Garmin GPS - Units sold vs. Quality

Author

Units sold vs. Quality

Rolf Wilms

2006-04-04, 11:48 pm

Looking at
http://www.garmin.com/aboutGarmin/i...r /> elease.pdf
Garmins business is doing quite well. I wonder if the manufacturing quality
of Garmin units is negatively affected by this, or if the observations I
made in a store are just a coincidence.

I've bought a new gpsmap 60csx, but excess glue in the battery compartment
did not allow NIMH rechargables to be fitted. The battery cover could be
closed with force, but would leak then. The unit also had the rocker keypad
"up" action problem and a noticable gap between the battery cover and the
rest of the unit.

After taking the unit back to the store, the dealer and I examined other
gpsmap 60* units in stock for similar problems. The result:

- all of these units had a rocker keypad "up" action problem because the
rocker key was not properly centered in its hole
- all of these units had a noticable gap between the battery cover and the
rest of the unit
- none of the units had the excess glue in the battery compartment

In contrast, my "old" 60C has none of these manufacturing defects.

Now I'm waiting for a replacement unit expected in two weeks. The dealer
couldn't offer me one of the units from his next batch because mine was
already tied to an unlock code.

Its not my intention to bash Garmin.Garmin quality plus Sirf III technology
is an incredible value. I just hope that Garmin quality remains the same.

Ciao,
Rolf

Phil Wheeler

2006-04-04, 11:48 pm

Rolf Wilms wrote:
> Looking at
> http://www.garmin.com/aboutGarmin/i...r /> elease.pdf
> Garmins business is doing quite well. I wonder if the manufacturing quality
> of Garmin units is negatively affected by this, or if the observations I
> made in a store are just a coincidence.
>
> I've bought a new gpsmap 60csx, but excess glue in the battery compartment
> did not allow NIMH rechargables to be fitted. The battery cover could be
> closed with force, but would leak then. The unit also had the rocker keypad
> "up" action problem and a noticable gap between the battery cover and the
> rest of the unit.
>
> After taking the unit back to the store, the dealer and I examined other
> gpsmap 60* units in stock for similar problems. The result:
>
> - all of these units had a rocker keypad "up" action problem because the
> rocker key was not properly centered in its hole
> - all of these units had a noticable gap between the battery cover and the
> rest of the unit
> - none of the units had the excess glue in the battery compartment
>
> In contrast, my "old" 60C has none of these manufacturing defects.
>

Neither does my new 60Cx.

But this sounds like a "batch" issue or issues.

There are some broader issues though. Major one for me is that the 60Cx
(and I assume all the SiRF models) do not like new Li AA cells. The
three I have tried with Li cells lock up and shut down.

Garmin's recommendation is to use the Li cells in something else first
to reduce their voltage: Grrr! Sorta defeats the purpose of using them
in the first place.

But I now leave the unit on more than I did the old one, so using NiMH
cells is no big deal (and I have lots, having transitioned from digicams
that used them to DSLRs with Li-Ion battery packs).

Really no big deal .. but the manual does recommend Li cells for cold
weather.

Phil

McTrack

2006-04-05, 2:48 am

I have a new eTrex Legend Cx and an older eTrex (nothing). Both have a
gap around the battery cover, but the weather seal sits flush, so I
don't see the issue there (caveat - neither unit has been wet).

The rocker problem sounds like a design issue - judging by the photos
of the 60csx, they didn't leave enough movement room in the mold design
to account for inevitable manufacturing mold wear. In any molded
plastic product, wear has to be accounted for at design time to prevent
problems like these.

But then rapidly growing companies usually run into QC problems
eventually. The smart ones fix them quickly, and it seems to me that
Garmin would be smart enough to.

Ray

2006-04-05, 11:48 pm

Rolf Wilms wrote:
> I just hope that Garmin quality remains the same.

I don't think you need to worry. I have a gpsmap 60csx which has none of
the problems you describe. It even jumped out of its cradle while I was
biking the other day. It's a bit scratched, but not broken. Compare that
to my Motorola cell phone which falls apart if I drop it from my office
desk.

- ray

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