Garmin eTrex Vista HCx Color High-Sensitivity Mapping Handheld GPS
by Garmin
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Digital Cameras Photo Reviews of Garmin eTrex Vista HCx Color High-Sensitivity Mapping Handheld GPS
Customer Review: Terrific Machine, Careful who you buy it from
Summary: 5 Stars
I did a lot of homework before purchasing this little machine. My main desire for owning it was for geocaching and reconnoitering the great outdoors on 4-wheelers. I could not be more pleased after all the research evolved into actually using it.
I expected the user manual to be much more user friendly as far as geocaching goes. The manual is basically worthless to explain geocaching or how to enter a waypoint and then head to it. So, for those of you interested in geocaching I would suggest going to geocaching.com and click on "Getting Started" to learn about the sport. After navigating that website - which is a little confusing at first - you can enter waypoints and coordinates from the site to your machine.
First, you'll need to turn on the machine (press and hold briefly the bottom button on the right side, go to the main menu (by pressing the top button on the right side until the main menu comes up - if you need light, hit that bottom button again and then the toggle button -on the face of the machine - up, up, up until desired light level is reached, then press the toggle button in to set). At the main menu toggle to the right twice to the little "Mark" icon and push the toggle button in. This takes you to the Mark Waypoint screen. At this screen use your toggle button to maneuver up to the very top where you can enter the waypoint name (default will show 001 unless you have already used that one, then it will show 002, 003 and so on). To enter the name just press the toggle button in and then toggle left, right, up,and down in the popup box until you are done, then toggle to OK and press the toggle button in. You can use the waypoint name from the geocaching website to avoid confusion later. Toggle down to the Name box and enter the name that has been given to that waypoint on the geocaching website (press toggle button in, toggle left, right, up, down until finished, then toggle to OK and press toggle button in). Toggle down to the coordinates box and enter the coordinates from the geocaching website, toggle to Ok and press the toggle button in. This should take you back to the main screen.
To avoid all of the manual entry you can go to the geocaching website and "send" the coordinates to your machine directly through a USB cable (included). Once you have downloaded all the waypoints for an area that you are interested in, unplug from your pc. Turn on your unit (bottom button on right). Go to main screen.
Toggle down to "Find" and press the toggle button in. Your entry(s) will appear in Waypoints, Geocache, and Recent Finds so toggle to any one of them and press the toggle button in. (NOTE: If a drop down box appears asking you to enter a geocache, just press the top button in the right side to make it go away and show you the list on entered geocaches). Toggle down to the one you want to go to and press the toggle button in. Toggle down to "Go To" at the bottom on the screen and press the toggle button in. You're on your way!!!
This item's seller seems to change for this product from time to time. The day I bought my machine it was being sold by Buy Now Incorporated. They listed the machine for a terrific price, but didn't end up sending me the HCx model that I ordered, but rather the Vista 010-00243-00 model which doesn't have the color screen, the high sensitivity WASS, or the USB computer connection. It was a huge hassle getting an RMA to return the machines. The only response I got from them was from their own website. Trying through Amazon.com led nowhere. They ended up refunding my money through an A to Z Claim. I have been back to the product several times since, and I noticed a few days ago that this HCx model was being offered by Target.com for another great price. Same link to this same page, same machine. Today it is being sold by Amazon.com. So my suggestion, send yourself the link in an email and check back often (daily) and make sure the seller listed is reputable and has good feedback ratings, and also check for an ever changing price.
Customer Review: Excellent; I highly recommend this handheld
Summary: 5 Stars
This is my review of the Garmin eTrex Vista Hcx handheld mapping GPS unit. I purchased this GPS in early June of 2008 and have had it about 3 weeks as of this review. I own two other GPS's: a Microsoft Streets and Trips + GPS from 2005 and a Garmin Nuvi 200 I received as a gift Christmas 2007. MS S&T is a really nice program and it works well with its accompanying GPS receiver. But, it requires that you use it with a computer (the receiver plugs into a USB port). And the Nuvi 200 is a great unit as well, but it's more for finding a route and directions while driving--finding your way to a destination.
I wanted a portable unit mostly to use while walking, hiking, or biking that would track my journey, with a color display, memory expansion capability, and alititude tracking. I did lots of online research, reading reviews and user manuals at Cnet, Amazon, and several GPS-specific sites and eventually narrowed it down to three possibilities, all Garmin: the eTrex Vista Hcx, the GPSMAP 60 CSx, and one of the new Colorado units. In the end, I selected the Vista because: I felt the Colorado was too new and I'd seen negative reviews (and it has features like 3D I didn't think I'd need), and the Vista was proven, reliable, and less expensive than the 60 CSx. Also, it had all the features I wanted and was lighter and has longer advertised battery life than either of the other two units.
In a word, I consider this unit to be: exceptional. It meets or exceeds its advertised functionality and my expectations. Some specific items:
--Accuracy: I had read some reviews that complained about the accuracy of other similar units and I was worried. But I've found this unit to be very accurate, down to within a couple meters. And in my case it seems to make no difference whether the WAAS feature is enabled or disabled.
--Altitude accuracy: not quite as good as I'd like to see, but adequate. In a couple cases while hiking it has actually been off by as much as 1000 feet in altitude, but I attribute this to the vagaries of barometric altitude measurement, not to a defect in the unit itself. In cases where the altitude doesn't seem so accurate, I find that the altitude relative to an entire track still reports where I've gone up and down hills, so I'm satisfied. Also, I have not yet tried manually setting the altitude or barometric pressure at the beginning of a trek, but I'd guess that would improve its overall performance.
--Battery Life: my first set of regular old AA Eveready Alkalines lasted slightly longer than 25 hours, the advertised life. I'd bet that I could stretch this to longer if I paid attention to turning off the backlight when I don't really need it on.
--Size: I was surprised at how small the unit is. For some reason I had in my mind that all units around this size would be a bit bigger; it's about the size of a deck of playing cards, but slightly thicker.
--Display Visibility: no problems at all here. I use the unit frequently in bright sunlight attached to my bike while wearing sunglasses and I can see the display fine from a few feet away.
--Map: the map that comes with the unit by default is entirely inadequate for anything but highway driving, but I knew this when I bought it, and had purchased Topo 2008 as well (which is very nice for both city and on-trail tracking). There are very few trails actually in the mapping software itself, but this isn't the Vista's deficiency itself.
--Sturdiness: biking can sometimes be a bit bumpy. Yay for solid state components; this GPS has worked fine over bumpy roads.
I'd highly recommend this unit to anyone looking for a handheld GPS, especially one to be used for walking, hiking, jogging, or bike riding. If you're looking for something to give you directions while driving a car, this unit is not for you--stick to the Nuvi series.
Customer Review: A few caveats to consider when buying any Garmin eTrex GPS
Summary: 4 Stars
QUICK SUMMARY: The Vista HCx is a fine choice for outdoors use, but can serve as a road map, too. However, my experience with the Garmin Venture Cx dampens my enthusiasm for this device. Read on to learn why.
Background: This is my second GPS purchase. My first was four years ago when I bought the Garmin eTrex Venture Cx before a road trip to North Carolina where I was going hiking for a few days on the Appalachian Trail. This new Garmin offering, the Vista HCx, is essentially like my old Venture Cx except it has a compass and altimeter, and a chip that supposedly does a better job at finding and tracking satellites, even under a lot of obstructions (I haven't gone hiking yet with the Vista HCx to know that for sure).
A lot has already been said about the Vista HCx, so let me make only four points, based upon my experience with Garmin and my eTrex Venture Cx.
1) Be wary about the black, rubber band that goes around the four edges of the Vista HCx -- it's prone to stretching and detaching from the GPS. After three years, the black band around my Venture Cx hung limply around the device's housing. I can still use the GPS, but I have to align the rubberized buttons "just so" before I can use the GPS functions.
2) Garmin won't send you a replacement rubber band if the black rubber band does stretch and detach from your eTrex GPS. Plead all you want, talk to a Garmin supervisor, but they won't send you any replacement parts for your Garmin -- they want you to ship your GPS to them so they can send you a refurb GPS. They'll want you to spend $100 (really!) to fix something that should cost about $5 to fix. If you negotiate hard, you can get them to halve that cost, down to $49. They'll send you a refurb GPS for a problem that should only cost you a few bucks and some glue to repair. Stupid!!
3) Maybe because it's new, but the Vista HCx takes a LOT more pressure to depress the GPS's side buttons (I'm comparing my Vista HCx to my 4-year-old Venture Cx). I used a postal scale to get an idea of the difference. My Venture Cx takes about two pounds of pressure to click a button, the Vista HCx takes about four pounds of pressure. Maybe that eases some after using it for a while, I don't know.
4) If you're new to Garmin, be forewarned that the map loading process can be a horrible experience for some -- but not all -- Garmin owners. You'll need to buy City Navigator NT if your want to use road maps on your Vista HCx, and then later, you can buy the nuvi Map Updates to update your City Navigator road maps. At the least, loading maps onto your Garmin GPS is more troublesome than you'd think it would be. Be sure to read carefully how to load maps onto your device. BTW, you'll need to buy a microSD memory card (at least 2GB) to load all of North America onto your GPS.
One last thing. When doing the setup for the Vista HCx's compass, be sure to lay it on a flat surface when you spin it slowly twice in the same direction. My compass setup kept failing because I was spinning it on my laptop (which was on my lap, so it wasn't quite flat). The setup worked just fine once I put the Vista HCx on the coffee table.
I've really enjoyed having my eTrex Venture Cx, and was disappointed that the Venture HCx (the latest model) no longer has a microSD card slot anymore, so I had to pay the extra $$$ to buy the Vista HCx which has a microSD card slot.
Conclusion: At least now, if you buy, you'll be buying with your eyes wide open, knowing some of the potential pitfalls of your purchase decision. I like the eTrex series because they're rugged, watertight, small, you can operate them with one hand, they're accurate, and they're versatile. I can recommend the eTrex series, with the noted concerns I named above. If you buy this GPS, I might see you on the Appalachian Trail this summer!
Customer Review: Big Bang for the Buck
Summary: 5 Stars
Recently purchased this item after reading countless hundreds of reviews on various competing products both from Garmin and others. Along with this unit I also purchased a 2GB micro SD memory card (which I would recommend others do as well, you'll need it for maps). I had been looking to replace an earlier generation Garmin GPS for quite a while. Primary use is for hunting and off-road exploits. There seemed to be some growing pains in the hand-held market so I held off initially. I finally settled on the Garmin Vista Hcx. I'm glad I did.
As reviews go, I usually research reviews on just about any product I try. I usually sort reviews from lowest to highest so I can see the bad stuff first. There were a number of negative reviews for this product (still had a high rating, but it also had a lot of reviews too). After having bought the Vista Hcx, and using it a fair bit, I have to say most of the negative reviews aren't really applicable (i.e. must be a malfunction between the user's brain and the unit). Anyway, on with the review...
Pro's - Ease of use. One handed use; you really can operate this thing with only one hand and that is NICE! Color display; easy to read. Accuracy (in fact, it's so accurate that it will send you down a freeway off ramp if you're not careful). Intuitive; after you spend some time with it. Durability; solid little ruggedized, weatherproof, unit. Battery life; I've only used alkalines so far, but they last for many days of use if not on constantly. The 'Trackback' feature is excellent and works well. 'Sight-N-Go' is also another nice feature. Compass and altimeter features are very nice also.
Cons - The Mapsource PC software that came with my unit was terrible! A sixth grader could have written better code. Check for updates as soon as you install it (really, DO). The later versions are much, much, better (ver. 6 and higher). Additionally, the basemap (in the unit) lacks much detail, you almost have to install some kind of map (if you want more than just a basic GPS). Garmin's map software is needlessly expensive (over $100 retail). Fortunately, if you look around there are other maps you can install for much less (free in many cases). Just search the web (can't post links here). Garmin could add a little more detail to the base map though, without comprimising their marketing strategy for the map software. The lack of detail in the base map is almost as if it's a trick to force you into spending another $100+ bucks. Kind of crummy in my opinion. Only other minor annoyance is the backlight setting goes to zero when you turn it off, so when you turn it back on you have to reset the backlight setting (no biggie, but an unnecessary button push.)
Overall & tips - Read the manual(s) and go out and use it. The key to learning this unit is the time spent using it. One tip that may help some troubled users is to understand that the 'menu' key will open up a different menu depending on what screen you're looking at. Open them all so you know what menu performs which function, and how to find it. Another tip would be; the manual doesn't tell you everything the unit will do (not by a long shot). I expected to burn up a couple sets of batteries just pushing buttons to see what each button, menu and function does. This was very helpful. One other note; I run the lasest version of Mapsource on Windows 7 and it does work. I don't do the geocache thing, but it looks to have some pretty good specialized geocache features.
Lastly; price. Seems to me, with all the features you get, the just over $200. I bought right from Amazon, and it showed up quickly and worked like a champ.
Customer Review: No interface for Mac users!
Summary: 2 Stars
If you are a Mac user and want to be able to upload and use anything from a Garmin product (or any?), you are out of luck.
First, let me clarify that by itself, this is a good unit in the way it functions--I have had no glitches or function errors. The menus and functions are fairly intuitive. It is accurate and offers great visuals. Long battery life, easy buttons and toggles.
If you know nothing about GPS, the owner's manual offers great descriptions of the basics, but fails to describe the more technical terms or how to use some of the more intricate features.
A minor irritation is that the screen light has to be reset to your preferred setting every time you turn it on.
Another irritation is that there seems to be no way to truly turn off the track log so that there is not a big straight line from the end of one track log to the beginning of the next. This would normally not be an irritant, because one would simply edit the tracks as desired with the appropriate software. BUT this brings me to the main problem I have with Garmin:
THERE IS NO VIABLE SOFTWARE FOR MAC USERS. The entire reason I bought this unit was because I want to track my off-pavement routes, then be able to create printable maps. Despite extensive research and assurances from Garmin customer support, THAT IS NOT POSSIBLE. Bobcat (Garmin's Mac interface program) is a joke--I have not been able to figure out why on earth anyone would waste their time writing or downloading this program. As far as I can tell, it does nothing. You cannot edit, print, or do anything other than look at your track. The background maps only identify major highways and major cities--completely useless for even the most basic on-pavement navigation.
So I bought National Geographic TOPO! which does not recognize the Garmin eTrex Vista HCx, even with their latest updates. TOPO! is supposed to function with Intel-based Macs (which I have) yet continually pops up warnings, errors, and will not download my tracks, if it runs at all--it usually crashes.
I have sent emails to customer support at Apple and TOPO!, with NO response, let alone a helpful one. Garmin at least replied with a "try to reload Bobcat". Ummmmm...I am not having trouble running Bobcat, I am having trouble with finding anything even remotely USEFUL in it!
The bottom line is: if you are just looking for a handheld unit for exploring, this functions great, but you can buy the same service for much cheaper. IF you want to be able to use more extensive features AND you are a Mac user, don't waste your time and money--there is nothing out there for us right now. I could have kept my 3-yr-old $99 Magellan and had the same results I have had with this purchase.
Garmin, please prove me wrong!
Update 9/23/08. Garmin has now released RoadTrip to replace Bobcat--this program actually works, though you still cannot print from it. It does allow one to much more easily upload tracks, edit them, and even--YES!--even export them! What I have found is that I can save a track file through RoadTrip, then import it as a Geocache GPX into TOPO! and actually print from there. TOPO! still sucks, but we have at least achieved basic mapping ability. Yay! If I could, I would change rating to 4 stars for Garmin. Why 4 instead of 5? Because Mac users are a serious gizmo-geek crowd and don't appreciate being an afterthought. Will leave separate review for TOPO!, but unfortunately, the lowest rating possible is one star.