BelchFire

Thanks for the quick responses guys! If I order one of each, will the ring mounts be the same? The reason I ask is two-fold. I want one on my mountain bike and my quad. Also, I have an old camo etrex that my son likes playing with. Will the battery cover on the first link work with the camo etrex? And will that same ring mount work with either the camo or the Vista? Thanks again. Belch

I'm confused by what I see on Garmin's site. I'm interested in a bicycle mount for my Vista Hcx. There is nothing on the back of my unit. Do I need to replace the battery cover, or just order the ring mount for the handle bar(s)? Do I need THIS? Or only THIS?

Plug it up to an external 12V source with the cigarette plug that came with it. You just have a dead battery, I think.

I have a Vista Hcx with a 2Gb card. I have (roughly) half of the US loaded in Topo 2008 and the same half loaded in City Navigator NT at the same time. Pull the trigger; you won't be sorry.

Geocaching is a relatively new thing for me and my GPS. I've been carrying one when I hunt for years. It helps me find the good hunting areas when I can't remember how I got to them from a different direction. I also use it on my boat, both to locate and avoid deceptively shallow water, return to the best fishing spots and record good scuba diving spots. My first GPS experience was in 1991 when I went to the Bahamas. I was using Loran-C up until the night before I left and my Loran gave up the ghost. Having never owned or operated one, I bought a GPS that night and the next day, found the Bahamas easily on my first try. But my all-time favorite, is locating and recording genealogical information for my children (and hopefully their children and grandchildren, etc). I mark graves, homes, churches and business sites. I've located and visited over 40 graves and know the location of another 30 or so of my direct ancestors scattered from South Florida to New York state and southwestern Colorado. It's a VERY fulfilling hobby.

XP home ed.

Those aren't the threads I was remembering (so thanks for those links), that's a lot of new information. I remember blindmantoo posting all of his trials. After reading all that, has anyone tried 2.80/2.30? And I'm confused about HOW to do the updates. The only update I did, I used the webupdater and it did it all for me; I was never asked about what version, etc. Can you give me a run-down on the HOW of loading a specific software version? Is the process the same for a firmware update as well?

OK, I've searched for the threads and even browsed hoping to land on them, but this forum is HUGE and I can't seem to cut through the fluff to find the threads. There have been discussions ad nauseam regarding firmware (software) updates for the Vista Hcx. I remember issues of odometer inaccuracy and track drift just to name a few. There are many of you who wish you had stayed at the level you left behind when you updated and I wouldn't have a CLUE how to back up an update. I'm currently running Software Version 2.40 and GSP SW Version 2.30. What is the accepted "best" combination and how do I find those updates? Are there remaining issues in the latest version? Thanks!

Thanks 1XL, I had considered that but there are some that cross one another at 90º and would make for a funky looking track. But it's better than nothing. 'Preciate it!

Never mind. It seems as though I've used 20 track logs. Next question: does anyone know how to get around this limitation?

I have about 3% of track memory full with a track that I'd like to save, but the save button is grayed out. I've never noticed it like that before. I've tried saving with it connected to the USB cable and disconnected. I even uploaded all the tracks to mapSource, then changed the ACTIVE LOG to a saved name then downloaded, but it didn't show up that way either. What gives?

I'm getting a message on MapSource that my maps are over a year old and need to be updates. The message includes a clickable link that takes me directly to a "Download" button. Before I go clicking anything at Garmin's site, I'd like to know if the map updates are free (for a registered device/serial number) or if I'm going to be committing to pay for something unwittingly. The mapping software (City Navigator NT and Topo 2008) was purchased and registered legally. Are map updates free for me?

Arr Arr Arr brainsnat's on a roll.....

I admire your positive comments in the log. Stick with it and you should have some finds soon. Looking at the CCC thread, I've decided that there is NO LIMIT to evil.......

Doug, I think you've hit on it. Why would a casual (or even a passionate) Geocacher be looking at other's finds and passing judgment unless they have a dog in the fight. Follow up on that email and you might very well find out who's doing this. For my two cents, I think the general consensus is spot-on. Someone "in the know" with a premium membership who got his panties in a twist somewhere along the line. It's the same type of person who has the time, talent and inclination to sit around all day and write virus code. "Just because he can"

I'm not a graphics artist at all, but Thrak, yours seems like a simple resize job. See if these don't come out round when you post them to your avatar. Hmmmm nevermind, I can't seem to post pictures. Guess I have to pay to do that? E-mail me, I have two images for you.

I have a 2GB Kingston card and have 199X map segments. It only takes up 1605MB of disk space leaving the remainder for tracks and "miscellaneous space". Given the 2025 map segment limit, I don't see much need for more than 2GB, but for $2, all you risk is "official" incompatibility. Why not try a borrowed 4GB to see if it will work correctly before you buy?

Garmin, Vista HCx is a solid, easy to use unit and is under $200 on Amazon with free shipping.

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. What about the odometer issue that everyone fusses about? Do you have that after the upgrade/hard reset?

I fiddled around trying to do this one time and the best solution I found (such that it is), was to find the actual points, corners, markers, etc, and save each as a waypoint. Then, for display purposes, I created a route from point to point and set it to display on the map.

Garmin eTrex units are bulletproof and easy to use. I second the Legend HCx, (although I have a Vista myself)

I feel like a real moron for having to ask this, but for the life of me, I can't find any screen that will allow me to save a location as a waypoint. I'm sure I can probably do it with MapSource, but what if I'm out and about and I want to save a location (like when traveling in a strange city and I want to save my hotel)? What am I missing here?

WASHINGTON - Call it the ultimate power walk. Researchers have developed a device that generates electrical power from the swing of a walking person's knee. With each stride the leg accelerates and then decelerates, using energy both for moving and braking. Read the full article

Nitro, You've got to break the track into multiple tracks. Mapsource can do it; I have. I walked a number of roads like you did, but instead of turning the unit on and off, I just turned track logging on and off. And I got the same thing you did. So I saved one HUGE track and then broke it up into smaller tracks. Finally, I deleted those long straight lines. You can even reverse the start/end points of a track. Just keep snooping around the track editing tools; you'll find it. Belch out.

I can't say for sure (only Garmin could), but I suspect the max speed issue is related to the fix. Here's my reasoning: On one train of thought, someone at Garmin chose to ignore the small moves that the receiver detects which are, in truth, just changes in position due to the inherent inaccuracy of the civilian GPS signal. For instance, holding the receiver still, it will show movement over time, and Garmin chose to ignore that. So when moving very slowly, Garmin was struggling to differentiate movement from natural "drift". Later, (when we began to howl?), Garmin attempted to register and use these small changes, and now, from one second to the next, you are detecting more and more of that inherent error. Each reading has some built in error, and that's what is maxing out the speed. For instance, let's say it takes a reading and the "normal" amount of error puts it two feet behind your true position. One second later, it takes another reading and this one puts it two feet in front of you (again, normal error being the culprit). When you calculate your speed as distance over time, you have an extra 4 feet change in position (that you really didn't cover). If you were moving much faster, say, a brisk walk, that 4 feet would be a smaller percentage of distance and the error reduces naturally. And it would continue to diminish as you go faster, and faster, and faster. But wait, you say! Speed isn't calculated as distance over time, but instead is detected as Doppler shift in the signal. To that, I say, Fine, are you SURE that the GPSr itself didn't momentarily hit 4.2 mph as you swing your arm back and forth while walking? People, we're talking about spitting hairs here and we have been since this "error" was detected. On proof-reading, this explanation doesn't sound too good, but I really feel like it's a trade-off based on what civilian GPS can and cannot do. In one case, they chose to ignore those small "drifts" and some thought it wasn't good enough. Now that they have gone back and tried to use those same "drifts", the speed change from one second to the next (this being the key), is erroneous. Methinks that as you walk faster, the max speed issue will become negligible. It's all in the accuracy of the signal. I'm happy with mine; before AND after the upgrade.