Garmin Colorado 400t Handheld GPS Unit with U.S. Topographic Preloaded Maps

Edited: Downgraded from 3 to 1 stars

Edited: Want to return item and can’t

Edited: Trying to save my money by getting this to work

I slightly hacked it and made a theme that was slightly more readable ( I tried solid white and black themes. I guess next I will hack more seriously? ). The show is still inferior.

In the Bay Area, the maps where I am are always off about 500′!! I checked with a 60CSX and it was off too. ( The Garmin StreetPilots are dead on. The unit is reading the right lat/lon, it turns out, it is just that the maps are worthless. I place the lat/lon in the google satellite map and it practically showed which room I was in. This is what you would expect based on the current achievable GPS accuracy. As I said, the problems are the maps. I have seen map problems in all Garmin products. In some areas, as much as 1/4 to nearly 1/2 mile. I suspect that there are systematic bugs in the algorithms but I haven’t studies this too much. ).

Since these units are buggy, you will have to eventually update the software. Read Garmin’s disclaimer – Ie updates are at your own risk and, if there are problems, YOU PAY. Look at their flat rate repair charges for this unit )

Since I couldn’t return it, I tried to make it halfway usable. Why should I have to do what Garmin isn’t.

BTW, google this model and you will see that other reviews are equally negative. I try to be honest, unlike the people who are paid to post glowing reviews or who are paid to place excellent reviews on seller’s websites, or the magazines who contain Garmin advertisements.

Note that this unit apparently has major power problems ( from other reviews, too ). If you read the manual or look on Garmin’s website you will see that you have to take steps to preserve power. Probably as the software is bloated.

To me, it seems that this unit takes much longer to buy satellites than does the normally speedy 60CSX. I have noticed this a lot of times. The 60CSX buys satellites easily indoors, the Colorado, much less so. I don’t know if it is the GPS chip or the smaller antennna ( You see a similar problem with the Garmin Edge 305, etc. They work well outside on a bicycle but NOT inside a car. This is probably because of the small antenna in the Edge or maybe they use a different chip. I was too bone idle to ride by bicycle to map a route so I place the edge in my truck. It didn’t work. )

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This unit is GROSSLY defective; as noted it reads off by ONE BLOCK. Show is nearly unreadable. I chose to return this lemon and I can’t as it was bought from one of amazon’s partners.

RIPPED OFF. RIPPED OFF. RIPPED OFF

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Are you going to spend $500+ for a unit that is nearly unusable? With all the “excellent” reviews, apparently yes.

This unit is just plain no excellent

1) The show is eminently unreadable, I mean UNREADABLE. Inside you have to turn on the backlight to a battery draining HIGH; outside you have to carefully orient it so you can SEE anything. Garmin obviously doesn’t use it’s own products because this one is UNUSABLE. Either I am hopelessly colorblind ( or just plain blind ? ) or the displays are an unsable low contrast. Garmin manages to chose schemes/displays that aren’t usable. DON’T BE DECEIVED BY THE PICTURES ON THIS SITE ( they don’t look that way in reality because the ones on this site are being showed on a backlit monitor )

2) I have done several full resets now; right now the accuracy is ca 20′ and YET it has me located a FULL BLOCK AWAY from where I am. You figure.

3) I loaded the pdf documentation on my computer and looked at it with adobe acrobat ( not the worthless Mac Preview ) trying to find needed information. Can’t find it there are on the garmin website.

4) When you look at the satellite show ( which you have to search for on the unit ), again, the color/contrast is trash. Garmin, every hear of green ( excellent ), yellow ( in acquisition process ) and red ( not yet acquiring as SNR is too low )? Obviously NOT. What a bunch of jokers. They apparently outsourced intelligence and excellent design, to boot.

COMMENT: it is up to you whether you want to waste time trying to get something to work that does NOT work. Remember, you just threw away $500+ for a PREMIUM unit? Garmin blew it, huge time. I mean HUGE TIME. Buy a Garmin GPS 60CSX and get something that is really usable ( for garmin, at least. at least the screen is readable )

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I own at least a dozen garmin units, although this is the first Colorado 400T that I own, so I am reasonably familiar with garmin gps units. ( StreetPilot, 60CSX, 76CSX, Edge and this Colorado )

This is a very handsome, solid feeling unit. It is built like a brick sh-thouse. To me it feels quite heavy although the manual says only 5.9oz w/o batteries.

Upon receipt, after initial testing, I thought that the unit was defective – the show was all but unreadable ( very low contrast; you have to turn on the backlight and turn it on higher to read it; this quickly discharges the battery ) and the showed elevation was off by 1000′ !!! Also, the backlight intensity has to be readjusted every time you turn the unit on – a pain. I didn’t see anything about saving the intensity setting. Also, the unit takes about 30 seconds from pushing the power button until anything is showed. This is right even with a warm start where you turn the unit off and then immediatel on. ( apparently there is a lot of overhead due to initializing the maps, etc. )

After trying to get it behaving properly ( and failing in that endeavor ), I wanted to reset the unit to factory default ( figuring that I had configured myself into a hole ). Naturally, as others have commented, the manual is useless. I mean USELESS. You have to read the whole thing.

Others have commented on the substandard, inferior show. Garmin goes out of its’ way, in this unit as well as others, to chose or allow color schemes that are low contrast and all but unreadable. ( it is hard to believe that they use their own units. possible, the engineer in charge of human factors WAS using one of these units and he never made it to work? that terrible ). HIGH CONTRAST, READABILITY. HIGH CONTRAST, READABILITY! Hear that you Kansas schmucks? It may be possible to install your own jpeg background but, from what other reviewers have said, this doesn’t work?

The elevation was off because the altimeter needed to be calibrated. Terrible human factors, to say the least. Really terrible; how many beginners are going to do this?

The manual is typical garmin – more omissions than inclusions. More of an outline than a manual.

Not a whole lot of blinking, which is excellent for people like me who have seizures when exposed to any blinking ( apparently only on the “satellite” page )

Conclusions:

1) This is a premiliminary review; 50-50 whether I return it? CHOSE TO RETURN IT AND CAN’T

2) Someone said that you have to back up the internal maps? If so, typical garmin cheap, cheap, cheap. They ought to supply a backup on a CD. CHEAP!

3) If you already have a 60xxx or a 76xxx ( I have both ), you may want to either wait to see if garmin cleans up it’s act ( not likely based on my years of experience ), or pass?

As I said, “not close, and certainly no cigar”
Rating: 3 / 5

I have a Garmin Vista. It goes 24 hours per battery set. This thing needs a set of batteries per day in the field. As you still need a paper map, I returned it.
Rating: 3 / 5