Blindmantoo

Abandoning 2.8 / 2.8 ! I had made several posts showing great success w/ 2/7 / 2.6. I had overlaid five tracks on a 5+ mile hike (about one per week) and they were dead-on. The geocache on the trail was consistently right on. Loaded 2.8 / 2.8 last week and did the hard reset. Went on the hike twice this weekend. On Saturday, I couldn't get a fix after 10 minutes, so I power cycled the unit. Finally got a fix - but achieved no better than 100' accuracy. So I did another hard reset (while on the hike). Accuracy was ok, but not great. On Sunday, accuracy was better, but not as good as w/ 2.7 / 2.6. The cache was 15 feet off (really bad compared to 2.7 / 2.6). I couldn't test the cache on Saturday as the hard reset wiped it out of the unit. I'm back to 2.7 / 2.6 and next weekend I'll retry the test. If it's right on the trail & cache, I'm happy. Garmin may have different iterations of the chipset out in the Vista HCx and if that's the case, it may help to explain why no one combo seems to be working for everyone.

Has anyone documented what 2.70/2.30 does better than 2.70/2.60? Given that I've had no issues w/ 2.7/2.6 in over a month of use, I'm curious as to what I'm missing.

I have the Vista HCx and it had the drift problem. After upgrading and doing the hard reset it has not had the drift problem once, After every use I upload the track and view it in Mapsource & Google Earth. At week four w/ the update. The map now contains 4 track logs for the 5 1/4 mile hike (all different colors). Still no dropouts since the 2.70/2.60 update w/ hard reset. Today the gps was at four feet at the cache on the trail. Here's the pic:

I have the Vista HCx and it had the drift problem. After upgrading and doing the hard reset it has not had the drift problem once, After every use I upload the track and view it in Mapsource & Google Earth.

Figured some reading the posts on the HCx accuracy were tired of the ongoing posts that were negative. So I'm going to start a new one and see if we can get more positive stories. My results are now based on real data over a three week period on the same trail (about 5.25 miles, in the woods, with hills and valleys, and three geocaches). First, the caches have been right on for all three weeks - as good as zero feet when held over one, and no worse than five feet (typically 3-4 feet). The trail on the map below ranges from about five to a max of ten feet wide. There are THREE track logs superimposed on the map (in google earth) - each a different color. The results speak loudly that the unit works pretty darn good. Such was not the case before upgrading to 2.7/2.6 and doing the hard reset. I had dropouts and tracks that varied widely from week to week. By the way, WAAS is turned off. I forgot to turn it back on after the reset, and with results like this, why bother using it. Here's the map:

First - you do the hard reset w/ the unit off. Next, make sure that the enter "stick" remains centered while pushing the other two buttons - that is the tough part of this procedure. It may help to have someone hold the unit steady on a table while you push the buttons. For the info, click the setup icon on the menu screen. Select the system icon. Push the menu button on the left of the unit. Scroll down to software version and press the enter button. Howdy...... I have tried this several times with NO success. What am I doing wrong???? Vern / Foothills Drifter...

FOR all of the skeptics out there...... Followup on the above post... Here is additional info supporting the positional accuracy after upgrading to 2.70/2.60 AND doing a hard reset after the upgrade. This weekend I did the same hike (this is five miles) as last weekend. The two tracks are seen in the google earth map as perfectly overlaying each other. The hike is in the woods, under tree cover. Last week it was 75 and sunny, today it was 85, humid and overcast. I mentioned above that a cache registered one foot last weekend when the GPS was held over the cache. Well, today was a first. The GPS read 0 feet while holding it over the same cache. Today the accuracy was typically 17' +/- 7'. Here is the map w/ both track logs overlayed: Here is the google earth image of another local park where the hiking trail (about 2.25 miles) can be seen because the image was taken in winter. It is under tree cover in the summer. Below it is the same trail, but with the Vista HCx track overlayed in google earth.

Is it possible to view the breadcrumb trail that you are creating while you are creating it. I know you can save it and then view it on the screen, but I'd like to view it as I am hiking.

I created another thread about a week ago "Vista HCx solution...". I reported that my all-but-useless Vista HCx was finally accurate in tracking caches after upgrading to 2.70 / 2.60 AND doing a hard reset. While I don't claim to have any info on speed, stopped time or distance, I can truly say that the accuracy is now incredible. Over two weekends, all caches (five) have been within several feet of accurate. One that was 121 feet off last Saturday was reading one foot when held over the cache. Two small park roads crossed at a 90 degree angle were right on (w/ NA NT 2008) at the maximun zoom. The track log w/ the unit held in my hand (hanging by my side most of the time for the five mike hike in fairly dense woods w/ 99.5% tree cover) was right on. There were no drop outs for the first time in months and out/back routes overlapped each other. Accuracy read 17 feet +/- 5 feewt for most of the hike, but it didn't seem to have a negative impact on the readings.

I created another thread about a week ago "Vista HCx solution...". I reported that my all-but-useless Vista HCx was finally accurate in tracking caches after upgrading to 2.70 / 2.60 AND doing a hard reset. While I don't claim to have any info on speed, stopped time or distance, I can truly say that the accuracy is now incredible. Over two weekends, all caches (five) have been within several feet of accurate. One that was 121 feet off last Saturday was reading one foot when held over the cache. Two small park roads crossed at a 90 degree angle were right on (w/ NA NT 2008) at the maximun zoom. The track log w/ the unit held in my hand (hanging by my side most of the time for the five mike hike in fairly dense woods w/ 99.5% tree cover) was right on. There were no drop outs for the first time in months and out/back routes overlapped each other. Accuracy read 17 feet +/- 5 feewt for most of the hike, but it didn't seem to have a negative impact on the readings.

Actually, push in the upper right button (page), joystick (push in while perfectly centered - this is the problem button as it gets decentered when you push on the on button), and while holding these two in, press the on button. There's no timing sequence other than trying to keep the first two pushed in while pushing the on button for the normal second or two to turn the unit on. Takes me about ten tries to get it right. You'll know you've accomplished it because you'll get the warning screen instead of the normal startup screen. FYI - I only got the hard reset to work when pressing all three buttons while the unit was OFF... Sorry - I forgot to mention that.

Actually, push in the upper right button (page), joystick (push in while perfectly centered - this is the problem button as it gets decentered when you push on the on button), and while holding these two in, press the on button. There's no timing sequence other than trying to keep the first two pushed in while pushing the on button for the normal second or two to turn the unit on. Takes me about ten tries to get it right. You'll know you've accomplished it because you'll get the warning screen instead of the normal startup screen.

I performed the update to 2.70 / 2.60 last week. On Saturday I went geocaching and the performance was terrible. Accuracy varied from 25 to 50 feet (or more) all afternoon on a perfectly clear day. I was not a happy camper as it was the worst performance since buying it last January. Yesterday I did a hard reset (hold page button & joystick in while pressing the on button - pretty hard to successfuly accomplish while keeping the joystick centered). Went into the yard to let it download the satellite info and it was locked on in about two seconds (on a cold start)! On Saturday it had taken about a minute to lock on. Today we went out caching w/ the grandkids. The performance was unbelieveable. The first cache was found while the Vista HCx said we were 5' away --- and the compass arrow was pointing right at it 5' away! OK, so I figured it was coincidence (accuracy was +- 12' at the time). Next find: It said we were 2' feet from the cache and again, it was pointing at a hidden cache that was exactly 2' in front of us. Could be that this update really works after doing a hard reset. Time will tell. By the way, don't forget to reload your caches after doing the hard reset. I was minutes from leaving today when I discovered that they were gone.

First hike today w/ my Vista HCx & 2.70/2.60 loaded. Not a happy camper to say the least. Accuracy was typically 45 - 120 feet! Tried to locate a geocache in the woods that we had previously found easily w/ my old Venture HC. When we finally found it accuracy was +-45 feet and distance to the cache was 125 feet. I remember the Legend was at about 4 feet at the cache. dadgum - why did I get rid of that thing (duh... for the compass!). Lots of good that does when you're 125 feet off. I did eventually power cycle the unit at it went to 15 - 25 feet accuracy. For the entire first 90 minutes it was way off though. I'd like to give Garmin a healthy dose of crap this week.

I purchased my Vista HCx last January and it has the Bravo 2 chipset. I have experienced the drift. I haven't had a chance to test it w/ the 2.70 / 2.60 software (but I have downloaded it).

I found that when I export a saved track (while cycling) from my Vista HCx and overlay it on top of Topo 2008, City Navigator 2008 and Google Earth, it lines up perfectly w/ streets on City Navigator and Google Earth, but not on Topo.

I've used one for 8+ years (w/ Roads & Recreation for local maps). It has lots of features, but after upgrading to the Vista HCx, it's a dinosaur. The real issue isn't the accuracy or features, it's the screen, processor speed, and mostly it's inability to pick up satellites under tree cover. Don't want to be negative, but you can't depend on it once there's leaves on the trees. The new H series w/ the high sensitivity receivers are incredible. In my house I have no problem getting a fix in 20 seconds or less. I'm assuming that will mean that it will actually be usable on hikes in the forest this summer.

Two solutions: One FIND related, the other MAP SETUP related. First option is to Choose the find screen, choose Geocaches, press the menu button, choose Find Nearest. Now the list of geocaches in the find list are sorted by distance from your current location. The screen will show the distance & direction at the bottom of the page as you scroll the list. The MAP SETUP solution is to go to the third option in the setup screen (points), and set the "max zoom" for the user waypoints to an appropriate setting. Use caution as it will really clutter your screen if there's a lot of them close by. You will want to set a higher value to meet your request.

Are you aware that the Venture does not have an electronic compass. If moving too slowly the compass reading will be incorrect. This was the main reason that I returned my otherwise great Venture and purchased a Vista HCx.

There's something going on lately. I read a few posts here concerning others who were having similar problems. It happened to me today. My Vista HCx has been flawless since I purchased it around the first of the year. I live in central Ohio and decided to take it on a short hike today just to see if I'd have any problems. Couldn't get a fix for thirty minutes until I turned WAAS off. My error was typically 100' plus. I had tried to autolocate, locate by selecting my location on the map, and more. Typically I get a fix in about 20 seconds. Tonight I'm in the house and it seems fine (I just turned the unit on and got a fix in ~20 seconds and the accuracy is 17') . Good thing I wasn't trying to cache today or it would have been a wasted trip.

I have the Vista HCx and both Topo 2008 & City Navigator NT (I also have a Nuvi200W and GPS built into my Odyssey). For Geocaching I find that I prefer to use City Navigator on the Vista after using both. The ability to have routing to the vicinity of the cache (on-road mode), and then switch to off-road for the final search is really convenient. I found it too time consuming to switch back & forth from the Nuvi to the Vista (even w/ all of the points loaded into both). Loading the waypoints into the van's system wasn't even an option I considered. It's also nice that the entire US (continental) fits on one micro-SD card.

Blew out my right hip in a racquetball accident about five years ago. I reached a point last year where I had days that I couldn't walk. I had given up racquetball, jogging, hiking, cross-country skiing and pretty much anything that required walking - even w/ a hiking stick. In June I had hip resurfacing w/ Dr Gross in Columbia, SC (I live in OH). Hip resurfacing is rather new in the US - but has been performed for years overseas. He was involved in the clinical trials and had performed over 1200, while most surgeons had done about 20. Resurfacing allows you to keep all of your bone - you get a new metal ball and socket. Nine months later and I'm totally pain free. (Actually, I never had to take a single pain pill after the surgery). I was walking two miles w/ a hiking stick within four weeks, hiking five miles within two months. Now I'm back to cross-country skiing, about to beging playing racquetball again and can't believe it! While hip replacement is a great thing for many - check out resurfacing if you want to remain very active.

Compass is on the same page. You only have to calibrate it if you replace the batteries - It takes about a minute. You simply make two complete turns (slowly) while holding the Vista level. If you are going to use the GPS for geocaching, it's a pretty important feature. While moving slowly (you can set the speed for the electronic compass to take over) the gps get confused with the direction of travel. Typically this will be as you get closer to the cache. The electronic compass helps keep you on track. When very close to the cache (actually the selected coordinates) even the electronic compass can get a bit confused - depending on the current error in the gps. I have an older Garmin 3+ which does not have the feature so I have a pretty good frame of reference on its usefulness.

I recently upgraded my Vista HCx to 260/260 (from 250/260 or 260/250). Went caching today and it did seem to be "off" more than in the past. I was typically seeing 35' today when at the cache, while 10' was more typical before the upgrade. I guess it's possible the the originator's GPS was off, but unlikely for all four finds today. I'm going to try to verify the accuracy before I complain to Garmin. 260 did fix the backlighting issue when using lithium batteries.

$210 new on ebay. $221 at thenerds.com. I bought mine from them at this price.