New GPS...

[wamp]

Just got my new gps in the mail today! i got a Garmin Oregon 450T, i was wondering if anyone else out there had one and has used it for a while and some pointers and tips for the features of this gps. i am familiar with basic operation but i am sure there are many things this gps can do that my older models can not..... any tips would be great, thanks for your time!

[Ragingbull]

Have a Garmin 400T 3rd and best GPS I have ever owned. Get familiar with GPSfiledepot.com for the best free maps on the face of the planet - particularly for Montana for elk hunting

[8upbowhunter]

I have been using an Oregon 450 for the past 2 seasons. Great reception in heavy cover and easy to use. Tip #1 - Always lock the screen if you leave it on while in your pack or pocket or your settings will get changed since it has a touch screen, I learned this the hard way. Tip #2 - After recording and saving a track, clear the current track and turn track recording off or you will get a straight line from the end of your last track to the beginning of the next track especially if you turn it off between recording tracks. Tip #3 - To see any or all tracks on your map go to Track Manager, select a track and make sure that "Hide on Map" or "Do Not Show" (Forget the exact wording) is showing for that track. If it says "Show on Map" it will not show up on the map because there are only 2 settings for this feature and the one showing is the one not selected. Hope this helps and if I think of any other tips I will update this post.

[JGH]

8upbowhunter ... thanks for Tip #2 ... definitely frustrating when we go on a short hike and someone asks "How far have we gone?" and a check of the Trip Computer says something like "165.2 miles" because it drew that straight line from my last hike.

I have been using the Oregon 450T for a couple years now and am very pleased.

1. Reception in the trees seems very good compared to my old Garmin eTrex.

2. I like the larger screen, though I wish it were a touch brighter. (Old eyes, you know).

3. The included topographic map is really helpful when aiming for a road, trail, saddle, etc. It does include some "historical trails" that, we have come to find, are no longer trails at all, but -- like all trails -- they do lead you to specific places -- places that at some time someone thought was important, or scenic, or useful, and you might, too.

4. Organizing the "Desktop" and getting rid of some of the less useful icons is helpful. I like having "Map", "Compass", "Trip Computer", and "Settings", "Where to?" and "Waypoint manager" near the top of the list -- beyond that, I don't use many of them.

[wamp]

thanks for the info guys! have been messing around figuring this new thing out and i like it. glad 8upbowhunter posted about that track information, i had this happen the other day while hiking and now i know how to fix this problem....

[pointysticks]

Have a Garmin 400T 3rd and best GPS I have ever owned. Get familiar with GPSfiledepot.com for the best free maps on the face of the planet - particularly for Montana for elk hunting

how does that site make money? looks good. i'm gonna have to find my Garmin cable now. thanks bud.

[Kirsch]

On the comment of screen brightness, it is a very common comment with the Oregons. The 450 and 550 were actually a bit better than the older series Oregons. Typically the screen can be angled to help, but they can look dim in real bright conditions. However, the newest 600 series has improved this significantly. The brightness as well as finger-multi-touch are some of the major changes. Multi-touch just means the screen functions more like a smart phone allowing for pinch and grow style touch.

One tip to consider especially if the unit is brand new is to reboot the unit. Many of the Garmin touch screen GPS units have a glitch in them when they come from the factory. Garmin can't explain to me why this is but on a % of the Garmin touch screens, they need to be rebooted once in order to function as intended. To reboot a Garmin touchscreen GPS, hold the upper left hand corner of the window, while powering on the unit. Say OK to the Delete User data question. HOWEVER, IF YOU HAVE WAYPOINTS AND TRACKS ON THE UNIT, THEY MAY BE DELETED BY THIS PROCESS SO MAKE A BACKUP OR COPY OF THEM USING THE GARMIN BASECAMP SOFTWARE.

As far as GPSFileDepot goes or other free mapping sites, the age and validity of data and scrutiny of the data is always a question. When the question was asked why are they free it is because someone is typically doing this as a hobby. There could be some situations where a mapping company is creating the map and offering a crippled version, but mostly it is hobby map creators posting their maps to the site. Does this make it automatically bad, no, but the level and attention to detail, accuracy and more are always in question in comparison to a person or company who make a living creating GPS maps. Also, the merging of multiple map sets even if transparent can cause drawing issues and anomalies on the GPS. Be careful with free data as some could be good and some could be dated, etc. Some people may say I am biased as I am a sponsor on the site and my company creates GPS hunting maps. However, I get comments and see issues on a regular basis where people downloaded files from free mapping sites, and find out they are outdated and incorrect. When it comes to trespassing and/or potential game violations due to old maps/free maps, I would be very careful.