flatlandcycle

Oh, and before getting into the why bother with pressure altimeter comments, the pressure altimeter (in autocalibrate) smooths the transitions caused by the short-term GPS jumping, while the GPS altitude keeps the longer term accuracy, without manual recalibration. Also, if you did not calibrate your altitude when you turned on your unit, it starts off on its last known calibration and takes awhile to autocalibrate (part of the smoothing routine). If the atmospheric pressure has changed quite a bit since you last turned it off, it will be out by more initially and take longer to get close than if the pressure is the same or similar. I get it. The altimeter is dysfunctional by limitations of barometric pressure changes. I need to know the altitude or barometric pressure, from some other source, and recalibrate at least every hour, so that the Vista HCx will tell me the altitude to +/-150 feet. But it's "not a bug." Really, I'm not against this GPSr. It's way beyond anything that's available in the current $219 price point. Unfortunately the speed under 2 mph is likely to have equally distasteful limitations.

Under Main Menu->Setup>Altimeter be sure that you have selected Variable Elevation under Barometer Mode. I have the settings just as you described. Fooling around with this unit, while sitting at my desk in the last 30 minutes, I have, according to my altimeter, sunk through the slab foundation and am now typing 70 feet below my house. Oh, now i'm beginning to surface now. It's really interesting, but i would swear I haven't left my chair.

1 - Approx. Date Of Purchase?Nov 20, 2007 2 - Purchase Location?amazon 3 - Unit Software Version? *2.40 4 - GPS SW Version? *2.30 5 - Unit ID? *337350**** 6 - Have you updated the firmware yourself?Yes 7 - Have you noticed the Trip Computer bug firsthand? ** Odometer is only off by by 5-10%, while running, speed is all over the place at a steady pace. 8 - Does your typical usage depend on the Trip Computer function?Yes 9 - Have you contacted Garmin about the issue?No Other bug: Altimeter shows inaccurate elevation changes. It's pancake flat here and Trip Comp. shows significant elevation gain. Tracks for the most part seem to be right on. If the speed calculation could have an algorithm that confirms speed and time against track data it might be nice.

Does Delorme Topo Usa 7.0 National DVD work well with the Vista HCx? Can MapSource open Delorme files or does the Delorme DVD have its own map editor/loader? How does Delorme Topo Usa 7.0 National DVD contrast with Garmin MapSource TOPO U.S. 2008? From the screen shots I have seen Delorme maps are easier on my eyes. Not a good reason to choose Delorme if I need a bunch of shareware 'hacks' to get the data to the Vista HCx. thanks folks