ergomaniac

A bad lock is one thing but when no bars are showing or when the GPS receiver is turned off, you shouldn't get a track! Go to your satellite page, select menu and select "Use with GPS off". Clear your track log and then download your tracks into Mapsource... you obviously shouldn't have any tracks but I still get a track point! This isn't a bad satellite fix it's bad coding by Garmin. You definitely don't have a satellite fix. The problem here is that if you have a bogus point like the one described above it can easily skew your odometer reading. If my GPS gets a lock after putting down this bogus point and draws a track leg to a point five miles away when the time interval is only a few seconds, my max speed is going to be pretty high and the distance travelled will be wrong. I see both of these errors frequently on my odometer (although the odometer seems a bit better after the last software release, but max speed is still bad). I'm sure these bad track points must factor into the odometer errors.

I’ve just noticed that my Vista Hcx puts down track points BEFORE it has a satellite lock!! I’ve done a bit of testing and observed the following: When I turn on my GPS, several tracks are created even BEOFRE a bar shows on the satellite page. These are usually zero length tracks that are placed at the last geographic location that was recorded on the GPS (ie. If I was hiking 5 miles from home and turned off my GPS before coming home – when I turn on the GPS at home, it places track points at my previous location (5 miles away) and eventually joins a 5 mile track section to my actual location once the GPS gets a satellite fix). Turning the GPS on and off right away (only letting the GPS get to the banner screen) is still logging bogus track points!! I also turned the GPS receiver OFF, cleared all track points and left the GPS on for a bit. When I upload the tracks to Mapsource (GPS receiver has never been on) I get a track!! It’s only one point but why would I get any points when the receiver is off? The easiest test is to turn on the GPS in a place where you know it can’t get a lock and immediately turn off the receiver before you even see a hollow satellite bar on the satellite page. I still get a couple of tracks. You just have to check the time on the track properties to see when it was logged. I’d like to know if this is just my Vista Hcx that is doing this or if it’s a bug. Considering the fact that Garmin has had a ton of problems with odometer and track distances I suspect this is a bug that is contributing to the problem. I’ve never had this happen with my GPSMap60Cx, it doesn’t put down tracks until it actually gets a satellite lock. I’d appreciate input from other Vista HCx owners regarding this issue. I have my track recording interval set to most/auto.

Try bringing the GPX file into G7toWin (free download) and then re-export the track from G7ToWin to GPX format. I've used G7ToWin to sort out problems with GPX files I've downloaded that have not been readable in Mapsource. G7ToWin will support both waypoints and tracks in many formats and is fairly easy to learn.

I've tested the 2.6 upgrade a half dozen times (cold starts) and the white screen issue seems to be resolved. I received a note from Garmin support that stated: ... "One way to test the new update is to stick the device in your fridge (not the freezer) for about 10 minutes then try to power it up. Have a great evening!"

You can set GSAK to query the dates in the new pocket query and only load the updates. This is handy for those of us that keep large numbers of caches stored in GSAK. When you have thousands of caches stored, it becomes quite a bit of work to reload your data each time since you only get 500 waypoints per query.

Since most users on this thread have been emailing Garmin about their Vista Hcx having the cold startup problem, I suspect Garmin has focused on the Vista build at this point. The new 2.6 software download is only available via the Webupdater (not posted on Garmin's update page) and I suspect they are using us Vista users as testers before making it available to all of the other "H" series units that are affected. I would expect to see updates for the remaining H series units available pretty soon if the fix actually works. I tried to make mine "white out" last night after updating the firmware but it worked fine. I'll need some more testing time before I'm satisfied it's been fixed but so far it's looking good.

I didn't see anybody say that the new update hasn't fixed the problem... the person you referred to was running version 2.5 not the update. Can anybody that has actually done the upgrade please comment on whether they are still having the cold startup problem? You should have the following installed if you are running the most recent updates: Software Version - 2.60 GPS Software Version - 2.60

Cooled my Vista Hcx down (left it outside) and it started up just fine after upgrading to version 2.6 (no white screen). I'm now running: Software Version - 2.60 GPS Software Version - 2.60 Since I had to turn on my GPS (for the upgrade) just before setting it outside, I'm not sure how valid my test is... but I'm optimistic! The good news is that the Lithium battery problem seems to be fixed! No battery warning when I adjust the light and the battery level shows a full battery (tested with a new set of Lithiums). The bad news is that nothing was done to further improve the odometer... still recording "Stopped" time if you are moving at less than 1 mph.

Garmin has posted a software update (version 2.6) that is supposed to fix the "cold start" problem. Seems to only be available through the Webupdater at this point. My GPS is sitting outside right now cooling down, I'll let you know...

If you are looking for something a little lighter, the GG Wisp is a really nice pack. The shoulder straps and waist belt are really comfortable for loads up to 20 pounds and the pack only weighs 1.5 pounds. I bought the Wisp because it was the only day pack that I could find that fit a long torso... if you are tall watch out for this because you'll never be comfortable wearing the waist belt if the pack is too short (and this is a common problem with day packs).

I have already checked my Vista Hcx against my 60Cx and the magic speed seemed to be .8 mph on the Vista. The Vista can register speeds lower than 1 mph but can seem to sustain it, the readout will show .8 then nothing as I slow down. The 60Cx had a continous speed display all the way down to .2 mph and was able to sustain that indefinely if I kept moving slowly. I would assume that when the Vista display went blank as I slowed down I would be recording stopped time.

Cosine Swanson posted an excellent picture of the problem earlier in this thread. Here's the one I sent to Garmin that shows my Vista Hcx with my son's Venture Cx. There's not much doubt you'll recognize the problem when it happens. Quote case number KMM2079141I10971L0KM.

I tried a set of Lithium batteries in my Vista Hcx and fired it up cold and still got the white screen on the first startup, so it seems battery type doesn't make any difference. Was worth a shot.

What type of batteries are you using? I'd be interested in knowing if the type of battery is a factor in the washed out screen problem. I've been using NiMH rechargeables (2500mAh) and I get the problem on the first startup if the GPS is cold. I've never had the problem when the GPS is at room temperature.

oops, double post!

I've always assumed that the dull screen on my 60Cx was because it takes more power to run the Sirf chip. I suspect to get the battery life that we expect, the Garmin engineers have probably dialed back the power output a little causing the screen to darken. I have been wondering if this will be the fix that they eventually come up with for the "white out" problem they are working on (the problem at startup with the Vista Hcx in cool temps). I'm not certain but I think that after the last software upgrade on my Vista Hcx, the screen was a bit duller just like your new one. Still brighter than my 60 Cx but starting to take on that buff colored hue that the 60Cx has instead of the bright yellow that it used to have. My guess is that the Vista white screen issue in cold weather is a power issue on startup probably caused by power demands by the new receiver. Pure speculation on my part but tech support did tell me that the last software upgrade was supposed to help deal with the white screen problem. I really hope the next upgrade doesn't leave the screen looking like the 60Cx! I may try rolling mine back to the old software to see if the screen brightens back to how it was before.

The tech guy you talked to must be really out of touch! I mentioned toyotatechman's ticket number (KMM1885714I10971L0KM) when I logged my complaint and when Garmin contacted me with a reply it had toyotatechman's number on the response, so they have grouped my complaint with that one. I also sent them a picture of the problem that looked exactly like the picture Cosine Swanson sent to them. I would suggest that you mention the ticket number to keep the pressure on for a fix! edited - oops, wrong photo credit, sorry!

I sent a photo of my screen problem back to Garmin and told tech support that the latest software update didn't help. They said they have passed my note and picture on to Engineering... let's hope it can be fixed with a software patch... if it's hardware we may be out of luck!

When I ordered my Vista Hcx I ordered an invisible shield screen protector at the same time. The GPS came in less than a week and the screen protector took 4 weeks. Before getting the screen protector, I managed to put quite a bad scratch on the screen but the screen protector has made it invisible. I was quite amazed because it was a deep scratch and although I had heard that an invisible shield screen protector can cover scratches, I didn't think it would hide one that bad!

I really like the work he's done on making that custom topo mapping available to everybody (for free) but I like the Topo Canada because you can auto-route with it.

Since the OP is from Canada, it's important to note that unlike the U.S. versions, Metroguide Canada and Topo Canada both auto-route. Topo Canada only auto-routes to geographic features and waypoints while Metroguide auto-routes to street addresses as well.

Since you're from Canada you might want to look at this thread as well. Mapping discussion is part way down the thread.

One of my sons used a Sportrak Map and the other used the Sportrak Color for geocaching for quite awhile. When I got my GPSMap60Cx we ran lots of comparisons while out caching and we consistently found that under heavy tree cover the Magellan's "pretend" to have a good lock. I've heard it called the "slingshot" effect by somebody in this forum. When under heavy tree cover the Magellan's would always overshoot the cache location and then slowly come back to it. It actually got to be quite funny because my sons would always make me walk in front so that I couldn't hang back and scoop the cache! The thing that they found annoying was that the Magellans seemed to continue to track (distance keeps changing) but when they compared it to mine it was way off in distance (the distance on the Magellans always indicated that they had farther to go to get to the cache). They would always come back to the right spot when they gave it a little time to settle down. The Magellan's were equal to the Garmin in lighter tree cover. They have both switched over to Garmins in the past year. When I first got my 60Cx we tested it's accuracy against the Sportrak Map by placing a waypoint on a known horizontal control point. The difference was negligible between the two GPS's. The only real surprise to me was how close both were to the actual coords of the monument. I suspect if I tried it again they would be way off the known coords.

Retested mine (cooled it down) and I got the white screen and I'm running the latest versions of software. Software Version - 2.50 GPS Software Version - 2.60

I received this back from Garmin yesterday. "Thank you for contacting Garmin International. Thank you for the feedback. Garmin has recently released an update that is designed to help resolve this issue. I would also suggest updating your unit's operating system using the link below. http://www.garmin.com/products/webupdater/...stall.jsp" I thought they had written something to fix the problem but when I ran Webupdater I was already running the latest versions . How many of you are still having this problem with the following versions installed: Software Version - 2.50 GPS Software Version - 2.60 I'm pretty sure that when I contacted Garmin I was running the latest updates but now that I want to confirm the problem still exists, I can't make it happen.