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Posted: Tue Aug 19, 2008 10:03 pm Post subject: StreetPilot C550 gripes and observations
Howdy folks
I'm new here, so i hope I've posted this in the right place
Just got a new C550. Am the owner of a C330 as well, had that one for a couple of years
I've noticed some differences and at least one problem with the C550 and thought I would pick the brains here for any info
The C550 doesn't seem to keep time unless it sees GPS satellites. Is this normal? My C330 keeps time always, even when indoors and out of reach of the GPS signals.
The Bluetooth on the C550 seems a little flakey. I use it with a BlackBerry Curve, model 8330, which links up with a variety of headsets without trouble everytime. However, the C550 often takes up to 20 attempts to link up with the curve. Is this normal? Sometimes it links up first time, but more often than not, it takes many many attempts to link up. the bluetooth icon pops up on the menu screen and then immediately shows the "phone disconnected" window.
And lastly, just a comment really, but the integrated power cord/mounting bracket on the C330 seems a lot better solution than the separate power cord on the C550. With the C330 I can pop the unit out of the mount and hand it to my passenger for route, POI selection etc wheres as with the C550 i have to unplug the damn cord.
Anyway, any info or comments would be appreciated. thanks again
Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2008 9:44 am Post subject: Re: StreetPilot C550 gripes and observations
SloppyMagic wrote:
The C550 doesn't seem to keep time unless it sees GPS satellites. Is this normal?
Which version of firmware are you on? This was broken, and then fixed again, in fairly recent versions of the firmware.
SloppyMagic wrote:
The Bluetooth on the C550 seems a little flakey. I use it with a BlackBerry Curve, model 8330, which links up with a variety of headsets without trouble everytime. However, the C550 often takes up to 20 attempts to link up with the curve. Is this normal? Sometimes it links up first time, but more often than not, it takes many many attempts to link up. the bluetooth icon pops up on the menu screen and then immediately shows the "phone disconnected" window.
Mine has been rock-solid, but again, you may benefit from a firmware upgrade to the bluetooth chipset. Consider running a backup of your C550, and then run webupdater and see what it finds for your unit.
Some people prefer to update the main unit firmware manually (ie not using webupdater), in which case you can download this, either from Garmin's site, or from the frequently posted Garmin firmware archive ;-) site.
Webupdater should allow you to then make sure all the other components have up-to-date firmware (ie bluetooth chipset, GPS chipset, GTM firmware etc..).
SloppyMagic wrote:
And lastly, just a comment really, but the integrated power cord/mounting bracket on the C330 seems a lot better solution than the separate power cord on the C550. With the C330 I can pop the unit out of the mount and hand it to my passenger for route, POI selection etc wheres as with the C550 i have to unplug the damn cord.
Well I'm guessing with the C550 you should have a GTM integrated within the in-car power adaptor? So that's really the limiting factor, there.
Last edited by Lester_Burnham on Thu Aug 21, 2008 9:09 am; edited 1 time in total
Well i found Garmins WebUpdater and, lo and behold, I was running version 6.00 on the C550 (thats what it came with) and there was a 6.5, so i updated. there was also a Bluetooth firmware upgrade, so i jumped on that one two and now all seems well, time keeps working out of GPS signal range and the bluetooth seems fixed as well, connects first time everytime.
i am also impressed with the receiver sensitivity on the 550, much better than the 330 it seems. i can get 3 or 4 bars for signal strength on the 550 when I'm down in the basement of my house in the rec room!, where the 330 has nothing.
i am also impressed with the receiver sensitivity on the 550, much better than the 330 it seems. i can get 3 or 4 bars for signal strength on the 550 when I'm down in the basement of my house in the rec room!, where the 330 has nothing.
C5xx series has the SirfSTAR III chipset, 3xx and I2/3/5 have the older GPS chipsets. As you've noticed, the SirfSTAR III chipset is significantly better in terms of sensitivity and retention of sat signal.
That's one of the main reasons I decided to upgrade from an i3, a while back - I found that in certain locations, that overhanging trees high buildings could cause signal loss on my i3, which could be inconvenient.
do you know if anyone sells a clip on visor of some sort for the Streetpilot series?
I like the non reflective screen on the 550 and its sort of an improvement over the 330, but a visor over the unit when in direct sunlight would be nice, but I've not been able to find such a device anywhere, so I'm thinking of making my own.
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