I've had my trusty GF305 since Nov2009, via pabili to my sis-in-law who's based in the US. The cost was around PHP 7,500.00 which is a bargain since it's being sold locally at about PHP12,000.00 (although it seems that they're being sold at around 8thou in sulit.com.ph).
It's been with me in almost all of my runs and in all of my races, keeping tabs on my per-km pace, distance, total elapsed time, calories, and heart-rate. Needless to say, it's been a very helpful tool in my running.
The signs of wear have appeared after my 18km long run last Sunday: the UP button on the right side has eroded away from the rubber support as shown below.
All the other buttons (left and right side) are starting to show signs of erosion too.
Fortunately, I was able to contact NAVCO Philippines which is the local distributor of Garmin here. A repair IS possible (with a fee, of course). I've gone to their office during lunch earlier and have handed over my GF305 for them to send to their Asia center for repair.
It might take 3-4 weeks before I get the unit back, thus I'll be confined to my old stopwatch and mapping out the distances via Map My Run in the meantime.
Yup, old school.
bro, i have the same problem with my Garmin. I still haven't checked if it can still be repaired.
ReplyDeleteIn the meantime, I use a stick to press 'enter'. =(
Tin, if it's a button problem then, yes, it can still be repaired by NAVCO! :) I actually tried to look online for a replacement casing and tinker on fixing it myself. unfortunately, there wasn't any so I had to go to NAVCO as a last resort.
ReplyDeleterepair estimate is usually P5,500 more or less sabi nung kausap ko, with 90% of similar repairs being replaced by new (yes, N-E-W!) 305 units. Definitely cheaper than buying a new 305 if your current one's internal mechanism still works fine.
see u around!
I say it's time to upgrade to a 310XT hehehe...
ReplyDelete@julius, nakupow! hehehe...
ReplyDeleteI still have not bought a gps watch. I might in the next 10 years or so. I just use my trusty timex now, but I think a gps would be rather nice. Just out the door and bam. O well, some day. Best wishes getting your gps back and working. My thoughts, for that kind of cash, it should not wear down like so. I will wait until they have a light weight titanium model. Cheers, and thanks for the congrats.
ReplyDeleteIt's good to know that NAVCO is now accepting repairs for units not sold from them.
ReplyDelete