johnlvs2run
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Posts posted by johnlvs2run
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If you aren't going with rechargeable (by far the cheapest long term) then you should spring for lithium. They are twice as much as alkaline but (at least for me) lasted 4-5 times longer.
I got 4x AA energizer lithium for 4.96 from ebay, my first time to try them.
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I ran with the vista hcx this morning again, have been through the manuals and did searches.
1) The options for ascent or descent can't be put on the trip computer page, they are only on the altimeter page;
2) I've not figured out how to set tones at automatic intervals, nor auto recording of splits (at waypoints), perhaps this can not be done;
3) I've not found if the trip computer page can be saved;
4) The garmin time to destination feature does not work, nor many of the other features that are listed.
The gps is reasonably accurate for distance;
current speed is erratic and has no semblance to reality;
trip time moving is good to one hour, then converts to whole minutes;
moving average works well, but only in miles per hour and cannot be set for minutes & seconds.
listing of features
http://www.tramsoft.ch/gps/garmin_etrex-vista-color_en.html#toc
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best thing to do is download the manual for the earlier (non H) models.
http://www8.garmin.com/products/manual.jsp?product=010-00243-00
Thank you!
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My first gps receiver arrived this morning, and I took it out for a run.
I like it so far, but the manuals are not very helpful, and I have a few questions.
1) On the trip computer page, where are the options for total ascent and total descent;
2) How can I set tones at automatic intervals, and auto recording of splits;
3) Can the trip computer page info be saved;
4) How do I add a destination, to get the time to destination?
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Here's a history of the etrex legend h.
for sale
history
There have been quite a few legend h's sold in the $50 to 90 range.
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Very informative video, thanks. How concerned should I be about getting a used one?
You're welcome. This is my first gps receiver. My concern for used is less than a $300 new one having issues right out of the box, firmware not ready for 2 years etc, which would be quite aggravating. On ebay it is easy to return items through paypal that don't work.
Being patient,you can usually find a pretty good deal. I was ready to wait for a month, and it only took a few days. What model are you interested in? Below are some searches, you can change the search titles to find other models.
summit hc recent history
summit hc for sale
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Sorry for posting in the wrong place. Thanks for the info. Which features should I be looking for?
H = high sensitive receiver;
C = color (vs monochrome), and has a slightly wider screen;
X refers to an extended (in addition to internal) memory.
The summit hc and vista hcx have the more accurate barometric altimeters. I wanted the better altimeter, and choose between the summit hc and the vista hcx. If you don't care about the altimeter, the legend h (monochrome, with maps), legend hcx (color with extended memory), or venture hc (with internal memory) might be good.
Then there's the choice between new or used. Here's a good video that was helpful to me.
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perhaps the stalkers would have use from tracing back someone's steps if that person had a daily routine, not a random one
What would it matter to you?
Stalkers would certainly WANT to have that information.
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there are no privacy concerns with the current information provided. It is historical and of no use to someone wanting to "Stalk".
With the current system, I can click on the users and look at the caches they found that day and plan the route accordingly. Nice little feature. Absolutely needed? No. Extremely useful, especially when going to an unfamiliar area? Without a doubt.
Usually stalkers check where people have been and gather all sorts of detailed information on their potential victims. Perhaps most people don't do that, but stalkers would find it to be extremely useful.
Can you imagine someone coming up and saying "oh I see you visited blah place on blah date at blah time, I was there yesterday and saw what you put in the cache, where are you going tomorrow?" I'm sure to many women, that would be creepy, and turn them off from caching. I have been stalked a few times, and know how some people delight in keeping notebooks of one's past activities.
Add me to the list of people wanting private information to NOT be blasted all over the internet.
Linking from a simple number of caches, to much more detailed information is not necessary. At least have the option of "do you want this number linked" yes/no would be helpful. So there are two issues (1) not putting private info in profiles and (2) not expanding (a number for example) to more private information elsewhere, unless by the choice of that member.
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I got a used etrex vista hcx for right around $100 from ebay last night.
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I ordered a vista hcx from ebay last night. Thanks for all the helpful responses.
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As stated in other posts about this subject. The unit's chipset firmware will improve over time. The eTrex 10-20-30 is the first Garmin GPS to use the Teseo II receiver chipset. As always, when Garmin uses a new chipset, it takes some time to dial in the firmware. Garmin always gets the issues resolved but it doesn't happen overnight.
Thanks for that info, very helpful.
I am wondering if any Etrex 30 users have been having problems with reception in even light tree cover.
Generally speaking for any gps receiver, would a reradiating antenna be helpful? What is the best position for the receiver when hiking, on the waist vs top of the backpack. Maybe an antenna on the hat would work best?
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Why does the summit hc have a battery life of 14 hours, vs 25 hours for the vista hcx? The receivers appear to be the same, except the vista hcx has autorouting and expandable memory. Amazon lists the summit as having 14 hours with AA batteries, but up to 32 hours with AA alkaline batteries.
Is the battery life for these two receivers the same, or else why is it different?
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maybe I've just been lucky but mine, which is used almost daily, has had no lock ups and appears far more accurate than the Legend H it replaced
you're expecting far too much from a consumer handheld if you want to be always within 20 feet for distance and altitude. Altitude in particular can vary by 100's of feet.
I would consider always being more than 20 feet off for distance, and 100's of feet for altitude, to be issues.
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As stated in other posts about this subject. The unit's chipset firmware will improve over time. The eTrex 10-20-30 is the first Garmin GPS to use the Teseo II receiver chipset. As always, when Garmin uses a new chipset, it takes some time to dial in the firmware. Garmin always gets the issues resolved but it doesn't happen overnight.
Do you experience these issues with your etrex 30?
If so, are you patient for garmin firmware to resolve them?
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Where do you find the oregon 450 for 285?
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Today (Fri 9 Dec 2011) I carefully calibrated the HCx altimeter using the 204 feet car park elevation, as given by Google Earth. After less than a couple of hours the car park had dropped to less than 170 feet. So I'm not sure how accurate the altimeter really is. Have now seen lots of discussion elsewheres on this topic. My HCx Altimeter Setup is Auto-calibration: On, Barometer Mode: Variable Elevation. If I do a setup using the GPS altitude setting, rather than a value from Google Maps, then I'm seeing discrepancies of about 30 feet, based on a sample of only 2 locations.
That is disconcerting that it changes so much. If I understand correctly, the barometric odometer (accuracy) is the same on the summit hc, vista hcr, etrex 30, as well as all other models. This is the feature that I'm most interested to have.
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If I were using a GPS unit as a jogging companion I would want a model with the ability to listen to Garmin's heart rate monitor.
Yogozoo, thanks much for your comments.
Cadence would be interesting too, but I've not found if the etrex 30 would work with a foodpod.
Vista HCX was a good GPS for it's day but it's rather dated now unless all you need is basic mapping and positional information. Plus the barometeric based altimeter on the eTrex 30 and Dakota works the same as it does on the Vista.
I'm considering the etrex 30, the main negatives being price, and reliability, needing firmware updates. The summit hc might be suitable, as I think it does all the vista hcx does, except maps. I've not used a gpsr previously, so using maps from one with a computer sounds complicated, especially using linux.
My idea is to either get a basic gpsr like the summit hc and get used to it for a few months, then get a newer model when the bugs are worked out, or else get a newer model now and go through whatever hassles it takes to get it working (ugh).
If a friend of mine asked me my opinion and stated the needs/wants you did in your original post and then told me he was leaning toward a Vista I'd do my best to persuade him to go with the newer units and more specifically the eTrex 30. I've owned a Vista in the past and have recently used an eTrex 30 and I can tell you that the eTrex 30 is, in all categories, a serious upgrade.Okay then maybe I'll go that route. So far I've not found a good price for one though.
Why would you want to master reset the "Odometer" when the "Trip Odometer" is really the field you want and resets when you reset the trip data in the setup menu?The concern is that the trip odometer would change to whole miles at the same time as the main.
"Total Ascent" resets when you reset the trip data as well, at least on the newer units.The reported issue with ascent is that it keeps increasing when going downhill. I would prefer to not reset the ascent and trip data before the end of a hike, the main concern being that the ascent data does not keep increasing when going downhill, the same for moving pace not increasing when there is no movement.
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Sussamb,
Thanks very much.
Now that I've decided on the vista hcx, I might get a new one instead of used.
The prices don't appear to be that much different, 170-180 for new & 100 to 157 for used.
This way it would be in good condition, although no guarantee of a firmware update.
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As for accuracy, you're expecting far too much from a consumer handheld if you want to be always within 20 feet for distance and altitude. Altitude in particular can vary by 100's of feet. You can get GPS with barometers but they are more expensive and, so I understand, require quite frequent calibration.
Accurate altitude is my primary motivation for getting a gps receiver. Within 10 feet will be good. I believe all of the gps receivers mentioned in this thread have barometeric altimeters, with varying degrees of accuracy. Below is an evaluation of the vista hcx.
"The first test of the Vista .. showed exactly what I was looking for: a relatively stable elevation profile that roughly matches the known hills and valleys .. track points measured at the same location and different times were within about 10 feet in elevation, which is about as good as we can expect it to get."
"The Vista has a function that allows you to manually calibrate its altimeter if you know the exact elevation where you are. After initial calibration, the Vista will only use GPS to correct for fluctuations in air pressure if the Auto Calibration setting is turned on. This is recommended to provide the best possible elevation data; otherwise it will use the current GPS elevation as its starting point, and that may or may not be very close to reality at any given moment."
http://www.byond.com/members/MikeH?command=view_post&post=95427
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The Garmin Vista HCx has been around since 2007, so it's firmware is very stable and refined.
As/per Garmin's past units, the newer models won't be optimized until the firmware has had multiple revisions.
All the units you are looking at can log your tracklog to the micro sd card as a gpx file. In mapsource you can trim the excess parts of the tracklog.
Good Luck!
JJW, thanks very much. In that case I will stick with getting a vista hcx.
According to this link http://www8.garmin.com/support/blosp.jsp the last vista hcx update was December 3, 2009, and there has not been any update for the etrex 30. I'm not familiar with gpx files, and hope the receiver will work well & recall without needing a computer.
An off topic question is whether the vista hcx can show moving pace in minutes & seconds, instead of miles per hour, for example 16:40 instead of 3.6 mph? The fellow demonstrating his vista hcx on a hike last weekend said yes, but I've not seen anything about this on the net.
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FYI a number of factors affect how quickly any GPS acquires a signal, clearly an interrupted view is one, so is how far the GPS has moved since it was last switched on. Switch it on where you last switched it off and it will know precisely where the satellites are, move it a few hundred miles and it'll take a while to acquire them again. As a guide, the last time I moved mine about 200 hundred miles it took 45 seconds to get a lock.
Sussamb, thanks for your comments. Idk how your post impacts my question, or the comment by aksfightr on amazon, "To accommodate for this, I always let it acquire signal before we arrive at the start point, and then just reset the trip computer to begin the hike." Are you saying that method does not work for you on an etrex vista hcx?
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If you have your Etrex set to automatically produce a track log then clearly it will start when you turn it on and go off when you turn it off. You can set tracklog to off, but then it's more of a procedure to switch it back on than a simple on/off of the GPS.
Maybe I'll understand what you're saying when I get one. Also I found the following helpful comment from aksfightr's review on amazon, "if you try to acquire a signal under thick canopy, it will take a few minutes if it does it at all. you have to be in a fairly open area to acquire signal. To accommodate for this, I always let it acquire signal before we arrive at the start point, and then just reset the trip computer to begin the hike."
http://www.amazon.com/review/R1VPU500F3G3OV/ref=cm_srch_res_rtr_alt_4
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Sussamb, a rating posted the HCX would start tracking moving time when turned on, and could not be reset at the trailhead, without turning the unit off and back on, cumbersome to do at a trailhead in a group. It would be great if there's a setting where tracking can be started manually. By accurate I mean within 20 feet for distance and altitude, closer would be nice, but 50+ feet off would not be acceptable. There were also many reports of constant freezes.
JJW, thanks.
Chris-66, does the master reset the main odometer? Regarding ascent, I'd like to keep track of ascent and descent for the total hike, without doing a master reset. Also the moving average was reported to keep going when the person was stopped. The review is recent, November 1st. http://www.amazon.com/review/R34QSCGFN2TIMY/ref=cm_srch_res_rtr_alt_1
Thanks for all the replies. It is disconcerting to see all the issues with the different models.
Think of me on Saturday Oct. 1st
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