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#Post#: 9426--------------------------------------------------
Battery life in Garmin GPS
By: hogsunters Date: June 23, 2015, 12:02 pm
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How long would you expect the batteries to last in the Garmin
GPS Oregon 600] please?
I have just been given one for my birthday, and today after a
full days walking [ about 6 hours, and 3 hours yesterday] I got
a low battery warning, which seemed very quick to run down - or
am I expecting too much from the X2 AA batteries? Thanks for any
help Jenny.
#Post#: 9427--------------------------------------------------
Re: Battery life in Garmin GPS
By: Griff Grof Date: June 23, 2015, 1:54 pm
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I have a Garmin Oregon 300. I find that the regular Duracell AA
batteries last a couple of caching trips, i.e. perhaps max 8
hours. The Duracell Ultra Power batteries last notably longer
than that. After the initial 'Low battery' message, I find they
don't run out straight away. :)
It may save money in the long-term to purchase rechargeable
batteries. I'm not sure how long these last, or exactly how they
work, since I (for some reason) have never got round to buying
these :o Perhaps someone else can answer this?
Hope I answered your question though, and happy birthday by the
way. Enjoy your GPS :)
#Post#: 9428--------------------------------------------------
Re: Battery life in Garmin GPS
By: Altra Date: June 23, 2015, 2:27 pm
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That does seem short, its specs say it should get 16 hours but
that is using their own batterys (not AA) and they always
exaggerate :(
The oregon 600 is very fussy about its power source. If your
using alkali batteries see if you can get two NiMH or Lithium AA
batteries instead as the manual says they will work better
(especially if you plan on using its camera) and they are more
suited to outdoor temperatures. You would also get the benifit
of being able to charge them. Check that the settings on it have
your type of AA battery selected as well.
Also try managing your power use. Have the backlit turn off
after a few seconds of no use and turn on "power saving mode" in
the settings which will turn off the screen completly when the
backlit times out. Try and keep your screen brightness at the
minimum you need to clearly see it, instead of having it allways
at max. (Not sure how easy it is to change the brightness on it,
if its very accessible you can change the brightness while your
using it)
You could also decrese the mapping speed as well, depends how
detailed you want the gps to recored where you walked.
Enjoy your birthday and new GPS!
#Post#: 9429--------------------------------------------------
Re: Battery life in Garmin GPS
By: hogsunters Date: June 23, 2015, 3:35 pm
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Thanks very much for your replies - all very helpful. I shall
pass the technical suggestions onto my husband, who is the
technical half of the partnership.
We were very concerned as a friend [ who has a different type of
GPS] claimed that her batteries lasted ' months'!
I'm certainly finding the Garmin fun to use, so far it has
helped us to get back onto our route when we have gone wrong,
and we get a satellite signal when in woodland which has been a
problem when my husband was only using his phone!
Thank you for my birthday good wishes, sadly the years seem to
pass more quickly - especially now we have found this wonderful
hobby of Geocaching, and such a friendly and helpful group of
fellow cachers. Jenny :)
#Post#: 9430--------------------------------------------------
Re: Battery life in Garmin GPS
By: Bear and Ragged Date: June 23, 2015, 4:30 pm
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Some units have different settings for different types of
battery...
Is yours set correctly, for the type of battery you are using?
#Post#: 9461--------------------------------------------------
Re: Battery life in Garmin GPS
By: hogsunters Date: June 30, 2015, 3:17 am
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Sorry I haven't replied sooner, Bear 'n Ragged, not been able to
access laptop for a few days. I have passed your suggestion over
to the technical expert [ husband!]. He is researching getting
re-chargeable batteries ATM. As we are going to the Essex Mega
in July/August we wanted to be sure to have enough 'battery
power' Thanks for your suggestion Jenny.
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