May 04, 2003

Pox on the House of Garmin

So when I set off on a bike ride this afternoon, I tried to make out the strange color along the bottom of my Garmin Etrex Vista's lcd display.


    "Oh, yes, of course, it's condensation inside the unit."

    "But, Garmin claims the etrex is rated for 'Immersion for 30 minutes at a depth of 1 meter', and all you've done is ride your bike in the rain."

    "Ah, but you see, it's a Garmin... and nothing Garmin says has to be true at all and their products can be entirely defective."

So I don't know what the hell to do about this unit. I can hardly send it back to the USA for yet another rebuild.

I don't know why it leaked. Perhaps because I am using Garmin's own bicycle mount, and it has a poor seal? (Actually... I think that the battery compartment is outside of the immersion-sealing zone. That is, the battery compartment could flood (it could easily with the microscopic rubber seal they provide) but the internal compartment holding the computer stays dry.)

I really wish they'd get themselves in order. Their products are universally crap.

Posted by Nils Blutig at May 4, 2003 10:20 PM | TrackBack