Isaiah 40:31

I called support and explained it to them, and they said to send it in and they'd take care of it regardless of warranty. The next day, though, the GPS no longer worked AT ALL. I haven't sent it in yet. I've had no success with emailing. I've found it's best to call.

Worked fine in both computers before last night.

Worked fine yesterday. Won't today. Don't know what I did. The unit will shut down when I connect it to the USB power. It will not start up if connected to USB power. Runs fine using the batteries. I may have messed around with something in the GPSr, but I don't know what. Unit will function even if USB cord is attached to unit, as long as it is not plugged into the computer. Tried on both Mac & PC to see if it was the computer. It will not work on either. I've got the latest firmware in there (v2.70), tried doing a hard reset, is NOT in demo mode. Please help!

Actually, that's simply a piece of plastic film used to protect the screen; it was just pulling up at the corner. The screen is in pristine condition because I keep the film on it. I just got a ShieldGuard for it, but don't want to put it on a GPS that I may have to return. ... jwahl, I look into the ones you've listed, thank you. jwahl, how do I know which dataum is being used in that list you gave me? I don't see "CGVD28" as an option on my GPS. jwahl, I just looked up the first one on the list you gave me, it's about a block from my workshop, nice and close! I'll check it out. Yes, I did the software update, the hard reset, the soft reset, datum set to WGS84 AND roads set to off. I may have forgotten to enable WAAS, so I'm going to go and check that out before I call Garmin. Very helpful input, jwahl, thank you.

Actually, that's simply a piece of plastic film used to protect the screen; it was just pulling up at the corner. The screen is in pristine condition because I keep the film on it. I just got a ShieldGuard for it, but don't want to put it on a GPS that I may have to return. ... jwahl, I look into the ones you've listed, thank you. jwahl, how do I know which dataum is being used in that list you gave me? I don't see "CGVD28" as an option on my GPS. jwahl, I just looked up the first one on the list you gave me, it's about a block from my workshop, nice and close! I'll check it out.

Actually, that's simply a piece of plastic film used to protect the screen; it was just pulling up at the corner. The screen is in pristine condition because I keep the film on it. I just got a ShieldGuard for it, but don't want to put it on a GPS that I may have to return. Black Dog, thank you for your input, I saw that website once, and then couldn't find it again. Even though that benchmark is only 4.6 miles away, it is across a major river. It can take upwards of 90 minutes to get to it! There were also a couple trees next to it, blocking out the signal a little bit. The one I found on Neaves Rd. is only about 10 minutes away. When on top of the marker in Derby Reach (the one Black Dog referenced) it was indicating my GPS was off by 24 meters! There is a thread in the GPS Software section of this forum that discusses this flaw in my model of GPS. Because I want to present the evidence to Garmin, I feel a photo next to a monument would provide the best evidence. That is why I don't want to say "well I referenced it to Google Earth" or any other less than precise measuring device. jwahl, I look into the ones you've listed, thank you. And thanks to everyone so far for your assistance, and the time you spent getting this info. jwahl, how do I know which dataum is being used in that list you gave me? I don't see "CGVD28" as an option on my GPS.

Ok, I really have spent a couple hours looking for the answer to this question. Now I have a headache. Please help! I found a disk mounted in the road a week ago, and can't figure out how to find out it's geographical co-ordinates. The disk was found on Neaves Rd. in Pitt Meadows, British Columbia, Canada. So how do I find out the Lat/Long of this monument? I think my GPS is in error, and I want to use this to verify it's accuracy.

See this link: http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=152819

Sorry it's taken so long to get something up new tutorial. I've been busy working on it. It will be worth the wait!

It's too bad you see this as a "battle". I made an honest assessment based on NO PRIOR KNOWLEDGE of either product or that there were two different companies making GPS's. My observations were my own, the observations are accurate, the conclusions perhaps not so accurate, but certainly are sound based on my observations and interests. Your "FACT" is wrong. The G comes with a 64MB micro SD card, expandable up to 1 GB, if not 2 GB (I'd have to confirm the 2 GB statement). Adding maps to my Garmin? I've MADE extremely accurate topographic maps and uploaded them to my G. (Check the thread on here on "Making custom Topo maps". An observation clearly made in my review...at the expense of less user friendliness in having to find uncommon batteries and charging systems with batteries that won't do a bit of good in nearly every other electronic device you operate. On a weekend trip, would I rather: a) bring along a bunch of batteries (and maybe a charger) that I know will fit all my devices (camera, GPS, flaslight, headlamp) so that I know even if I deplete the batteries in one device I can steal them from another, if need be. Or, bring along a bunch of batteries for my other devices and two or three or more for my GPS (and now 2 chargers, if I want the option of having chargers available) and "Oh no, it's dark and I've run out of batteries for my flashlight! At least I have the ones from my GP...uh oh". Battery life? Based on Vagabond's and my very unscientific experiments (we probably should have repeated the test about 20 times with different batches of batteries and determined 3 standard deviations on a bell curve) the M had 7.5 hours on a, as I've called it, "semi-propietary" battery; and the G lasted 10 hours on prolific AA's with both units on their highest backlight settings! (Oh yeah, sorry, I failed to determine each screens canldle power (or candelas or lumens (isotropic), or watts per steradian at 555 nm or whatever other light output measuring unit you care to use!!!!) to determine that even this would be a fair comparison as pertains to screen brightness, and therefore it's relative consumption of energy). Still a better deal for batteries in the G in terms of both purchase cost of batteries, and total cost of getting the unit operating. Yes, TO ME (that was what this review was about: MY impressions on the units) using AA's is a very important factor. Do you need them? If I'm spending the same amount on either GPS why not have them? And, on the G, it's a whole lot more than "a few". "We are talking geocaching here." My bad. I did forget that I was in a geocaching forum, regardless of the fact that I was doing a straight comparison on two similar products, and regardless of the fact that I want to use it for hiking and regardless of the fact that I want to use it when kayaking to help me keep a bearing directly to my destination (which is why I spent nearly 3 times as much on a unit which would do all that, rather than just spit out a lat/long on a mapless monochrome screen. But then virtually ANY GPS will give you a raw lat/long readout why even bother having to enter the coordinates? Just watch as the readout changes? Or, you could use one with a few (or a lot) of the niceties that make the unit -and the experience- enjoyable. Actually I did not judge it by it's cover, it was when I took off the cover (the back cover) that I started to question it's ability to keep dry. As stated, the rubber gasket DID NOT seat well, but instead would twist 'apparently' out of position as the cover was replaced. Non-biased? If you read my review you would see that I WAS non-biased. I had not previous knowledge of the merits of ANY GPS or manufacturer. I WASN'T biased, but it's hard not to be, now. Regardless, I can still be objective, can you? You have missed the point of the review. It was a comparison of two similar products, it was not a G Vs. M debate. I can't speculate on this. I would trust NO GPS to determine accuracy of any equipment. Land surveyors with means of earth measurement other than GPS would be the only reliable source. But again, it will vary from unit to unit, and you would need a large number of each unit, tested in a large number of locations to determine the answer to that. I didn't go on what I "personally believed", I wrote a completely objective and unbiased review based on the merits of either unit, and how those merits fit within my goals and expectations (goals and expectations beyond geocaching) of what I wanted out of a GPS unit. I wrote this review without any loyalty to any brand or unit and without patriotism, pride or air of superiority. It was written carefully, clearly, and openly and objectively. I enjoy a good rational debate; and you will find me defending both sides of an issue, so as to keep the debate going in search of a final conclusion. I don't give a rip who wins, all I seek is the truth. And, as you may have guessed from my pseudonym, there are greater truths than these. This thread IS NOT a Garmin Vs. Magellan "battle", please do not make it so.

I concur.

You may want to look at my comparison of a couple GPS I had in my hand: http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=152819

A battery that can maintain charge while stored for longer periods of time has a higher internal resistance; a battery that discharges quickly while stored has a lower internal resistance. A battery with lower internal resistance will permit you to discharge the battery more quickly. This is important in situations where you need sudden bursts of current draw such as with radio control aircraft. In r/c aircraft, if you move all the control surfaces at the same time, it puts a high load on the batteries; with a high internal resistance this can actually cause the voltage to drop sufficiently enough that the receiver will cease to function momentarily, thereby causing momentary loss of control. NiCd's are low internal resistance and will therefore discharge quickly (believe it or not, it's 10% per day!), but they are perfectly suited for radio control aircraft, or other situations requiring sudden bursts of power. In a device where the current draw is more constant, either will work, but as you already know those with a longer shelf life between charges (higher internal resistance) will be less hassle. I know the discharge curve of NiCd is such that there's a immediate drop in voltage when you first use them after charging, but then the voltage levels out for most of the duration of the discharge, until it gets to about 1.1 volts. At that point the voltage plummets rapidly. That is why NiCd's do not give you much warning when they are about to die. For Alkalines, the discharge curve is much more linear, that is why you will see the voltage steadily degrade over the duration of the discharge. Unfortunately I do not know much about NiMh, what their relative internal resistance is, what there discharge curve is, nor which type of charging method (constant voltage or constant current) is. It is my understanding, however, that you cannot charge a high internal resistance battery quickly (on this point I may be wrong); so do use caution if you chose to use the quick charger, make sure you're protected from them if they explode, and do not leave them to charge unattended. Better yet, if you can find any definitive answers on this (I haven't looked, yet) perhaps you can inform the rest of us!

To quote from the eTrex Vista Cx Owner's Manual, Page 5: "Hold the unit in front of you with the top tilted upward. While the GPS receiver is searching for the satellite signals, a "Locating Satellites" message is replaced by an "Acquiring Satellites" message until enough signals are acquired to fix its location."

Any additional clarification is definately welcome! Thank you. Check for a PM!

I think I remember seeing this when I first tried connecting my Vista CX a couple weeks ago. I did a couple things: 1: I updated the firmware in the GPS. (See Garmin website for latest firmware for your model.) 2: You have to install the drivers AFTER you install MapSource. So use the uninstaller and add/remove programs to remove both MapSource AND the GPS USB drivers. 3: Reinstall MapSource. 4: Reinstall the drivers. 5: Start MapSource on your computer. 6: Connect and turn on your GPS (does not matter which order you do these 2 things.) 7: Go to the Main Menu ----> Setup ---> Interface on your GPS. 8: Make sure the "USB Mass Storage" is highlited (yellow) at the bottom of the screen. 9: Click "Enter" on your GPS click-stick 10: Click on "Download to your GPS" 11: The widow "Send To Device" will pop-up, wait about 5 seconds for it to recognize your GPS. 12: "Removable Disk (F:\)" will come up in the drop-down menu. You're ready to transfer what you like!

I was thinking of doing this, actually. But was afraid of you guys being offended that I was just plaigarizing, and taking what you had worked so hard on. I will definately take on this task, but I'll need at least until the end of the weekend before I can get to it. Congratulations on the impending new arrival, Bus! Is this your first?

That's cool! "I was not aware of that!". Will it help me program my VCR, too?

This sounds unusual. I have a Vista CX and get 10 hours, yes TEN hours with backlight at highest on Energizer 2500 mah NiMh.

In all sincerity, I would not think it prudent to find a location using the GPS in an emergency. Do not firemen spend a lot of time driving around their area of service gaining local knowledge, and consult -and even study- maps from the municipal government that would have the very latest data, including new properties under construction, etc?

Do you work at YVR? I'm close to CYPK. M.R., actually. You might want to try Dekin equipment in North Van. Can't say much about their prices, but they'll probably have what you need.

I also forgot to mention, the G will zoom in to 5m. Unless I'm mistaken the M would only zoom in to something like 80 or 120 feet. I really like the ability to zoom in so much.

Sorry, I forgot to put this up before. Here is a site that might have waterways, but I really don't know what I'm looking at. If what I need is in there, please paste the url to the correct type of maps. Edit: Man, I don't know how this didn't get pasted in here before: http://geogratis.gc.ca/downftp/en/ Thank you!

Bus, thank you for replying. Yours and cyphermans guru greatness helps us all as our "map making lives" hang in the balance! The above is where I had originally posted the link. Also, is this where I'd go for my water? And which type of map, specifically (link, please) would I need? http://geogratis.gc.ca/downftp/en/ Would the Geobase.ca be an appropriate place for roads?

I have made a bunch (about a dozen) already, but I haven't uploaded any of them, yet. Bus, or Cypherman, if you could answer some of the questions I have it would be a great help before I actually upload these things. I put a link to a couple of my files so you could see if I should be doing anything differently. Mine don't have water, and I don't know if the link I posted is what I need to use? Please let me know.