flrider wrote:
How is it working for you? Are there any particular features that you find particularly useful?
I bought one when we bought our Oasis. I had to buy and install the California/Nevada chip for accurate info.
It performed better on water than on land. It seemed slow re picking up the satellites. It ended up in the water with a little pfd, and it never had problem with yaking. It ate up batteries like a teenage boy who hasn't eaten for an hour or so.
Last fall after our last kayak trip, I brought it inside and stored on a counter with other electronic gear. A few weeks later one of my sons heard a weird beep, which my wife and I never heard. He traced it to the gps. I took the batteries out.
It never worked after that. It was stuck on the last trip, couldn't acquire the satellites and refused to boot up. Hidden in their package insert was a one sentence warning to take the batteries out if it wasn't used. It wasn't used for about a month, and some how that fried the inner parts.
Garmin wanted a $100 prepayment and for me to ship it to them for repair. Cabela's had a great deal on the Garmin Oregon 550t with the maps. I had enough points to cover most of the cost. So I ordered one for less than the repair job would have cost.
I transferred the Cali/Nevada chip to the Oregon 550t. I bought Cabela's dvd to help me get on board, and it did. There was an even better web site. It for me is the easiest gps to get working. I have owned several, and they have faults and often die after a few years..
The 550t is really fast in acquiring the satellites and works great on land for walks and drives.
It has a camera that isn't that great, but it works and gives you the satellite position where you took the picture.
It has a lot of features for hikers/hunters like can download 3d pictures to help you find where you really are.
Since I use mine for local walks and yakking that really isn't needed.
The batteries are rechargeable and work for at least 2-4 trips. The battery recharging unit was the most complicated thing/process to find out. I have fitted it with a soft nylon protective cover to protect if I drop it, and it works. On water I used the little camera pfd I use with the 76 cx.
At this time I would recommend this unit. One of our younger relatives does backpacking elk/deer hunts in remote areas. I will loan him the unit. He will add the 3d service and a small remote temp sensor and buy the chip for his area. He has a small solar recharger for his satellite phone and will use it with a spare set of batteries.