BuckyBuck

I've got a neat motorcycle ride I set up in MapSource to take me from Ohio to North Carolina, traveling secondary roads all the way. It's exactly the way I want to go. But when I transfer the route to my Vista HCx and select Navigate, it calculates an entirely different route. Not a bad one, mind you, but not the route I had set up in MapSource. Is there a way to transfer a route from MapSource to the handheld unit intact, or a setting on the handheld unit to tell it not to "improve" the transferred route?

I run MapSource on my Asus without a CD--is there a version of this program that requires you to run it from CD? Even if so, there are plenty of ways around this. Myself, I'd use DAEMON Tools Lite and an ISO image of my CD if I had a program that wanted access to a CD drive. No better or worse than any other low-end laptop, meaning you can't see the display in broad daylight.

I use the Legend HCx also, but with a RAM mount on the clutch fluid reservoir. Reasons I used to justify that model was the dual-use you mention, as well as wanting a unit that uses plain old AA batteries. Nuvis are nice, but I can't stand the idea of paying that much for something I can't really protect from a determined thief. Also, I'm not interested in turn-by-turn voice navigation when I'm riding my bike; I generally meander all over the place when I ride and really just want to know where I am and where I might be some time later on, rather than having a machine tell me how to get there.

I have my HCx RAM-mounted on the clutch reservoir. To me, the HCX display seems a little harder to view at certain light angles than my old eTrex Legend was. But I like it. Some other bikers kinda give me a funny look at times, like "why are you too cheap to buy a Nuvi?" but the HCx better fits my philosophy of a bike GPS--meaning I use a GPS on my bike to give me an idea of where I am and where I might want to be a little later, rather than to give me efficient, turn-by-turn directions to a destination. Heck, most of the time when I'm on my bike I have no idea where I want to end up, so auto-routing does me little good.

I downloaded your My Topos.zip file and see that it contains 84 .img files. I realize I'm missing something obvious, but what area do these topo files cover?

I feel for you!!! I can't give my V up. I ended up mounting it on my bicycle; no problem with its now-limited speed and coverage there. I went to a Vista HCx. It seemed like the best choice at the time (Colorado wasn't out yet) for a unit that would work for me both on my motorcycle and on the trail. I haven't yet found any real value for the altimeter and compass, but the storage capacity of the micro SD cards is pretty important to me. I didn't think I'd find any use for the auto-routing at first, but it saved my butt last week when I decided it would be a good idea to take a shortcut from Durbin to Elkins, WV, on forest services roads through Monongahela National Forest last week, and ended up getting lost at night. I pulled the HCx out of my pack, turned it on, and had it direct me to Elkins. Worked perfectly!

Gotta agree. Go XP. I really, really tried to work with the default operating system but, in the words of that renowned sage Danny Glover, "I'm too old for this modular, Unix-like operating system." It might have been a different story if I were younger and more interested in learning a different operating system, or if Asus hadn't crippled the version of Linux in an attempt to prevent dopes like me from bricking it, or I hadn't had an extra copy of XP. Over the next couple of months you're gonna see a lot of competition in this ultra-compact PC field. Wal-Mart already is selling a competitor for $400. This competition, of course, will drive prices down. I've already seen the Asus 4G for $350 a couple of times at Buy.com. And there's a second generation Asus with a larger screen and XP pre-installed supposedly arriving next month. Probably will cost more, in large part because of the XP. Myself, $400 is about as high as I'd go for one of these tiny machines. They're nice (my HP Pavilion laptop now feels HUGE compared to it), but really nice laptops are available now for around $500.

I finally got around to experimenting with transferring gpx files to my Garmin eTrex Vista from the Asus Eee using Gpsbabel. Works great! I transferred routes and waypoints created in both Garmin MapSource and from the Marengo GPS Route Planner tool at the Marengo website. It worked without a hitch with both of these. Just be sure to unload the kernel module garmin_gps using the 'sudo rmmod garmin_gps' command Martyn Davis talks about at http://www.marengo-ltd.com/blog/?p=51 before you use gpsbabel. (Whew! What a sentence. Don't I kinda sound like I know what I'm talking about?) Anyway, I can't wait until summer. I got the Asus with the vague idea that it would come in handy on some long motorcycle tours I've got planned. With gpsbabel installed, I think I've got everything I wanted--a tiny device I can use while on the road to check email and images from my digital camera, and to upload routes and waypoints to my gps. My thanks to both Martyn Davis for Marengo and Robert Lipe for Gpsbabel. Great stuff.

At least I'll soon have plenty of company!!! The Cloudbook http://www.everex.com is supposed to go on sale at WalMart today.

My bad. I realized later that my post might be misleading. The problem is not with gpsbabel or with Linux, the problem is with the popularity of the Asus eee and dopes like me using Linux for the first time. There is a learning curve for anyone migrating from Windows. I could install gpsbabel in two minutes now--it's just that the first time took me two days. There are nothing like repos in Windows, and Asus doesn't help when--in its attempt to make the Eee foolproof--it makes it cumbersome to add repos other than the default ones. Here's the chronology of my eventually successful install of gpsbabel: http://forum.eeeuser.com/viewtopic.php?id=10796

There's been a couple of posts about this here. I also have an Asus and on Monday, FINALLY, I was able to get gpsbabel installed on it. Heads up, at least for me, it was an ordeal getting it installed. The last time I felt this proud of myself was when I got my master's degree. I'm still weak from installing gpsbabel and haven't yet tried transferring gpx files myself, but one of your countrymen seems to be doing this already. Check out: http://www.marengo-ltd.com/gps/index.php Dig around his blog and you'll see that he is an Asus eee fan.

I have a black Asus 4G scheduled to arrive tomorrow! Can't wait. But I am curious about how practical Linux (the default OS on the Eee) is going to be. Luckily (or maybe not), I have an extra copy of XP available. But I'd like to explore Linux first. Just wish there was a Linux version of MapSource or POILoader. If I can figure out someway to upload GPX files to my Vista HCx under Linux, I'll probably be content to stay with the Linux. I came across this website that talks about doing this: http://www.marengo-ltd.com/gps/index.php

Well, something has changed with the 2.50 firmware. I'm cautiously optimistic that it's better. Last October, I walked around my high school track with my HCx (and whatever firmware version I had at that time). Back then, the HCx trip odometer recorded a distance of .26 miles when I walked it at normal walking speed, and a distance of .22 miles when I walked it at plodding speed. Today, with the 2.50 firmware, I walked it again. The HCx trip odometer indicated that I had once again walked .26 miles (at an indicated 3.2 mph). When I repeated the lap today at plodding speed (1.7 indicated average speed), the HCx recorded .28 miles. Different, and at least a little closer with the 2.50 chipset. This time, I had the presence of mind to record the track logs. My normal walking speed track log recorded that I had walked .2 miles and covered 109528 sq ft. My plodding speed track log recorded that I had walked .3 miles and covered 110940 sq ft.

Darn. Just checked the Garmin update page and no update yet, so this probably means it won't be there before Monday at the earliest. Means a lot of anxious users won't be able to test this this weekend. (Hint, hint).

I got a Black Friday Mio last year for use in my car. It's okay for auto navigation, but I have to echo the comments about awful POI's. Actually, my model had a decent set of POI's until I installed a Mio map update. Suddenly, the six million POI's the unit had prior to the update dropped to just over a million. I have to believe this was an intentional move on Mio's part to downgrade the unit to encourage sales of its higher priced units. Even without this intentional crippling, Mio units are not waterproof nor designed for viewing in direct daylight--they're designed for use inside a car.

1 - Approx. Date Of Purchase? September, 2007 2 - Purchase Location? Shop ePal 3 - Unit Software Version? 2.40 4 - GPS SW Version? 2.30 5 - Unit ID? 335607**** 6 - Have you updated the firmware yourself? Yes 7 - Have you noticed the Trip Computer bug firsthand? Yes 8 - Does your typical usage depend on the Trip Computer function? Yes 9 - Have you contacted Garmin about the issue? Yes

Maybe they do their field testing now down at their Cayman Island headquarters, rather than some location that more closely duplicates the up and down conditions in which most people use a unit marketed as an "on the trail" GPS. Call me old fashioned, but I still think a unit designed for foot travel should be able to accurately measure walking speeds and distances. My old GPS V did a much better job of this than the HCx does.

I don't know any solid company that would purposely prolong not helping their customers. They all want future business..... Excuse me while I jump in my Ford Pinto, light up a cigarette, and cash in some more of my old Enron stock at the local Payday Loan office.

Perhaps Garmin is reluctant to fix the odometer problem as it may sway potential 60CSX buyers to the HCX series if they did. Perhaps when the 60CSX inventory is sufficiently reduced to bring out a replacement model, the odometer will get fixed on the HCX. Sorry, but that's laughable. I seriously doubt Garmin would intentionally cripple a product just to sell you on the upgrade. They're not used-car salesmen. More likely it's a difficult problem to solve and they're still learning about quirks with the MediaTek chipset. Yeah, that's laughable. How dare someone suggest such a thing. Why, next thing you know, someone will allege that Garmin is headquartered in the Cayman Islands simply to avoid paying taxes.

Thanks for the URL correction. But TakItWithMe still doesn't work for me. I've tried it on three different Windows XP machines. Here's what my GPX files look like: <br /> <b>Warning</b>: simplexml_load_file() [<a href='function.simplexml-load-file'>function.simplexml-load-file</a>]: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl=en&...z=7&om=1:1: parser error : EntityRef: expecting ';' in <b>/home/vzett/public_html/js/maplets.php</b> on line <b>16</b><br /> <br /> <b>Warning</b>: simplexml_load_file() [<a href='function.simplexml-load-file'>function.simplexml-load-file</a>]: pt><meta http-equiv="refresh" content="0; URL=http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&hl in <b>/home/vzett/public_html/js/maplets.php</b> on line <b>16</b><br /> <br /> If I try to upload it to my HCx, it craps out with an error message something like (don't have my HCx with me right now) "Syntax error message on line 6"

I'm not having any luck getting valid gpx code out of Takeitwithme. It won't upload to my Garmin, and Mapsource tells me gpx files created with it are not valid Mapsource files. If I look at the code, it has a bunch of warning messages in it. This is with IE and Firefox. Am I doing something wrong, or is Takeitwithme no longer working correctly?

I finally got around to comparing my odometer results post-firmware update to before update. Admittedly, not long distances and all over consistent elevations; but it's been hot, darn it. Here's what I did this morning: I walked around my 'hood at my average walking speed, with my GPS V in one hand, and my Vista HCx in the other. .............................. GPS V..........Vista HCx Distance..................0.85..............0.86 Avg. Speed..............2.7................2.8 Moving Time............17:19...........15:30 Less than one percent difference on distance. Not bad. Then I went to the high school track and walked around it. At a BuckyBuck walking speed: .............................. GPS V..........Vista HCx Distance..................0.25..............0.26 Avg. Speed..............2.7................2.7 Moving Time.......... 5:05...............5:03 Again, fairly consistent between the two units. Finally, I walked around the track at a plodding speed: ...............................GPS V..........Vista HCx Distance..................0.25..............0.22 Avg. Speed..............1.7...............1.5 Moving Time............8:40.............7:17 I'm assuming that the track dimensions didn't change between my first and second walk around it. So it looks to me like the GPS V is more accurate at slower speeds than the HCx, and that the HCx dropped about 9 percent in its ability to accurately measure distance. In another thread here, someone said that he or she was embarrassed by the few "griefers" complaining about this bug. Sorry, but I think that someone who purchases a hand-held GPS unit that's marketed for use "On the Trail" should have a reasonable expectation that the unit accurately registers speeds and distances at the speeds at which it is most often used. I don't especially care if my automotive, TTS GPS is inaccurate at 1.7 mph, because I usually drive at a higher speed than that. But I do have a reasonable expectation that my hand-held GPS should accurately record distances at normal hiking and walking speeds.

I can't find this Settings/Marine/Speed Filter toggle on my Vista HCx. The only settings that show up on it are Anchor Drag Alarm and Off Course Alarm. Am I missing something here?

Just out of curiousity, why are you interested in an altimeter? I bought a Garmin Vista HCx recently. In addition to the satellite altimeter, it has a genuine altimeter (is the correct term barometric altimeter?) altimeter. For the life of me, I've been trying to figure out a use for this so that I can justify having paid $25 extra for it over the HCx Legend, but I haven't come up with anything. Maybe if I were a mountain climber.

I had several email exchanges with Garmin regarding this issue. I got a measure of what I though was run-around, but was never informed that stock answer regarding 2.2 mph. Fwiw, someone else mentioned in one of these threads that the speed threshold was 2.2kph - not 2.2 mph. That would be closer to what my unit does. The trip computer seems to fail at about 1.6 mph. The Garmin rep I communicated with seems to think it's 2.2 mph. Here's the first response I received from Garmin support (with names deleted) when I confronted them about this dreadful design flaw: Dear (BuckyBuck), Thank you for contacting Garmin International, In order for distance to be recorderd you must be traveling at least 2.2 mph. With Best Regards, (Garmin support person's first name, last initial) Product Support Specialist 2nd Shift Outdoor/Fitness Team Garmin International 913-397-8200 800-800-1020 913-397-8282 (fax) Att: (Garmin support person's first name, last initial) www.garmin.com