CJOttawa

First and foremost: WindowsXP. With Windows, anything's easy to tweak and I use GSAK for managing caches. The quick and dirty method is to do a "print to PDF" from a cache page and save it on your desktop. Team CowboyPapa: I have the 4G which has a 4GB SSD drive (flash drive). Windows takes about 1.5GB but that includes most of my software. For added storage, I put a 16GB Patriot Class 6 SDHC card in the SDHC slot, assigned it a static drive letter and mapped the "My Documents" folder to it so I'm really working with 20GB. For more info, the Asus User forum is the best place to look... there's more written there than I can possibly hold a candle to here.

If you have a chance, browse the Eee PC user forum. One point raised about getting XP: you can find license stickers for XP often on old, abandoned systems or at computer flea markets. These machines are either free or being sold for pocket change. All you need is the license sticker. Use heat to remove it, laminate it and stick it to the bottom of your Eee to be completely above board. XP replacement discs are easily found for doing the install. It took me about an hour to install XP Pro on the Eee PC. Mildly nLited (search the Eee forum for more on that) it takes LESS space than the default Xandros Linux. You can mirror your 4GB SSD onto an SD card. I know a guy who can do flash a stock Eee PC with XP Pro from an SD card in 9 minutes flat. (!) The Eee PC is a standardized PC. Everyone you'd run on a desktop runs fine on it. If screen resolution is an issue, you can run an 800x600 virtual desktop. This seems to satisfy most software that doesn't grok 800x480. For greater mass storage, spring for a big SDHC card - I bought a 16GB - or get a flash drive or external USB hard drive. I can't stress enough: this machine REPLACED my former notebook. It's that good. All that said, if you can live with the Xandros install, it's quite good. Fast, robust and fairly feature packed. I just wanted to do things outside the scope of it's capabilities, hence XP Pro.

The installed Xandros Linux is fine IF you ONLY want to do what it's designed for. As soon as you go outside of what it was specifically set up to do and has installed applications for, unless you're a Linux expert, your time is better spent installing Windows XP.

The last time I geocached was prior to buying my new laptop, an ASUS Eee PC. The Eee', since December, has replaced my 17" notebook and goes with me everywhere. Today, I started caching with it and am in fact sitting in a coffee shop typing this. The Eee PC has it's own user forum at http://forum.eeeuser.com/ so I won't get into too many details here BUT, for cachers looking for the ULTIMATE in paperless caching, I recommend this unit. The short of it: <$400 nano-sized notebook with a functional sized keyboard (I touch type about 50wpm on it) 900MHz Celeron M (don't let "Celeron" put you off... it's almost an identical chip to a Pentium M with less cache and power management) 7" 800x480 screen WiFi & RJ-45 LAN 2, 4 or 8GB SSD drive with an SDHC slot for adding up to 32GB SDHC cards 512mb or 1GB ram upgradeable to 2GB (which I've done) comes with Linux (nice) but XP installable (I did... works GREAT) Performance is snappier than my former P4HT 3.2GHz fire-breathing laptop. Lest you think I'm not giving this device a workout... I run the marketing department of a small airline and this machine regularly runs Photoshop and Illustrator, among other things. It's FAST. I figured I'd see a huge buzz here on Groundspeak about this.

I recently bought an ASUS Eee PC. It weighs less than a kilogram and is smaller than many portable DVD players. It goes with me EVERYWHERE... coffee shop, walking, shopping, work, home. I just started caching with it and it's fantastic for this purpose. The Garmin eTrex sits on my belt and if I need to pull up more data on the cache, I have a PDF of the cache page on my desktop. It's got WiFi if I need to grab more data online. I can't imagine carrying a larger computer anymore, for any reason, not the least of which geocaching.

Meh. The 76CSx design is a dinosaur. Not that the underpinnings are any different from the 60CSx - it does the same thing - but the case design isn't as user-friendly as the 60CSx, in my opinion. The 76 case will float if dropped in water where the other two won't - that's it's reason for existing. Screens may be larger on the 60 and 76 but the resolution is similar: 176 x 220 pixels for the eTrex HCx models = 38,720pixels 160 x 240 pixels for the 60CSx = 38,400pixels You don't get more screen real-estate, just larger pixels on the 60CSx. Unless a floating GPSr is important to you, go with the 60CSx over the 76. If you absolutely "need" a tiny unit, the HCx is great. I've owned a 60CSx and a Vista HCx. The 60CSx user interface is friendlier (a button for everything) where the eTrex has a learning curve because buttons are fewer and have multiple functions. Both units function pretty much the same though.

GPSCity/GPSCentral are great. Another place to consider is LeBaron. They have stores and do mail order. Prices are probably $5 or $10 higher than other places but they may have stuff in stock other places don't. http://www.lebaron.ca

Do you mean "Mapsource Topo Canada"? LeBaron sells it. Check them out: http://www.lebaron.ca You can mail order from them IF you don't have a store in your city. As they say on their website, if you're in a Canadian city with one of their stores, they ask that you go pick things up.

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) Oh good lord I HATE that "calibrate the compass" dialog box! What a joke. Is there any way to disable that or are we waiting for the next firmware revision to do that? Grrr...

They all use the MediaTek chipset. Don't take my word for it though: go to a store with two AA batteries in your pocket. Power up each unit - you'll see the Mediatek message on boot.

My old 60CSx did something similar. I'm sure I posted in another thread about that bug, as did other people. It seems to happen when I get out of my car while autorouting to a geocache. I'm suspicious it may have to do with the "switch to compass heading when below a certain speed" feature. Not sure though. Hitting "stop navigation" and disabling the compass don't seem to help.

Go for it. I've only had the Vista HCx for a few days and it's replacing my 60CSx. They've accomplished what I'd hoped: they crammed the functionality of the 60CSx into an eTrex form-factor. FYI, I wanted something smaller than the 60CSx which I found myself leaving at home a lot because it was a bit on the large side.

I did some driving around town today with the Vista HCx. My qualitative observations of the unit, from the perspective of someone who used the 60CSx for nearly a year: - it gets a position lock fast... much faster than the 60CSx - the screen is significantly brighter which probably relates to having the same power source for both the 60CSx and the Vista HCx but the Vista having a smaller screen. Same power, smaller area, brighter output. - the interface takes some getting used to but it's well thought out; the 60CSx has a button for every function where you have to think about what you're doing with the eTrex since buttons have multiple functions. I'm not missing the 60CSx yet. If you have fat hands, the 60CSx will be easier to use on account of the button layout. That aside, Garmin has basically crammed a 60CSx into an eTrex form factor with the Vista HCx.

The 60CSx is far too sensitive to attitude (pitch, roll) to make it really practical. Having used it for about a year, I had to recalibrate it before every use and then make sure it was perfectly flat. I just tried the Vista HCx on my balcony and in my apartment. The compass on the HCx seemed to work fine without a recalibration, out of the box, pointing in pretty much the same direction(s) before and after a calibration. The 60CSx was mostly unusable without a recalibration before each use. Unfortunately, it still seems very affected by pitch and roll. Pitching it a few degrees up will cause the bearing to change. Certainly not a 3-axis compass like those found on the Magellan units. This is one area where Garmin has catching up to do. *** *** *** One thing I can only give subjective feedback on as I haven't timed it: the Vista HCx seems to get a position lock faster than the 60CSx.

All that would explain a thing or two I've noticed as well. This month, for the first time ever, I've been driving one of my regular routes between Montreal and Ottawa Canada to find my 60CSx completely loses lock...over a year of the same drive and never a hiccup. This month, speed goes to "0" for a short time for no explicable reason. Chalk it up to satellites!

AH! Thanks for the clarification dogwalkers2. It was the Ultra II cards I'd read about problems with. I got the Vista HCx last night. I didn't have time to go outside with it but it sat, right next to my old 60CSx, on the arm of a sofa, with limited sky view - maybe 1/32 of the sky, out a patio door and windows. The 60CSx got as good as 8 feet of position error while the HCx got as good as 6 feet. Both were rotated to see if different angles would give better signal. I'll put it through its paces when I get a chance but I've got a good feeling based on that indoor test. extremecarver: have you ever tried the 60CSx in the same route you took while testing the HCx? I lived near the Alps years ago and wonder if even the 60CSx would keep a lock under some of the more extreme routes.

More than likely, the GPS won't read that card. There may be future firmware upgrades to make it work but the largest I've heard used successfully in a Garmin GPSr is a 2GB card - and then only the newer models and NOT using a "high speed" card. The GPS is only capable of pulling data off at a certain rate and some of the faster cards cause problems.

Keep in mind: Garmin "X" series GPSr's use microSD cards, NOT regular SD cards. The largest microSD (aka "Transflash") card I've heard of is a 4GB. Also, you will very likely reach your map tile limit before the memory limit of the card if you use large cards. These units can only access somewhere around 1500 map segments or "tiles." While they do make maps with larger tiles to counter this, many of Garmin's map products are still "small tile."

Something I'm anxious to test is how "twitchy" the HCx is. The 60CSx uses the highly sensitive Sirf III chipset. I've noticed, while stationary, position tends to "wander." I suspect this is the result of multipath error - the unit is receiving very weak reflected signals and confusing them for the good signal, leading to a "jumpy" position. The 60CSx has a quad-helix antenna designed to received signals from ALL directions very well. I wonder if the eTrex, with its highly directional "patch" antenna, combined with the high-sensitivity receiver, will result in less multipath error and location "twitch." We'll see! The interface is something you just get used to like buying a new car and learning where the wiper controls are. I'm used to the 60CSx which has a button for just about every function but my friends have eTrex units with the "click stick" and minimal buttons and you learn to use them very effectively. Now that the eTrex line has a decent, high-power receiver chip, I'd recommend most people go with the "HCx" eTrex over the 60CSx. I've never used an external antenna on the 60CSx and I suspect most users don't either. With the eTrex, you get a USB port so you can still get the NMEA data like you would on the 60. It only lacks the antenna port.

This is great news! Well, not that ever "x" model has a glitch but that we now have the company recognizing there IS a problem.

I have a 60CSx now and will likely be getting a Vista HCx tomorrow. The 60CSx, especially under extreme conditions, tends to exhibit some position 'bouncing'. I attribute this to multipath error where it is picking up reflected signals and interpreting them as the 'good' signal. I'm hopeful the HCx will see a bit less of this, perhaps because the patch antenna doesn't have the type of near-perfect off-axis signal reception of the 60's quad-helix antenna. If you want some side by side tests of the 60CSx and eTrex Vista HCx, let me know what you'd like to see done.

I am about to buy an eTrex Vista HCx and already own a 60CSx. I have read enough to believe the HCx is good enough for now and some firmware updates will squash the remaining bugs. Once I have both in hand, I will do some side by side comparisons. My biggest question about the HCx is if the patch antenna makes a large difference over the 60 series quad-helix: does the HCx get a fast, accurate lock independant of antenna orientation? Anyone have any specific requests for comparison points between the 60CSx and Vista HCx? I will do my best to find out.

I'm in! I'll even drive you there!

I agree with you 100% RevMike. Well said.

madmike: Best. Avatar. Ever. I'm probably taking the FTF's way too seriously. I wouldn't have claimed the FTF in the situation I described but to each their own. I'd love to bump into a cacher who was out for the FTF though - it's a social activity to me.