Fix the Start button on a Garmin GPS

I used sugru to fix the Start/Stop button on my Garmin Oregon 450t GPS. After three years of use, the rubber on the start/stop button wore through and developed a break. Consequently the device was no longer waterproof and any water ingress would finish it. This is a real possibility on the mountains. A new Oregon would cost about £400.

My first attempt for the Oregon GPS repair was to use sugru to fill the hole on the side of the GPS where the rubber used be (on inspection the rubber had come apart and formed a hole). Unfortunately either the sugru was too thick (or too old) and when I pressed it after curing for 24 hours it would not work the microswitch to turn the device on. 

On my second attempt, with a new packet of sugru, I used a small copper stud which looked like a tiny umbrella. I cut the top end of this stud (“umbrella’) to size so that it touched the microswitch at the bottom of the hole in the side of the device. I also cut the stem of the stud (like the “umbrella” handle) to size. I then wrapped this stem in insulation of the right diameter (cut from an electric cable) so that the sugru would not stick to the stem, but would allow the stem to move and work the microswitch. Next I then wrapped Sgru around the insulation and built it up to form a new Start/Stop button.

Séamus from Ireland