Garmin G3 Question

[Region3]

I've tried searching but come up empty, and I know a few on here have them so.....

Can the USB port be used for:

Powering the unit?
Charging rechargeable batteries?

Or is it just for updating course information?

Thank you.

 

[markgs]

updating course only

 

[Scouser]

G3 uses normal batteries... G6 can be powered from usb

Is it to go with the usb charger in a trolley?

 

[SGC001]

I've tried searching but come up empty, and I know a few on here have them so.....

Can the USB port be used for:

Powering the unit?
Charging rechargeable batteries?

Or is it just for updating course information?

Thank you.

Mine came a couple of days ago, and although I've not had it on the course yet I've messed around with it in preview mode.

On the hole overview you get shown some yardages, but because the screen is small it's hard to tell what the yardage relates to, ie. is it to reach a bunker, carry it etc?
You can zoom in but when you do the yardages disappear except for the target circle you've put on the screen yourself.

It would be better imo if the green view was zoomed out a tiny bit so you could still see the yardages to bunkers around the green etc.

One REALLY annoying thing about it, unless it will stop doing it when I get on the course...

Every time I go to the green view I get a 'hint' that won't go away until I touch the screen. Does it still do this on course, or can anyone tell me how to stop it doing it?
If there's no way to stop it I can see myself teeing the unit up before the front 9 is finished.

Also, I had a quick play with the scorecard feature even though I'll never use it on the course, and now the icon is on the screen all the time, and I get a HINT that I can look at the previous card every time I switch it on.
Does anyone know how I can stop the hint, and/or get rid of the icon?




Have you been having issues with yours?
I always get yardages with mine when I zoom in and can move it then too.
Top right gives you a big green view with front back etc: on it.

Is yours the garmin approach G3 or is it different?

As far as I am aware you'd need a battery charger for recharging batteries, most supermarkets or amazon would sell these.

 

[Paperboy]

I think if your trolley has an USB adapter, you can keep the battery's charged up as you go along. But good rechargeable battery's last a good two rounds.

 

[chrisd]

The hint does go away when you step on to your course.

 

[Region3]

Mine came a couple of days ago, and although I've not had it on the course yet I've messed around with it in preview mode.

On the hole overview you get shown some yardages, but because the screen is small it's hard to tell what the yardage relates to, ie. is it to reach a bunker, carry it etc?
You can zoom in but when you do the yardages disappear except for the target circle you've put on the screen yourself.

It would be better imo if the green view was zoomed out a tiny bit so you could still see the yardages to bunkers around the green etc.

One REALLY annoying thing about it, unless it will stop doing it when I get on the course...

Every time I go to the green view I get a 'hint' that won't go away until I touch the screen. Does it still do this on course, or can anyone tell me how to stop it doing it?
If there's no way to stop it I can see myself teeing the unit up before the front 9 is finished.

Also, I had a quick play with the scorecard feature even though I'll never use it on the course, and now the icon is on the screen all the time, and I get a HINT that I can look at the previous card every time I switch it on.
Does anyone know how I can stop the hint, and/or get rid of the icon?




Have you been having issues with yours?
I always get yardages with mine when I zoom in and can move it then too.
Top right gives you a big green view with front back etc: on it.

Is yours the garmin approach G3 or is it different?

As far as I am aware you'd need a battery charger for recharging batteries, most supermarkets or amazon would sell these.

is the top part from a previous post of mine? It looks exactly like the thoughts I had when I first turned it on.

It is the G3 approach, and Scouser correctly guessed that I'm hoping to have it plugged in to a USB charging port on a trolley.

I really should have just tried it lol!

Or maybe I'll just have done with it and get a G6.

 

[Region3]

I think if your trolley has an USB adapter, you can keep the battery's charged up as you go along. But good rechargeable battery's last a good two rounds.

I have a fair few normal batteries, and they last a couple of rounds a set, but my laziness is finding new depths. I've probably only used it half a dozen times in the time I've had it.

 

[Scouser]

is the top part from a previous post of mine? It looks exactly like the thoughts I had when I first turned it on.

It is the G3 approach, and Scouser correctly guessed that I'm hoping to have it plugged in to a USB charging port on a trolley.

I really should have just tried it lol!

Or maybe I'll just have done with it and get a G6.

I mate of mine has the trolley that has the port can't rememberwhich one... Will pprobablysee him this week

Will get him to try and cchange it see if it charges ok if i remember

 

[Yosser]

I've tried searching but come up empty, and I know a few on here have them so.....

Can the USB port be used for:

Powering the unit?
Charging rechargeable batteries?

Or is it just for updating course information?

Thank you.

There was a thread about this device a while ago:-

http://forums.golf-monthly.co.uk/showthread.php?39394-Garmin-Approach-G3-review&highlight=approach

I actually bought one of these today from Tesco Direct £88-£10 (new customer promo), so £78 Nicker for a device which keeps me compliant with the R&A rules (ref recent DMD thread) really was a no-brainer. I was using Golfshot GPS on the iPhone and found it unreliable picking up a GPS signal, heavy on battery life and didn't give me enough information on some holes about distances to water hazards, we have a lot, sometimes 3 or 4 in play on certain holes and the app' just doesn't distinguish between them. I played in a comp last Wednesday night and one of my playing partners had a G5 and showed how you can move the cursor to show the distance to the hazard, the G3 seems to have the same functionality. I'd seen enough to be convinced to buy a Garmin, little did I know that I'd be buying it from Tesco!

In terms of the thread I've referenced and the reviews I've read on the Tesco Direct Website, I think the software has been upgraded since people have reviewed the device, the main concern for me was giving distance to the front of the green - I'm only really using these devices on an approach shot and thats the figure I'm mostly interested in. It does give you this if you touch on the flag icon (top right), I'm not sure previous versions had this judging by the reviews. It does only seem to provide distances from the Whites, which again doesn't concern me as I don't use these devices from the tee, I guess you could update the distance when next to a Yellow tee to check for drivable hazards.

There are two mistakes on my home course, the 13th is showing 100 yards longer and 14th about 50 yards shorter, again I think you could check distances dynamically whilst on course. I haven't seen the "hint" function at all?? Perhaps a different software version? - this seems to be 3.4. I intend to run this on rechargable AA batteries, tried some batteries earlier which lasted about an hour, but they were old so I will buy a new set of 4 - to have two spare in the bag. I'd recommend something like GP 2550mAh rechargeable (£10.50 for 4).

After reading this thread I did try to power the unit from the USB port and it does seem to work, I have an "Anker" USB power cell which I've used as a supplementary battery for my iPhone and Nexus tablet. It does power the G3 fine and if you press the power button it indicates whether it is powered by battery or externally. There does seem to be a software glitch in that it thinks you are connecting it to a PC when connecting a power supply to the USB port, the "PC connection" screen does timeout however and it goes back into run mode. I think it very unlikely that the unit will be attempting to charge internal batteries as it cannot detect whether batteries are rechargable, even though the user can set this parameter - it is dangerous to attempt to recharge non-chargeables.

 

[Region3]

Thanks all.

 

[Foxholer]

Nice writeup Yosser.

A couple of questions though.

You mention 'only showing distances from the Whites'. Is this on some intro to a hole or is it on things like hazards etc. I would have thought the distances were from wherever the unit happened to be at the time.

The couple of errors.. Is there some way to correct these Or notify Garmin that there's an error? the 100 yards longer could well encroach into another hole too!

 

[tallpaul]

You mention 'only showing distances from the Whites'. Is this on some intro to a hole or is it on things like hazards etc. I would have thought the distances were from wherever the unit happened to be at the time.

For the 'current hole' (ie the one you're playing), the device displays all distances from where the unit is located.

When previewing another hole, it displays the yardage from the tee. Not sure which tee it defaults to and it may depend on the course.

 

[Yosser]

Nice writeup Yosser.

A couple of questions though.

You mention 'only showing distances from the Whites'. Is this on some intro to a hole or is it on things like hazards etc. I would have thought the distances were from wherever the unit happened to be at the time.

The couple of errors.. Is there some way to correct these Or notify Garmin that there's an error? the 100 yards longer could well encroach into another hole too!

As tallpaul says, in preview mode, it shows a yardage, which on my home course correlates to the whites. I'm comparing the device with the Golfshot GPS iPhone app which allows you to select the tee colour at the start of the round and adjusts the distances accordingly, again this must only be in the preview mode for the app. As I mentioned and others have confirmed, it isn't really an issue as you will get a dynamic distance update whilst on the course. It is probably something I should take more notice of before tee-ing off as they seem to move the tee positions and move to different tee boxes all the time on my course to protect it I guess.

Yes the 100 yard error on the 13th is a strange one, I got chatting to a playing partner once who'd been a member for many years. He mentioned that there was a plan to have the teebox further back but planning permission was refused due to houses being positioned on the dogleg, so it ended up being shorter with OOB on that side. I'm not sure where Garmin obtained the course information or how old it is because Golfshot GPS is accurate and upto date with this yardage. I believe Garmin have a system for reporting map errors via e-mail, so I'll look into that and maybe they will include it in a future update. Again not a big deal as we all know to take a mid iron off the tee to get to the landing area and you could check the actual distance on the day. I have seen the odd person take the driver out and try to fade the ball around the trees, which usually ends in tears. Then again I can't talk as I managed to shank my 7 iron OOB there on Saturday for no apparent reason which I'm still baffled about. :lol: