GPS battery and map problems with GARMIN eTrex 32x units - not powering up with common battery types
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- čas přidán 14. 02. 2024
- Intro 00:11
GPS background 01:17
Old original eTrex 03:07
Battery tests 03:54
My diagnosis 06:08
Love for the old eTrex 08:15
Outro and challenge for Garmin 08:34
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Before heading out on location to the sub-Arctic of northern Canada, I needed a new small GPS unit. I chose the newesr top of the eTrex range from Garmin - the 32x. But I had numerous issues with PC connectivity and updates, with map stability, and more importantly, two units I tested would not power up reliably with the range of batteries the device is marketed to work with. I have not had battery issues with other Garmin models.
The reason? I don't know. Garmin may want to help - but have been silent so far. I don't know if other eTrex units of the same or similar model are affected (like the eTrex SE, Solar, 10, 20, 30, 20x, 30x, 22x and so on, or the GPSMAP series), if indeed there's a hardware issue with a batch.
Products tested:
Garmin eTrex 32x
Garmin eTrex 'Yellow' (2000)
Feel free to ask any questions in the comments!
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THANK YOU!!! I have the 32x and so many things about this unit just enrage me. I guide groups of children on walks, on known and unknown routes so rely on my garmin as a backup to get groups of kids where they need to be at a certain time. Basecamp is an absolute joke. The time I lose using basecamp is unreal and this is comming from someonewho uses and programs complex av and lighting equipment and builds pcs and servers, I'm not scared of IT things. God knows how someone less versed in computers and the randomness of the 90's level software gets on. Lets noise them up all we can!
czcams.com/video/3SZ6SIh2bpk/video.html
This tutorials helped me with basecamp. But honestly most of the time I just use komoot and export the gpx to the etrex
Shame that thier is now a limited number of GPS makers, as we know competition drives innovation and updates on a regular basis. Interesting thing with the battery changes. 👍👍
My camera (Canon 5d mk4) has built in GPS you can set it to record the route as you walk or just record the GPS data to each photo. Its real handy for getting back to a location or just seeing how far you walked.
The problem is partly that there was never really (even in the 2000s) a rigorous plurality in the handheld market - which is still not small even as people increasingly use phones. So these units have always been way behind the curve.
The boating/aerospace sector is more cash-intensive, and so those devices are much more impressive from Garmin and their competent competitors.
very interesting. shame for no usb c in 2024
Either that, or a proprietary magsafe/similar connection.
I think the Garmin inreach II has USB-C now.
Great and well balanced review. I experienced all these issues with a new 65s, the replacement unit from the retailer is now working with all battery types, however the usb interface is MPT only ? .
My 5yo fenix has never faltered.
Thanks
Cheers Alex, thanks for the video.
Greetings Hunter!
(didnt expect a Wf player here lol)
Another excellent production
Cheers
I still have my original eTrex. Cant find the computer cable and I cant remember when it was last updated, but it still works.
I think the originals were an old serial bus! To be honest, not much need, as the unit can't transfer much in either direction.
i have one of those too! with serial interface (and some USB converter that creeps me off every time i am forced to use it) 😂
This issue needs to be fixed!
I personally have had great luck with Garmin units and always get the push button types for gloved hand use.
About a year ago I got the Etrex 22, and it has worked fine below freezing with the Energizer Lithium batteries.
Chances are you got the 32 for its additional features, and I understand that.
I tell you this in case you want to/need to compromise on a lesser capability packed unit until Garmin gets off their a$$ and fixes the issue.
Meanwhile, I love your videos!
Thanks for the vid. You saved me a lot of money avoiding me buying that crap!
Yeah, I got the 32x never having had a gps unit before. Basecamp is an actual nightmare. Took me ages to realise that garmin connect wasn’t what I shud be trying to work with. I still don’t know how to work it after about 5hrs of playing with it
I have a Garman geco 101 I purchased around 2003. It still works.
It is for hunting, fishing, and camping. It has no maps just markers and breadcrumb trails.
I have never had any problems with it.
I still have an old MLR SP24 XC handheld (at least 20 years old) It still works perfectly and takes all types of AA batteries. So much for progress !😂
garmin used to be my go to for marine. now i just do simrad/lowrance/b&g. now ive dumped them for here maps on android dash units in the car, zeus/evo on the boat and gaia gps on an old phone on the ebike. dont have a need for handhelds but if i did i might use something like a rugged cellphone like the cat industrial android phones. and run gaia gps on that. i do have a wrist worn casio GPS watch which works on solar and gives basic waypointing. maybe use that instead. GPR-B1000 import from japan.
I've been hesitant to invest in a GPS unit, and have been muddling by with my map, compass, and analog altimeter since the 90s. Since most of my adventuring is in mountainous terrain, knowing ones altitude is very helpful in pinpointing where you are along a trail (or at least along a contour line). One more reason to wait just a leetle bit longer. Also, extra thumbs up for use of the razor that's not for shaving!
I love my etrex 32x. I have topo maps america and road maps America. To me, the usb port doesn’t matter cause i enter everything manually. I use eneloop without hiccups. I will keep this unit for many years because i love the size and the joystick!
My Etrex Vists has been a brilliant little unit - though I haven't used it in a while and I am pretty sure it was affected by that bug a while back. Nice, bulletproof, and definitely hamstrung by ordinary software
Thanks for an interesting video. I haven't had any problems with the batteries on my eTrex32x, but find map scrolling and zooming hopelessly slow on a modern GPS unit. When will the new eTrex SE with maps arrive??
Good mic drop at the end.
Yes I agree there is not enough competition out there, so no reason for Garmin to bother about the reliability of its products or its customers. They own the market.
I had issues many years ago with their 64st, at the time Ordnance Survey partnered with TwoNav and their Aventura device though expensive and a bit big and heavy, it did everything I needed and easy enough to charge from a portable brick I carry. It seems that, that partnership no longer exists. I guess not enough customers, they did not market it very well, as Garmin dominates the market hard to take off I guess. I dropped and broke it, which is a shame as it was out of warranty, so switched back to Garmin with the 32x.
Yes I found the same problem with the battery but have found that the Energizer recharging batteries work fine.
It says something when my Gulf War 1 veteran GPS Magellan appears to be able to run on anything (probably potatoes if I risked it) Garmin seems to have dropped the ball.
No I would not suggest anyone use an old hand held like mine except for a bit of blast from the past fun.
My first GPS was a Magellan XL. Long before the start of vehicle sat nav, trying to plan UK road journeys just was impossible.
I have Garmin etrex 32X for many years without problem.I use 2xBonai 2800maH NiMh charged with 200mA charging. Etrex 32x has no Usb due to large autonomy. Etrex 32x is great.
I am trying to find a replacement for my old e-trex like yours. Mine finally gave up the ghost after almost 27 years. I think I bought mine in late 96 early 97. And it was in the mark-down bun at Aldi's when I bought it.
eBay is a good bet. If a unit works with a good screen, it's probably fine. Obviously no aging battery issues.
4th solution is one rechargeable AA Lion (14500) and one AA dummy battery. This is because one Lion is already 3.7 Volts. You can get Universal Lithium chargers that can do both 18650 and 14500 running from USB or 6Volt solar cell. I don't use NimH anymore anywhere.
If you're going to jerryrig a power source like that, you'd need to work out the voltage range the unit is supposed to (if not malfunctioning) work under. Garmin don't publish this info. Plus it's obviously game over for a warranty.
eneloop pros are very impressive, albeit a little heavy, even at -20deg, and can deal with a lot of cycles.
And 5th solution is AA LiFePO4 and dummy AA. LiFePO4 is more durable and safe, but its voltage is only 3.2 Volts. You can trickle charge it like NiMH, so it is suitable for a device which is constantly on with solar, like VHF radio or satellite phone.
@@AlexHibbertOriginals It this is your worry, you put a diode inside the dummy. It drops the voltage 0.7 Volts.
I have one camera, which did not like 4 AA batteries replaced with 2 Lions, so I had to put two diodes inside the dummy.
I went the lifepo4 route, very happy with that chemistry.
What is a dummy AA?
✌🙂
Thanks for this video. May I know what where your motivations to "upgrade" from the 30 series to the 32? from the spec sheet,as far as I could understand they just got more internal memory for the new topoactive maps.
But apparently more has changed according to your experience. I also have read that the screen is not as bright as the older models.
Regarding garmin software experience it's crazy...but there is no alternatives...Basecamp is difficult to learn but powerfull. On my side most of the time I just use komoot and upload the gpx to the Etrex 30.
On the day they do a etrex 32 with usb c, bluetooth and merge all their phone apps, it will be killer.
It wasn't an upgrade as such. I didn't have a 30 series at the time.
I set the map 65s to lithium and full nimh batteries show quarter full. Reset to precharged nimh graph shows full.
The touch issue is solvable, with fixed soft buttons. They are sold for gaming, but who cares.
But letting this aside, why not have Alan do a leg to the Isle of Man, where afaik a bearded Jaegermeister fizzer resides, who could fix the battery voltage issue.
It would be a nice channel coop.
The voltage regulator circuit was cheaped out on or the firmware for the device was poorly programmed. They might have had their manufacturer contractor that made the boards substitute the micro controller that they spec.ed for a similar one that doesn't handle the voltage variance as well and that is causing the problem. They likely don't know which lots have the issues since the primary contractor subcontracted the work to meet the volume Garmin needed and the substitution or incorrect parts that are causing the issues are not traceable. It could also be that they didn't specify high enough quality parts for the power circuit and this causes the power circuit to not operate correctly in some units, depending on the parts being at the extreme of their specifications or not.
The short answer is bad engineering caused it because they don't have competition for consumers to switch to.
This is exactly my hypothesis. It makes any units from this batch useless, and dangerous.
Lack of competition has allowed Garmin to just keep chugging along without having to innovate and make better products. A shame. Not only do they not make good stuff... it is not even as good as the older versions. I look forward to seeing if Garmin runs across this video and what their response (if any) will be.
All my friends use the 32x and I was just about to order my own. Now I am unsure. Help me Obe-Wan Kenobe...
Try it in all modes and with all batteries types. If no issues, crack on.
I wonder what GPS device the US Army in Alaska uses. Tends to get chilly up there.
_Iridium._
_IRIDIUM for the WIN!_
Iridium aren't so much a device manufacturer (their phones used to be made by Motorola, now rebadged as Iridium) and they don't make GPS handhelds as far as I'm aware. Iridium satellites and GPS/GLONASS satellites differ.
@@AlexHibbertOriginals The Iridium spectrum absolutely _rocks!_ ~ 66 L.E.O.
well, this is some important information to know, which one do i get now, knowing all this information? :/
My advice would be to still buy the unit with the spec you need, but immediately test the maps, updates and with all battery types. And keep the receipt....
You shouldn't have to do this and it could be a problem on an excursion. How about using the alkaline batteries to change the battery type to lithium and then change batteries? Just a thought for diagnostics.
Tried that. The menu setting is just for tuning the battery gauge.
Garmin, only cares about squeezing most amount of money out of their sales. Like the gps watch, fenix 5x, where they ran an update and the elevation meter stopped working, they fixed it by replacing the watch with a new model, where the software update worked. I'm so furious. I think they should receive all products they sell that are faulty, in return, with a roll of toilet paper, directly to their main offices, form all customers. They are the worst company I've ever met. As you say. They have no competition and no incentive to improve. I wish it was inovate, instead of improve. But no. Thanks for the update Alex. I'm in the market for a dedicated gps for my trips.
Fair to say that Garmin have lost their way on this.
Another problem with garmin they sell very ancient tech for high prices it feels almost like scamming
Gotta hate "monopolies" (quotes because it isn't a monopoly _per se_, but close enough). Hopefully China and India will make something to compete with garmin? I know there is BHCnav, but I also don't know how much can you really trust their devices, and if I was a betting man, I'd bet they would not be suitable for sub zero expeditions.
The only other things I know of are fishfinders (there are a couple of handhelds with GPS on the market), cycling computers (for motorbikes and cars/trucks there are a few small options, but of course they all need 12v and even if you were to set up something to make them portable they'd drain the batteries like nothing else) and rugged smartphones.
I personally almost bought a Sonim or a Kyocera flip phone, and bikers who use them instead of a gps unit seem to like them. They also have buttons and let you swap battery. But I doubt their lithium batteries would do you any good in the environments you need them, not to mention that even if they have amazing battery life for a phone (idk, let's say 5 whole days!) it will still be less than desirable for you.
Best of luck, Alex.
Having to use connect , basecamp, and the faffing around kills me. The watches are plagued with software issues (3 in2023) but they do warranty issues. Frustrating!
You might as well cancel the entire expedition if you are forced to work with mini USB
Quite.
What a silly flaw coming from an established company, selling a safety-critical piece of gear.
I'm grossly more cynical than you Alex.
My appraisal is, yet again a manufacturer is using full paying customers as free beta field testers.
It is not up to full paying customers to bring up faults or compatibility issues the manufacturer has failed to sort out or ought to have sorted out in the product development phase.
I further assert, neither are full paying customers production QC testers for a manufacturers retail goods.
At least your retailer is focused on true customer service.
In this country, in spite of very strong consumer laws, retailers nearly always say the same thing when you have a problem, "We've literally sold thousands of these and you're the first person to ever complain," (that's code for go away).
Whilst I can't accuse Garmin of putting in cheap power controllers and hoping for the best, this is why competition is so important. Companies may try to get away with cost savings to the extent that consumers will tolerate. When they go too far, people buy elsewhere. It's a good tension. But there isn't this system in the handheld GPS market. And the market is too small to interest anti-monopoly authorities.
@@AlexHibbertOriginals This post is about no competition in the market of GPS hand held devices made me really sad. I was pleased with my Oregon 450 for years. Finally the on/off botton went loose and broke. The whole unit works fine but is is no longer waterproof. So I am looking for something new and there seem to be no alternative options. eTrexs seem to be way too expensive for what they offer. I am left with the option of buying the Oregon 450 again, 100 USD just because of the botton failure. What a nighmare. Thank you for the review and saving my money. I am not going to risk and will not buy eTrex 32x nor 22x. Maybe you can share some ideas what I can get insted of the old Oregon 450?