MESasquatch Posted May 30, 2005 Share Posted May 30, 2005 (edited) I just upgraded to an ETrex Vista from the base model Etrex. Is it possible that my Vista is not as accurate as my first one? It seemed as though when I used my first one that I could return to the same spot within 10 ft. Now with my Vista it seems more like 30 ft. I know this may seem trivial to some but not to me. Any constructive or enlightening comments would be appreciated!! MESasquatch Edited May 30, 2005 by MESasquatch Quote Link to comment
+Prime Suspect Posted May 30, 2005 Share Posted May 30, 2005 Their should be no accuracy difference. The Vista simply has more bells and whistles. Any difference you're seeing is probably due to external conditions (poor satellite configuration, etc.). Have you checked that they are set up the same? If for example, the Vista has the battery saver option turned on, and the yellow doesn't, the yellow will appear to be more responsive. Quote Link to comment
+listerine Posted May 30, 2005 Share Posted May 30, 2005 There is a difference between the old Etex line and the new Etrex C unites, the Vista C and the Legend C. They have a better antenna, along with other improvements. Quote Link to comment
Colonel Mustard Posted May 31, 2005 Share Posted May 31, 2005 When comparing the two, be sure you do it at the same time, in the same place. and be sure to compare them with the Vista's WAAS enabled and disabled. That should give you a true picture. Quote Link to comment
mpm Posted June 2, 2005 Share Posted June 2, 2005 I was caching with a friend this weekend - he had a regular etrex, I had a vista. He consistently (over an 8-cache spread) had better accuracy and kept his signal when mine said it couldn't find enough sats. I was slightly peeved, but I did have the nifty electronic compass to make up for it. He theorized it was the mettalic plastic on the vista compared to the transparent plastic on the regular, which makes a little sense. We did tend to zero out at diffrent locations, but never very far apart. Quote Link to comment
+bigdog999 Posted June 2, 2005 Share Posted June 2, 2005 mpm, in my internet wanderings, I've seen a post documenting just that info. Apparently the author scraped off the metallic paint and received better reception. Some comment was made (I think) about a civil suit due to Garmin selling this unit with that problem. Quote Link to comment
+Prime Suspect Posted June 2, 2005 Share Posted June 2, 2005 I was caching with a friend this weekend - he had a regular etrex, I had a vista. He consistently (over an 8-cache spread) had better accuracy and kept his signal when mine said it couldn't find enough sats. I was slightly peeved, but I did have the nifty electronic compass to make up for it. He theorized it was the mettalic plastic on the vista compared to the transparent plastic on the regular, which makes a little sense.We did tend to zero out at diffrent locations, but never very far apart. What release are you on? If you haven't upgraded the OS since you bought it, that's a far more likely explanation than the color of the plastic. Quote Link to comment
mpm Posted June 3, 2005 Share Posted June 3, 2005 What release are you on? If you haven't upgraded the OS since you bought it, that's a far more likely explanation than the color of the plastic. That's a good question, and I'm not sure, but I see on the Garmin website that the latest update is dated in 2003, and I bought my unit last year, but I'll definitely check on it. Quote Link to comment
+tands Posted June 4, 2005 Share Posted June 4, 2005 It ain't the OS. I done upgraded my old timey vista with the new stuff, and my buddies with Etrex's as well as new color Vistas sho nuff kick my unit's shiny butt. - T of TandS Quote Link to comment
mpm Posted June 10, 2005 Share Posted June 10, 2005 Here's the reply I got from Garmin to my question about the issue: The Theory that you describe is not correct an the plastic covering of theVista doe snot have an adverse effect on the units ability to acquire satellites. How large of an accuracy difference did you notice? Did you have WAAS enable on your Vista and did the unit acquire the WAAS satellite signals? Quote Link to comment
Mushtang Posted June 10, 2005 Share Posted June 10, 2005 My brother and I have identical Etrex Vistas, and whenever we cache together we're almost always farther apart than 40'. If you're only getting a 20' difference from another GPSr, you're doing just fine. Quote Link to comment
+sept1c_tank Posted June 10, 2005 Share Posted June 10, 2005 I have only limited experience with my new vista, and it seems to have equal or greater accuracy than at least two other etrex-s I've compared. Besides that, it's a cool shiney silver...matches my jewelry. Quote Link to comment
+Renegade Knight Posted June 10, 2005 Share Posted June 10, 2005 With WAAS off the Vista and Etrex will be the same for error. They will never show you as being at the same location at the same time except by luck and chance. If you have WAAS enabled on the Vista and it's had time to acquire the WAAS satalites, and get a good lock etc. your Vista will be more accurate than the eTrex. It takes a long time to get good WAAS data going though. Quote Link to comment
+Kite and Hawkeye Posted June 10, 2005 Share Posted June 10, 2005 I've used a yellow and a Vista, and the one thing that bugged me about the Vista was that it took much longer than the yellow to get a satellite lock. Never noticed an accuracy problem once it was locked on, but it takes FOREVER to get its first lock. Quote Link to comment
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