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Legend vs Vista


Guest johnhewitt_2000@yahoo.com

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Guest johnhewitt_2000@yahoo.com

I am thinking about both of these units. I know the Vista has built in mapping capabilities, but if I get the Legend, and buy the software maps, then will it show me on a map where I am? I realize that the Legend has much less memory than Vista, but this seems like the main drawing point of it over the Legend. Is this so, or am I over simplifying things?

thanks!

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Guest madphishmonger

From what I understand, both models have the same mapping capabilities (apart from memory capacity). But the vista has an independent altimeter and electronic compass, which is why I chose it over the legend. What's really cool is that both units are WAAS capable, which should allow for unprecedented accuracy (<3 meters).

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Guest swangner

I'm not sure how useful the altimeter really is for the average Joe...as far as the electronic compass, that's nice, but I always carry a regular compass with me anyway - the electronic compass is useless if your batteries fail, I'd suggest always having a good compass wih you as a backup.

 

As far as the mapping capabilities, the 8MB of memory that the Legend has is quite a lot, actually. I loaded maps of 4, count 'em, 4 entire counties and they took up less than 2MB of the memory. That's enough for me, and I saved $100 going with the Legend over the Vista (besides the fact that I couldn't find a retail store (not web) that had the Vista in stock.

 

All in all, they're both good units. It all depends on whether you're going to use the altimeter and compass in the Vista.

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Guest john hewitt

Thanks for that info. The Legend maybe is looking a bit better. Did you get as good a deal on the unit by going to a "brick and mortar" dealer rather than the web? I know that WalMart has the Legend here for about $250 - somewhat higher than web prices. But I have found one fairly close for about $218. And the maps - does one have to use Garmins, or are there others that are compatable and just as good (and less expensive!)?

thanks again for this info!

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Guest swangner

I paid about 250 for the Legend at Eastern Mountain Sports...but I'm impatient, I'd rather go to a store where I can walk out with the unit in my hands and turn it on right away rather than waiting for it to be shipped. But that's just me.

 

As far as the maps go, you have to use Garmin's MapSource CD-ROMs for upload to either the Legend or the Vista. Unfortunately, neither unit supports any other maps.

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Guest Quinnow

Another feature that the Vista has that the legend doesn't is about another 1000 track back points, whereas the legend has 2046 the vista has 3000. It might also be a tale to get you to buy the new unit, but when I contacted Garmin via e-mail before I bought mine (vista) I was told that they made improvements on the reception of the built in antenna.

He is right though...most places have the vista still on backorder but you might find some at advancedgps.com in any case they have about the lowest prices out there as well as free shipping. I ordered mine on a monday and had it in hand on thursday am.

But check around first before you buy. Dont forget you also pay no tax on the unit if you are not from the same state. icon_smile.gif

 

------------------

Quinn Stone

Rochester, NY.14616

www.Navicache.com

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Guest Quinnow

Another feature that the Vista has that the legend doesn't is about another 1000 track back points, whereas the legend has 2046 the vista has 3000. It might also be a tale to get you to buy the new unit, but when I contacted Garmin via e-mail before I bought mine (vista) I was told that they made improvements on the reception of the built in antenna.

He is right though...most places have the vista still on backorder but you might find some at advancedgps.com in any case they have about the lowest prices out there as well as free shipping. I ordered mine on a monday and had it in hand on thursday am.

But check around first before you buy. Dont forget you also pay no tax on the unit if you are not from the same state. icon_smile.gif

 

------------------

Quinn Stone

Rochester, NY.14616

www.Navicache.com

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Guest bsyris

I have the vista and am really happy with it. I was considering the Legend (I wanted to save the $) but in the end, it was the digital compass that tipped the scales on behalf of the Vista. It's pretty handy when caching.

 

I got mine from TVNAV and am very happy with their service. The web site is kind of crappy, but I called the toll-free number the the service was excellent.

 

I also wasn't on the list and was lucky enough to get one. pretty sweet.

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Guest Imperitus

Hi there everyone. I'm new here. icon_smile.gif

 

But I just ordered the Vista and a cd of topo maps, and I'm glad to hear others lik it. icon_smile.gif

 

I'm anxious for the thing to arrive already and I just ordered it an hour ago.

 

------

Imperitus

 

The best new 4wheeling site online.

http://www.onandoffroad.com

 

[This message has been edited by Imperitus (edited 30 April 2001).]

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Guest Imperitus

Hi there everyone. I'm new here. icon_smile.gif

 

But I just ordered the Vista and a cd of topo maps, and I'm glad to hear others lik it. icon_smile.gif

 

I'm anxious for the thing to arrive already and I just ordered it an hour ago.

 

------

Imperitus

 

The best new 4wheeling site online.

http://www.onandoffroad.com

 

[This message has been edited by Imperitus (edited 30 April 2001).]

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Guest Moun10Bike

quote:
Originally posted by Imperitus:

I'm anxious for the thing to arrive already and I just ordered it an hour ago.


 

May yours arrive more quickly than mine did (I pre-ordered in mid-February and just received it a week ago)! You will love it!

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Guest Quinnow

Moun10Bike walks a long trail in search of a hidden cache. He thinks he see's it placed on a ledge just above a stream run-off. He reaches out to grab the rock that is placed in front of it, then it happens...kerrrr-plunk!!! the Vista falls from his pocket and gets washed down stream. icon_biggrin.gif

 

I think if that happened I would see you on the late news on some high tower somewhere icon_biggrin.gif

 

------------------

Quinn Stone

Rochester, NY.14616

www.Navicache.com

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Guest Quinnow

Moun10Bike walks a long trail in search of a hidden cache. He thinks he see's it placed on a ledge just above a stream run-off. He reaches out to grab the rock that is placed in front of it, then it happens...kerrrr-plunk!!! the Vista falls from his pocket and gets washed down stream. icon_biggrin.gif

 

I think if that happened I would see you on the late news on some high tower somewhere icon_biggrin.gif

 

------------------

Quinn Stone

Rochester, NY.14616

www.Navicache.com

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Guest Moun10Bike

quote:
Originally posted by Quinnow:

the Vista falls from his pocket and gets washed down stream.


 

Thank goodness it's waterproof to IEC 529 IPX7 standards! icon_smile.gif

 

quote:
I think if that happened I would see you on the late news on some high tower somewhere icon_biggrin.gif

 

OK, you're probably right there... icon_wink.gif

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Guest Moun10Bike

quote:
Originally posted by Quinnow:

the Vista falls from his pocket and gets washed down stream.


 

Thank goodness it's waterproof to IEC 529 IPX7 standards! icon_smile.gif

 

quote:
I think if that happened I would see you on the late news on some high tower somewhere icon_biggrin.gif

 

OK, you're probably right there... icon_wink.gif

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Guest john hewitt

I ordered the Vista on Thursday, and it was delivered today. Lots of stuff packed in the little package! But those maps are going to add up......any suggestions?!?

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Guest Moun10Bike

quote:
Originally posted by john hewitt:

going to add up......any suggestions?!?


 

Do you mean suggestions on what to load? With 24 MB, I've been able to load the Metroguide sections for all of western Washington (except the southwest corner near Portland/Vancouver), all of eastern Washington and northern Idaho, and Western Montana, along with topo maps for particular areas of interest (the next couple of caches I want to hit), with one or two megs still available. If you use Roads and Recreation maps instead of Metroguide maps, you can cover even more area. Of course, the size of the sections depends on how developed an area is, so you may have more or less coverage (in terms of area) depending on what you want to upload.

 

One thing I learned quickly -- it takes a long time to upload those maps! Be sure to set the baud rate on your upload speed in Mapsource from "Automatic" to "115200." There is a bug in the program that limits the rate to 9600 baud unless you do this. Even so, it takes something like 20+ minutes to load. I went to Radio Shack and bought a power source that I can plug into a socket in my house. I plug the cigarette lighter for the Vista into it and power the unit that way rather than using up batteries for map loading.

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Guest Imperitus

Mine arrived yesterday! Woohoo! Dang this thing rocks.

 

I got it with Garmin's top map collection and I was able to put huge swaths of land into it cutting across three states and the entire area where I plan on being for my next trip, with room to wander...

 

I will be doing my first geocach trip soon.

 

--------

Imperitus

The best new 4wheeling outdoors site.

http://www.onandoffroad.com

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Guest metro

, I don't climb mountains or fly, will I need the altimeter, what will I use the barometer for?, I have a prefectly good compass, and will I ever need 24MB of memory for any of my trips?

 

Normally making decisions is easy for me as that is basically what I do for a living, but this decision has been unusally difficult.

 

Bill

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Guest Moun10Bike

The decision for me between the Legend and the Vista basically boiled down to the amount of memory. The altimeter and compass were just added extras that I didn't feel I needed, for the reasons you mention. My other GPS is a GPS III+, and I was always frustrated with the limited memory. I live in the Seattle area, and my family lives in the Spokane area, which is a drive of about 300 miles. This distance was too great to be able to put the Roads and Recreation maps in for the entire drive. Similarly, I just recently made a trip for work to England, and was unable to fit all of London into the III+. The coverage got even worse if I loaded up the higher-density topo maps.

 

Knowing that each Metroguide section amounts to roughly 8 MB, and knowing that my regular drive to see family and in-laws covers two separate Metroguide sections, it was clear to me that I needed the Vista. You'll need to look at what your typical ranges are and how much data you'll typically want to have loaded at one time.

 

As for the altimeter, I find that I REALLY like the feature, more than I thought I would. It's the "gee-whiz" aspect -- I can take a bike ride or drive along the highway and see a plot of elevation, which I find really entertaining! It's also nice to have the electronic compass -- even though I always carry an ordinary magnetic compass, it's nice to be able to just switch screens and have the convenient bearing readout right there.

 

Hope this helps some rather than making the decision harder! icon_smile.gif

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Guest Moun10Bike

The decision for me between the Legend and the Vista basically boiled down to the amount of memory. The altimeter and compass were just added extras that I didn't feel I needed, for the reasons you mention. My other GPS is a GPS III+, and I was always frustrated with the limited memory. I live in the Seattle area, and my family lives in the Spokane area, which is a drive of about 300 miles. This distance was too great to be able to put the Roads and Recreation maps in for the entire drive. Similarly, I just recently made a trip for work to England, and was unable to fit all of London into the III+. The coverage got even worse if I loaded up the higher-density topo maps.

 

Knowing that each Metroguide section amounts to roughly 8 MB, and knowing that my regular drive to see family and in-laws covers two separate Metroguide sections, it was clear to me that I needed the Vista. You'll need to look at what your typical ranges are and how much data you'll typically want to have loaded at one time.

 

As for the altimeter, I find that I REALLY like the feature, more than I thought I would. It's the "gee-whiz" aspect -- I can take a bike ride or drive along the highway and see a plot of elevation, which I find really entertaining! It's also nice to have the electronic compass -- even though I always carry an ordinary magnetic compass, it's nice to be able to just switch screens and have the convenient bearing readout right there.

 

Hope this helps some rather than making the decision harder! icon_smile.gif

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Guest metro

Your information was useful, but I think that I am going to buy a gps III plus. I like that it has an external antenna, and have read many positive things regarding its accuracy. As for as memory goes I probally will just buy a street pilot for any real driving/map use. While I am spending some money on this sport I have spent more on my computer systems, digital cameras, even my speed skates. I love gadgets, the more sophisticated and complex the better. Convincing the wife, however is the rub.

Bill

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Guest Moun10Bike

The GPS III+ is a great unit, and you won't be disappointed with the choice. You might want to look at the GPSMAP 76 before you buy, though -- some are calling it the successor to the III+. It has external antenna compatibility, a large screen, 8 MB of memory for map downloads, and is WAAS enabled (a feature that the GPS III+ lacks).

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Guest metro

I feel like a kid in a candy store. Every time I think I know waht I want I get stymied by a new choice. I really don't know what to do.

Bill

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Guest Ryoga

quote:
Originally posted by metro:

I know that this is probally very redundant, but here are my questions: how often, I don't climb mountains or fly, will I need the altimeter, what will I use the barometer for?, I have a prefectly good compass, and will I ever need 24MB of memory for any of my trips?


 

I use my GPS for search and rescue work. Having an altimeter available makes it convenient to give helicopter pilots an accurate altimeter setting for the exact landing site. As for the memory, I haven't looked into it, but if it's possible, I want to load both metro and recreation maps into my Vista. I'm sure it'll take up memory. Will I ever use it up? Well, if anything, remember what Bill Gates once said, "Who's ever going to need more than 640k of RAM?"

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