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: Great little GPS!
Summary: 5 Stars
This GPS is near perfect for what I need. I previously owned the Garmin Etrex Legend, and this is a huge step up, both upgrading to the vista and going to the HCx model. I am very impressed, first of all, with the new high-sensitivity antenna. With my old GPS, I really needed a clear view of the sky to lock onto the satellites. When backpacking, the track log would be spotty at times where the GPS lost its signal in heavy tree cover. With the new high-sensitivity antenna, all these inconveniences are in the past! The vista HCx will lock on in less than a minute in my basement! It always has a signal, no matter where I'm at. I have yet to see it lose connection with satellites. This is what impressed me the most about this model.
Also, the vista has a barometric altimeter and electronic compass which are both nice features as well. Without the electronic compass, you must be moving in order for the GPS to display correct compass directions. With the electronic compass, you can stand still or move very slowly and still maintain correct compass heading. This is especially helpful when hiking and geocaching. The altimeter provides more accurate elevation readings if that is of importance to you. GPS elevations, are not very accurate and can be way off depending on your location. With the altimeter, you don't have to worry about this error or try to correct it. I am also a fan of the new usb connection to the computer in place of the old serial connection. I don't have a serial port on my computer, so I never hooked up my old GPS. USB is much more common and allows a faster data transfer rate. I like the idea of the microSD card, as this allows incredible amounts of memory. 2GB cards are quite cheap now and this allows me to load the entire western US topo maps and still have plenty of extra memory! I didn't think the color screen was too important to me, but it really does make a big difference, especially with the maps. It would be very difficult to distinguish map properties without the color screen and it just looks nice.
These are just a few of the features than really impressed me. As I said, I already owned a Garmin Etrex previously, and am very impressed with Garmin units. They are all very durable, waterproof, and to me, user-friendly. The vista HCx is the top of the etrex line, and it shows. Amazon's price when I purchased it was the best I could find, cheaper than the lower models at other stores. If you are considering this model, I very highly recommend it, especially for recreational use. It also has the ability with garmin's metro maps, to provide turn-by-turn directions useful in city navigation. I have not yet used this feature, but still, this unit has just about everything I would want in a GPS. I bought my dad this unit for Christmas (his first GPS) and he is very pleased and has had no complaints. For what you're getting for the price, I give this model five stars!
Customer Review: Small screen but cool in-your-backpak GPS
Summary: 3 Stars
First I have to say I have been a professional computer programmer since 1978 and our industry generally agrees that the Programmers who work for the two GPS maker's are the worst in the industry.
After buying the Vista HCx I see that this "myth" hasn't had reason to change.
Given that all GPS software looks like it was written by someone who learned how to program 5 minutes ago, the Vista HCx is a good single-function GPS unit. But once Apple's iPhone or iPod Touch adds a GPS unit, its game-over for Garmin and Magellan.
I love GPS's, I use the Vista for my hikes and walks around the forest preserve and since I'm now filming for commercial television (yes I'm trying to change careers) I often have to mark the lat/long of a filming location. This Vista HCx is great for that.
But like the low-rating review said, without the City Navigator software (sold separately) its really just a hiking GPS, which you can find for much, much cheaper. So if you only want to hike and track your trails, get the cheapest handheld unit you can find.
I like the HCx with the City Navigator loaded. I purchased a 4-GB microSD card for it, and loaded up the entire North America map set onto the card. Now I can fly anywhere in the U.S. and have a street-level mapping GPS "in my pocket".
Be warned, however, although the HCx supports 4GB microSD cards, the GPS software only supports map files up to 2 GB's. Ironically, the Garmin MapSource software will create a larger file. I had also purchased the Topos maps and tried loading both into the GPS. This exceeded 2 GBs in size. After loading the file into the GPS for nearly 24 hours (yes, it took a day and a night over the slow USB cable) the unit did not recognize its own map files. After ready some materials on the support pages, and knowing a thing or two about operating systems, I first thought it was the 4GB card, but then took a chance that it was actually a software "integer length" issue and deleted the Topo maps and got the file down to 1.8GB (under 2 GB) and guess what? It worked great!
Now that I've got it working the way I want it to work, the only real problem is keeping the backlight on while using it so I can see the LCD screen. It doesn't come on when you turn on the unit, you have to hit the power button a second time and then press the joy stick to remove the backlight meter level from the screen. Again, poor program design at its worse.
I know this sounds so negative, but all Garmin and Magellan GPS's have crappy software so if you're a GPS user, you're use to working with these things.
But once the iPhone with GPS comes out Garmin and Magellan will be dragged (kicking and screaming I suspect) into the 21st century of programming user interfaces.
Customer Review: Well Built & Works Well BUT Lacks Street Resolution
Summary: 2 Stars
I purchase this Garmin eTrex Vista HCx to replace using my laptop + GPS + MS Streets & Trips. This Garmin is well built - solid, sturdy, waterproof, & the screen is crips & clear with vibrant colors. It obtains satellite signals quickly, even indoors. The side buttons are a bit difficult to depress, requiring quite a push.
Unfortunately, out-of-the-box, the system comes only with a set of "base maps" which are totally useless for all but interstate travelers, & even then leaves quite a bit to be desired. Get out your wallet.
To get any real use from the system, plan on spending about $100 for each map set you purchase separately. City Navigator North America 2009 comes closest to MS Streets & Trips and Delorme Street Atlas USA, but simply does not have the streets resolution of those products. For $100, it should be at least as good, if not better, than those PC products. Plan on going hiking, another $100 or so for the Garmin topographical maps set. Going to Europe? Another $100. Adds up quickly!
The unit does NOT come with a useful Users Guide & thus the learning curve can be quite steep, depending upon what you wish to do with the unit. For example, it should have been easy to find how to get the unit to return the display to your current position after you navigate away from it.
Garmin tech support was great. After purchasing the City Navigator North America 2009 map set, I could not get it to unlock using their online system's directions. Called tech support, waited about 2 minutes, & got a very helpful individual who guided me through the process.
If you are a city dweller who rarely ventures out into more suburban or rural areas, this system will probably meet your needs. Unfortunately, I live in a more rural part of the state, & the streets resolution simply doesn't cut it here. But for a walking tour of Boston, or hiking through Cleveland, this will do you well.
The primary reason for purchasing this particular unit was to take with me as I do outdoor photography in my travels. I can use it to create a track of my travels, which I then download to my PC along with my photos. Using GPicSync from Google, I then merge the data to tag locations of my photos. Works well!
Finally, I gave this product an overall 2 rating because (1) you have to add maps in $100 bites to get any usefulness out of this product, and (2) even adding those maps does not provide the streets resolution it should have compared to other mapping products available today. The unit is well built, and Garmin technical support is excellent. But for the price, it should provide a lot more surface detail than it does.
Customer Review: After you get it ... Free Maps
Summary: 4 Stars
I've had this almost a month now, use it almost every day when I run now to keep track of both my route and statistics. Anyway, just now the battery has gone down a bar. It has amazing sensitivity and battery life.
The worst part to me is that what comes out of the box is an almost empty map. All you see is a blank screen. Does anyone say "Yay, that's just what I wanted!"? One alternative is to buy Garmin's street and topo maps for about the same price as the product. That was not particularly what I wanted to do, and maybe you do get some extra features with that, so if those are worth it to you then be my guest. If what you want to see are the side roads, small streams (even a tiny creek behind my house shows, etc. then you do have another option. Visit this site (http://www.gpsfiledepot.com/maps/view/19/) and download the 800MB map of the continental US (other world maps are available also). It downloads a ".exe" that you run, and after that when you start the mapsource program that you got on the CD with your eTrex, the ibycus map becomes one of the options on the map source dropdown list. Just click on that, zoom to a level that you see all you want to save to your device, and highlight the sections you want and save them to your device that you plugged in with the USB cable. I took everything east of the Mississippi and it came to less than a gig. That leaves me another gig on my 2G micro SD card for pictures or other maps. You can leave a donation for the map if you want to.
I haven't explored the topo maps yet, but that is coming. I'm sorry but I just can't see paying another $100 for just one map that I think they should have included with the device.
One other peeve I have is that it takes about nine clicks to reset the trip stuff (you have to do this through the trip computer - that will reset tracks and statistics, and you can select exactly what to reset as well). Of course this is offset by being able to change the data fields you see on almost any screen including the main map screen. Hint - when I use it for running or walking, I always keep it on the "trip computer" screen (available from the main menu), then just put it in a pocket or pack and forget about it. When it's on that screen, the cursor button, which is the only control on the front of the unit, becomes ineffectual. So it won't matter if something touches it. If you are on the map screen, you could wind up panning anywhere and setting up random unnamed waypoints. There may also be a way to lock the controls, which would work as well.
All in all, though, when I got it, I just said "wow!"
Customer Review: Rugged, full-featured, and highly functional
Summary: 4 Stars
This was my first stand-alone GPS unit. I purchased about a year ago primarily to log routes for geotagging photos, as well as aspirations to start doing some geocaching (which I have yet to get around to, but I will!) After researching several units I settled on this one, which includes the microSD memory slot (absolutely necessary if you will be downloading additional maps to the device). The color screen wasn't in my requirements but is a nice upgrade.
The "high-sensitivity" billing lives up to its name and will not disappoint. I have rarely been unable to lock onto a satellite signal; generally I've only seen problems in tunnels or large buildings. In my house, for instance, the unit easily locks on, as well as any foliage cover I've run across. Battery life is adequate, about easily 8-10 hours or more with WAAS enabled. The unit is very rugged and will take some serious knocking around; I wouldn't go dropping it off any roofs, but you can easily toss it in any bag of gear without worries.
The eTrex line is designed for outdoor adventuring and is not a car navigation unit. It is possible to use it as such, but it's a poor substitute for a unit designed exclusively for in-car navigation, which will include nice features such as a driver's view, voice turn instructions, and voice recognition. However, those units are good for little else, whereas the eTrex units are far more flexible in other situations.
My only complaint is that the base maps included are less than useful and the Garmin line of software map products is a confusing and overpriced maze of buzzwords and brand names. The latest must-buy software appears to be Garmin City Navigator North America for Detailed Maps of the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico (DVD). Assuming that it comes unlocked with all the North American road maps with no additional costs, it is a good value. However, it's my experience that Garmin has always gone out of their way to make the map unlocking and registration process as confusing and painful as possible for their loyal paying customers, while those who choose to pirate the software get a simple program that runs once and unlocks everything. Poor choice, if you ask me. There are open-source maps available on the internet but I have no experience as to their quality. At any rate, once you get it set up, the software is straightforward, easy to use, and has never given me any technical problems on Windows XP, Vista, or 7.