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Etrex Vista


pair o gloves

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need some help with my new vista. first question is: which is more accurate, the electronic compass or the gps mode. second question:when going to a waypoint with the gps running instead of the compass, the arrow does not move to point me in the correct direction. i even turn the unit around and it does not move. but when i stand still it will finally move to the right direction.how long does it take for the vista to correct itself. it seems that the summit that i had worked quicker. any ideas would be appreciated.

execpt the one to keep my summit HA_HA

 

thanks again, pair o gloves

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Your post is a wee bit confusing, when you mention GPS mode or compass. Basically when you turn your GPS on its on. You can go to navigation, or map. And being new have you initialized your GPS yet.

 

Have you calibrated your compass is another question I would have for you.

 

I'll usually use the map screen and see how close I get to the Icon, then start looking for a good place for a cache.

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My Vista usually corrects itself pretty quickly. On rare ocassions it takes a minute or two.

 

Like Tahosa I'm confused by your reference to GPS mode vs. compass. Do you mean running with your compass on vs. off? If that's the case then on is better (but it seems to eat batteries) in most cases. There are a lot of iron deposits in my area that will throw off the compass, so I sometimes have to shut it off to get a better reading, but otherwise its better to have it on.

 

Also, as Tahosa said, you have to calibrate the compass each time you change batteries.

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I have to tell ya, I'm not all that "technical," and my Vista is great. When you tell it "goto" the electronic compass will work really well. When you get very close, like less than 50', it may occasionally "bounce" directions, but it will quickly recover. On Saturday, mine went down under two feet (a bit rare, that) right to the box. Normally, under 20' is pretty good. Just hit "goto," at the bottom of the waypoint pages.

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Calibrate the compass first (and every time you change batteries)

 

First you need to understand how the "GPS" compass and electronic compass works.

 

For what you call "GPS" mode, the needle will only point when you are moving. GPS knows where you are, it doesn't know where you are going or what direction you are facing. The GPS mode compass works like this. The GPSr unit knows where you are. You start moving. A few seconds later the GPSr takes another position reading, then another, and another. It sees where you have been then figures out what direction you are moving in. The faster you move (driving vs. walking) the more accurate this is because there is a greater distance between points taken. If you don't undertand this the bottom line is the "GPS mode" compass won't work if you're standing still, you have to be moving.

 

Next, Go to the main menu page, setup, system and see where you can set when the electronic compas turns it, when you go below a certain speed for so many seconds.

 

To use the electonic compass on the Vista you have to have it turned on. Then when you fall below the minimum speed it turns on after X number of seconds. (So you have to wait for it). I have mine set for the minimum time (5 seconds) and 10 mph.

 

The speed setting is really to distingish between when you are driving and when your car is stopped. At walking speeds you will usually be below 10 mph.

 

The time setting to to conserve your batteries by not having the electonic compass turn if too quickly if you don't want that.

 

The electronic compass works like a normal compass, it has a sensor that knows what diretion is north. You do have the option to set the compass for magnetic north or true north

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For your first question I don't know. Like I said the GPS compass gets more accurate the faster you go. You can look up the accuracy on line probably. In my experience both are accuracte enough for geocaching. If you were using it for land surveying that might be different. Also remember your GPS will only be accurate to 7-50 feet depending on how many satelite you have locked on to. Therefore, when I get within 20 feet I put the GPSr away and start looking. Don't expect the GPSr to point you to the "exact" location every time.

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I just bought a used Vista. Seems to work well. Unfortunately, it didn't come with a manual.

 

Can someone give me a tutorial, in laymen's terms, on how to calibrate the compass?

 

Any help that anyone could provide would be most appreciated.

 

Thanks and Have a Nice Day,

RajunCajun™

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<_<

need some help with my new vista. first question is: which is more accurate, the electronic compass or the gps mode. second question:when going to a waypoint with the gps running instead of the compass, the arrow does not move to point me in the correct direction. i even turn the unit around and it does not move. but when i stand still it will finally move to the right direction.how long does it take for the vista to correct itself. it seems that the summit that i had worked quicker. any ideas would be appreciated.

execpt the one to keep my summit HA_HA

 

thanks again, pair o gloves

The Vista, as you have found, has two modes for determining unit orientation (which is then used to correctly position the compass ring in the display).

 

1. The electronic compass.

 

2. By deducing your heading and assuming you're holding the unit pointing in front of you.

 

What you may not be aware of, is that the unit will automatically switch between the two modes, based on your speed of travel. It's called the Auto Compass Switch, and is user settable. Mine's set to 5mph. I don't remember it that's the default. but it's usually set to a walking speed.

 

When you're walking, it's using method #2. That's why the compass ring won't re-orientate itself if you turn the unit left or right while heading straight. But once you stop, the unit switches over to the electronic compass, and can then properly orient the compass ring.

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to calibrate the electronic compass:

-use page button, move to Navigation page

-use click stick to highlight and then press the Opions Menu

--highlight, then press Calibrate Compass

--use click stick to activate start

-hold and turn unit as directed: you will turn

in a circle, slowly, twice, watching the screen for a

"just right." It will tell you when you are successful.

 

I have the manual in my hand, and you can email me

if you should need anything.

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As others have said, the eTrex Vista has a built in electronic compass which takes over when you're below a certain speed for a certain period of time (and the GPS can no longer give you a good heading).

 

Set the speed and time delay threshold when it switches from GPS to the electronic compass by going to Main Page, Setup, Heading.

 

When hiking or geocaching (vs. driving), I have mine set to switch to the compass when below 2 mph for 5 seconds (the minimum), because I find the GPS heading information to be accurate as long as I'm moving at least 2 mph. The short time setting (5 seconds) may use more battery power, but it causes the GPSr to switch to compass mode almost as soon as you stop moving, which eliminates the "drunken bee dance". These settings mean that I'm almost always using GPS except when I stop moving altogether and it quickly switches to compass.

 

I prefer using the GPS because the compass can be a pain - you have to hold the unit level (or else it's not accurate), and although it tells you when you're not holding it level, it doesn't tell you which way to tilt to achieve level. I quickly lose my patience after tilting this way and that to try to get the "hold level" indicator to go out! (That's just me).

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I prefer using the GPS because the compass can be a pain - you have to hold the unit level (or else it's not accurate), and although it tells you when you're not holding it level, it doesn't tell you which way to tilt to achieve level. I quickly lose my patience after tilting this way and that to try to get the "hold level" indicator to go out! (That's just me).

If you have trouble getting the Hold Level indicator to go out, you probably need to recalibrate the compass. You should do that whenever you change out the batteries.

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