help, mysterious Vista Shutdown

[trouthunter]

I used the route feature for the first time today on my Etrex Vista. Previously, I've pretty much known where I was going and only used the Goto to find the cache, or used the unit as more of a trip computer than anything else.

 

I created the route in Mapsource Topo and downloaded it to the Vista, no problem, but then when I hit the navigate button on the Vista as I got close to the beginning of my route, the whole unit just shut itself off.

 

I tried it several times, and changed to new batteries, so that is not the problem. It seems that when I try to use a route, the unit just shuts down. Any ideas? What am I doing wrong?

 

Thanks,

 

Trouthunter

[+mrp]

I think there have been several bugfixes about random (or not-so-random) shutdowns. Download the latest firmware for the vista at: Garmin's site.

 

If that doesn't fix it, contact Garmin support. I've had very good experience returning my Legend to garmin for service.

 

-- Mitch

[+niskibum]

This sounds like a problem that I just recently had. I am on a trip and have my legend set up to automatically record my tracks. I haven't cleared them for the entire week that I have been here and today my legend started shuting itself off about 20 seconds after I turned it on. I finally went inside the hotel where it can't get a satellite signal and it stayed on long enough for me to clear the track logs (they were at 99%). Try going to the main menu, then tracks and then clear the logs. You will probably have to find a place that your gps can't get a signal so it won't try to add to the track log. Hope this helps, gotta go, more caches to find today.

[+GOT GPS?]

Need to upgrade with the latest firmware, and also you need to do a master reset, to get it to work properly.

 

My home page about GPS units and information

[trouthunter]

I think I've got the latest upgrades from Garmin but I haven't tried a master reset since I upgraded, so I'll give that a go. I sent an email to Garmin as well.

 

Also, I don't think my track logs are clogging the system, but I'll erase them anyway and see what that does.

 

Thanks,

Trouthunter

[trouthunter]

Ok, I did have the latest firmware from Garmin, but the maual doesn't seem to cover master resets. Any idea how I do this?

 

Most of my other electronc gizmos have a little button you can push with a bent paper clip or some similar high-tech tool, but there doesn't seem to be one on the Vista.

 

Thanks Again for the help!

[+apersson850]

Keep PAGE, FIND and ENTER pressed with the unit off. Then turn it on.

But back up your waypoints and similar first, because they'll go to the never-never land.

 

Anders

[+MrGigabyte]

Another possibility is simply the battery contacts. They are of very poor design on all eTrexs, as they have the spring contact on one of the positive terminals. Depending on the make of your batteries, the contact may easily be dislodged.

 

This has been well documented and it happened on my Legend quite frequently. Prior to switching to a different brand of NiMh's, I simply placed a Post-It note inside the back cover. This wedged the batteries in place just enough to completely eliminate the my random shut off problem.

 

[trouthunter]

I got a reply from Garmin, and they thought I might have exceeded the waypoint limit. Not the problem, but check out what I figured out.

 

When I went to count the waypoints (by the way, there were only 16 of them), I noticed that the second waypoint was an empty space. The last line is always just an empty dotted line, and if you click on it you get the find screen so you can add more waypoints to the route, but in this case, there was the first waypoint, followed by a dotted line (blank waypoint), followed by the remaining 15 waypoints, and then the final blank line.

 

I clicked on the blank waypoint and got the edit waypoint info (remove, edit, insert, etc). I clicked remove, and the line disappeared, then navigate, and the compass page came up with the arrow pointing directly to my first waypoint. I think the blank second line was wigging out the system somehow.

 

So, it appears that all is working now. I'd appreciate hearing some confirmation that this was the problem, however. On a cache, a route not working is no big deal. On a long hiking trip, it might be a little more serious, although I could probably overcome it by just going from waypoint to waypoint one at a time.

 

I really want to thank you all for your help. This forum is an incredible source of knowledge!

 

Trouthunter

 

"You cannot shake hands with a closed fist" - Indira Ghandi

"The best time to sucker punch someone is when they are trying to shake your hand" - Me