Help! My "splashproof" GPS is not splashproof. How does one handle this problem, or is it insoluble? I have a Garmin GPS II, supposedly splashproof. In use, it sits on the foredeck of my kayak. When I use it, I take care not to roll or to do extreme leans. Shortly after I recieved it, the unit became inoperable. Changing the batteries, I noticed that there were several drops of water in the battery compartment, and one battery terminal had corroded slightly (suggesting that water had gotten into the battery compartment previously, as well). After the usual frustrating merry-go-round with the Garmin FAQ site, a few e-mails to Garmin, and a rather frustrating phone call to them, I was awarded a RMA number, authorization to return the unit for repair. When I got the unit back, the work slip said Garmin had "repaired gaskets, upgraded software" (though the software version on the returned unit has the same version number as it did before return). Last Thursday I took my first "long" paddle since the unit was returned, 12.3 nmi in almost flat calm conditions, no sea. No rolls. No significant leans. Probably no significant moisture except drips from the paddle onto the GPS. Saturday when I tried to use the unit again, it was inoperable. There were *many* drops of water in the battery compartment. I left the unit in the sun to dry, inserted new batteries, and it works normally again now. How does one use one of these things on a kayak, if you can't even get water droplets on them? Putting them in an Aqua-safe bag pretty much renders them useless, since you can't read them through the plastic of the bag, and you can't work the function keys through the bag either. A Zip-lok bag might work, but then how to affix the unit (the Zip-lok bag, or whatever) to the deck reliably? I think I have to give up on Garmin repairing the unit. It's difficult to get permission to return it, the "technical representatives" I finally reached was a surly fellow, and at least in this one case, the "repairs" haven't done anything to solve the problem. Any advice???? - Bill Hansen *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************Received on Sun May 30 1999 - 18:27:35 PDT
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