SergZak

The link I provided above is to the GpsPassion forums where there is also a Tom Tom forum, among many others.

You may get some comments on these systems in this forum but will likely to get more info if you post this question & read up at the Garmin Advanced Navigation Systems Forum.

Wow, you'd think they'd be able to get it right the first or even second try. I work in AutoCAD all day long and can easily make up a simple 2D polyline shape for a template, print it out on standard paper, cut it out with scissors & lay it on the screen to verify the shape is indeed correct. I don't know what type of cutting method they use but it seems like it would be the most difficult of the process. I have not yet received my replacement (hopefully they wait until it's verified it before it gets sent out) but if it comes, I am going to try trimming the paper backing up to the shield edge and verify if/where the shield needs to be trimmed -before- actually installing it. My attempt at trimming after the fact ended up in a messed up shield. The difficulty is actually trimming the shield since it's difficult at best to cut, especially without the paper backing on it. On top of that, the outside profile has very little in the way of perfectly straight edges so a straight edge won't help much...

Unlocked maps are not tied to the unit's unit ID and therefore may be used on any number of GPS units that you may own. Locked maps will only work on the unit that the map has been unlocked to (via unit ID/unlock code). You should have no problems.

If you calibrate & leave the compass on, then shut down the unit, you don't have to calibrate the compass again until you turn the compass off or change batteries. You won't get the nag as long as you leave the compass on. However, once you turn the compass off, you will get the nag screen -every time- you access the compass page until you calibrate it. This cycle will repeat whenever the compass is turned off.

I believe the unlock policy for City Navigator has been changed to one GPS unit per unlock code (it used to be two per code) for both the CD/DVD & pre-programmed SD card versions. What makes me believe the following is true for the SD card version is the following from the Garmin website: "Please note: These cards are programmed on demand. Please allow 1-3 business days for programming prior to shipment" This makes me believe that the card is preprogrammed with your desired map purchase along with an unlock code, generated using your GPS's serial number when you purchase it. This will effectively tie the unlocked maps on the SD card to your particular GPS so it cannot be used in any other unit. Although I cannot say for certain if this is indeed the current policy, it sure does seem to be the case according to what I've read and know about Garmin's unlock process/policy. Someone here may be more familiar with the actual policy regarding the SD card's usage limitations.

There's no way to totally disable it but you can take the compass page out of your page sequence so it doesn't pop up every time you cycle through your pages. Either that or calibrate & leave your compass turned on. Bad thing about this is that the compass does not work correctly when the unit is in any position other than horizontal so this is not a very good work-around. In the meantime, we wait for a unit software (firmware) update to hopefully get rid of this "feature" (or at least make it user-selectable).

Just thought I'd mention that I received an email from ShieldZone regarding the Vista HCx design flaw issue: "I apologize that you received an incorrectly design product. We have recently redesigned the Garmin eTrex Vista HCx shield and will ship a new one to you via USPS Priority. We will also include a self addressed stamped envelope for you to return the old shield to us in to keep the warranty valid. We thank you for your patience with us at this time. I hope this helps! Please feel free to contact me if you have any further questions or comments." Looks like they have indeed revised/redesigned the shield. Will let you know when it arrives and how it fits compared to the first. I especially like the fact that they are shipping out the new one for free via USPS priority mail and including a self addressed stamped envelope for returning the old one.

Years ago, the GPS 315 was my very first GPSr. It was amazing for it's time and is still a very good/robust unit. Enjoy!

True, Rhialto...thanks for pointing that out.

In other words...BUY THE DISK VERSION

As far as being used on the GPS unit itself, all functionality is the same between the CD/DVD and mSDcard. When you get the CD/DVD of the same maps, you will receive/install MapSource/Trip and Waypoint Manager which lets you view maps, create/upload/download waypoints, create routes etc. Read about Trip and Waypoint Manager here.

Unless you absolutely need WAAS enabled all the time, I'd stay at your current v2.20 unit software until v2.40 (or whatever version is released after v2.30) is released. Be warned that v2.30 while correcting the WAAS bug adds it's own quirks. Have a read of the "Vista HCx mini review" thread for all the details. It's all in there...

And I thought it was just me when I got my InvisibleShield for my Vista HCx and found it was just too big...I had to remove/trim with scissors/reapply multiple times to get it to fit. The stuff is just plain difficult to cut with any precision. I managed a somewhat decent fit but got numerous blotches on the adhesive side from having to remove/reapply it so many times. Someone screwed up with either the template design or the cutting process because my iPod nano (2nd gen) and Motorola RAZR V3m full body shields fit great with no problems whatsoever. I have contacted ShieldZone with a replacement request. Hopefully, they will send out a new & corrected design.

I would seriously consider the Vista HCx or one of the other eTrex "x" units. 24MB may seem like quite a bit but realize that you can get a 1GB mSD card for $10-$15. If you got the 24MB fixed memory unit, you'll kick yourself if you ever need more than that for map storage since you'll have to purchase a new unit to "upgrade".

Now -I- must be missing something here...if you're searching for a waypoint by name, wouldn't you -want- the text-entry keypad to pop up so you can enter the first few letters of the waypoint you're searching for by name? The only way to get rid of the text-entry keypad is to switch from "Find by name" to "Find nearest" as I said in my previous post and as Miragee stated in his post just above this one. If you're going to "Find by name", the text-entry keypad is always going to pop up, prompting you to enter text.

I tried updating to this when it was released up until a few days ago but WebUpdater never found this update file for the Vista HCx.

I think you're missing one small detail here. When the 'find waypoints' dialog box comes up (in your case 'Find by Name'), press the Find button (bottom left button) and select 'Find Nearest'. That should take care of your problem.

Seeing that both the Vista HCx and the Legend HCx both use the same unit software (I verified v2.30 for both and they were byte for byte identical), I don't see any problems except for #3 below: 1. The WAAS bug has been corrected in v2.30 2. The calibrate compass "hint" feature/bug (depending on how you look at it) in v2.30 does not apply to the Legend since there is no compass on it 3. There seems to be a tracklog distance bug that you can read about in other threads (sorry, but I'm not very familiar with it)

Mine is stuck onto my iPod nano (have one on order for my Vista HCx) so I can't actually measure it with my calipers but I'm guessing the thickness is approx 2-3 sheets of standard printer paper or .008" - .011".

Leaving the magnetic compass on in the field is fine. I have no problem having it on in that situation. However, if you use the unit in the car mounted (somewhat) vertically, you need to turn the compass off. The compass is NOT a 3-axis, does not operate correctly and is useless in the vertical position...this is when you use the GPS computed compass. Also having a virtually solid metal frame surrounding you does not make the magnetic compass happy at all. This is where this "hint feature" will bug the crappola out of you. Since the compass is off in this situation, you get the "hint" every time the compass page is accessed. "User configurable" is best when it's actually used.

Yes, you have three options: Cardinal Letters (NSEW), Degrees and Mils

True...BUT, please try this yourself: turn off your compass and cycle through the pages or just hit the compass page. It pops up constantly if you have your compass turned off. I, for one leave my compass off until I need it. In the mean time, I don't need to be reminded to calibrate it every single time I access the compass page. One or two reminders is enough...after that, it's simply annoying. After all, I'm the one that turned off the compass in the first place. It may not be a "bug" but is sure is a big annoyance.

This series looks very promising. I started off with Magellan (a GPS 300) and slowly moved towards Garmin, totally abandoning Magellan. As has been discussed here before, Magellan has many product support issues (software, unit firmware and hardware) to take care of. If they support the product like Garmin does (timely firmware updates/bug fixes etc.), I believe they'll have a big winner on their hands.

Thank you Rhialto for verifying this. This file has been available for download from Garmin since when, Friday? And they still have the same file there for download as of today (Tuesday). I wonder how many people have downloaded and ran this, scratching their heads when this screen pops up. Well, maybe they'll fix it tomorrow...