SparksGuy

I agree completely with Tequila. Other wise, I guess I need to study the "Print: Simple" features as I know I will miss saving PDF data! (5552: Discontinue PDF print function) The only other issue I see that has NOT been commented on is: "Your current rating for the selected GPS" needs instructions on how to select the number of stars. I was very confused until I moused over them, accidentally. Allowing input on more than one GPS would also be a good thing. I look forward to seeing fixes to some of the recent roll back items. SparksGuy

Agreed, a full log is not reason to archive. But it has been disabled over a year! No maintenance. I turned it over to the reviewer who archived it. BTW, it was not a quality cache, just an LPC of sorts. Again, I turn this over to my reviewer who Fixed the location. I had already emailed the owner with help, including that they could ask the reviewer to fix it. Both may be examples of owner apathy. This thread should now die a peaceful death. Start a new one if you wish.

Thanks to all who replied. You have all given me much food for thought. This is a difficult and complicated subject. I don’t want to post an SBA. What I really want is for owners to do occasional maintenance. Cache #1 owner left it disabled for over a year. Cache #2 could be corrected from the owners computer (or GC admin. reviewer). So, my decision is to turn both over to my local reviewer. I’ll let him call me the bad guy that complained, if he wants to. I am not one who likes a never ending thread so, PLEASE let us call this one closed. SparksGuy

Nano Log was full. Posted location is wrong in any form of down load.The words "not at the posted coordinates" are not used on the cache page. This cache is not a mystery cache; it is a traditional. Right above the hint, the long cache description says: "I had to move the cache to a different spot...New coords are as follows... N latitude, W longitude". (I removed the numbers to protect the guilty.) SparksGuy

Should I report these 2 bad caches? Or what should I do? Cache #1 Hidden: June 2007 December 2007 log is full. Posted by a finder. December 2007 by owner - Temporarily Disable Listing Jan. 2009 - This cache is STILL temporarily unavailable after 14 months! Cache #2 Posted Coordinates are wrong, very wrong. Owner ADDED to the cache description "moved cache to ...". There is NO notice that the cache is not at the posted coordinates. The difference is 2.489 miles! At first I was sure there was a typo or two. I have emailed the owner stating my confusion and detailing the process of updating coordinates. I have since talked to other finders who confirmed the cache moved over 2 miles. Opinions please; SparksGuy

Thank you Renegade Knight, I completely agree with your 3 posts after my last one. I am sorry that Chrysalides feels slighted. Actually, rather than spare readers an explanation, I was sparing myself the frustration of writing several books on the subject. If Chrysalides feels the need for better explanation, I suggest several years study at a local university. Start with Maxwell and Faraday, anything better than the pseudoscience you might find on the History and Discovery channels. Hard to tell, to many variables. Both could, even without wifi. Again, It is not likely but, still possible. I did not expect to resurrect a quiet thread. SparksGuy

I am an FAA certified avionics repairman. A GPSr CAN cause problems with aircraft safety of flight! It is not likely, but it can happen. I will spare you the technical explanation. So, do YOU want to be the one responsible for an aircraft crash? Better safe than sorry and if not that, at least obtain permission first. This is NOT a good subject to seek forgiveness after the event. (Same thing with cell phones, games and pda's.) It may not have caused a problem last week, but that does not mean it will not in the future. SparksGuy

Under “Geocaching Home > Hide > Report/Edit a Cache Listing” the words “The descriptions below are in HTML” should be changed to “The descriptions below are in XML”, or XHTML.

Just a bit of clarification here. The feature is very annoying if you want the compass turned off. One work-around is to remove the compass page from viewing sequence. Then you only see the message if you main menu to the compass page. I simply leave the compass on. After doing a firmware update or changing the batteries, I still get the message. It is telling me to re-calibrate. So I do, then the message goes away. Some people have said that they turn off the compass to conserve batteries. Just to be sure I measured the current draw of my Vista HCx with the compass on and off. There is NO appreciable difference! SparksGuy

Just to be sure I measured the current draw of my Vista HCx with the compass on and off. There is NO appreciable difference! Now that I know that, I'll probably leave mine on, set to < 2 mph and > 60 seconds. Also, I agree with JohnnyVegas, the Garmin compass is not accurate when tilted. java script:emoticon('', 'smid_2') Pardon me while I go recalibrate my compass. java script:emoticon('', 'smid_12') SparksGuy

SergZak; I agree that this is a big annoyance and lame. My post was poorly worded. I should have said something like - after you update the software, the compass calibration must be done again, if you need that feature. SparksGuy

SergZak; I agree that this is a big annoyance and lame. My post was poorly worded. I should have said something like - after you update the software, the compass calibration must be done again, if you need that feature. SparksGuy

I have a Vista HCx, a 2 GB card and City Navigator North America NT on DVD. It took a long time to load 3/4 of the US onto the card, but it worked. I wish now I had loaded the whole thing; I think it would fit. If you have a Mac, you might want to think about the MicroSD version instead of the DVD, or the TOPO maps on DVD or MicroSD. Either way they are expensive and a bear to load from DVD but have tons of data. I posted a review of the Vista HCx on my web site. Go to www.ksguy.com , click on Geocaching then click the link to see my review. SparksGuy

Mofino; I agree with geo climber. The compass is not a good reason to buy this model but, if you are going to spend hundreds, why not spend a little more in case you need it later. I posted a review of the Vista HCx on my web site. Go to www.ksguy.com , click on Geocaching then click the link to see my review. SparksGuy

After reading ALL of these comments I wanted to post some of my own. First off, this thread is for “Garmin Vista HCx mini-review”. Some posts are about other models. The "hint" feature is not a bug, it is telling you that you updated the software (or it is a new unit) and you need to calibrate the compass. Just follow the manual on page 28 and the hint will go away! I also had the WAAS disable bug but I think it went away with the updated from Version 2.20 to 2.30. I posted a review of the Vista HCx on my web site. Go to www.ksguy.com , click on Geocaching then click the link to see my review. SparksGuy

The "hint" feature is not a bug, it is telling you that you updated the software (or it is a new unit) and you need to calibrate the compass. Just follow the manual on page 28 and the hint will go away! I also had the WAAS disable bug but I think it went away with the updated from Version 2.20 to 2.30. I posted a review of the Vista HCx on my web site. Go to www.ksguy.com , click on Geocaching then click the link to see my review. SparksGuy