Garmin Vista Surprise...

[+SBPhishy]

I have a Magellan SporTrak Map and i like it a lot. I just recently got to mess around with a Garmin Vista and take it out on a couple of caches while using my SporTrak also. My spotrak has always had great reception, even in the car, and under pretty heavy tree cover. I have always heard people complaining about how their Garmin's will lose satellite reception under heavy tree cover. I always thought, "they cant be that bad. people are just complaining." Anyways, on the way to the cache, i had both GPSr's on, and while my sportrak kept on working great, the Vista would cut out unless i had it flat on the dashboard facing up thru the windshield. Then, when we got to the cache, the vista was saying that the cache was 80 ft away from where the cache was, while my sportrak was right on. I figured it was because of the trees over head. Out in the open, the vista worked great. It picked up satellites decently well, and gave the exact coordinates as my sportrak. i was curious if this was normal, and if so, how do you eTrex users deal with this terrible problem?

 

I really liked the vista besides the reception problem. The resolution of the screen is great and very crisp, and the backlight seems to be much better than the sportraks also. but, as of now, i wouldnt trade my sportrak for it!

Edited December 27, 2003 by SBPhishy

[+Desert_Warrior]

Your last sentenance says it all. Keep your sport trak. Since we don't have trees out here, the Vista is a far better choice for us.

[+GeckoGeek]

Just out of curiosity, what happens if you turn WAAS off? I know there's been threads on that subject in the past. Yesterday my brother and I compared his GPS III with my Geko 201. With WAAS off, my 201 seem to do a lot less "wondering" then his GPS III (which is doesn't have any WAAS ability.)

 

From some technical discussions, WAAS may be a liability in marginal conditions.

[Vlad]

sportrak prefers a vertical orientation, vista a horizontal orientation.

 

also, did you have both units side by side - it's important not to have two gps units too close together or they will have reception problems as a result. if you were holding them side by side to do a comparison it's possible that they were conflicting with each other (with the vista taking the brunt of the damage obviously). generally you'd want to have them at least a couple of feet apart.

 

your feedback is appreciated - i've used vistas under a variety of cover and they're generally quite good - interesting...

[+SBPhishy]

yeah, i mean overall i love the size of the vista and everything. they feel very sturdy and i like them a lot. at one point, i had them held one in each hand, not that close together. at another point, the person i was with was using the vista, and i was using the sportrak, and it was still having problems. also, ive heard about the type of antennas in the two devices, so i always hold my sportrak vertically, and was holding the vista flat. so was the other person i was with.

[+Renegade Knight]

The Sport track doesn't tell you when it looses reception. You have to chage the default settings. The vista will tell you at every opportinity that it has no reception.

 

Given that the Sport Track has a quad helix antanea and the vista a patch you can expect better reception under tree cover. Better meanting that if you are looking for it you might notice it. Nothing that would make you take the vista back.

 

I have a GPS V and my brother in law a Sport Track Pro. I remember being disgusted that he always had reception when I didn't. Then one cache mine had it and his was still guessing position and led us astray. We went to mine found the cache and figured out the setting that the magellan keeps guessing your postion when you lose lock.

[+SBPhishy]

and figured out the setting that the magellan keeps guessing your postion when you lose lock.

haha, thats funny. At any rate, i didnt mean to start a Garmin vs. magellan war. I like them both, and would buy both of them if i could afford it. I just noticed this phenomenon, and i was wondering if it was common.

Edited December 27, 2003 by SBPhishy

[+Renegade Knight]

It's just a difference. Once my brother in law changed his settings his magellan beeped as often as my garmin. The only difference is that now we know when the magellan loses lock.

 

Nothing I said was a "Garmin vs Magellan" thing. Just differences in how they operate.

 

Of course there are two kinds of poeple. Those that find caches, and those that use Magellans.

[+aztecsearcher]

I own a Vista and have had some reception probs in the past but they only show up on cloudy days or near rock faces. I cache with a friend and his Magellan and I am usually closer to the final than he is by about 10-12 ft. I think some of the probs might have been in the software, as I have upgraded mine twice and the problem is not as severe as it was originally.

[+ZingerHead]

417 finds with my Vista - I swear by it. OK, I swear AT it on occasion, but not often . And you need really big pockets to carry that hefty Magellan - the Vista's compact size is a big plus when you want to travel light, and the buttons on the side are great for one-handed operation. The patch antenna is perfectly adequate for geocaching - I've cached side by side with someone using a Garmin V and while the V has an edge in the reception department it isn't enough to make me switch. Now give me a color screen, quad helix antenna, auto routing, and a compass and I might change my mind (dreaming of a 60CS....).

[+Prime Suspect]

I have both a Vista and a unit with a quad-helix antenna. The Vista is my primary unit. I keep the other one in my backpack for those times when the Vista can't get me there. Funny thing is, I haven't needed to take the quad-helix out of my pack in over a year (except to check the batteries). And on those occasions where I have used it, it didn't give me any better readings than I was getting from my Vista.

[+quakemap]

Interestingly enough, I had opposite experience many times - Vista was locking fine, while Magellan SporTrack lost satellites. The most memorable was at the beach with high cliffs, no trees though.

[+Solar Max]

Nothing I said was a "Garmin vs Magellan" thing.  Just differences in how they operate.

 

Of course there are two kinds of poeple.  Those that find caches, and those that use Magellans. 

Fair knight, thou dost wound me to the bone, with thy comments about Ferdinand Magellan and his swarthy crew. I suggest a duel; I shall represent the forces of Goodness, lightness and Magellan, and thou shalt represent the forces of Garmin and darkness. I suggest serial cables at 2 paces.

 

Magellan went all the way around, remember?

[+SBPhishy]

Yeah, what the hell is a "Garmin" anyways?

 

Are they made in Ireland?

[+Capitalpete]

Yeah, what the hell is a "Garmin" anyways?

 

Are they made in Ireland?

GARMIN=

Garmin is founded on the principles of innovation, convenience, performance, value, and service. Our co-founders Gary Burrell and Dr. Min Kao, display our innovative products in the lobby of our Olathe, Kansas, world headquarters.

 

Garmin, in case you missed it, is a combination of the names of the founders of the company, who's names are Gary Burrell (this is the GAR part) and Dr. Min Kao (this would be the MIN part).

 

What did you think it was? The name of the pub in Ireland where the Irish Rovers were first discovered? The REAL irish rovers, these guys, not to be confused with these guys...LOL

 

As found on this page....and now you know, the rest of the story.

[SgtCacher]

Funny, I had just the opposite experience with a Sport Trak and Vista while hiking in Shenandoah Natl Park. Basically, on the side of a mountain under heavy tree cover, my Vista got me to with in 6 feet of my shelter whiile the Sport trak was about 50 feet off.