Garmin Colorado Auto Kit
Great windscreen mount, power cable does not fit Oregon :-(, puts unit into PC mode.

Although recommended by Amazon, only the windscreen mount is compatible with Oregon.

Mount and disk work for Oregon, power cable doesn't
Like others have said, the power cable doesn't fit properly on the Garmin Oregon. I had to buy a separate, aftermarket power adapter through an auction site. The aftermarket adapter plugs straight in and works perfectly, unlike the one in this kit. I have the mount attached to my dash using the adhesive disk, and I haven't had any problems, even after driving down some very bumpy roads.

Garmin navigation kit
Great product that should be a must buy for anyone buying a Colorado portable product from Garmin.

colorado mount
This product works great, however the sticky pad under it does not stick real great. Clean surface good, with a non-patrolium product, not armorall probably soap and water. I used industrial strength velcro instead, works great!

Traveling with power and ease
Great kit for easy GPS use on the road. We use it all the time.

Garmin Oregon Auto kit
Good mount kit for glass windshield.
Connecting the Oregon unit to the mount plate is a little tricky, but once connected, it is a secure attachment.
The glass suction cup is very strong, and the GPS mount plate clicks into the suction cup component via sturdy ball mount. Sometimes I leave the GPS unit attached to the mount plate, and disconnect it from the suction cup via the ball mount.
The cigarette lighter connector is a little oversized, but works fine.
The power supply plug connects to the bottom of the GPS unit and protrudes forward, but is not a problem since the GPS unit is close to the windshield.
The power cord is very long, and you may have to tuck it away, or tie wrap up the extra cord.
All in all, the GPS auto kit is a good unit, and provides a secure powered mount.

Garmin car kit as described
I purchased this car kit for a Garmin Oregon 300 handheld GPS. My GPS is designed more for "off road" use and does not have strong auto GPS features. This converts this to a serviceable auto GPS with the features that allow for good drive management. Very happy with the suction cup mount, slides in securely to the adapter, plugs in securly. It is an all around good addition to my handheld.

Best It Can Be

Shipped & Arrived on Time.

The Quality I have found to be very good with no problems at all.

The only qualm I have is due to the GPS design, it will cause the cord to be ejected forward rather than shot out behind. However, if you just tuck the cord back behind the gps it will be out of the way and not get caught on your steering wheel or hands.

I would definately reccomend this for anyone with a Oregon 400T as it is the best on the market for this version.

It works!
Bought this kit to use with my Oregon 200 during a road trip through Peru. It works! Mini USB connector comes out at the front of the Oregon, which is a little weird, but did not pose any problems. Suction cup works 100% better than the one on our TomTom. Pretty reasonably priced too for an OEM kit.

Oregon equipment
Don't like it very much. I use the device to hold the Oregon (an awesome gps receiver) on my dash, but the adaptor really didn't work well. I ended up buying a plug for my iGo car adaptor, made by Radio Shack. Garmin should be ashamed about this "kit". I would bet I could have found a better mounting device, too, if I had looked longer.

CRAP.

It has improved
The new charger for forerunner 201 has been redesigned to have an input range of 100-240 V. I damaged my original one in Egypt where the current was 240 V and the charger could not handle that.

Very Satisfied
Very timely service and just what I needed to keep my GPS running. Thank you !!!

Better than the original
I had the original charger's transformer burn out on me when trying to use it overseas with a faulty voltage adapter. Thankfully, the remaining charge on my Forerunner lasted through that trip and through 99% of a 60+ mile bike ride after I returned home but before the new adapter arrived.

When I received the new adapter, I figured I would just use the new transformer with the old adapter, but that didn't work. Next, I tried to use the new transformer and new adapter with the old serial cable, just so I didn't have to unplug the old cable from the computer. That also did not work and I ended up having to use all of the new components. No big deal, but kind of strange. If this had worked I would have given 5 stars.

The best part about the new charger -- other than the fact that it works, of course, is that unlike the original charger, it has a dual voltage transformer. Thus, I will not again have the original voltage problem.

It's a charger.
If you have the Garmin Forerunner 201, this is what you need to charge it. It's a charger, and nothing more. You also get the cord that connects the watch to your computer, but I have never had to use it.

Good Charger
Charger does the job - charging the Forerunner 201 GPS watch.

It would have been great to have a mutli AC voltage 110/220 transformer, or a USB connection.

Good Cable
Good little cable.
Don't worry about the people who complained about the price.
If you can use it, buy it.
And you will be glad you have it.

garmin serial port
Does what it's supposed to do. It'ds much slower than USB, but I have an older GPS unit.

Old Technology Well Done
The cable works as it should. Just be careful to note that this needs a Serial port connection at your computer. My laptop on which I made my map and waypoints doesn't have one, only USB connections. Luckily I have an older desktop with a serial port and transferred my work there to download it to the eTrex. I've heard of a serial-to-USB converter cable, that would allow you to connect to a USB port, but I've had no experience with one.

Garmin Etrex Serial Connection
Product slides into place quickly and works exactly as described. Cable is long enough to conveniently use the GPS real time with a mobile computer.

Perfect mate for Google Earth.
Perhaps is a expensive cable, specially if you don't earn dollars, but it is perfect to complete Google Earth software.
I tried it in my contry, Costa Rica, and I am very happy with the results.

finding our way around australia
This SD card just slipped smoothly into the Garmin car GPS and then it magically knew exactly where we were in Australia. It was fun to be able to change the voice to an Aussie accented girl and the units to kilometers. It is not quite as clever at finding the best way to places as it is in the USA and around Canberra, where I know my way, i ignore its recommmendations quite often but it always gets me where I need to go and in areas where I dont know my way is is wonderful.

Make sure you buy the actual maps not the map updates. if you buy the map updates you find you still need to buy the actual maps. on Amazon's website it is easy to accidentally buy the map updates for Australia which could lead to problems.

Essential tool if you are going to drive in Australia
I traveled for a month-- got this map product and took with my Nuvi 600. That was an excellent decision. Would have been hard to make all the trips involving rural and scenic routes between Adelaide, Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney.

Superb hardware shadowed by software nightmare
HARDWARE
Oregon series feels sturdy yet light.
It is a beautiful device from a hardware standpoint.

SOFTWARE
We expect a modern GPS to do more than provide GPS or UTM coordinates. In 2010, there is a high expectation of convenient map management. Unfortunately, despite years of user criticism on numerous websites, the company still fails to improve its portfolio of applications to install (MapInstall and MapManager), navigate topographic maps (BaseCamp), route planning (RoadTrip) and training software (AntAgent). Will someone please stop this madness and integrate these features into a comprehensive Garmin application?

A typical outdoor enthusiast will purchase several topographic and road maps from different DVDs or MicroSD card.

NUMEROUS HURDLES:
-frustrating map unlocking system which fails to recognize purchased maps once some software component is upgraded.
-requires arcane Unit ID, Serial Number and Product Key/Coupon Code.
-USB map transfer is excrutiatingly slow, therefore, most efficient method is MicroSD card management...
-However, this faster alternative method requires micromanagement of filenames with arcane syntax conventions (gmapbmp.img, gmpapprom.img, gmapsupp.img) described on semi-obscure wikipedia websites.

BOTTOMLINE
-Garmin designed a beautiful GPS device that fail to live to its potential because of poor map management software.
-If all you need are coordinates to pinpoint your location on a paper map, this device is good yet way overpriced for its intended purpose.
-If you travel a lot and plan to install numerous topographic and road maps, expect to waste several hours managing maps, googling and contacting customer support.

Quality piece of equipment
I have owned this device, my first gps unit, for 3 months. It is a rock-solid device and has a very nice feel to it, a sort of tacky-rubberized band around the outside edge , which keeps the unit from slipping around in your hand. It has a crazy number of features and abilities, most of which I will never use. I bought it for off-trail hiking and it works very well for this purpose. I have read many of the reviews from other people and am a little surprised at all the moaning and groaning about having to change screens too often etc. People, this machine can point you to your car if you're in bumfreak Egypt from anywhere on the freaking planet! Get over the incredibly laborious step of pushing the touch screen a few times. On the annoying side I don't like the little paper "manual" that comes with the device. The actual manual is a cd. Good luck reading that in the field. I have called the Garmin help people and they answered numerous questions I had-they were very friendly to deal with. Also, I have noticed that the compass readings don't seem accurate unless you go through the compass calibration steps each day you decide to use the device. Again it only takes a minute or 2 to do so but, for the price of this unit you would think that the compass would ALWAYS be spot-on.

Oregon 300 vs Vista HCx
I have done an extensive evaluation of the Oregon 300. Here are my comments.

The Good:
-Touch screen makes entering and managing waypoints much easier.
-The car navigation screen is much larger and easier to read.
-The topo maps have the ability to be shaded in 3D for better situational awareness.
-The geocaching feature is superb. You have all the notes, logs, and hints right on the GPS while searching for caches. You can even record notes in the field (easy on touch keyboard) and then auto upload [...].
-heart rate monitor and cadence options are available.
-Profiles -finally. You can customize the multitude of displays and options and then effortlessly switch between them depending on your operating environment.
-Screen Capture - cool feature, but not sure I would use it much.
-Image Viewer. Resolution is okay, not great. This could be a useful thing to have though because you could scan a route description or detailed map, and then load it into the GPS for reference.
-Time Zones update automatically, or can be set manually.
-Backgrounds (desktops) can be changed to whatever you want.
-Wireless sharing of waypoints and tracks.
-WhereIGo Player for interactive game cartridges.
-Touch screen user interface is very easy to use and quite intuitive although some frequently used features are buried deep on some pages.

The Bad:
-First and foremost is the poor screen quality in medium light. The screen has almost no reflectivity and therefore under all but the brightest conditions, it is difficult to see without using the backlight at about 75% brightness.
-Because of the screen readability problem described above, and the need to use the backlight in most situations means the battery draw is significant and you can expect to only get about 8-10 hours battery life with normal use. Garmin says 16 but that is likely with backlight at 50% and timing out after 15 sec and using "battery save" which completely powers off the screen until you touch it. The HCx will usually go 25-30 hours by comparison because it almost never needs a backlight.
-There is no welcome screen. You lose it, you better have your name etched onto the back.
-The GPS cannot be used at all when connected to the computer. Also it powers off everytime you disconnect. (The HCx offers the option of staying on.)
-Basemap is not as distinct as on HCx. Water is shown in white and is difficult to discern from the cream colored land. However when in Automobile mode, water shows up blue?? (HCx shows all water in BLUE! Duh)
-No capability to measure distances or project waypoints using the map. (I use this feature frequently on the HCx to determine distance between 2 points, or to set a course.)
-Trip Reset is all or nothing. HCx allowed you to choose what you wanted to reset. On the Oregon everything gets reset (Except the odometer. There is no reset for that unless you restore to factory default.
-Track is only shown in Black. The HCx allowed you to change the color of the track.
-The alarm tone is very quiet and is virtually useless for me. No way to change it. (Also they eliminated the choices for what tone you wanted to hear for upcoming turns. Tones are either on or off.)
-Can't change the speed at which the compass turns off. The default speed is too fast. That means when you are walking at 2-3mph, the map jumps all around because the compass isn't stabilized. (The HCx allows you to change what speed at which the GPS references the satellites for directional info vs. Compass. I have mine set for 0.5 mph. That way it works when I am stopped and the compass is stable.)
-When viewing the Elevation profile, there are only 2 data fields. I usually set them to elev gained and lost. But then ironically, I can't see what altitude I am currently at. (The HCx has 2 fields at the top and always shows either altitude or baro pressure at the bottom.)
-Another major downgrade on the elevation profile feature is that when reviewing a profile there is no way to jump to that point on the map page. (On the HCx as you review a profile, it shows altitude, distance along the track. If you press enter, it takes you to the map page at precisely the point that you were looking at. E.g. When I am looking at the track from Mt. Baker hike, I can see precisely where I stopped to rest. When reviewing the profile, I could go to that spot on the profile hit enter and mark a waypoint at the exact spot we stopped. (Could save your life in a white out.) The Oregon has no such capability. That really sucks.)
-Heart rate displays only your heart rate. No max, no zone timers etc. Furthermore this GPS is NOT compatible with Garmin connect. WTF? Stupid.
-The unit retains the features for Area Calculation and best times for hunting and fishing. Why? I don't know. I have never used either one of those features.

Some general usability issues:
-The device has a rouded back and a metal clip for a carabiner. Problem is if you set it down on this rounded metal back, it will quickly slide off of whatever surface it is on. You could never set this thing down on a rock in the mountains. Your only other option is to set it on its face, but then you risk damaging the touch screen. That raised another issue. If a rock or stick or other sharp pokey thing was to impact or nick the screen, would you end up with a brick when you need it the most? (My HCx was in the lid of my pack when it went tumbling 35 feet down a rocky hillside end over end. I thought the GPS would be toast, but it barely was scratched. How would the Oregon fare in similar circumstances?)
-While the cursor on the HCx isn't as user friendly as a touch screen, it is MUCH more precise. Much easier than the Oregon to select and highlight waypoints on the map.
-Finally, while the user interface is easy to use, the organization of features is poor. All of the set up menus are located in one place which means you have to scroll through 4 pages to reach some of them. E.g the Altimeter set up is the 11th choice on the menu and on page 3.
So if I am viewing the Altitude plot on the Elevation Profile page, and I choose to view Barometric Pressure instead, I have to touch the screen a total of 10 times! (On the HCx, it takes exactly two key presses to do the same thing.) Garmin should have designed the software with CONTEXT sensitive menus that would give you all the options with one key press on the page you are viewing. Furthermore, to change pages you have to return EVERYTIME to the main menu where there are 5 pages of options. For the most part, this means 2 key presses to get you where you want to go. 1 to escape to the main menu, then one to select the next page. However if you select e.g. The Calendar on menu page 5 and then want to go to the map which is on page 1 of the menu, you have to press:
1. Escape
2. Left arrow 4 times
3. Map
That is 6 key presses.

On the HCx, pressing the page key twice will do the same thing.

Sensitivity and Speed
No contest. The HCx has the Oregon receiver beat hands down. Powering both units up simultaneously after they have been moved long distances and have to re-acquire satellites, the HCx beat the Oregon by more than a minute. I have tested both under the canopy of trees, and found the HCx is able to track your course more accurately with that highly sensitive antenna.

Overall, not a bad unit, but it could be so much better. If you mostly use it for driving and Geocaching, this is one of the best GPSs I have used. If you want to use it for more adventurous outdoor adventures, I would stick by the trusty HCx for a little longer and hope Garmin creates a unit with a brighter more energy efficient screen (OLED) and puts back in some of the features left out.

Great hiking GPS
A good little hiking GPS with a nice feature set.
PROS
- relatively accurate barometric altimeter
- small footprint
- adequate touchscreen (better than Colorado rocker wheel)
- quick GPS signal seek
- multipurpose: Hiking, biking, motorcycle, and skiing

CONS
- screen brightness is very dim even at full brightness
- lack of any decent maps included. Why on earth can you get full driving maps with a bargain basement car GPS and not this hiking GPS?
- battery life, you have to buy a good set of rechargeables
- screen gets scratched (requires a screen protector)

Once you have a good set of street and topo maps this thing is a gem. It ends all arguments about how many miles and what your total elevation was. It doesn't really substitute for a real car GPS but can be used in a pinch in the car to direct you to your destination. Overall I've been very pleased with the purchase and if you're looking for a hiking GPS they're aren't a whole lot of options that are far and away better than this.

Better than my last GPS, still room for improvement
I've had the Oregon 300 for a few months and am very happy with it. I mainly use my GPS to record track logs on hikes and then use the data to geotag my photos. Signal quality is fine and battery life is about 16 hours. The backlight is weak, and you will have trouble seeing the screen if the sun is overhead. This is annoying but doesn't affect the usefulness of the device too much. If you're upgrading from a GPS more than a few years old you'll probably be quite happy with this GPS.

Amazing at first, but needs updating, and not worth the price
I got this when I moved to LA, where the traffic is flat out horrible. I first tried it with a free subscription, and it got me back to my house within 10 minutes when It would normally take me through this massive highway corridor downtown (the I110-I10-101-I5 merger) and saved me 20-30 minutes of waiting in traffic. I thought it was amazing, however since then, it often takes me on side routes where the traffic is far worse than what is happening on the highway, and that's because it doesn't understand or know if, when, or where traffic is taking place outside of the highway. The GPS always has a number of how many minutes you can expect to be delayed, but it's almost never accurate unless the number goes above 30-40 minutes and at that point you don't need to know specifics to wanna try and avoid that kind of traffic. If they could just either refine the estimated delay time (as it's NEVER accurate even closely) or add side street traffic, at least on major city streets like Sunset, Santa Monica, Hollywood, I would gladly pay through the nose for this thing, I can definitely say that until these updates are implemented, my subscription will not be renewed. While it is very nice to be able to see traffic ahead of you and know how traffic is all over the place, with a smart phone or iPhone, all you need to do is look at maps and get the same exact information for free, especially with the new iPhone 3GS being so reliable as a GPS unit and map updater.

A Technology waiting for Clear Channel TMC (in DC) and Garmin to Catch Up
I've had the GTM-12 attached to my Garmin Nuvi 360 for about three weeks in the greater Washington, DC area. I can only express my significant dissapointment in the execution of this product in conjunction with my Garmin. I would give this product one star, except it technically works to show traffic problems on an occasional basis. For most intents and purposes, it is completely worthless. Let me explain.

The primary reason to buy this device is to have the Garmin alert you to traffic problems and reroute you if severe, or at least suggest a reroute. First problem: Coverage. Clear Channel TMC apparently does not cover critical major highways in the DC area, such as 295 through DC. This isn't a minor oversight, it's irresponsible. Second problem: My Garmin doesn't perform any kind of traffic alerts even when facing severe congestion. For example, I travel westbound Rt 66 in the morning, a notorious A.M. bottleneck from DC to the split with the 267 tollroad (this road has traffic coverage). In my routing, I have a choice to avoid 66 if the traffic is bad enough. Even when the traffic map shows congestion and where I have an uncongested alternative (which is also has traffic coverage), the Garmin does not suggest the alternative. Third problem: the Traffic map itself doesn't adjust for your new position automatically. One has to keep selecting "Map" then "back" in order to refresh the traffic map. Annoying and dangerous.

To summarize, the combination of the GTM-12 and my traffic-enabled Garmin Nuvi 360 sufferes from 1) poor Garmin programming that does not properly suggest reroutes or gives you proper traffic alerts and 2) poor traffic coverage from Clear Channel.

Disappointing. HOWEVER, with some new programming from Garmin and better traffic coverage from Clear Channel TMC, this would be a tremendous winner. That makes the current situation even more disappointing.

Note, too, that you must have the unit plugged into power to receive traffic. Don't forget your charger.

BTW, I do not know if the newer Garmin Nuvi "T" units (with integrated traffic receivers) suffer from these problems.

traffic in the TV
Great - this garmin GTM 12 FM traffic receiver work around the world (only with my Garmin navigations-system). I use this receiver in Germany, France, Spain and Austria. In all contrys without any problems. The first 5 month in Florida - and whow - you see the streets in diffrent colour - with big traffic or free way.

GTM-12 for my Kenwood 5120, not perfect, but works.
I purchased this traffic reciever for my Kenwood 5120. It works, sometimes a little late, but it works. If I get into my truck and head out it takes a few minutes for traffic to catch up. Occaisonally, it will tell you as you are already in the backup. On other occaisons, it will warn you of the traffic that is 24991 miles ahead. I am assuming the planet is 25000 miles around. I am disappointd by the fact that this is a subscription service here in the states, it makes sense to have people aware of traffic and to try to aviod it. Saving wasted gas and extra pollution.

Nice Addition
Nice addition to my Nuvi 350! I was already mostly dependent on my Nuvi - it gets me anywhere! Now, I've got traffic updates... I especially like that I can see all traffic tieups (either text or graphics) - even those not along my route.

The reroute feature is not the best - but that's the Nuvi... the traffic receiver is small, easy to mount, and worked out of the box!

Great map
I use this in the Garmin 60CSx. Great map detail. Nice feature of naming spots on the map (ex: suchnsuch mountain).

Absolute GeoCache Heaven !
For the first time Garmin is beginning to roll out 24K Topo maps on very convenient microSD cards. ( includes SD card adapter ) No computer needed, just put it in your unit and go. No fuss, no muss !

All I can say is it is about time !

They are starting with the western states and going east. If your state is not covered yet, please be patient. They are all coming.

This is the highest level of mapping detail available for your Garmin unit. They work best on the new Colorado and Oregon series units as you will see see 3-D views and color terrain shading on these units only. Very Nice !!

These are a must have for hikers, geocachers and any outdoor enthusiasts.

Highly recommended !!

sd topo of nw u.s.
I don't like to "force" things and they don't have any installation instructions.

I had a real problem sticking it in and had to call and wait the half hour until I got someone and then they still couldn't tell me which way was up to stick it in. But I finally figured out that the contacts were up and the writing was down (counter intuitive) because it appeared that the contact points were up on the gps unit on very close inspection (not easy) while I was on the phone with them.

I still had a problem because the card kept springing out and after they told me that the card has to be stuck in all the way until it clicked, I decided to use my finger nail because my bare finger wouldn't press it in that far and then I got it to click in.

You still got to find out that the basic topo has to be turned off to see the topo map. I am not going to go through all the steps but a "big" clue is that you have to go to "info" ("not" just information "lol") after "map" to to turn it off.

The topo is hard to work with and bubbles keep getting in the way and are hard to get rid of without losing your location.

Otherwise it will help you navigate.

Get to the Hunt on time
This product plugged in to my GXC 60 with ease. Following installation, the chip got me to my hunt area and back showing enough contour to let me know the difficulty of the hunt. Great product.

Room for improvement
It beats the heck out of the base map that came with my Oregon 200 but leaves a lot to be desired. Quite a lot of roads & trails in my local forest, (Deschutes) are not shown and some that are shown do not exist. In spite of all the copyrights and warnings it appears to have been taken straight off a Forest Service topo map I obtained from them a couple of years ago. I looked at points of interest and found it had not been updated in several years. Many listed are gone years ago. The city part streets are also about 3 years old. Better then the base map's 10 year old update. I only wish that Garmin would let me correct the errors I know of on my computer then re-load the map on the GPS!

All that being said, The Oregon 200 with the topo map is one heck of a tool for trecking, ATV'ing or driving the forest! Do bring a good compass though! and if you got room in your pocket a paper topo map.

Just Wonderful !
For the first time Garmin is beginning to roll out 24K Topo maps on very convenient microSD cards. ( includes SD card adapter ) No computer needed, just put it in your unit and go. No fuss, no muss !

All I can say is it is about time !

They are starting with the western states and going east. If your state is not covered yet, please be patient. They are all coming.

This is the highest level of mapping detail available for your Garmin unit. They work best on the new Colorado and Oregon series units as you will see see 3-D views and color terrain shading on these units only. Very Nice !!

These are a must have for hikers, geocachers and any outdoor enthusiasts.

Highly recommended !!

Wonderful Product !
For the first time Garmin is beginning to roll out 24K Topo maps on very convenient microSD cards. ( includes SD card adapter ) No computer needed, just put it in your unit and go. No fuss, no muss !

All I can say is it is about time !

They are starting with the western states and going east. If your state is not covered yet, please be patient. They are all coming.

This is the highest level of mapping detail available for your Garmin unit. They work best on the new Colorado and Oregon series units as you will see see 3-D views and color terrain shading on these units only. Very Nice !!

These are a must have for hikers, geocachers and any outdoor enthusiasts.

Highly recommended !!

The Heart Strap That Could
On a beautiful sunny morning, in a time long, long, ago. There lived an angry giant that enjoyed running. As the surly giant prepared for his run, he noticed that the heart rate monitor strap of his Garmin 305 was not as elastic as it once was. As he ran, the giant couldn't believe that his HRM strap was falling down his chest and this angered him greatly. Feeling eXtremely unhappy, the giant searched the land of the Internet to find a replacement. And he did find one, and it was from the kingdom of Amazon. It was also cheaper in price than the one offered by the evil Garmin. When the giant placed the new HRM strap into his HRM he saw that the strap was perfect, and this was good. Suddenly all of the giants runs were less complicated and this made the giant a Happy Giant. THE END