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Main Boards => General Walking Discussion => Topic started by: Pitboot on 17:46:33, 22/02/19

Title: GPS unit found 22 Feb 2019. Lake District
Post by: Pitboot on 17:46:33, 22/02/19
I have found a Garmin hand held GPS unit near Grasmere.


Obviously it needs to be identified and claimed by the owner so I'm hoping they get on here or that a member knows someone who has lost one.


There is no name or phone number that I can find, but there is an entry in "tracks" from 06 Jan 19.
Other tracks indicate use of the item in the SE of the country near London/Milton Keynes.


If you can give me the model and colour of your lost GPS I will forward it to you.


There is some slight damage, which may be from my car wheel or when it was dropped.


Regards,
Bob

Title: Re: GPS unit found 22 Feb 2019. Lake District
Post by: Hillhiker1 on 19:19:22, 22/02/19
You can report it to Cumbria police here:


https://www.cumbria.police.uk/Report-It/Lost-and-Found/Lost-and-Found-Property.aspx
The owner might contact them to see if it's been handed in



Title: Re: GPS unit found 22 Feb 2019. Lake District
Post by: Pitboot on 22:16:21, 22/02/19
Thank you. This will be what I will do if I don't get a positive reply on here.
Title: Re: GPS unit found 22 Feb 2019. Lake District
Post by: Deolman on 14:59:38, 23/02/19
I have the Garmin Oregon 600 but would suspect this tip I was given by GPS Training would be the same for other Garmin Models.  Plug the GPS into your computer and select it. Amongst the folders is a file called 'startup text' you can edit this file and type in your contact details such as name and phone number.  When you start the GPS the message will be displayed briefly as the unit starts up.  My text simply reads "This GPS belongs to Name if found phone contact phone number"       
Title: Re: GPS unit found 22 Feb 2019. Lake District
Post by: Hillhiker1 on 18:00:45, 23/02/19
Wow! What a great tip Deolman, cheers. I've just done my Dakota 20 O0 O0
Title: Re: GPS unit found 22 Feb 2019. Lake District
Post by: Pitboot on 18:21:48, 23/02/19
Good tip but it doesn't help me locate the owner, as a thorough search of all files reveals no useful info.
Title: Re: GPS unit found 22 Feb 2019. Lake District
Post by: Deolman on 18:30:14, 23/02/19
My tip was not meant to be helpful with regards to your current situation but was meant to help others avoid a similar situation. As a thought I would imagine most owners would register their GPS units in case they need to make a warranty claim.  Could you not try contacting Garmin and giving them the serial number of the unit.  Under current privacy and data laws they would be unable to give you details of the registered owner but they could contact them and give them your contact details.



Title: Re: GPS unit found 22 Feb 2019. Lake District
Post by: Pitboot on 19:53:18, 23/02/19
Deolman, thank you, that is actually a good suggestion. I have emailed Garmin to see if they can reunite owner and unit.
I am not expecting much in the way of cooperation but if it works it would show great customer service.
Thanks again.
Title: Re: GPS unit found 22 Feb 2019. Lake District
Post by: Pitboot on 07:51:41, 26/02/19
Update:
Garmin were useless, advised me to hand the unit in to the local police.


No positive response on this site.


Went on two Lake District sites on Facebook. Had one ping from someone who has lost a GPS but it was a different model to the one I found and loss area was ten miles away.


I took the item to Kendal police station.


I hope I have done all that could be expected to reunite the owner with their property.


I remember I lost a jacket in Glencoe, it was attached to my rucksack during an ascent and a gust of wind took it down a gully, too risky to attempt recovery. The insurance company had me put an advert in the local post office and wait a month before they would consider paying out. Still haven't heard about my jacket, but it was 31 years ago.
Title: Re: GPS unit found 22 Feb 2019. Lake District
Post by: Deolman on 08:46:17, 26/02/19
Thats a disappointing response from Garmin but then having had a problem with my GPS they were not too good either and ended up just advising me to part exchange it for a reconditioned unit.
Title: Re: GPS unit found 22 Feb 2019. Lake District
Post by: Pitboot on 10:36:23, 26/02/19
No surprise! They want us to buy more and newer units, that's why they are in business. I have a car gps by Garmin and when I try to update files it advises me that the hardware is no longer supported, ie buy a new one. I will, but not from Garmin!
Title: Re: GPS unit found 22 Feb 2019. Lake District
Post by: sussamb on 12:16:22, 26/02/19
Really?  Which satnav do you have, Garmin have a history of supporting devices for tens of years.  What files are you trying to update?
Title: Re: GPS unit found 22 Feb 2019. Lake District
Post by: Deolman on 12:55:47, 26/02/19
My previous GPS was Lowrance and just after twelve months I had an accident and broke the glass. It was then I found out that the manufacturer did not offer any form of support once the warranty had expired. I ended up having to buy another unit at a discounted price of £200.  When that went faulty I began to investigate the different manufacturers to see what after service they offered.  Garmin, whilst not perfect, do offer a factory reconditioned unit at a cost of £70 (for the Oregon) should things go wrong outside the warranty.  According to their customer service advisor they used to offer a repair service but it got too complex - a customer would get a quote for a repair and then when the unit was sent back to them they found the fault was not the one they quoted for so then they would have to contact the customer again  etc, etc. so they decided that offering a full reconditioned unit was the simplest way forward.
Title: Re: GPS unit found 22 Feb 2019. Lake District
Post by: Pitboot on 22:01:04, 27/02/19
Really?  Which satnav do you have, Garmin have a history of supporting devices for tens of years.  What files are you trying to update?


Aaagh! Don't get me started. I have an etrex, and a Nuvi for the car. The Nuvi, despite every suggestion on the Garmin website, and youtube, will not update the maps. Comment from Garmin- "Upgrade to a newer model." No thanks.
The etrex is so cumbersome to use , plus it will not do a complete reset despite many tries, I will get a better type when I can afford it, maybe never. My unit does not have extra memory capability either, restricts the amount of maps I can consult.
I like nice simple tools like map and compass, if I have to mess around plugging in to my laptop, loading files, software updates, generally faffing about with technology that I thought was designed to make life easier, then I'm not that interested.
Title: Re: GPS unit found 22 Feb 2019. Lake District
Post by: sussamb on 22:44:57, 27/02/19
Yes but which nuvi?  The original ones are around 15 years old but I still know people who use them and update the maps without issue.


As for your Etrex, if it doesn't have a slot for a memory card it too must be pretty old. 


I use my nuvi in my car and my Etrex 20 when walking with both regularly in use weekly and they're excellent.
Title: Re: GPS unit found 22 Feb 2019. Lake District
Post by: Pitboot on 22:55:37, 27/02/19
The Nuvi is a 1410, 2011 model, the etrex is 2008. I had four good years out of the Nuvi so maybe I shouldn't complain.
The etrex , well maybe I would consider a touch screen model.
Title: Re: GPS unit found 22 Feb 2019. Lake District
Post by: sussamb on 06:57:23, 28/02/19
That Etrex is from a much earlier line, possibly didn't even have a colour screen, and they were tricky to use, the modern ones are far better with a choice of buttons or touchscreens.  Personally I prefer the buttons as they can still be operated with gloves on.

There's no reason why you should need to upgrade your 1410.  I have a 1310 (same series, smaller screen) and a 1490 as backups to my later models, and they both update without issue, so the advice you've been given to replace them with a newer model is simply wrong.  Why you're struggling to update I can't say, but if you want to take the risk I'd happily have you send it to me and I'll update the maps for you.  PM me if you want to take me up on that as we're well off topic for this thread  :)