Electronics, Lighting, & Gadgets - Problems Using the Garmin Edge 205...

When I was asked what I wanted for Christmas, I asked for a GPS unit. I had visions of doing webpages, or entries to the forums like the one I found for riding up Haleakala (http://www.chainreaction.com/haleakala.htm) or the one I found for a circle island trip around Oahu (http://www.flacyclist.com/gmap/classics/hawaii_oahu/hawaii_oahu_112mi_2007.php) (you know, like Cycle Oregon, or riding around Crater Lake). I was stunned when I actually got (as a gift) a Garmin Edge 205, but now I'm having problems with it...

I've found that the maps on it cannot be updated, and only seem to show highways, not streets or trails (what good is that?).

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3128/3152799989_8e580b67c8.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ufobike/sets/72157611947452946/)
Downtown Portland .5 Mile resolution

Google Earth Plus (http://earth.google.com/enterprise/earth_plus.html) has been discontinued (was $20.00/year), so I can't upload my trips to share with others (namely you folks). Oh, I can upload my info on Google Earth Pro... I only have to shell out $400.00 for that.

The GPS doesn't auto start/stop or go into a "sleep" mode, and I can't find how to edit out the info from where I failed to turn it off, or when I turned it on again... Today I have four hours of it checking it's location, and I can't eliminate that from the stats, nor the fact that the bike was transported (by car) and zero distance should be recorded when it was turned back on, but it does.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3076/3152792643_8008daba6d.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ufobike/sets/72157611947452946/)
Four hours at work, and this is what I have to show for it...

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3116/3152796187_30cdf7351f.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/ufobike/sets/72157611947452946/)
Made a beeline home... That's not how I remember getting home...

Am I overlooking something? I'm seriously dissappointed with my apparent limited capabilities with this and after much grief, I decided that I'm going to taking it back to where it was purchased.

"You might find that having is not so pleasing a thing, after all, as wanting. It is not logical, but it is often true" Spock, Amok Time, Star Trek TOS


K'Tesh

I've found that the maps on it cannot be updated, and only seem to show highways, not streets or trails (what good is that?).

The maps that come with Training Center are called base maps. They are not detailed maps by any means. The maps that you are seeing in the links you posted are not the ones that come with Training Center. To get those you would need something like Garmins' Mapsource with City Select NT (full detail street maps) or Topo (topographic maps with trails and elevation markers).




Google Earth Plus (http://earth.google.com/enterprise/earth_plus.html) has been discontinued (was $20.00/year), so I can't upload my trips to share with others (namely you folks). Oh, I can upload my info on Google Earth Pro... I only have to shell out $400.00 for that.

There is a free site, www.motionbased.com. This is the Garmin supported website for sharing rides. In the near future it will be 100% replaced by connect.garmin.com.




The GPS doesn't auto start/stop or go into a "sleep" mode, and I can't find how to edit out the info from where I failed to turn it off, or when I turned it on again... Today I have four hours of it checking it's location, and I can't eliminate that from the stats, nor the fact that the bike was transported (by car) and zero distance should be recorded when it was turned back on, but it does.

Am I overlooking something? I'm seriously dissappointed with my apparent limited capabilities with this and after much grief, I decided that I'm going to taking it back to where it was purchased.

When you are done with a ride the best thing to do is press the start/stop button. If you want to save the current ride to memory and start a new file press and hold the lap button for 3 seconds and wait for the beep. If you will be continuing the ride don't forget to press the start/stop button. If you will be turning the unit off be sure to press the start/stop button first to prevent the unit from corrupting your file.

Another good thing to do to prevent the GPS from recording small movements is to set the Auto Start/Stop to something like 3MPH. This is set in the Training Menu. You will still have to press the Start/Stop button before and after a ride. This only controls when the unit records during a ride.

A great resource on how to use the Garmin units and ask questions is http://forums.motionbased.com/smf/index.php