GPS Devices Life

INCREDIBLE TECHNOLOGY - Garmin eTrex Legend® Handheld GPS Receiver Until I got this unit I had owned a Magellan. It was a second generation generic GPS. At the time it was a pret...

Great little GPS receiver - Garmin eTrex Vista® Handheld GPS Receiver I bought a Vista for hiking/backpacking and in-car navigation. On a recent backpacking trip, the Vista performed ...

Overview: I purchased this unit in July 2006 to be used for a variety of tasks. I wanted to use it for street maps when driving in different cities I have to visit for work. I wanted to use it for hiking and geocaching when I was at home, or looking for something to do in these various cities.

I was attracted to the Garmin Vista CX because it accomplishes both of these tasks adequately. Sure there are better dedicated driving GPS units out there. There are also better hiking GPS units, but this one does them both, and at a very reasonable price.

With that in mind, this review will focus on my experiences with the Garmin Vista CX from a hiking/geocaching point of view with partial driving use.

Answering A Common Question: First off, a common question is “What is the difference between the Legend and the Vista?”. I’ll answer this first because it is one of the most common questions I get when people ask me about buying a Garmin GPS. The difference is that the Legend does not include the Electronic Compass and Barometric Altimeter. Other than that, the units are almost identical. You will pay about $40-$50 more to get these extra features with the Vista. I believe it is worth it, and to find out why, read on.

What’s In A Name: The Garmin Vista CX - What’s it all mean? Well Garmin is the brand name, Magellan is another major GPSr (GPS Receiver) maker. The Vista represents the model. Garmin also offers the Legend which has slightly fewer features than the Vista. The “C” represents the fact this unit has a color LCD screen. The “X” denotes that there is a Micro SD card available in the unit for extra map storage.

Features: The Garmin Vista CX features the following items:

Built In GPS Antenna

USB Interface to a Windows Machine (Not MACs)

MicroSD Card Slot, with included 32 Megabyte Card

Generic Americas Basemap

500 Memory Waypoints

10,000 Autotrack Log - The Breadcrumbs

Powered by 2 AA Batteries (Not Included)

Electronic Compass and Barometric Altimeter

It is a very comprehensive unit.

Size and Dimensions: This unit is small and compact. It measures 2.2 x 4.2 x 1.2 inches (WxHxD) and weighs 5.6 ounces with batteries. (Source Amazon.com). The unit is shaped like a rounded rectangle more or less. It fits comfortably in one had. There is no protruding antenna, as it is embedded within the GPS. This caused me some slight concern as I feared a loss in signal strength, but it has not really proven to be a problem. On occasion when walking with the unit held in my palm on my side (basically concealed) I have been alerted to a loss of signal, but the signal returns once I hold the unit upright again.

User Interface: The unit features an LCD Display with backlight. The screen is colorful and can be seen clearly in the daytime. At night it features 3 different backlight settings adjustable by the user. After a period of inactivity the unit will then dim to preserve batteries. The LCD Display is rated as 1.3 x 1.7 inches (WxH), 256-color, high resolution, transflective TFT (176 x 220 pixels) (Source Amazon.com).

There are 5 buttons on the GPS for navigating and one joystick (nubbin) for navigating the screen and menus. Two buttons on the left of the unit are for zooming in and out. The third button on the left is the menu button. When pushed a unique menu will be displayed depending on what display screen you are on.

The first button on the right side of the unit is used to cycle the main screen you are on. There are 4 major screens. The Map screen, the Compass, the altimeter, and the settings menu. In addition, this button also can be used to enable and disable the electronic compass. This is nice because the electronic compass, while more accurate when on, also uses more battery power. The last button on the right of the unit is the On/Off button, and also can be used to increase/decrease the backlight LED.

The Basemaps: The Vista CX comes loaded with the Americas basemap which includes many major roads. You can expect to see the majority of the roads in your area that are designated with a Route Marker, as well as all Major Highways and Interstates. The basemap is not the most detailed, but it will definitely help you get going in the right direction, or if you are lost. Also loaded as part of the basemap are significant points of interest, major highway exits, rest areas (with bathroom icons), and more. If you need too, you can definitely get by on navigating to locations via the standard basemaps. Those that need more detailed road maps will need to buy an additional Garmin Map CD for around $130 (That falls under the cons).

Computer Interface: This GPS interfaces with a PC running microsoft windows. It will not interface with an Apple/Macintosh computer, and I am unsure whether Linux drivers are available. The interface is through a USB port on the PC, and a mini USB connection on the back of the GPS unit. After installing the drivers included with the Vista Cx, I was able to recognize the device and add/remove waypoints. The installation was relatively straightforward, and no more difficult than attaching any other peripheral such as a scanner or printer.

Included Software: The Vista Cx comes bundled with some very basic software for downloading and uploading waypoints. It is basically a copy of the basemaps that are included on the unit itself, with a basic user interface wrapped around it. With the software I was able to specify waypoints to download to the unit. The interface was so basic and without many options available, I admittedly have not used it much at all.

Micro SD Slot: The Micro SD Card slot is a big positive for this device. The additional memory provided by this card can be used to store more detailed map data. The detailed map data will need to be purchased from Garmin either as one of their additional CD packages, or, garmin offers Micro SD cards that come pre-loaded with map data on them. Even if you don’t plan on using the additional memory at first, I would suggest you purchase a unit with the expansion potential in case you change your mind.

Update (1/16/07): Now days a new 1GB Micro SD card can be found at various online stores, like buy.com, for around $10 or even free if you use google checkout, and buy while it is on sale. I recently purchased a 1GB card for $5, and it holds detailed map data for every state in the northeast with over 75% space free on the card.

Electronic Compass: A big plus in my book for the Vista CX is the Electronic Compass. Basically if you don’t have the electronic compass available or turned on, the GPS calculates your direction using the GPS satellites to track your movement. If you stop moving, your compass remains pointing in the direction you were last headed. So you need to move to see what direction you are facing. If I get lost, the first thing I am going to do is stop and look down to see where I am. I don’t want my compass to give me a false reading because I was stopped. On the Vista you can disable the electronic compass if you want (it uses more power when on).

Barometric Altimeter: The barometric altimeter is an item I have not used as much. It tries to use the barometric pressure as an aide in determining your altitude. In order to use it you must calibrate the GPS by inputting the known altitude at your current location. If the air pressure changes (like a low pressure system coming through) the GPS may think you are climbing a hill even though you are standing still. So basically I don’t use it because the receiver can use the satellites to calculate your altitude. And most navigating you would probably do would be latitude based not altitude based. This additional altimeter information, if calibrated correctly can be extremely useful for hiking as you would be climbing and descending. If you were hiking and need to find a trailhead, the horizontal accuracy coupled with the altitude differences could have you easily searching a 400 sq ft area for a trail on a mountain side. Having better altitude location would help cut down on your searching, especially if you are tired and dehydrated.

City Navigating: According to the GPS Manual, the Vista CX can give you navigational instructions via blips and beeps provided you have the waypoints of your trip loaded in. I have not experienced this myself as I have not used the unit for city navigation in this way. Another problem with navigating this way would be the small screen. You do not want to try and look in detail at this screen while you are driving, it is just too small. Consider it a bonus that this unit can handle routing and provide you directions in some manner, but if you are really looking for a road GPSr unit, go for a higher end Garmin or a Magellan.

Update (1/16/07): I received the garmin map pack as a gift for Christmas, and wow, let me tell you this device is great for city navigating. With the detailed maps, and appropriate content downloaded to your Micro SD Card, this until will automatically route you via streets to your destination. You will be prompted when selecting a waypoint to calculate directions following roads or off road. If you choose to follow the roads and stray from the GPSr calculated path, it will immediately recalculate a new route for you. I am really impressed.

Battery Life: I have had great battery life with this unit. It takes two AA batteries which is good and bad. Its good because they are easy to change and buy new batteries if they run out and you are in a pinch. It is bad because it is potentially wasteful to continuously go through AA batteries when you could have a more powerful longer lasting rechargeable battery like most digital cameras use now days. Your battery life will decrease severely if you use the unit with the backlight on. Good news is that the display is easily visible without the backlight, except at night. When you have the unit plugged into a computer, it draws power through the USB cable.

The manual specifies a 20 hour battery life, but I cannot really gauge how my use stacks up to this because I turn on and off the electronic compass, and I do not have the unit on continuously. I usually have the unit on to find where I need to go, and then off while I am there. Friends of mine have mentioned their battery use mirrors the time specified in the manual. A longtime user of the Vista series sent this guideline when recommending the unit to me: “The lighted background eats up the batteries pretty good so, buy some rechargeables ASAP. They’ll last about 8Hrs with heavy use on the lighted background, about 12 with the second dim lighted background, and about 18-20hrs. Unlighted without the compass.”

Purchase: I purchased my unit from Amazon.com for $284. This was cheaper than other sites offering it for around $324. Also, Etrex Vista units purchased from July 28, 2006 thru December 31, 2006 are eligible for a $50 mail in rebate from Garmin. (I bought my unit July 25th and just missed this rebate)

Conclusions: This is a great handheld unit for navigating the woods and your town. I have only lost signals a few times because of dense tree cover. The base level maps are useful for basic car navigating and finding your way to a general area, not a specific street address. The unit looses a few points with car navigating because of the small screen, and lack of a “Left” or “Right” prompt for turns. But it is able to update maps and reports speeds over 60mph, where other hiking only units can’t handle those speeds.

Navigating the GPS menus on the unit is easy with the 5 buttons provided and the rocker button (joystick) on the unit. My only complaint being when I put the unit in my pocket, sometimes the joystick gets nudged and I can hear the beeping in my pocket as it attempts to navigate the different menus. Battery life has been acceptable for the unit, and it is no big deal to carry two additional AA Batteries around as insurance (and I highly recommend you do).

The additional Garmin map packs are quite detailed. You can purchase Topographic maps, Street maps, and Maine Maps for fishing. The Vista CX can have multiple maps loaded on the Micro SD card, but only one type of map may be displayed at a time. So don’t go looking for streets and topographic trail maps on the same screen.

I would recommend this unit to someone excited about GPS Receivers as it is a capable unit for driving and hiking. In fact I have recommended it to friends and family already.

If you have any questions or comments on this review, please feel free to leave them on the Epinions web site. I am happy to answer any questions and correct my review from any inaccuracies it may contain. This review is only good if it answers your questions, so if anything is missing, by all means let me know. I aim to please.

Update (1/16/07): As stated above, I received the Garmin North America map pack for Christmas and I am hooked. This map pack has practically every road in my area on it. It even has those little “No U Turn” “Streets” that you find between seperated North South highways on it. You know the ones, the cops sit in to catch speeders. They show up on the maps. I am really impressed.

Now that I have the updated maps, I can easily navigate to any location I want to. When I stray from the path it is immediately recalculated. There is an additional interface screen on the garmin that displays your trip instructions, much like when you go to mapquest or yahoo and get directions to or from. Whenever you approach an intersection the unit will beep to signal action will soon be required. When you reach the intersection the unit will beep again and point you in the direction to go. Well done Garmin.

Update (1/16/07): A little about garmin the company… Even though I purchased my Garmin 3 days before their $50 rebate began, after contacting Garmin they agreed to send me a refund check after I mailed them a proof of purchase and packaging slip. Thank you customer service.

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