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New Garmin 62st


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To test this I placed silicone grease on the rubber seal and plastic that contained the seal, so basically I greased anything that might compromise the case integrity or waterproofness.

 

Wouldn't silicone grease degrade and destroy rubber seals? I read that somewhere...

 

I believe is just the opposite, silicone grease is what you are SUPPOSED to use on rubber.

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To test this I placed silicone grease on the rubber seal and plastic that contained the seal, so basically I greased anything that might compromise the case integrity or waterproofness.

 

Wouldn't silicone grease degrade and destroy rubber seals? I read that somewhere...

 

Rocket Man is right. Silicone grease is what your supposed to use on rubber seals. Just ask any flashlight nerd on these forums. Flashaholics always hit their seals about once per year to keep them in good condition. Silicone grease to the seal was also one of the fixes to the Colorado when the seal popped as you took off the back cover.

 

From Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silicone_grease

"Silicone grease is commonly used for lubricating and preserving rubber parts, such as O-rings. Additionally, silicone grease does not swell or soften the rubber, which can be a problem with hydrocarbon based greases."

Edited by yogazoo
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...snip...

Sorry I didn't take any photo's but if you really want the squeeking to stop and you don't mind voiding the warranty then you could grease the fingers with a very light touch of high quality silicone grease to abate the squeaks. :rolleyes:

 

you opened up the case on a brand new 62, possibly the first to be opened by a consumer and you didn't take pictures? :anibad:

 

i sent mine off to get RMA'd today, so hopefully the new one arrives shortly. i asked them to test the new one before sending, so hopefully they do and i get a solid one.

Edited by brucered
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I know, I know. I don't know what I was thinking. :rolleyes: You could be the second consumer to ever open it up! :anibad:

 

i'm just giving you a hard time....

 

don't have one in hand any more. sent it off to get replaced (RMA), but i won't be opening the new one. fingers crossed, that it doesn't squeak.

Edited by brucered
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I believe is just the opposite, silicone grease is what you are SUPPOSED to use on rubber.

 

That's what I thought, but when I asked about it and the plug covers on my 60CSx, people said it would eat the rubber. :rolleyes:

 

Also, someone recommended Vaseline and I do believe that is a NO NO! :anibad:

Edited by sviking
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I believe is just the opposite, silicone grease is what you are SUPPOSED to use on rubber.

 

That's what I thought, but when I asked about it and the plug covers on my 60CSx, people said it would eat the rubber. :rolleyes:

 

Also, someone recommended Vaseline and I do believe that is a NO NO! :anibad:

 

bottom line is, we should have to do anything to it. GARMIN should be making them rock solid like the 60 series.

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I believe is just the opposite, silicone grease is what you are SUPPOSED to use on rubber.

 

That's what I thought, but when I asked about it and the plug covers on my 60CSx, people said it would eat the rubber. :rolleyes:

 

Also, someone recommended Vaseline and I do believe that is a NO NO! :anibad:

 

Right and Wrong. The rubber on the plug covers is NOT an o-ring, it's porous rubber. Whenever you put any grease on a porous rubber it will permeate the material and change a bit it's properties. If you'd put silicone grease on the rubber around an e-trex you will ruin the unit as the rubber, being porous will absorb the grease and cause the glue on the underside to loosen. I learned the hard way. I wanted to "freshen" the rubber antenna on my 60CSX and put some silicone grease all over it. The next morning the glue that held that rubber piece on the top of my 60 was completely undone. :unsure: Don't do it. Remember silicone grease is for o-rings, anything else and your taking a chance, especially if there is glue or adhesive of any kind involved.

 

O-rings are typically not porous and will not "soak" up the grease but do benefit from the protection it gives the outside of the rubber. It also helps create and maintain a seal.

Edited by yogazoo
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I returned the squeaker 62s yesterday. The store had no stock so no exchange.

 

I picked up another 62s at Bass Pro Shop today and it is rock solid. I squeezed it and it made no sound at all. Also the unit feels more sturdy. Having used a squeak unit for almost 2 weeks, the new one feels a lot better.

 

The serial of the new one is 21F001###. Firmware factory loaded is 2.30.

 

Edit: The returned 62s serial is 21F005***.

Edited by CxCP
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Apart from the squeaking, how do people like the S or ST in the field: are the cache descriptions amd mapping easy to read, the accuracy trustworthy? I am not in that much of a hurry to replace the Colorado but I would like to find out how the paperless caching features compare.

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Apart from the squeaking, how do people like the S or ST in the field: are the cache descriptions amd mapping easy to read, the accuracy trustworthy? I am not in that much of a hurry to replace the Colorado but I would like to find out how the paperless caching features compare.

 

My sentiments exactly.......I would love results of a field test using a 60 CSx and 62 side by dide.

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Apart from the squeaking, how do people like the S or ST in the field: are the cache descriptions amd mapping easy to read, the accuracy trustworthy? I am not in that much of a hurry to replace the Colorado but I would like to find out how the paperless caching features compare.

 

Sooooooooooooo,

 

If we can hook up I can put a 62S in your hands and you can do your own side by side comps.

 

My route of travel will have me within 75 miles of your fair town beginning Aug 7.

 

Chat me up.

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Right and Wrong. The rubber on the plug covers is NOT an o-ring, it's porous rubber. Whenever you put any grease on a porous rubber it will permeate the material and change a bit it's properties. If you'd put silicone grease on the rubber around an e-trex you will ruin the unit as the rubber, being porous will absorb the grease and cause the glue on the underside to loosen. I learned the hard way. I wanted to "freshen" the rubber antenna on my 60CSX and put some silicone grease all over it. The next morning the glue that held that rubber piece on the top of my 60 was completely undone. :) Don't do it. Remember silicone grease is for o-rings, anything else and your taking a chance, especially if there is glue or adhesive of any kind involved.

 

O-rings are typically not porous and will not "soak" up the grease but do benefit from the protection it gives the outside of the rubber. It also helps create and maintain a seal.

 

What about the rubber seal on the case and underside of the battery cover? Another poster above said silicone grease was the fix for the Colorado battery case seal/gasket. It's not an O-ring and looks to be the same time of rubber as the connector covers.

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Apart from the squeaking, how do people like the S or ST in the field: are the cache descriptions amd mapping easy to read, the accuracy trustworthy? I am not in that much of a hurry to replace the Colorado but I would like to find out how the paperless caching features compare.

 

I found this bug.

On my 62s I have UTM as the position format.

When I hit Find/Coordinates and then on the enter location screen the last 2 digits of the Northing coordinate is

off the screen.

Anyone else have this?

 

Also, I have some of Topo 100K loaded on my 62s, the contour lines show up red, the roads light blue, the water features blue. The same maps on my 60Csx, the contour lines show up light gray, the roads red, the water features blue.

 

Now today I was in the Panhandle National Forest using both my 60csx and 62s. The background shows up green when in the National Forest. On the 60csx it's a lighter shade than the 62s.

 

Now the bad news.

Very very difficult to read the 62s in the shade without the backlight on bright. Very hard to see the roads with the contour lines being so dark.

The 60csx is very easy to see without the backlight on.

I think the main problem is the colors they chose to use on the 62s.

It's unfortunate, because I like the new features on the 62s, but I'm going to return mine.

 

I'm using Mapsource Ver. 6.13.6

Is there a way to change the display colors of the roads and contour lines on the GPSr or in Mapsource before the maps are loaded??? :)

Edited by d.higgins
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Is there a way to change the display colors on the GPSr???

 

Uh, you own the darned thing, which means you're more of an "expert" on it than most everyone else here.

 

Just poke around in the menus. I'm sure it's not too hard to see what's under the "display" menu and if there's anyway to display the background/theme colors as on the 60CSx...

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Is there a way to change the display colors on the GPSr???

 

Uh, you own the darned thing, which means you're more of an "expert" on it than most everyone else here.

 

Just poke around in the menus. I'm sure it's not too hard to see what's under the "display" menu and if there's anyway to display the background/theme colors as on the 60CSx...

 

Wasn't lookin to change the background/theme colors.

Was asking if it was possible to change the colors of the roads and contour lines on the maps.

I should have worded my question better.

Yes I did check out the display menu.

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you can change the color of every street

it's called TYP-File

http://familiehuzzel.spacequadrat.de/GPS/T...iles/index.html

 

Thanks for the link, not sure I want to go that route.

 

Garmin must choose the colors of the roads and contour lines displayed in the handheld unit.

The 62s road and contour line colors are closer to the Mapsource colors.

The 60csx road and contour line colors show up different than Mapsource.

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Also, I have some of Topo 100K loaded on my 62s, the contour lines show up red, the roads light blue, the water features blue. The same maps on my 60Csx, the contour lines show up light gray, the roads red, the water features blue.

 

That's interesting. I have the 62st and see different colors with the built-in 100K topo than what you described on your 62s. On my st, the contour lines are brown and black (every third line is black, and the brown lines don't show up when zoomed out to a certain point.) The roads are grey, and the water blue. The colors are a bit different in BaseCamp, most notably the contour lines, which I believe were light grey.

 

The biggest "problem" with the colors on the 62st, however, is that the DEM shading is much darker than it needs to be, and makes it hard to see trails when they're on the shaded side of mountains. I was in a steep area, and it was very difficult to see the dashed grey trail due to the shading, as well as to the very dark topo lines. This is not a problem in Basecamp, where the shading is much lighter (but still easily seen), and the topo lines are light grey.

 

Even if they keep the dark topo lines, I really hope they update the colors so that the DEM shading is lighter. It is simply much darker than necessary at the moment.

 

Larry

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Also, I have some of Topo 100K loaded on my 62s, the contour lines show up red, the roads light blue, the water features blue. The same maps on my 60Csx, the contour lines show up light gray, the roads red, the water features blue.

 

That's interesting. I have the 62st and see different colors with the built-in 100K topo than what you described on your 62s. On my st, the contour lines are brown and black (every third line is black, and the brown lines don't show up when zoomed out to a certain point.) The roads are grey, and the water blue. The colors are a bit different in BaseCamp, most notably the contour lines, which I believe were light grey.

 

The biggest "problem" with the colors on the 62st, however, is that the DEM shading is much darker than it needs to be, and makes it hard to see trails when they're on the shaded side of mountains. I was in a steep area, and it was very difficult to see the dashed grey trail due to the shading, as well as to the very dark topo lines. This is not a problem in Basecamp, where the shading is much lighter (but still easily seen), and the topo lines are light grey.

 

Even if they keep the dark topo lines, I really hope they update the colors so that the DEM shading is lighter. It is simply much darker than necessary at the moment.

 

Larry

 

The colors on my 62s could very well be the same as yours.

I called the roads blue, but when I zoom in, they indeed look grey. The contour lines could also be brown.

I'm using an older set of eyes to view my screen with. :D

The shading used to show National Forest land causes the same viewing problems as the DEM shading.

And the TOPO lines are much too dark.

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Now today I was in the Panhandle National Forest using both my 60csx and 62s. The background shows up green when in the National Forest. On the 60csx it's a lighter shade than the 62s.

 

You can remove the green background...

 

Menu > Menu > Setup > Map > Advanced Map Setup > Zoom Levels > Land Cover and set it to Off.

 

Thanks, that does help.

I'll take it out today and try it with the land cover turned off.

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You can also turn off DEM shading. Using Profiles you can have an improved visibility profile and just switch to it when you need it.

 

Thanks again,

Good idea using Profiles.

I'm going to try this for a couple more days.

Turning the DEM and Land cover off makes a big difference inside the house.

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Also, I have some of Topo 100K loaded on my 62s, the contour lines show up red, the roads light blue, the water features blue. The same maps on my 60Csx, the contour lines show up light gray, the roads red, the water features blue.

 

That's interesting. I have the 62st and see different colors with the built-in 100K topo than what you described on your 62s. On my st, the contour lines are brown and black (every third line is black, and the brown lines don't show up when zoomed out to a certain point.) The roads are grey, and the water blue. The colors are a bit different in BaseCamp, most notably the contour lines, which I believe were light grey.

 

The biggest "problem" with the colors on the 62st, however, is that the DEM shading is much darker than it needs to be, and makes it hard to see trails when they're on the shaded side of mountains. I was in a steep area, and it was very difficult to see the dashed grey trail due to the shading, as well as to the very dark topo lines. This is not a problem in Basecamp, where the shading is much lighter (but still easily seen), and the topo lines are light grey.

 

Even if they keep the dark topo lines, I really hope they update the colors so that the DEM shading is lighter. It is simply much darker than necessary at the moment.

 

Larry

 

On my 62st water is gray just like the roads. :D

Edited by The Ravens
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got my RMA, another squeaker! 21F006***

 

i specifically asked them to open it and test it before sending, but i guess they didn't.

 

perhaps it's time to walk away from the 62s and grab a rock solid 60cx from walmart or bite the bullet, keep this one and hope the squeak goes away. this one appears to be a bit better, only squeaks on the side opposite the power button.

 

here the video of my new squeaker (sound looks like it's off a bit, it was recorded with my lifecam webcam)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwtW2QuQxlk

Edited by brucered
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got my RMA, another squeaker! 21F006***

 

i specifically asked them to open it and test it before sending, but i guess they didn't.

 

perhaps it's time to walk away from the 62s and grab a rock solid 60cx from walmart or bite the bullet, keep this one and hope the squeak goes away. this one appears to be a bit better, only squeaks on the side opposite the power button.

 

here the video of my new squeaker (sound looks like it's off a bit, it was recorded with my lifecam webcam)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwtW2QuQxlk

 

You can play a tune! :D

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I got my new 62S a few days ago and have subjected it to a few tests. My findings so far:

 

The unit is in most ways a much improved 60CSX. By this I mean:

 

* Although the screen is no marvel of technology these days, it is a better screen than the 60CSX has. And as a bonis it is actually readable outdoors. (As opposed to the garming touchscreen devices)

 

* The unit responds much, much faster when panning and zooming. Even on 'modern' maps like CN Europe 2010 and the new Benelux TOPO.

 

* The geocaching options are nice. I can see myself doing paperless caching with it, if the cache description isn't too heavy on pictures. A welcome feature!

 

* The buttons have a better feel to them and are a bit larger. Especially important if you use the unit with gloves on.

 

* The internal memory is nice! I loaded all of europe onto the internal memory and most topos on the MicroSD card... perfect!

 

There are also a couple of negatives:

 

* The default clip sucks. I had to order the belt clip (60CSX default) seperately.

 

* The beeps aren't very loud. I'd say not loud enough and no way to change the volume as far as I can tell.

 

* The battery compartment is a bit tight. I had difficulty inserting some Eneloop batteries.

 

Bottom line (so far)... a very nice unit, which is basically an updated 60CSX. This might be a good thing since the 60CSX is basically the gold standard as far as outdoor GPS units go, but for those of us that already own a 60CSX it might be hard to justify spending €380 ($420?) on this unit.

 

Tomorrow we'll go caching with both units. We'll see how it holds up. I'm sure it will perform just fine. The question is.... will it perform €380 worth of 'fine'? :D

 

By the way - I squeezed a bit around.... no squeaking whatsoever :D

Edited by crewone
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You can also turn off DEM shading. Using Profiles you can have an improved visibility profile and just switch to it when you need it.

 

Unfortunately, I find the DEM shading very useful -- in many situations, I actually find it more useful than the topo lines. I can still "see" the trails -- it just takes more effort and mental energy, which is really annoying, but probably not as annoying as constantly switching the DEM shading on and off all the time, even with profiles.

 

What I don't understand is "why" the DEM shading is so dark, and why it's considerably darker than it is in Basecamp or mapsource. As I mentioned, on the 62st it's just way darker than it needs to be in order to clearly see it.

 

Larry

Edited by lalittle
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got my RMA, another squeaker! 21F006***

 

i specifically asked them to open it and test it before sending, but i guess they didn't.

 

perhaps it's time to walk away from the 62s and grab a rock solid 60cx from walmart or bite the bullet, keep this one and hope the squeak goes away. this one appears to be a bit better, only squeaks on the side opposite the power button.

 

here the video of my new squeaker (sound looks like it's off a bit, it was recorded with my lifecam webcam)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwtW2QuQxlk

 

I sent mine back as well and will now try a 62ST model. That's the one I wanted to get originally anyways. Seems like the defect does not affect that model. If the 62ST squeaks as well, I will ask for a refund and wait a year or so until all the bugs are out and buy an Oregon in the mean time.

Edited by gpscybr
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I sent mine back as well and will now try a 62ST model. That's the one I wanted to get originally anyways. Seems like the defect does not affect that model. If the 62ST squeaks as well, I will ask for a refund and wait a year or so until all the bugs are out and buy an Oregon in the mean time.

 

pretty sure mine is going back again too, it's quite loud and not acceptable for this price of GPSr.

 

cabelas.ca shows it on their site, so i'll stop by the store and see if they have them in stock and have a non-squeaker. if not, i'll wait it out a while.

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got my RMA, another squeaker! 21F006***

 

i specifically asked them to open it and test it before sending, but i guess they didn't.

 

perhaps it's time to walk away from the 62s and grab a rock solid 60cx from walmart or bite the bullet, keep this one and hope the squeak goes away. this one appears to be a bit better, only squeaks on the side opposite the power button.

 

here the video of my new squeaker (sound looks like it's off a bit, it was recorded with my lifecam webcam)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwtW2QuQxlk

I just sent my second 62s in for the squeaking problem, this time garmin replaced it with a 62st.

Edited by ryan3295
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got my RMA, another squeaker! 21F006***

 

i specifically asked them to open it and test it before sending, but i guess they didn't.

 

perhaps it's time to walk away from the 62s and grab a rock solid 60cx from walmart or bite the bullet, keep this one and hope the squeak goes away. this one appears to be a bit better, only squeaks on the side opposite the power button.

 

here the video of my new squeaker (sound looks like it's off a bit, it was recorded with my lifecam webcam)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwtW2QuQxlk

I just sent my second 62s in for the squeaking problem, this time garmin replaced it with a 62st.

 

WTF? when i told them about the problem, i got a snotty response. (see one of my above posts). i guess because i'm in canada, we have to send it in to raytech for repair instead of directly to garmin.

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WTF? when i told them about the problem, i got a snotty response. (see one of my above posts). i guess because i'm in canada, we have to send it in to raytech for repair instead of directly to garmin.

 

I've been through the RMA then DOA and repeat before (not Garmin though). That's why I only buy in stores. No need to RMA etc etc. Just return/exchange and done. :)

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WTF? when i told them about the problem, i got a snotty response. (see one of my above posts). i guess because i'm in canada, we have to send it in to raytech for repair instead of directly to garmin.

 

I've been through the RMA then DOA and repeat before (not Garmin though). That's why I only buy in stores. No need to RMA etc etc. Just return/exchange and done. :)

 

that's what i'm starting to think. just found out cabelas will be getting the 62s sometime this coming week (they have the 62 and 62st), so perhaps i'll take a trip down there, do the squeak test and be done with it. if they all squeak, then i'll wait, and if i find a good one, i'll grab it.

 

thanks :P

Edited by brucered
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(Edited the "bottom line")

 

Took the 62st on its first hike / caching adventure today. In general it worked well, but there is one odd thing.

 

The custom maps I made with Google Earth, putting an image of the park trail map into the GPS, worked out very well. They displayed fine, and were very easy to use. In fact I disabled the built-in topo maps, since the topo lines in the park map were easy to read.

 

The GPS did a good job tracking my location, but the vertical profile shows bursts where the GPS couldn't keep track of the elevation.

 

normal_profile.jpg

 

The black line shows the profile per Delorme Topo 8's built-in topo data. The green line shows the profile from the Garmin 62st. Note how the Garmin usually did well, but when it lost elevation "lock" it really went crazy.

 

I post-processed the track through Fizzymagic's AnalyzeTrack program, and it claimed that I hiked over 8000 vertical feet ... when Everytrail and Topo 8 said I did under 2000. I guess Fizzy's program isn't handling the odd burstiness of the Garmin's elevation data very well.

 

Battery life was super, compared with the PN-40.

 

Oh, finding caches. The 62st did very well. The "workflow" of finding caches and logging them is quite a bit different on the 62st than on the PN-40 that I'm used to, so it took some getting used to ... but everything worked out just fine. I think I need to play with the order of pages a little, as I find I'm spending a lot of time scrolling from Compass ---> Geocaches and back. But once that's done I think I will be very happy with the 62st.

 

Bottom line: the altitude thing is quite disturbing. This thing goes back unless there's a fix. Calling Garmin tomorrow.

 

...Sam

Edited by sammydee
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got my RMA, another squeaker! 21F006***

 

i specifically asked them to open it and test it before sending, but i guess they didn't.

 

perhaps it's time to walk away from the 62s and grab a rock solid 60cx from walmart or bite the bullet, keep this one and hope the squeak goes away. this one appears to be a bit better, only squeaks on the side opposite the power button.

 

here the video of my new squeaker (sound looks like it's off a bit, it was recorded with my lifecam webcam)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwtW2QuQxlk

I just sent my second 62s in for the squeaking problem, this time garmin replaced it with a 62st.

 

First post... but I figured I'd relay my experience with the "squeak." I bought a 62st from Cabela's... it squeaked (more like plastic on plastic) horribly. There is definitely a weakness or flimsiness in the plastic. I will return that unit. Picked up a 62s from Bass Pro after testing it out and verifying that it did not "squeak." Having had both (a bad one and a good one), I can say there is definitely a marked difference in the soundness of the construction. The 62s I tested and bought was rock solid. In the "squeaky" unit, it's almost like the plastic is weakened, or something that is supposed to add support is missing. This is on the top plastic piece on the middle of either side of the screen. Sure seems like a manufacturing defect. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

 

FYI:

"Squeaky" 62st serial number: 21G000128

Rock solid 62s (no problems whatsoever) serial number: 21F001363

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The GPS did a good job tracking my location, but the vertical profile shows bursts where the GPS couldn't keep track of the elevation.

 

normal_profile.jpg

 

The black line shows the profile per Delorme Topo 8's built-in topo data. The green line shows the profile from the Garmin 62st. Note how the Garmin usually did well, but when it lost elevation "lock" it really went crazy.

 

Do you know if those sections lined up with areas of particularly bad tree cover, or some conditions that could interfere with the ability to see the satellite? Does this happen all the time, or was this unique to this trail?

 

On a related note, I'm still unclear about exactly how the 62 gets its elevation data. Is it using pressure, or the satellites, or a combination of both? On the same subject, how does the "auto calibration" setting work? Does anybody have any tricks for manually calibrating the altimeter -- i.e. how do you find out your "actual" elevation if you're not at sea level?

 

Thanks,

 

Larry

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First post... but I figured I'd relay my experience with the "squeak." I bought a 62st from Cabela's... it squeaked (more like plastic on plastic) horribly. There is definitely a weakness or flimsiness in the plastic. I will return that unit. Picked up a 62s from Bass Pro after testing it out and verifying that it did not "squeak." Having had both (a bad one and a good one), I can say there is definitely a marked difference in the soundness of the construction. The 62s I tested and bought was rock solid. In the "squeaky" unit, it's almost like the plastic is weakened, or something that is supposed to add support is missing. This is on the top plastic piece on the middle of either side of the screen. Sure seems like a manufacturing defect. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

 

FYI:

"Squeaky" 62st serial number: 21G000128

Rock solid 62s (no problems whatsoever) serial number: 21F001363

 

glad to hear there are actually some NON-SQUEAKING 62S's out there. my search continues.

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Do you know if those sections lined up with areas of particularly bad tree cover, or some conditions that could interfere with the ability to see the satellite? Does this happen all the time, or was this unique to this trail?

 

The bursts of poor vertical resolution do not match up to tree cover, and I cannot correlate them with anything obvious. I'd like to see similar data from others.

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The GPS did a good job tracking my location, but the vertical profile shows bursts where the GPS couldn't keep track of the elevation.

 

normal_profile.jpg

 

The black line shows the profile per Delorme Topo 8's built-in topo data. The green line shows the profile from the Garmin 62st. Note how the Garmin usually did well, but when it lost elevation "lock" it really went crazy.

 

To get a better idea of when the 62st had trouble with altitude, I imported the track into Google Earth. BUT I un-checked the box telling GE to change the track so it was at ground level. This lets the track bounce up and down in the air, showing where the Garmin went a little crazy.

 

It pretty clearly shows that the incidents of altitude-loopiness do not match up with tree cover or anything else I can determine.

 

normal_bounce1.jpg

 

normal_bounce2.jpg

 

Curious.

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got my RMA, another squeaker! 21F006***

 

i specifically asked them to open it and test it before sending, but i guess they didn't.

 

perhaps it's time to walk away from the 62s and grab a rock solid 60cx from walmart or bite the bullet, keep this one and hope the squeak goes away. this one appears to be a bit better, only squeaks on the side opposite the power button.

 

here the video of my new squeaker (sound looks like it's off a bit, it was recorded with my lifecam webcam)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwtW2QuQxlk

I just sent my second 62s in for the squeaking problem, this time garmin replaced it with a 62st.

 

First post... but I figured I'd relay my experience with the "squeak."

 

FYI:

"Squeaky" 62st serial number: 21G000128

Rock solid 62s (no problems whatsoever) serial number: 21F001363

 

FWIW:

 

Model 62s: 21F004587 & 21F005009 are squeak free

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I experienced the spikes this weekend and figured out what causes them. As you walk and log your track things are smooth but as soon as you start pressing buttons, say to the trip computer or map page, you get spikes. Try walking down the street as you watch your elevation plot. Now start pressing buttons repeatedly and watch as you begin logging spikes. Having every model of garmin since the baromentric altimeter has come out, I've never seen a problem quite this bad. Yeah I get it the inside is sealed and pressing buttons would temporarily raise and lower that pressure but previous models are also sealed and pressing their buttons hasn't, to my recollection, cause as much of a problem.

 

Oh, and my squeaker replacement (first unit RMA'd due to loud squeak) squeaks EVEN LOUDER, is flimsier, and feels cheaper than the last one. :o When you turn it on you can actually watch as the sides push in. Definately a manufacturing defect and I'm not happy at all with Garmin right now. Unacceptable. I'm calling Garmin tomorrow and going to raise holy-heck.

 

The replacement number is in the 6,000's

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I experienced the spikes this weekend and figured out what causes them. As you walk and log your track things are smooth but as soon as you start pressing buttons, say to the trip computer or map page, you get spikes. Try walking down the street as you watch your elevation plot.

 

Came here to post basically the same thing.

 

Oh, jeepers. I think I know what it correlates to.

 

When the unit is in my hand.

 

I added the geocaches onto the Google Earth map. Sure enough, there are spikes in altitude around caches where I would have been playing with the GPS, and often for some time after the cache - when I would still have been playing. But during periods of heavy slogging down the trail - no caches, no reason for me to have the unit in my hand - the altitude track is nice and smooth.

 

When the GPS wasn't in my hand, it was hanging from my belt on the carabiner.

 

I bet the squeak-flexing-plastic is driving the barometer crazy.

 

I'm calling Garmin Support tomorrow. Wow, this is really bad news. A GPS you can't hold in your hand is of no value whatsoever.

 

...Sam

Edited by sammydee
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I experienced the spikes this weekend and figured out what causes them. As you walk and log your track things are smooth but as soon as you start pressing buttons, say to the trip computer or map page, you get spikes. Try walking down the street as you watch your elevation plot.

 

Came here to post basically the same thing.

 

Oh, jeepers. I think I know what it correlates to.

 

When the unit is in my hand.

 

I added the geocaches onto the Google Earth map. Sure enough, there are spikes in altitude around caches where I would have been playing with the GPS, and often for some time after the cache - when I would still have been playing. But during periods of heavy slogging down the trail - no caches, no reason for me to have the unit in my hand - the altitude track is nice and smooth.

 

When the GPS wasn't in my hand, it was hanging from my belt on the carabiner.

 

I bet the squeak-flexing-plastic is driving the barometer crazy.

 

I'm calling Garmin Support tomorrow. Wow, this is really bad news. A GPS you can't hold in your hand is of no value whatsoever.

 

...Sam

 

Just for clarification, are you saying that it does this by simply "holding" the unit in your hand, or that it does this when you press buttons or otherwise manipulate the unit?

 

Thanks,

 

Larry

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