Garmin Etrex Vista

[Feo2]

I just purchased the Vista this past weekend. My girlfriend and I found our first 2 cache's today. My question is for anyone how might know something about the Vista:

When you have entered a waypoint's Lat/Lon into the unit, and are in goto navigation. On the compass page the arrow points a straight line towards the waypoint, what does the dotted line do?

Also some times the the solid arrow breaks in the middle and moves to one side what does that mean?

 

I have looked the manual over and over and don't seem to find it. I was wondering if i have a lemon, but since I'm new to this I have no real idea. Any help would be great. My girlfiend are hooked on this and we are already planning our next cache trip!

[Tahosa and Sons]

I've seen mine do this once or twice, not sure about the dotted line, but I think it works with the goto and route. The bent arrow will show you where to turn when close. I've only encountered it once in awhile. Just play with it, try this and then try that. Learn how to use UTM'S and their application to maps.

The Vista is a real reliable outfit, I've used it for lots of things and has always comes thru.

See if this link helps you.

http://celia.mehaffey.com/dale/wgarmin.htm#toc

 

Tahosa - Dweller of the Mountain Tops.

[+Centaur]

I dont have a Vista, but what you are describing is common to alot of GPSr. If you are seeing the arrow's line move left or right of center, then you are looking at a "Course" pointer. Used commonly in boat navigation, how far left or right indicates how far off course (off of center) you are of a line between your starting point and your destination.

There should be a menu option to switch between Course mode and Bearing mode. In "bearing" mode the arrow simply points to the destination no matter where you are. Both modes have their uses, but for simple land navigation a "course" pointer just confuses the issue. See if you can switch the display to good old Bearing mode.

 

[+Alan2]

Centaur is correct. You can switch on the Vista between COurse and Bearing using the Option Menu on the Navigation Page. Check the manual; look up bearing and/or course in the index - it explains the procedure. The dotted lines gives an idication of how far off the original course you are on but I almost never using the Course pointer but rather the Bearing pointer. Course pointer is used when there's an obstruction in the direction of the cache like a lake. The course pointer will keep you on a parallel track to the original course while the bearing pointer always points directly to the destination.

 

Good luck - keep playing with the unit's features. It takes a while.

 

ALan

[+Prime Suspect]

quote:

---

Originally posted by Feo2:

Also some times the the solid arrow breaks in the middle and moves to one side what does that mean?

---

This is a feature that was recently added to the operating system. It should only happen when you are following a route. When you are 15 seconds away from a route waypoint (based on your current speed), the bottom portion of the arrow still indicates the direction to the next route waypoint, but the top of the arrow bends to point to the route waypoint after that one. The idea is to tell before you hit the next waypoint whether you need to turn left or right. This is VERY handy. When driving around following a route, I almost never need to use the map display now. The only thing Garmin needs to is to make the 15 second value something that the user can change.

 

[Feo2]

Thanks so much for the quick replies, they were all very helpful!I changed the nav to bearing and I like it much better. After finding our first two this weekend, I'm going to try to get one on my way into work in the morning. I'm hooked, thanks again for your help!

[Triple G]

Thanks because it helps me too!!

 

GGG

[Buttons Brigade]

I'd highly suggest taking a walk to a nearby field or lake on a nice sunny morning and bringing your GPS and its manual along.. and you can bring your g/f too if she's into the tech.

 

I find that the best way for me to learn what my Vista can do is by going thru the manual and walking around my lake, marking a few waypoints and trying to get back to them or seeing how changing from bearing to course changes how you go about getting to your point.

 

The better you know how to use the GPS the more fun you'll probably have in locating the more challenging geocaches.

 

Good luck... I've owned my Vista for a few weeks and I'm loving it.

 

And by the way.. if your g/f needs hints then do what I did.. http://www.raman-sinha.com/wishlist2002/wishlist2002.html

 

Opinions based on experiences with eTrex Vista...

[BassoonPilot]

You might want to check The Garmin Website to check to make sure you have the lastest version of the software installed (2.5) and the most recent manual. (Rev. C 9/02 with a Jumpmaster revision of 10/02.)

 

The manuals are in .pdf format.