GARMIN 010-00630-00 Etrex Vista GPS Receiver

Amazon Customer Reviews

(5 out of 5)

Finest Upgrade Available from Garmin

I won't waste your time if you are a previous Garmin user. I upgraded from an EMap, bought in 2001, that has served quite well. However, after all that time there are features one desires that scream for an upgrade. Yes, the color screen, the USB capability, far larger (and commercially available) Micro SD Memory, improved maps all contribute to the many reasons to buy. This is the tops, absolutely.

However, I saw this was coming out about 6 months ago and I waited. Why? The "H" in "HCx" stands for high-sensitivity. From my EMap experiences, I knew that GPS units were very sensitive to signal. My old EMap literally had to sit on the dashboard of the car on road trips, sitting in the sun, and sometimes still losing satellites. Well, friend, that's all over.

My HCx arrived today, and I opened the box, securing two AA batteries, and turned the unit on after about 45 seconds of perusing the Quick Start Guide. Sitting in a concrete building (dormitory, with a steel door, the HCx immediately began acquiring satellites and within mere seconds had found three...inside my little "bunker". Impressed? You couldn't wipe the grin off my face. I set a waypoint for Home - in the room - and then trudged over to work. Entering another concrete building, the signal strength was still fine and I set a waypoint at my desk. I marveled over the `track" I had wandered on the way to work, zooming in to 20 ft. resolution.

Friends, this is fantastic technology. The unit is small, comfortable to operate, feels solid, well-actuated controls and is far faster to acquire satellites than my expectations.. Needless to say, it's worth every penny. It fits in my shirt pocket, not a great deal larger than a pack of cigarettes, and it is the best thing I've spent money on since the thrill of buying a VIC-20 PC at K-Mart in 1985. And a lot of technology has been issued (and passed through my hands) since then. I admit it - I'm geek - I carry daily 3 phones, a digital camera and a Space Pen.

Buy this unit. Amazon's price is current market price, so don't feel compelled to shop - I did and it was a huge headache to attempt to save $20. Your time is worth far more - don't delay another day. Hands-down, it is the one to buy, and you will be on cutting edge for several more years.

You will not be disappointed.

(5 out of 5)

FANTASTIC

If you are reading this and the other reviews of the Garmin eTrex Vista HCx then you are doing your homework and wondering if this GPS is as good as all the hype makes it out to be. The short answer is YES! I have an old Garmin 12 Map which has served me well, but was getting a bit long in the tooth. I wanted something a bit smaller, lighter, with color screen and was water tight. The Vista HCx meets all of these needs and so many more. It is small in size, but with a fairly big and bright screen (easily readable in the sun) for its size.
Every review I read touted the extra sensitive antenna and how it picked up and locked onto satellites inside of homes or buildings. Well I can honestly tell you that it does all this and does it quick. How this happens it Garmin magic. I was always told you had to have line of sight to pick up satellites, but not in the case of the Vista HCx, it can get them just about anywhere short of being in a bunker.
The menu is intuitive and easy to navigate, so much more that my old Garmin 12 map. The long story short, this little GPS is the one for everyone else to beat. If you are seriously considering a GPS purchase for hiking or navigating the back country, do not look elsewhere, this is the one to get!
The base maps in the Vista HCx are of course upgradeable through additional accessories purchases from Garmin (at substantial cost), but worth the money. How Garmin managed to pack so much into so little a package is a mystery to me. Do yourself a favor, stop reading the review and just buy one, you will not be disappointed.
BTW, I purchased mine through Amazon.com and took advantage of the free shipping. It arrived four days ahead of when it was scheduled to arrive which was a nice surprise. Amazon has a very good price and I have always been happy with my purchases through them. And no I am not getting paid to say these nice things about Amazon, I am just a very satisfied customer.

Dan...

(2 out of 5)

It works great with a Mac but dismal documentation!

After being content with my Garmin Vista, I decided it was time to upgrade to the latest Garmin Vista eTrex HCx. With a new MapSource Topo USA for MAC available, and the ability to transfer National Parks Topo Version 3 from PC to MAC I thought it would be an ideal time to "upgrade" to this model. The HCx has a beautiful color screen, is highly sensitive-acquiring satellites and able to navigate much more effectively! Response is quick-virtually instantaneous. Ergonomically the toggles are awkward and its easy to toggle into the wrong place-not a big deal and I image I'll get used to it. This being said the documentation that comes with the unit is almost useless, covering just the basics. Forget about how to setup (at least for a MAC). The cd that comes with it is for PC's only and there is absolutely no information on what a Mac user needs to do. You think a quick look at the Garmin website would have these answers. Nope! Nada! The website is a joke-as is customer support. I waited 32 minutes to speak to a rep and then was told I would have to be transferred to their Mac Dept. Okay fine. Another 34 minute wait. Thats; okay, I'm willing to wait-except the tech I finally get is about as helpful as a cord of wood. No help. I ask questions he doesn't know the answers and doesn't sound like he cares-hardly a Mac enthusiast. In fact I felt like he actually dispised my call. From simple things like where's the serial number? (UPDATE: it's behind the batteries) to do I need drivers to download to make this work? (UPDATE: No you don't. In fact, if you're using a Mac, just turn it on and it's up and running-no need for "installation disc")-if you want to transfer maps to your GPS, you must download the "MapInstall" program from Garmin's website). This is a beautiful device that does what my old Vista did-except this one, is of course, much faster, and more effective-if I could get some information on it! If Garmin is going to claim they are moving toward Mac compatibility they should give a little more information to Mac user's on their website (other than press releases on how they are now Mac friendly) or perhaps a few sentences in the manual explaining exactly what Mac users need to get this thing up-and-running; transferring maps, able to communicate with Mapsource software, etc.. I would like to give the HCx five stars, but because of absolutely no assistance for Mac users on their website or manual-and because of an initial bad customer service experience I give it two stars and sit here with a $270 GPS-$200 worth of new MapSource Maps (another product-another review) and a beautiful little machine that has quicker response and is much more capable than my old Vista-but just as useless on a Mac (REVISED: It works beautifully with my Mac. Perfect!). My enthusiasm dissolved after trying to upload maps or connect to my computer.

REVISED 6/30/08: Okay, finally! I got someone at Garmin customer service (very nice in the Mac Dept.) that could explain what-exactly needs to be done to get this puppy up-and-running: I had already downloaded the Garmin MapIntsall software (which you need to open, then select the device-in this case the HCx); there you will find all your maps (in my case the Topo Natl Parks and Topo USA for Mac). With the GPS plugged into USB port you simple select all the maps you want from one set of maps and then go to the other set and select the ones there). Works like a dream! Now if they would just make this clear somewhere (and believe me, it is not CLEAR anywhere). That being said, the experience I had today was much better. While I had to wait another 30 minutes to get customer service (who told me the serial number is located inside the battery case on the back) and then another 5 minutes to get to the Mac specialist-all my questions were answered! Both techs were very nice and helpful! Today's experience would be 5 Star Customer service! while I have rated the device 2 stars-I would probably change to 4 stars. Why the missing star? Initial frustration that could have been alleviated if Garmin took the time to stuff some extra instructions in the box specifically for Mac user's and made their website a little more friendly-and informative. The 24k NATL PARKS maps are beautiful on the color screens-as are the TOPO USA 2008 for Mac. The toggles are still awkward and unruly-but I'll get used to it. So, in a nutshell; You can download multiple maps on to your Garmin Vista Hcx using MapInstall (dowload from their website) to your applications folder. Once downloaded, connect your HCx to USB and select device and have fun selecting your maps. One thing I was not real clear on until today is that "Bobcat" is strictly for viewing maps and transferring wayspoints, etc. It has nothing to do with uplading maps to your GPS. Use MapInstall to upload maps to the GPS. Today's experience brought my faith back in Garmin customer service and technology. Thanks Garmin, for FINALLY becoming Mac compatible. I'm going to be a happy camper with this wonderful little GPS!

REVISED 7/6/08: Referring to the most recent "1 Star" Review; Yes, mine locks-up/freezes, too (nothing to do with Mac) unit freezes on the trail-at least once a day. No response from any buttons-unable to do anything until holding power button for long period-reboot. This is not cool! Will call Garmin Monday and see what's up. Not good to hear they have a new chipset out and this may be the old one. After-all, I just purchased this. Will report back on what Garmin says. This sounds like an obvious defect.

REVISED 7/9/08: Emailed Garmin Monday-no response yet (3 days later)-so returned to Amazon for exchange. Amazon is great! No problem. Sent out a new one before I could box up the defective one-received replacement today! That's customer service! Will let everyone know if the problem persists with replacement unit. Amazon 5 Stars! HCx?..not so sure anymore.

REVISED 7/11/08: Garmin emailed me 4 days later and explained that the new chipset is 3.0. My software version is 2.60. Used "Web-Updater" on my Mac and said I have the latest software. Everything is working beautifully with replacement Amazon sent me. No freezes or problems of any kind. Final score: Garmin HCx-4 Stars! Amazon-big 5 Stars!

(5 out of 5)

Great GPS!

I work in Hawaiian native forests where the tree canopy can often be dense. I have also used a number of GPS units which always had difficulty detecting satellite signals under the tree canopy. So, having heard about the new HCx I bought one, took it out to the deepest forest canopy I could find and turned it on. In 30 seconds I had eleven signals. Amazing.

(4 out of 5)

Great upgrade

I bought it to replace my old Garmin Etrex Vista and I am very happy with it. When comparing it to my older model these are the main differences:

Pros:
* Really high sensitivity. Now it always works inside the car, and it always works when hiking in the forest. You can just drop it into your pocket or backpack.
* Routing capability. Very useful if you have a good map, even if it doesn't give voice commands.
* Color screen rather than B/W makes it much more readable even if screen area is slightly smaller
* When saving Waypoints, now the date and time info is automatically included.
* Battery lasts at least twice
* Rapid transfer of maps and tracks through USB rather than serial!
* Compatible with the maps and logs that I already have. I transferred all the waypoints and tracks saved in my old Vista to this new model, through Mapsource without problem.
* Compatible with my car, motorbike and bicycle mounts that I already have from my Etrex Vista.
* I can still use the free maps that I used with my old Vista, from: http://mapcenter.cgpsmapper.com/catalogue.php and from
http://www.malsingmaps.com/
* Automatic date setup (from the satellites?)
* When transferring to the PC, the Active Log is now transferred as a few tracks (I guess one for every time that you have powered up the device) rather than as a long list of tracks
* When saving a track, now you can decide exactly up to which point to save back.


Cons:
* Not compatible with two of my Etrex Vista accessories: Car power adaptor (now the power comes through the USB connector) and Garmin case (now the unit is a little bit wider and shorter)
* No Favorite Waypoints menu. Has been replaced by a Recent Finds Menu?
* User Interface is sometimes confusing and not easy to find the function that you are looking for.
* WAAS setting and backlight level get to off whenever you power off the unit rather than remembering the setting (firmware bug?)
* Product Manual is very bad. It tells you how to turn things on and off, not why and when you should turn something on and off.
* No Micro SD memory included so you cannot upload any map unless you buy one.
* For the next product update, could I ask Garmin to add a Voice Recorder function to be able record a voice note associated to each Waypoint?