m2fun Posted May 1, 2002 Share Posted May 1, 2002 So far impressed with the Etrex Vista (2.25). I was not convinced the unit met my requirements. 1) Survived constant use in 4 hour heavy rain Sunday AM in a RAM mount on a 20 mile rock trail ATV ride. 2) Survived a oops drop into the mud/puddle. 3) Downloaded track log to Mapsource application for display are review of the 20 miles. 4) Screen is difficult to read when in the pouring rain. 5) Never lost sat/nav with heavy clouds and overhead coverage in some areas. 6) Altitude reading appear accurate. So far functioning better than expected. m2fun Quote Link to comment
jfitzpat Posted May 1, 2002 Share Posted May 1, 2002 My Vista's biggest adventure was probably being chopped out of ice with an axe (I was *really* tired when we made camp ). I think that Hawk-Eye's Vista survived South American fungus, which is more than I can say for my feet... -jjf Quote Link to comment
jfitzpat Posted May 1, 2002 Share Posted May 1, 2002 My Vista's biggest adventure was probably being chopped out of ice with an axe (I was *really* tired when we made camp ). I think that Hawk-Eye's Vista survived South American fungus, which is more than I can say for my feet... -jjf Quote Link to comment
OFF RODE Posted May 1, 2002 Share Posted May 1, 2002 4) Screen is difficult to read when in the pouring rain. You dont have the model with the windsheild wiper??? "You've got to be very careful if you don't know where you're going, because you might not get there." Yogi Berra JeepNAz@aol.com Quote Link to comment
m2fun Posted May 1, 2002 Author Share Posted May 1, 2002 Need to apply some rainex to this model... Quote Link to comment
+Hawk-eye Posted May 1, 2002 Share Posted May 1, 2002 quote:Originally posted by jfitzpat:...I think that Hawk-Eye's Vista survived South American fungus, which is more than I can say for my feet... -jjf And then some! Quote Link to comment
m2fun Posted May 1, 2002 Author Share Posted May 1, 2002 With the rain and low light level, combined with bouncing around, reading the Etrex was tough. Glad it did not leak and worked well for navigating on trails that existed but were not on the map. Got to love big toys and technology....... Quote Link to comment
Davros Posted May 2, 2002 Share Posted May 2, 2002 My first unit was an Etrex. Then I bought the Vista. It's a pretty neat little box.. does nearly everything you'd expect and more! I like the GUI it's kinda like using Windoze! I've dropped it a few times by mistake but I haven't put it through too much abuse yet.. Knock on wood! Randall J. Berry davros@mdgps.net Quote Link to comment
Davros Posted May 2, 2002 Share Posted May 2, 2002 My first unit was an Etrex. Then I bought the Vista. It's a pretty neat little box.. does nearly everything you'd expect and more! I like the GUI it's kinda like using Windoze! I've dropped it a few times by mistake but I haven't put it through too much abuse yet.. Knock on wood! Randall J. Berry davros@mdgps.net Quote Link to comment
rghermes Posted May 2, 2002 Share Posted May 2, 2002 I bought the neoprene case for my Vista. A small price to pay to protect an expensive little toy! "I am umbilically connected to the temperate zone. It's brought me life. It's brought me love, I never have outgrown"----J. Buffett Quote Link to comment
m2fun Posted May 2, 2002 Author Share Posted May 2, 2002 I use the garmin case walking/driving with the unit. The RAM mount does not have the capability of using a case to cover the unit. Perhaps one of the marine style cases (waterproof) might work, need to check it out. BTW - I installed the latest version of mapsource and viewed the tracks. Garmin has improved the functions and view capabilities in the version. Quote Link to comment
+RAD Dad Posted May 2, 2002 Share Posted May 2, 2002 The only extra length I went to was putting some clear tape on the screen to prevent scratching. Aside from that, the case itself is all the protection these things really need. The etrex is designed to be rugged, it can survive a dunk in up to one meter deep for thirty minutes (and I'm sure that is just a conservative statement on their part.) It is shock resistant, and so on. Frankly, though I would hesitate to put one of those neoprene cases on my Legend, as it seems to me that the neoprene covers up everything but the screen...including the antenna, and neoprene is a form of rubber, and rubber is an insulator. It probably wouldn't degridate the reception very much, but I spend a lot of time in tree covered areas, where signal degredation is bad enough, I wouldn't ever want to do anything that would possibly increase the degredation. I love this little eTrex, it is small, durrable, a tough little unit. ummmm....not sure what to say here....so ummm, well errrr, uhhhh, well I guess that's it. Quote Link to comment
+phantom4099 Posted May 2, 2002 Share Posted May 2, 2002 The case may help it float for a little while (I hear the sink normaly). Wyatt W. The probability of someone watching you is directly proportional to the stupidity of your actions. Quote Link to comment
peter Posted May 2, 2002 Share Posted May 2, 2002 quote:Originally posted by RAD Dad:Frankly, though I would hesitate to put one of those neoprene cases on my Legend, as it seems to me that the neoprene covers up everything but the screen...including the antenna, and neoprene is a form of rubber, and rubber is an insulator. It probably wouldn't degridate the reception very much, but I spend a lot of time in tree covered areas, where signal degredation is bad enough, I wouldn't ever want to do anything that would possibly increase the degredation. Insulating materials are not the problem for transmission of radio signals. Conductors such as metals and water are the materials to avoid. Quote Link to comment
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