Twitchy

I've used both the Garmin eTrex Vista and the Magellan Platnum. I prefer the Garmin but hate the antennia. In dense growth or even in the open when obstructed it looses signal. I use the travel timer quite a lot I prefer the antennia on the Magellan and don't care for the display So, I have purchased a Garmin 76S. Most (if not all) the features of the Vista but antennia like the Magellan

Thanks, for the info. At least I know what I'm looking at now

I have an eTrex Vista I have been using for about a year. The satellite aquisition window has a series of 5 or 6 (really haven't counted them) horizontial lines. These are use to denote the signal strength of the satellite, I guess. My question is about the D that appears. I can't find anything that tells me what this is for. It usually starts out on the bottom line then when the vertical bar turns black it moves to the second line. I've never seen it any higher. So, could someone tell me what the D is and what does it mean TIA, Scott

Dah, you are correct. I was confusing dd.dddd with longitude and latitude. At 60 you add another degree. By trying to put in 97 that would have been a movement of a little over 1 1/2 degrees. Wierd how I confused something like that....I'm a geographer! Thanks,

I recently purchased a Garmin eTrex Vista. There seems to be a problem. I would like someone to verify the problem. I know Garmin is going to say I'm crazy. Here is the problem. I live in the Dallas metroplex. I was entering a waypoint (going to look for a cache). I was changing the 32*50.556 to 32*97.556 (what's important about the latitude is the 3rd digit). I found that I couldn't change the 3rd digit (5) to anything but the number 0 to 5. Any number 6 to 9 would not change the 5. I can change any other number but not the 3rd digit. 9 is important around here. I tried with OS 2.24 then upgraded to 2.25 (the latest Garmin OS). Neither of these seemed to fix the problem. Can someone try this and let me know if it's a software issue? If it happens on other Garmin eTrex Vista's. I think it is. Thanks, Scott

You may find the signal will degrade under trees because trees absorb microwave signals. If you have a Direct TV or satellite dish they will always require a clear path to the satellite. If you place it behind a tree the signal will degrade to the point of loss. Same concept with a GPS. The thicker the foliage the less signal you will receive. The roof is another story. Plywood and all the stuff on top of it won't stop a microwave. My local antennia is in the attic. Yea, the signal is not as good as if it was outside the roof but, the antennia is protected from the weather. So, trees absorb microwaves, roofs don't (well at least not as much as trees).

You may find the signal will degrade under trees because trees absorb microwave signals. If you have a Direct TV or satellite dish they will always require a clear path to the satellite. If you place it behind a tree the signal will degrade to the point of loss. Same concept with a GPS. The thicker the foliage the less signal you will receive. The roof is another story. Plywood and all the stuff on top of it won't stop a microwave. My local antennia is in the attic. Yea, the signal is not as good as if it was outside the roof but, the antennia is protected from the weather. So, trees absorb microwaves, roofs don't (well at least not as much as trees).