used them in testing desert conditions week in week out. No problems with vibration or losing the unit.

The only bit I dislike is the weak Perspex U-shape which protects the antenna. I've replaced a broken one with identically shaped aluminium.

Bill:

I am not aware that Cycoactive does anything at all to the GPS V to make it more rugged than a conventional GPS V. I am in pretty tight with Garmin (long time beta tester) and the engineers there are not aware of anyone who is "ruggedizing" their GPS units. I think all Cycoactive does is manufacture (or resell) a bicycle/motorcycle mount.

Stephano: You might experience some degradation of antenna performance if you put an aluminum support near it. My suggestion would be to fabricate a new antenna support out of plastic or perhaps balsa wood.

PanEuropean

Hi Bill,

I've talked to Tom at CycoActive before I bought my III from him. He explained how he modifies the GPS to make it less susceptible to vibration. I used that GPS through South America with a Touratech mount on my G/S with no problems.

Later I upgraded the III with a III+ from Garmin. I've used that III+ GPS on dirt and roads with no problems. Note that the III+ has not been modified but has still been reliable.

I've since upgraded again to a 176 with a Touratech mount. I needed more memory than the III+ or V have. We'll see how that one works on my next much longer trip!

My advice it to call Tom at CycoActive and talk to him (if you can get him when he's not riding!) He's very open and will tell you what he does to the units.

Story

Paul:

I just noticed your post of May 30, way higher up on this thread, about GPS accuracy when using the basemap or WorldMap.

Here is some information that might help you understand things better: All the Garmin automotive GPSR's have a 'road lock' feature that will pull the cursor onto the roadway unless the position calculation (from the satellite data) suggests that such an action would be inappropriate.

All the maps that the GPSR's use (built in basemap, WorldMap, CitySelect, whatever) are vector maps. To keep the size of the built in basemap and WorldMap products within reason, there are fewer vectors per unit of roadway describing the roadway than you will find in the CitySelect product. Therefore, the depiction of the roadway on the screen is not as accurate as with CitySelect. Whenever you see the words "overzoom" appear in the lower left corner of the screen, you are pushing the boundaries of what the GPS can accurately display.

The precision of the position shown on the map (cartographic display) is a function of several things: Map accuracy (free of human errors), map precision (number of vectors per mile of roadway), quality of satellite reception, and accuracy of the GPSR itself. When you see positional errors when using the basemap, it is almost always due to map precision. When you see position errors when using WorldMap, it can be a combination of map precision and map accuracy (WorldMap data is now about 5 years old, new roads may have been constructed since then).

If you are using the most recent release of CitySelect, then errors will only be caused by map accuracy (human errors that slipped in when the map was constructed - rare, but it still happens), or quality of satellite reception.

GPSR accuracy is the least of all the concerns, all the modern Garmin units are 12 channel devices, and can calculate position within about 4 meters if all other conditions are ideal. None of the automotive GPSR's have WAAS (Wide Area Augmentation Service) capability, because this is not needed in an automotive unit - the road lock feature would cancel it out anyway, and besides, if the car itself is on average about 4 meters long, what do you need more precision than that for? To determine if you are in the front or back seat?

You can determine the combined accuracy of the GPSR and the satellite signals being received by going to the display screen that shows satellite reception status, and looking at either dilution of precision (DOP) or accuracy indication. Typically, with unobstructed signals such as we get on motorcycles, the accuracy will be within 10 meters.

Note also that although the road lock feature will magnetically snap the cursor on the displayed map to the roadway, the actual latitude/longitude displayed on the GPSR data page (using numbers) will be accurate, and unaffected by the road lock feature.

Errors caused by deliberate degradation of the satellite signals by the US military are very uncommon now, unless you happen to be in an area of the world where the US military wants to degrade the signal for their own purposes. It is no longer necessary for them to degrade signals on a global basis, improvements made to the last generation of satellites that were launched now allow them to degrade signals only over specific geographic areas.

Hope this helps.

PanEuropean