SgtCacher Posted January 15, 2004 Share Posted January 15, 2004 My wife was nice enough to upgrade my GPSr for Christmas from a basic Sportrak to an eTrex Vista. Now I have so many options I'm not sure what my most efficient set up should be. For instance, Altimeter: auto calibration on or off? I use my Vista for trail running and hiking in the mountains as well as caching. Also some of the more useful customizable settings on the compas page and trip computer page. I've heard keep compass turned off when caching. I'd like to hear how some of you have you GPSr's set up. Thanks, Rich Quote Link to comment
SgtCacher Posted January 15, 2004 Author Share Posted January 15, 2004 Sorry, forgot one more. The position format. I have it set to, hddd mm.mmm. Right? Thanks Quote Link to comment
Tahosa and Sons Posted January 15, 2004 Share Posted January 15, 2004 Altitude Calibration = On Compass = On, but depends on what screen you're in. Maps that is up the you, but for the same amount of money I prefer Nat Geographic's TOPO over mapsource maps. Play with it and you'll learn to like it. The map projection is a handy little item also. Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted January 15, 2004 Share Posted January 15, 2004 I keep my compass on, but being that it's magnetic, there are times I have to turn it off. Some of the hills here are iron rich and can do weird things to a compass. Some other settings I have on my Vista: Track log - on wrap when full record - auto interval - normal System GPS - normal WAAS - disabled Altimeter - auto calibrate Display Backlight timeout - 1 minute Quote Link to comment
SgtCacher Posted January 15, 2004 Author Share Posted January 15, 2004 Why WAAS disabled? Quote Link to comment
+Alan2 Posted January 15, 2004 Share Posted January 15, 2004 WAAS will provide a few more feet of acuracy if you can track them I believe there's only 2 satellites right now in the southern hemisphere. So unless you live south or have a pretty open view, it takes too long to tune in and get a lock (at least in my experience). The few extra feet is just not worth the effort. WASS also uses more battery energy. Also, you might want to set the track points to the maximum, 10,000, to extend the amount of info. I use Metroguide and Topo maps loaded into the unit. Good luck. It's a good product. Give your wife a kiss Alan Quote Link to comment
+Prime Suspect Posted January 16, 2004 Share Posted January 16, 2004 You have 2 separate displays on the navagation screen - one for the big compass, and one for the small compass. Each can be separately customized. On the small compass screen, you have the ability to show your current lat/lon position, with you distance at the top, and of course, the navagation pointer in the middle. It's pretty much all you need on one screen. Quote Link to comment
+dino_hunters Posted January 16, 2004 Share Posted January 16, 2004 The WAAS satellites are in a geocentric orbit on teh equator. Whether you can see them wellor not depends on your longitude Quote Link to comment
+ZingerHead Posted January 16, 2004 Share Posted January 16, 2004 (edited) I leave my compass off for the most part. It's a big ol' battery hog. I also leave WAAS off as I've only rarely seen it engage, and all that extra number crunching has to have a negative impact on battery life. I've loaded 24K Topo, US Topo, and Metroguide maps - you can select any one of these for display via the "Setup Map" option on the Map screen. I leave the backlight set to "Always on" - it never fails that while I'm concentrating on that tiny screen in the dark trying to get my old-man eyes to focus that the blasted thing goes dark when set to auto-off. It's a quick button press to shut it off. Since I'm starting to see more caches with compass headings included in stages I've set the bearing displays for "degrees" instead of "NWSE". Oh, and make sure to download the latest firmware from the Garmin site. While in my 2 years of experience not every firmware release has been wonderful, there have been many improvements made to the unit over time. When you replace the batteries be sure to pull them out from the bottom of the unit, not at the top where the spring-like clip resides. I broke that clip once changing the batteries. If you start experiencing weird shut-downs, black screens, or black lines on the screen, tighten up the battery contacts. Improving the connection between the Vista and its batteries is a well-known cure for pretty much anything that ails it, and it's a lot cheaper than the flat $165 they quoted to fix it out of warranty. Mine's still going strong after 400+ caches - I love the thing! Edited January 16, 2004 by ZingerHead Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted January 16, 2004 Share Posted January 16, 2004 Why WAAS disabled? I've found no difference in accuracy with it off or on, so I keep it off. Not sure if it has an affect on battery life...but I figure it may. Quote Link to comment
+MissJenn Posted January 17, 2004 Share Posted January 17, 2004 Please keep the tips going: I am considering finally upgrading from my freebie yellow eTrex. I am learning quite a bit here. Quote Link to comment
+MissJenn Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 Dang! I asked for the tips to keep comin' and they all dried up. Wazzup wid dat? Quote Link to comment
+Alphatexana Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 One of the earlier posts said that WAAS reception depended on longtitude....it is actually latitude (how far North of the equator you are). Here in Central Texas I can usually get a good read on a WAAS satellite about 30 to 40% of the time (I seem to recall it is number 35 or 37 on the Vista). The settings on my Vista are similar to those shared below. I leave the compass on because that's the compass that I use; it is one of the main reasons I paid for a Vista, so I might as well use it. I'm very pleased with mine. Happy caching. Quote Link to comment
+Nyteyes Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 I have my legend set up compass on, WASS enabled.. maybe im lucky i seem to hit wass alot. My Trip Computer is set up to course location accuracy distance sunrise time of day sunset off course all other junk is factory i think oh yeah backlight never off less i tell it to.. helps me anyway Quote Link to comment
+Volwrath Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 at N36 here in TN, I hit WAAS almost all the time, so leave the setting on. Haven't done any real tests, but I sleep well. Quote Link to comment
+Nyteyes Posted February 10, 2004 Share Posted February 10, 2004 yeah im at N 35 in Arkansas Maybe we just get better WASS. i ususlly get it midafternoon for some reason but then again thats when im ususally out more so Quote Link to comment
HackAttack Posted February 14, 2004 Share Posted February 14, 2004 I've got them dang lines going across my screen. Any tips on how to fix this? I tried making sure the battery things were properly in place. No help though. Any Ideas? Quote Link to comment
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