Idahogreggory

Nope, it's absolutely not necessary to have an electronic compass to geocache. In fact I have never used my electronic compass or for that matter my Brunton compass when geocaching. However, I do use my electronic compass all the time when I out hunting. Personally, I wouldn't buy another GPSr without an electronic compass because of the convenience of not having to pull out another piece of gear when on the trail. Don't get me wrong always take my Brunton compass with me in case something happens to my Vista HCx but the last two years it hasn't seen the light of day. If you can afford it I think having an electronic compass is worth the investment but by all means it certainly isn't necessary.

I have had real good success with my Vista HcCx in Hell's Canyon but I think it has the same chip set as your 60C so I don't see why what you have will not work just fine.

I upgraded last week and took my Vista HCx out this past weekend and worked flawlessly. In fact it appears to have corrected a problem I had with 2.8 where I would enable routing and when I would reach the cache and stop routing it would freeze up. However, I didn't try using tracks but I was able to enable and disable them tonight without any problems. Also, I haven't tried to upload any new maps, tracks, or waypoints since the upgrade. Unless I encounter any problems with up/downloads or tracks I am currently happy with the upgrade.

Jim, What I found worked best this year out hunting was to set the threshold to turn on the compass when the speed dropped below 10 mph for more then 45 seconds. So basically I left the compass on all the time I was out hiking round. It really didn't battery life enough to noticed; I was getting two 8 hour days use from 2100 mAh nicads. Hope that helps.

+1 with folks not using the electronic compass correctly. This was the first year using the Vista HCx out hunting and I left it on the whole day with the compass on; 2100 mAh would lasted easily two days. What I found to be the best setting was leave the compass on all the time the switch over threshold set to 10 miles and 45 seconds, so that basically it was on all the time. I carried it vertically in a case on the front of my day pack and when I would pull it out to check coordinates I noticed the compass would always settle out in about twice the time my Burton compass would but was just as accurate.

The only thing that this thread lacks is screenplay coauthored by Woody Allen and Steven Spielberg. It's covered an incestuous relationship with Apple and ended in a signature ending with Close Encounters of the Heat Kind.

supergerardo, I can't say you're totally off base because nothing is perfect and there is always room for improvement. I do agree there is room for improvement when it comes to battery life. However, to claim that the GPSr industry is lagging the other technologies and to claim mobile phones are far superior is design and software does make you sound a little whacked. The cell phone industry certain does not have a solid reliability track record nor for that matter any type of standard for transferring data without any loss from one phone to another. I also think it is unrealistic to expect one device to excel in every situation. We certainly don't expect this out of our stereos, TVs, cars, guns, knives, bikes, or skis to name just a few.

Paper maps no, but how your GPSr translates the coordinates does. Here is the definition for datum form the ArcGIS website http://webhelp.esri.com/arcgisdesktop/9.2/...opicName=Datums I do suspect it is that the incorrect datum has been selected. When you make maps and import other feature layers if the datum isn't correct or is projected to the new coordinates then you will see a shift in X & Y coordinates.

1XL-on-XR650L, You are correct what I have is the different versions of the software not the firmware. I apologize for misleading you and getting your hopes up. The software versions I have are 2MB each and I know the actual firmware is only in the KB range which would have been no issue to mail. I will keep an ey out and if I find any I will send them to you.

That ain't going to happen, the files are MB each. If you want the files then locate a ftp site that I can dump them on.

Setup a FTP site and I will will be glad to upload versions 2.3, 2.4,2.5 and 2.6 to it for you. Personally, I don't see a need for downgrading. I have been running 2.80 since it came out and it has been flawless. The worst drift I have seen in two solid days of hiking with it on all the time in and out of the pack was 27' over the same path. If you're have huge drift issue I would suspect that there might be an issue with your GPSR.

I have had mine for almost a year and I am very happy with it's accuracy and it's ability to lock on under adverse conditions. This fall I used my for hunting and was very impressed how it maintained signal in it's case and how accurate it tracked. I had repeated some of my trails over the course of two days and the variance between tracks never varied by more then 27 feet. Once I set the electronic compass to always be on below 10 mph it was always quick to respond and settle after the unit was removed from it's case on my pack. When it comes to caching the unit has worked flawlessly since I have installed 2.8/2.8 and increased the compass activation point to 10 mph. I give the Vista HCx two thumbs up!

I used Idaho Topo by OZ this year in Hells Canyon elk hunting while transversing 1,000 foot terrain changes around and through dead falls. Personally, I can tell you that 2X4 screen is a god send when your dog a** tired and and you have five miles and a 1,100 foot climb back to camp. You start really picking choosing which way want to take. Also this year I gave up my paper map on the first day of the hunt to a ill-equipped companion that I didn't want to spend time looking for if he got lost. I would still highly recommend carrying a paper map and a compass for backup but as long as my Vista HCx was operational you won't see me digging into my pack for my map.

Try cleaning your player it might help . Another option is make a copy of the original in another computer because your player may not like the media the original disk is burned on. I am kind of suspecting it's a media incompatibility issue with your player since there is another post today with what appears to be a disk read issue and if it is a burned copy will most likely, but not guaranteed, work in your computer.

It sounds like your DVD player is having a tough time reading the disk; sounds like the player is encountering read/write errors. I am guessing you won't get it loaded. There are any number of reasons why the disk isn't reading, it could be the disk or the player. Try the disk on another computer and if it works replace your player or have some one make a copy of your disk and try the copy. Sometimes a copy will work where the original won't because of reflectivity or a track variance. You could also try cleaning the player, it's a long shot but sometimes lint or dust will get on the LASER and attenuate the signal.

Artifact, I don't have the 76CSx or the 76Cx but I do have a Vista HCx and the Compass and Altimeter functions the same. Justly like eaparks staid I use mine for hunting and caching and I like the compass. With that said there are few things you do have to be aware of: the compass needs to be calibrated regularly, which for me is every time I use it because I always start out with fresh batteries. The other thing I found that prevented sluggishness was to change the threshold for when the compass is active from 2 miles an hour to 10 miles and hour so basically it always enabled when I am walking. Changing the threshold also seemed to tighten up my tracking so my error was no more then 30 ft on track backs. Regardless of the brand or model I would recommend the compass if it is available and you can afford it.

Sorry buddy but I think you're wrong about the functionality changing. The cache functions he same for me as always. I have been running 2.80/2.80 since it came out and as far as I am concerned it the version that Garmin has released to data for the Vista HCx. I used mine elk hunting a few weeks ago and it worked great with all my tracks showing up within 30 ft or less accuracy when I check them against the NAP04 overlay of the area. Compared to the previous versions I would strongly recommend 2.80/2.80 over any of the other versions.

Red is correct, there is nothing special about the Gamin USB cable. The choke is joke, it not necessary, and if you doubt me go take a look at all the back pack drives out there without them that are transmitting much data higher speeds. If someone burned up a Colorado with a usb cable then they either had power supply issue with their computer or the Colorado suffered infant mortality, either way the Gamin cable would not have saved it. Taking electronic advice from clerks in a box store is like getting stock advice at McDonald's.

Don't look at buying the USB to Serial cable as detracting from your bargain. If you decide to get into paperless caching you will also most likely need the cable for and older Palm Pilot, especially if you're wanting a bargain. When I went paperless I bought two Palm IIIxe for $15 off eBay and they require a serial connection too.

I am also running 2.80/2.80 on my Vista HCx and don't see any issues. This past weekend I was out elk hunt and covered about 12 miles and in a few placed went back over my trail the next day and never say more then 30 ft variance worst case. One thing I did discover this weekend was setting the switch to compass heading when below 5mph worked best fro rapid and accurate compass readings.

Oz, I just got back from an elk hunt this past weekend and I want you to know that your maps are highly accurate. I had your maps and Gamin's topo2008 and there was no comparison, your maps was showing roads and trails that Garmin's did not. yogazoo, no can do when your plotting a course in Map Source.

Crid, I replaced my speed/trip-o-meter with my Vista HCx. I leave it on the compass with the speed, time, max, and distance just like my original meter. I also have Streets and Topo since it is a MTB I can either end up in one of those subdivision mazes or on the wrong ridge trail to make it back without packing out. Like 1XL-on-XR650L I keep tracks on and record all my trips and then plot them out on the computer to check terrain difficulty and to see how well I did. Oh yea I also set proximity alarms for caches too.

OZ,, Good job. I used your Idaho maps last weekend and was very pleased with them. This week I have been planning my yearly elk hunt and the maps much more accurate regarding trials and abandoned logging roads then Gamin's Topo 2008. I am very pleased with them. I did discover one thing you do have to be aware of when your building tracks, your Idaho maps will not return an elevation with a track point. It's not a big deal and the work around I found was to set way-points using your map then switch to Gamin's 2008 Topo to make the track ; that is only if you want to see the profile. I know the elevation isn't all that accurate of the Topo map but when planning an all day hike with gear swag elevation is better then no elevation. You did a really good job with these maps, THANK YOU!

OZ, You Da Man! I am downloading them as I am typing and should have them loaded within the hour. Soon as I get them loaded I'll give you my 0.02. I have been using Topo 2008 but have been less then impressed, the detail does not compare to my old Deloreme Topo USA 2.0! 24K maps will be great and I will get to try them out next weekend elk hunting.

In today's Cabela's flyer they have the Legend HCx bundle on sale for $229. The bundle include the GPSR, Topo 2008 on DVD, and a 128 Mb Micro SD. I would say $150 to the door was a good price for your Legend HCx.