TeamEcuador

I marked (as best I can) the corner points of our property on Google Earth. We are going to walk the bounds, and I want to see if I can get to those points (think of them as caches). How can I transfer those points to my eTrex Legend HCx? It's 13 acres. Alternatively, I have the lat/long coords written down. Other than creating a waypoint on the unit and editing the coords (six times), is there something I can enter them into and send them to the GPS? They are in DDMMSSSS format. Any help appreciated. Side question: Is anyone aware of a program that will let me plot our boundaries onto Google Earth, using metes and bounds? In other words, If I can find the first corner mark, I want to be able to draw the line in the right direction for the proper length, and drop a point, then the next boundary, etc. Google Earth will measure the line for me but the direction is degrees from north, rather than the type of compass direction used in metes and bounds. Thanks,

Good points. I have a hard time hearing my GPS beeps when awake during the day.

The issue will be whether you can actaully hear that alarm when it goes off. The tones on my Legend HCx are very low and almost inaudible from a short distance, never mind when one is asleep.

Great report. Thanks for sharing. This is just the kind of info people look for when considering what unit to buy - real world experiences. I have the Legend HCx, mainly for tracking to and from (no good street maps here in Ecuador), and a little geocaching. I agree with your comment about the beep - even in the car with nobody talking it is basically inaudible above car noise sometimes. Wish that were adjustable.

What did you notice? Which was slower, the NT or non-NT?

Thanks for the passing on the good deal. I called their Customer Service and they, Lisa, said the price of $8.00 ended yesterday, 6-25-08, and she said the price is now $10.00. I told her the online price still shows $8.00 and her response was that it will change when you process your order. So, I registerd and ordered online to see if the price would actually change, It Did Not, my order went through at the $8.00 price, with free shipping. Thanks for the link, by_accident. Just did the same on the afternoon of the 26th.

It seems that the combination of Google Maps on the new iPhone could be a killer app. I can see detailed street maps of Quito, Ecuador on Google maps, but nothing is availabe from Garmin for my city for my Legend HCx. Could it be that my buddy with his new iPhone can get autorouting before I do? Any comments?

Well now you have me curious. This sounds like a cool and fun exercise. Any way we can see your results when the project is complete? I think a little report on your project would be useful and entertaining to many of us.

I'm a bit shy about buying the NT version for my Legend HCx, after all the reports of lags and slow processing. Will the entire CN Non-NT version fit on a 2 GB card? I understand there is also the issue with the number of map tiles allowed. How does that work? Will the non-NT version exceed the tile limit if I wanted the entire US on the card? Many thanks.

Not only do I get faster lock and better lock in canyons, but I get MUCH better accuracy with my legend HCx than I got with the Cx. http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php...=192127&hl= Joe.

Is there anyone NOT having this problem with a Legend or Vista HCx, with firmware version 2.6? Or is it best to avoid the NT maps with these units?

Check http://mapcenter2.cgpsmapper.com or for a little more work but possibly better results, http://www.openstreetmap.org (go to the Wiki and look for a project called mkgmap). mapcenter2 has lots of cool matps but very little in the way of instructions. I have the choice of downloading either a source file or a binary file. I tried source but the site hung up and nothing came down. What do I do with the file after I have it? The second site (openstreetmap) was down this evening.

Are there any maps of Europe (Germany, England, France) that can be had for low or no cost? We are taking a vacation there this summer and I can't justify $150 for the Garmin maps for just one week. This would be for my Legend HCx. Any insights appreciated.

How do you mean? Do you mean the position info? More info, please.

When I look at the track info on my Legend HCx it gives an area calculation. But my question is, what exactly is that measuring? The track is not an enclosed area.

The Legend Cx worked great for me for nearly two years. Nice unit, you got a good price.

From my legend HCx, try this: Main menu, Setup, Map, Map Setup-General. There is a "Lock On Road" drop down list. Select Off. You can also find this another way: if you are on your map screen, press the menu button (bottom along the left side). click down to the Setup Map item on the menu. But I'm not sure this is the answer. When I turn that function ON I still get a compass screen. This is the "Lock On Road" option, not the Off Road option. I can't find that on my Legend HCx. It used to pop up on the Legend Cx.

The electronic compass on the Vista will only work when the unit is held flat. If you have it mounted on your car dash that will not likely be horizontal.

Third. Good bang for the buck. Excellent sensitivity under adverse conditions, compact.

Can you do $200? If you can stretch then I would recommend the Legend HCx. Color screen, high-sensitivity receiver, expandable memory if you want to get maps later on. You would have to shell out $10-$15 more dollars for a memory card, though.

From the Legend HCx, which is the same except for the compass and altimeter, here are the steps: Before you do anything, after your unit has acquired satellite lock, go to the compass page and hit the menu button (bottom left side). The menu should say Course Pointer, which means it is currently set for Bearing. If it says Bearing pointer, select that option. Assuming your Geochache waypoint is in the Geocache list, cursor over to Geocache, and click enter. If it's in the Waypoints list, click enter on that. Cursor down the list of waypoints until you get to the geocache you want to find. Click enter. At the bottom right of the screen the GOTO button is highlighted in yellow. Click enter. This should take you direct to the compass screen, with info in your data fields. To change your data fields, press the Menu button and it will give you options for how many data fields you want, and the option to change them. Check your owner's manual for more info on this. I have my compass screen set up with four data fields: bearing and Dist. to Dest. on the top row, and Heading and Elevation on the second row. If you are doing al this and it still doesn't work, well, I dunno.

Just a few general and perhaps slightly off-topic comments: Be careful if you apply any kind of sealant to your O-rings. It's my understanding that Vaseline brand or any other kind of petroleum jelly (normally used on baby's bottoms) will eventually degrade a rubber seal. If I remember correctly this is because petroleum jelly is a petroleum product, as is rubber, and will eventually dissolve the rubber. But a real scientist out there should confirm or deny this. If your unit does get wet, there are ways of dealing with the water once the unit is back in your hands. Us camera owners are very aware of these methods. Power the unit down immediately. Dry the outside of the unit thoroughly before opening any hatches. Remove battery covers carefully, holding the unit flat and still. Dry the area around the battery compartment carefully and thoroughly. If possible let the unit dry out before powering it back on. If the unit gets wet, and is still functioning, it might be best to dry off the exterior and NOT open any battery compartments. It sounds like the Colorado has a seal inside the cover. If you remove the cover it could allow water past the seal you have now removed. Re factory-testing to meet standards, there is something called type-acceptance in the electronics field, as it relates to satellite upink dishes, transmitters, etc. The FCC and other licensing agencies set specifications for equipment. If your gear is designed according to these specs, then it is assumed that it will function within specs without having to be submitted to actual testing. Perhaps Garmin DESIGNED a unit to IPX7 standards but it may not have ever actually been tested, which would be a shame. I'm sure there are others here who can elaborate on this. Regarding the idea of testing your unit to see if it really is waterproof, I have mixed feelings about that. While it's in our geek nature to want to experiment with such things, I get the willies when I think about dunking my Legend HCx on purpose. I think for now I will take it on faith that it will hold up as specified.

The Legend Cx and the HCx both have memory cards. The alarm clock function turned the unit off to some degree but I don't know if that sleep state was the same as "off". It's not a big deal - I too have alarms on my cell phone. I was more curious as to why they would delete a little app like that.

It's there on the legend Cx...I was just comparing the two side by side and noticed there was one less icon on the setup screen. It's the alarm clock! Not a deal breaker, I used it occasionaly, but it's not on the new model. I wonder why Garmin removed it. Or maybe it's somewhere else.

I knew the new receiver would allow the unit to lock on faster and hold better, but if I place both units side by side on my roof, with a clear view of the sky, they are both getting a lot of satellites at good signal strength. So both units are getting a bunch of solid signals. Why does the HCx give me 9-foot accuracy while the Cx only gives 23-foot accuracy? I always figure 9-foot accuracy was due t WAAS, which I'm not supposed to get in South America.