ISLANDRIBBER
10 May 2008, 06:39
Dear All,
Just retired the Garmin 128 for a nice and shiney 555
and as usual I have found the kit to be excellent apart
from a couple of annoying niggles:
The multipin connector on the back of the instrument is far too long and fouls the bracket the instrument in mounted on! If you try and mount it on a sloping console the screen either has to go horizontal or vertical and if you want to change it you have to take it off,
0/10 for that. All it needs is a shorter or a right angle connector but these are not available. Sounds like Garmin trying to encourage us to buy more flush mounting kits.
Also, why-o-why do Garmin put the in-line fuse holder for the power cable with the
large fuseholder bit on the instrument side? This is twice the diameter of the cable and makes it a sod to get through a gland/grommit on a console, If it was installed the other way round i.e. the thin end on the instrument side, no problem. It was the same with the 128 and needs a quick resolder, but still a pain in the a.
Does anyone at Garmin actually use their own gear?
Sent a note to Garmin tech support but no response so far, but what some of the manufacturers could use is a feedback forum where you can write in comments on their kit
and point out this sort of thing.
On the plus side took the boat out for a 100mile run round some of the islands in the Clyde
in the sunshine last weekend and it was excellent (when I could see it!)
Al
aka Grumpy old man.
Just retired the Garmin 128 for a nice and shiney 555
and as usual I have found the kit to be excellent apart
from a couple of annoying niggles:
The multipin connector on the back of the instrument is far too long and fouls the bracket the instrument in mounted on! If you try and mount it on a sloping console the screen either has to go horizontal or vertical and if you want to change it you have to take it off,
0/10 for that. All it needs is a shorter or a right angle connector but these are not available. Sounds like Garmin trying to encourage us to buy more flush mounting kits.
Also, why-o-why do Garmin put the in-line fuse holder for the power cable with the
large fuseholder bit on the instrument side? This is twice the diameter of the cable and makes it a sod to get through a gland/grommit on a console, If it was installed the other way round i.e. the thin end on the instrument side, no problem. It was the same with the 128 and needs a quick resolder, but still a pain in the a.
Does anyone at Garmin actually use their own gear?
Sent a note to Garmin tech support but no response so far, but what some of the manufacturers could use is a feedback forum where you can write in comments on their kit
and point out this sort of thing.
On the plus side took the boat out for a 100mile run round some of the islands in the Clyde
in the sunshine last weekend and it was excellent (when I could see it!)
Al
aka Grumpy old man.