What's new

Garmin Edge 800.... upgrade?

Only issue I have noticed with OSM was with following a "saved ride" i.e. the track was uploaded using Basecamp (Mac in my case).
I now use "course" (file is copied to SD card manually).

I've struggled with doing anything with uploading routes. Sending via Garmin connect doesn't always work. I've never used basecamp to send anything.... on a mac myself. Uploading manually and restarting seems to work.
(all this on my 800...with UUD)....

(in fact, i have been unable for a while to turn an old activity into a course....)
 
I like the contour lines
I concur. Not having contour lines seems as silly as the button on the new Strava route builder that allows you to avoid hills....


.....Actually come to think of it, I can think of one use for it,:oops: and its when I need to go cycling with the lass - less ear-ache if the route is flat:D
 
@dude, I can't save history as courses on my 800 as well. Again, Garmin sucks when it comes to actually finishing their software according to the features they include in the releases.
 
So, my Edge 800 seems to be starting to flake out. Don't think it's totally done, but getting there.

Altimeter seems to not be doing so well.... Perhaps was the heavy rain in Indonesia? Was sorta-ok on Arakawa, I guess. But that's more or less flat. Plug for USB is a bit irritating.

Thinking to just get another one. I guess.

Anyone get the 810? How about the 510? I don't really use the navigation too much, although I have used it. hmm.

thoughts/experience on 'upgrading' from the 800?
Where did your get your 800?
I had a 500 that I bought in Asia and it was piece of crap...

Bought my 800 from Canada and I use UUD maps on it with no big issues, had a few routing problems at first but it was more of a learning thing I think.

To upload courses I use RWGPS or Garmin connect, RWGPS is better though, here is how:
- create course in RWGPS
- export as .TCX
- drag-and-drop .TCX from desktop folder to the 800's "new files" folder
- unmount and I'm done (on a Mac as well)

When I've had problems I just made sure the software was up to date, made sure all the batteries on the HR strap and cadence unit were good, erased all the old files on the unit (can be done directly from the unit), and if that still didn't work then I'd reset and erase everything (only had to do that one time).
 
I had a 500 that I bought in Asia and it was piece of crap...

Pretty sure any 500 you buy anywhere worldwide is made in Taiwan, it shouldn't matter where you buy them.

There are no maps for the 500, so it's not tied to countries or regions like the 800 is.

In 8,500 km I've not really had any problems with mine, except initial satellite lock is slow (2 minutes is too much). I've used mine in the rain, but take it off the handlebar or wrap it in a bag if the rain is really pouring down.
 
Last edited:
I'm mostly satisfied with my Edge500 using the course function when riding unfamiliar places.
The unit has been working fine for 3yrs now, under many abuses such as pouring rain, sand storm, summer heat and winter chills. Haven't dropped it in a toilet yet.

My only complaint for Edge500 is that the course line often disappears from the display. You can be riding off the course unknowingly until you get the alert message, but with no idea which side you're off. Also, lack of compass function can mess with your sense of directions when you ride after dark in unfamiliar places.
The lack of map/compass is mostly not an issue, but sometimes I want to know my position and direction. Since I don't have a "smaho" (even if I had one I wouldn't always be in the service range though), this is the occasional reason I wish I had a GPS map.

Recently I got a Bryton Rider50. It has maps and compass, with no ability to create routes on its own. Originally installed maps are useless - at least for me, but I replaced them with the data extracted from G**gle maps. Also tried Yah**! Japan maps. Both maps work brilliantly and transformed this cheap (<2man) unit into a nice compact GPS map.
 
The lack of map/compass is mostly not an issue, but sometimes I want to know my position and direction. Since I don't have a "smaho" (even if I had one I wouldn't always be in the service range though), this is the occasional reason I wish I had a GPS map.

To figure out the position, the phone doesn't have to be within service range (in fact, the GPS works in airplane mode, provided you're within line of sight of satellites). The compass too doesn't depend on data access. Data access is needed only to update maps, such as when zooming in or if you've moved far enough horizontally. However, at least on the Android I can pretty much always get a map position when I zoom out as the low resolution map is still cached, even if I'm lacking data access to get a high resolution view.
 
Off topic, but has anyone here tried using RMaps on Android? Am thinking of getting a cheaper smartphone (Nexus 4) and using it to check a map when I get a bit lost, but don't want to sign a 3,000+ yen contract. I'll start a separate thread if this gets interesting.
 
Last edited:
Back
Top Bottom