UKC

Hi people,

Just bought myself one of these devices. Anyone own one or similar I have a couple of questions:

Can you get it to eject properly from your PCMAC with a micro SD card installed?

Can you control when the trip computer startstops rather than just auto record when the device is on? (This one is very annoying, and different form other Garmin devices I use)

Awaiting a reply from Garmin at the moment.

Cheers,

Brigsy

In reply to brigsy:

Hi Brigsy,
I've a 62s which works very similarly. Never had any problems ejecting it (assuming you mean making it safe for disconnection) from my PC. As for the trip computer, if you access the computer menu screen, and press "menu" key you'll get options to re-set various parameters. This doesn't affect the tracklog, just the accrued data (total mileage, trip distance/time, average speeds etc). I do this sometimes to practice pacing. Tracklogging can be turned on/off in the main menu under tracks, or kept on by not shown on screen.

Hopefully helpful.

Stu

In reply to brigsy:
Yes on 62s.


Mine is the 62s, so if the software is the same on yours, the simple answer is no. When the device is on, the trip computer is on.
I've got into a habit of starting up whilst getting ready and just before I start to walk, etc, resetting the trip and track log. On finishing, the first thing I do is save the trip log as a track in track manager to preserve at least some of the data (not all the data I have displayed is saved frustratingly).

Watch out as it always saves your last GPS location when switched off. When you relocate and switch on you suddenly have done x miles more! If you forget to save, you usually get enough time, esp. if in a building, to restart and quickly save before the GPS finds your new location and updates (or upsets depending on your p.o.w) all the data.
The continuous recording is only useful to me if you loose battery power and later install new batteries as it just links last known position with the new position - useful for rescue/recovery/backtracking/etc which is my thinking of why it is programmed the way it is?

All not very good though if you want a continuous record of say walks without the driving bits between. Would have expected that to have been altered for the 64 but seems not.

Despite the various flaws, I still really like the 62. It has more pluses to me than my previous one which did allow trip to be started and stopped at will. I share your frustration though.

In reply to Climbing Pieman:

Thanks for the replies. I can't believe that I can't start and stop recording my track. Its crazy. My Fenix does that and I always use it.

Might be a deal breaker for me.

In reply to Climbing Pieman:

Its easy enough to edit tracks in Basecamp to remove points that are miles away if you don't save a track before turning off the device.

To the OP you need to remember that the gpsmap etrex etc have a fundamentally different primary use case to wrist mounted GPS running watches - telling you where you are rather than how fast you are going/how far you have gone

In reply to r0b:
Thanks, useful reminder. I did actually delete waypoints at the start, but it's just another step to do, so for yrs I've preferred to just save on stopping.

In reply to Climbing Pieman:

Thanks guys. It seems Garmin have been stumped by the non ejecting issue despite a google search coming up with it as a problem for the last few years.

I have got it sorted with a program called clean eject and adding a txt file called unmountme.txt to each of the root folders. (I don't really know what all this means but it worked, thanks internet)

I think I am confused as to what is recorded where. I thought the trip computer recorded the same information as the track? It seems that I can turn track recording off, but the trip computer keeps ticking. I'm confused!

In reply to brigsy:


My trip records more than the track does at least after when it's been saved. Maybe it's just the way I set it up, don't know as it was a few years ago I set it up and never have altered it since as its the way I like it! I assume that the track when being saved just takes the info it needs from the trip which is the master source of all data the GPS records whether it is ultimately stored or not? This seems to me another reason why the trip is always on. Personally would have preferred option for trip to be off or paused so that you can say relocate, input data, view map, etc without the trip continuously recording the "faffing" part, but not to be.

In reply to brigsy:

You can turn the tracklog on and off at any time and so save individual legs of a day as separate tracks e.g. you can cycle in, save the track, clear it and start again with a new track for the walking section of your day. The first, saved, tracklog is stored on the GPS and you can retrieve it, track back along it etc later if you need to.

The trip computer is a separate function entirely - you can re-set the trip computer at the same time as the track log, but it's a separate action, and it just deletes the data up till that moment (NOT the track log though). You lose anything recorded by the trip computer. There's no option to save the data from the trip computer.

If you don't reset the trip computer, it will keep accruing data (distances, speeds etc) until you do (e.g. it'll keep counting through multiple trips, driving etc) even if you clear and restart the track log- it's not linked to the track log function at all.

It is a little confusing, and it'd be useful to be able to save the data from the trip computer and the track log as a single entity sometimes, but the 62 and 64 series devices aren't really designed with data/performance logging in mind. Other ranges are more useful if your trying to capture a load of performance data. Mine is used primarily as a last resort to find where I am, or to record a track during searches etc where I need to log/record where I've been. I do use the trip odometer to refine my pacing etc as well though!

In reply to StuDoig:

"Mine is used primarily as a last resort to find where I am, or to record a track during searches etc where I need to log/record where I've been. I do use the trip odometer to refine my pacing etc as well though"


Thanks, that helps a lot. I intend to use mine for the same reasons as you, but I am trying to get to grips with the functions I have. Its nice to look back on your day and see what you've been up to data wise though.

Understand more now thanks.