I've heard a lot of horror stories about poor service and defective merchandise, so I think it's time to tell a different story. About three weeks ago, I recommended Garmin GPS units on Paddlewise. A few days later, the lithium backup battery on my second Garmin 12XL died like the first, taking all stored data with it. A search on Deja News revealed that this was a common problem with 12XLs, Garmin having received a large batch of defective batteries from the manufacturer. I had returned the first defective unit to the dealer (Boat/US), who had cheerfully exchanged it on the spot for a new one, but the second unit was over a year old and out of warranty. I called Garmin technical support, described the problem, and was told to ship it off to them for repairs. A week later, a brand new 12XL with the latest hardware and software features arrived by air express at no charge. Way to go, Garmin! Chuck Holst *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
>> ONLY difference between the Garmin 12 and the Garmin 12 XL is the external antenna option. I checked the specs on both when my XL fried a circuit board and I was looking for a replacement. The 12 is about $100 less money and still stores 500 waypoints. The 12 beeps too . . . you can turn it off. As for city data-bases, that's a software function and depends on the software version of the GPS. >> You are correct about the number of waypoints; I had confused it with the 12CX, which has double the number. And though it is true that the city database is available only in newer models of the the 12XL, I neglected to mention it because I assumed the question was about new, not used GPS units. However, the 12 is now only $55 cheaper than the 12XL; current prices at West Marine for the 12, 12XL, and 12CX are $144.99, $199.99, and $249.99, respectively. The following hardware comparison by Dale Depriest is from Joe Mehaffey's GPS Web site at http://joe.mehaffey.com/. "The G-12XL looks identical to the G-12. Hardware differences include a connector on the back that can be used to power a remote antenna, a different power supply that can use external power from any source of DC from 10 volts to 32 Volts, an audible alarm, and some additional memory that contains a database of waypoints of selected cities throughout the world. As compared to the newest G-12 hardware configuration the G-12XL has three levels of backlight while the new G-12 has only one." One additional note: The backup battery in my 12XL died Friday shortly after I downloaded 150 waypoints to the unit and just as I was putting in for a weekend in the Apostle Islands. The unit still acquired satellites and marked new waypoints, but would not retain data when the power was off. I haven't contacted Garmin about this problem yet, but I've heard good reports about their customer support, and now, to put a silver lining on it, I have an opportunity to find out myself. Chuck Holst *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
On Tue, 6 Jul 1999, Chuck Holst wrote: Quoting an older review/comparison: > "As compared to the newest G-12 hardware > configuration the G-12XL has three levels of backlight while the new > G-12 has only one." Actually, except for one (?) buggy software update, the G-12 has had three levels of backlighting. I don't much care about the 12's lack of antenna jack, but the 12XL's ability to take unregulated 12V DC (e.g., from a car cigarette lighter jack) sounds very nice. Re: Garmin support. About 2 wks before my warranty expired, I tried to upload a software update, and failed. Garmin was very helpful, quickly sending me a new G-12 which takes updates fine, and which they even copied all my data to. Lesson: try to update your GPS before the warranty expires; my unit worked fine otherwise, including communicating with my PC and palmtop in GRMN and NMEA modes. -Peter *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
I like this idea. I had thought of posting the experience I had with Yakama so now I will. I bought a roof rack for my Jeep last fall. We put a stacker on the bars in Feb. That didn't work real well. It caused the bars to swivel. I had tightened the towers as tight as I could but the bars rolled no matter how nicely I spoke to them. I figured they were unhappy the the stacker and the stacker wasn't ideal for the boats we had anyway. I bought a set of hully rollers. The bars swiveled. I called Rack Warehouse, where I bought the rack. They gave me the 800 number to Yakama in Calf. I called them and they tried to solve the problem by phone but I explained that I had several men try to tighten the bars and all we were doing was to strip the holes in the screws. They sent me new screws and a new set of bar, at no charge what so ever, and no request to return the old ones. I was VERY pleased at both the offer and the speed with which they sent them because we were leaving for vacation with the boat in a week. I'd deal with them again in a heartbeat. Chuck Holst wrote: > I've heard a lot of horror stories about poor service and defective > merchandise, so I think it's time to tell a different story. About > three weeks ago, I recommended Garmin GPS units on Paddlewise. A few > days later, the lithium backup battery on my second Garmin 12XL died > like the first, taking all stored data with it. A search on Deja News > revealed that this was a common problem with 12XLs, Garmin having > received a large batch of defective batteries from the manufacturer. > I had returned the first defective unit to the dealer (Boat/US), who > had cheerfully exchanged it on the spot for a new one, but the second > unit was over a year old and out of warranty. I called Garmin > technical support, described the problem, and was told to ship it off > to them for repairs. A week later, a brand new 12XL with the latest > hardware and software features arrived by air express at no charge. > Way to go, Garmin! > > Chuck Holst > > *************************************************************************** > PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List > Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net > Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net > Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ > *************************************************************************** *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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