+quills Posted June 30, 2003 Share Posted June 30, 2003 I'm going to buy an e-trex vista on friday. I was just wondering if there are any quirks I need to know about. I found a pretty good deal on them and after reading alot of posts on this site I've decided that's the one for me. Any tips are appreciated. Quote Link to comment
+Alan2 Posted June 30, 2003 Share Posted June 30, 2003 I have a Vista - great unit. Read the instruction manual. Set waypoints and walk around around your house using it to get the feel. Good luck Alan Quote Link to comment
+quills Posted June 30, 2003 Author Share Posted June 30, 2003 Thanks for the tip hopefully I'll log my first cahce this weekend. Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted June 30, 2003 Share Posted June 30, 2003 Well it's not a quirk, but by design, the eTrex line has to be held flat, or upright to get reception. If you hang it around your neck, carry it dangling at your side, or upside down, you will lose your sat lock. I think this fact has a lot to do with the reputation that the eTrex has for losing reception. The Vista is a fine unit and I'm sure you will like it. Your next question will be which mapping software to get. I like the Mapsource Topo, but others swear by some of the other software. It depends on what your primary use will be. "Give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, he'll sit in a boat and drink beer all day" - Dave Barry Quote Link to comment
+Brian - Team A.I. Posted June 30, 2003 Share Posted June 30, 2003 Great unit. If you don't have at least 3.10 in the unit, upgrade it then worry about setting your location and acquiring sats. You'll have to do it all over again once you upgrade anyway, so why not save the step? Brian Team A.I. Quote Link to comment
+quills Posted June 30, 2003 Author Share Posted June 30, 2003 Thanks for the replies. I'll mostly use it for this but also hunting and fishing in N.W. Pa. I think this unit will work great for that. If i'm thinking wrong please let me know. Thanks. Quote Link to comment
+quills Posted June 30, 2003 Author Share Posted June 30, 2003 ok if it's a new unit shouldn't it have that loaded i know software changes but how new is the software? Quote Link to comment
+Renegade Knight Posted June 30, 2003 Share Posted June 30, 2003 There is always a lag between when your Vista shipped and the current firmware posted on the Garmin Website. Quote Link to comment
+zoltig Posted June 30, 2003 Share Posted June 30, 2003 quote:Originally posted by BrianSnat:... but by design, the eTrex line has to be held flat, or upright to get reception. If you hang it around your neck, carry it dangling at your side, or upside down, you will lose your sat lock. I wear my etrex (Legend) at my side, in a carrying case and have no problems with sat. lock. I have even put it in my ski jacket and had reception. Now THAT surprised me! My hockey Mom beat up your soccer Mom. http://coloradogeocaching.com/ Quote Link to comment
+hutchca Posted June 30, 2003 Share Posted June 30, 2003 I bought mine two weeks ago. It came with 3.10. I upgraded to 3.20 which is the latest but it's just a minor bug fix. The upgrade from 3.10 to 3.20 did not wipe out any saved data, but upgrading from a version earlier than 3.10 could erase your data. Quote Link to comment
+Searching_ut Posted July 1, 2003 Share Posted July 1, 2003 Good luck on your new toy. You can download the manual now if you want from Garmins website. That way, should you get over eager and just try to fire it up and go, you should be ahead of the game a little. As for quirks, as mentioned, it likes to be held flat. For me, I try to keep my hand back a little, otherwise I have a tendancy to kind of wrap my hand around the antenna area a bit, tends to hurt reception somewhat when you block the antenna that way. I also have to watch out for my natural tendancy to tuck it into my body down by my waist. I'm a big guy, tend to block out a lot of signal. The best advice I have though is to just get out and use it. Figure out how it likes to be held by watching the sat screen for a bit and experimenting. Practice saving and returning to waypoints in both good and bad reception areas, and try Geocaching. It's something I've recommended to all my hiking friends to help them learn their GPS's prior to heading way out into the backcountry. Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted July 1, 2003 Share Posted July 1, 2003 quote:I wear my etrex (Legend) at my side, in a carrying case and have no problems with sat. lock. I have even put it in my ski jacket and had reception. Now THAT surprised me! I meant dangling upside down by your side. It should work perfectly fine clipped to your belt in a carrying case. I've also had reception with the Vista in the mesh outer pocket of my daypack as long as it's pointed up. "Give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, he'll sit in a boat and drink beer all day" - Dave Barry Quote Link to comment
BassoonPilot Posted July 1, 2003 Share Posted July 1, 2003 If you plan on using the electronic compass of your Vista, remember to recalibrate it each time you change batteries. Also, the further from horizontal the Vista is held, the less accurate the compass will be. Quote Link to comment
+quills Posted July 2, 2003 Author Share Posted July 2, 2003 thanks for all the replies. i was wondering if the vista was the right choice but i think i made the right decision it will be real nice for this and once hunting season opens. again thanks for all the replies. i'll post when i get my first cache. Quote Link to comment
+briansnat Posted July 2, 2003 Share Posted July 2, 2003 quote:thanks for all the replies. i was wondering if the vista was the right choice but i think i made the right decision it will be real nice for this and once hunting season opens. again thanks for all the replies. i'll post when i get my first cache. The Vista is a good choice. Your next question though will be what mapping software. Since you're a hunter and geocacher, go with the Mapsource Topo "Give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, he'll sit in a boat and drink beer all day" - Dave Barry Quote Link to comment
JonnieReb Posted July 3, 2003 Share Posted July 3, 2003 Quills - I bought a Vista on Monday, and it's my first GPS unit. After reading the manual and playing around with the unit, I wondering if it wasn't a little overkill for me. (The thing does everything but drive the car for you!) But then I was watching a show on the history channel (or similar) about special forces, and they talked to an Air Force spotter who was travelling with a group of rangers in Afghanistan. He was saying how the gov't issue GPS unit he was given was large and heavy and cumbersome and that most spotters opted for a "consumer handheld unit like this", and lo and behold, he held up a Vista! That really bulked up my confidence that I had made the right choice. If it's accurate enough to put air strikes on target, then it's good enough for me to use while hunting and geocaching! "When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life so that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice." - Native American proverb Quote Link to comment
+Spzzmoose Posted July 3, 2003 Share Posted July 3, 2003 quote:Originally posted by JonnieReb:Quills - I bought a Vista on Monday, and it's my first GPS unit. After reading the manual and playing around with the unit, I wondering if it wasn't a little overkill for me. (The thing does everything but drive the car for you!) But then I was watching a show on the history channel (or similar) about special forces, and they talked to an Air Force spotter who was travelling with a group of rangers in Afghanistan. He was saying how the gov't issue GPS unit he was given was large and heavy and cumbersome and that most spotters opted for a "consumer handheld unit like this", and lo and behold, he held up a Vista! That really bulked up my confidence that I had made the right choice. If it's accurate enough to put air strikes on target, then it's good enough for me to use while hunting and geocaching! "When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life so that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice." - Native American proverb Cool Jreb!! I'm thinking of calling in a few air strikes against non-maintained caches! Quote Link to comment
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