Garmin GPS - Some questions about the Etrex Vista.

Author

Some questions about the Etrex Vista.

Ben Brugman

2006-11-30, 12:33 pm

In front off me an Etrex Vista from Garmin.

I did play with it a lot, and read the manual, but
there are some things which are not in the manual.

Question 1.
Using the point and go function from the compas.
You get a pointer to the direction that the point lies.
But if you move from the line you get something different.
A 'broken' line, how should I read this.
This is not in the manual.

Question 2.
Any good resources on how to use the specific
devise? I am familiar with GPS, just not with the
possibilities of this devise.

Question 3.
Is there a more comprehensive manual for this
devise on line ?

Question 4.
What's the difference between Routes and Tracks.

Question 5.
Playing around with the devise I get only a very short
battery live. With 1900 MAh I get about 2 hours of
playtime (this is intensive use with about 30 min
of backlighting). Is this normal ?

Thanks for your time and attention.
Ben brugman.

TexGEOas

2006-11-30, 12:33 pm

> Question 1.
> Using the point and go function from the compas.
> You get a pointer to the direction that the point lies.
> But if you move from the line you get something different.
> A 'broken' line, how should I read this.
> This is not in the manual.
>

The arrow will "break" and the top will continue to point where you
SHOULD BE going. You should adjust your path of travel to make the
arrow straight again.

> Question 2.
> Any good resources on how to use the specific
> devise? I am familiar with GPS, just not with the
> possibilities of this devise.

Basically, the GPS tells you exactly where you are. If you load it
with map data, you can see where you are on the map and can navigate to
other points on the map, etc. If you Google "GPS" you will find enough
resouce material to keep you busy for weeks.

>
> Question 3.
> Is there a more comprehensive manual for this
> devise on line ?

Sounds like you want more generic information. The manual for the
Vista covers everything it can do. Garmin does sell an inexpensive
Video on the use of the Vista (or try eBay for a pre-owned video).

>
> Question 4.
> What's the difference between Routes and Tracks.

A route is where you plan TO GO.
A Track is a record of where you HAVE BEEN.

>
> Question 5.
> Playing around with the devise I get only a very short
> battery live. With 1900 MAh I get about 2 hours of
> playtime (this is intensive use with about 30 min
> of backlighting). Is this normal ?

Possible causes:
Batteries not the latest 2300-2500Mah type
Batteries old
Batteries not "topped off" for max power.
Backlighting eats batteries.
Can turn off internal Compass to save power.
30 minutes of backlighting is a LOT.

TexGEOas

Ben Brugman

2006-11-30, 3:33 pm

Thank you for your time and anwsers.

"TexGEOas" <geo.croft@gmail.com> schreef in bericht
news:1164906181.745771.10150@j44g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
>
>
>
> The arrow will "break" and the top will continue to point where you
> SHOULD BE going. You should adjust your path of travel to make the
> arrow straight again.

It's not the arrow which does indicate a turn.
But the middle of the arrow has a displacement te the right or
the left and it's less dark in color. I can not find that configuration
in the manual.

As:

^
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

The arrow (with point) goes through the center. The line is on the left
or the right.

>
>
> Basically, the GPS tells you exactly where you are. If you load it
> with map data, you can see where you are on the map and can navigate to
> other points on the map, etc. If you Google "GPS" you will find enough
> resouce material to keep you busy for weeks.
>
As said, I would like more information on the specific devise, not
on GPS.

>
> Sounds like you want more generic information. The manual for the
> Vista covers everything it can do. Garmin does sell an inexpensive
> Video on the use of the Vista (or try eBay for a pre-owned video).
>
No there is a lot it does not cover, for example the extra applications
are not covered. The arrow with the displacement is not in the manual.
If backtrackin (to end en beginning) there is no discription what the
devise does when there are minor or major differences in the route.
(For example the lane in the opposite direction is parallel but not
exactly in the same place. How does the devise handle displacement).
I used the device on a bicicle and doing the backtracking can not
realy see what the device is doing. (Large parts of the route are
exactly as expected, but some parts of the trip, the device is a bit
confused).

>
> A route is where you plan TO GO.
> A Track is a record of where you HAVE BEEN.
>
Thank you, any pointer how to enter route's.
Entering the coordinates by hand on the device is a bit
cumbersome.

>
>
> Possible causes:
> Batteries not the latest 2300-2500Mah type
> Batteries old
> Batteries not "topped off" for max power.

As said 1900 MAh, new and topped up.

> Backlighting eats batteries.
> Can turn off internal Compass to save power.
> 30 minutes of backlighting is a LOT.

Thanks
Ben

>
>
> TexGEOas
>

peter

2006-11-30, 3:33 pm

Ben Brugman wrote:

> "TexGEOas" <geo.croft@gmail.com> schreef in bericht
> news:1164906181.745771.10150@j44g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...

This is the "Course Pointer" which indicates not only which direction
you should go in but also, by how far the middle part of the arrow is
displaced, how far you off the set course. This is especially useful
when navigating in a specific channel, like a dredged harbor channel,
and need to stay within a certain distance of the planned path. You
can also set the pointer to act as a "Bearing Pointer" in which case it
won't have that broken line appearance. The broken line pointer is
shown on page 17 of the current manual. If yours is an older manual
you can download the current one from Garmin's site at:
http://www.garmin.com/products/manu...ct=010-00243-00
[color=darkred]

As mentioned Garmin does have a video, but it really only covers the
basics. The manual above is a better way to go along with just
experimenting with the device everywhere you are going anyway. Also
try selecting the MENU page whenever you think there should be more
options - frequently there are.[color=darkred]

See above.
[color=darkred]
> If backtrackin (to end en beginning) there is no discription what the
> devise does when there are minor or major differences in the route.
> (For example the lane in the opposite direction is parallel but not
> exactly in the same place. How does the devise handle displacement).
> I used the device on a bicicle and doing the backtracking can not
> realy see what the device is doing. (Large parts of the route are
> exactly as expected, but some parts of the trip, the device is a bit
> confused).

The TrackBack feature assumes you'll follow exactly the same route on
the way back such as would be the case along a hiking trail. The unit
evaluates the overall path taken and determines where the significant
turning points were along the way. The pointer arrow then directs you
to each of those turning points one after the other. If the return
path isn't exactly the same then the pointer will sometimes continue to
point back at the last turning point for awhile after you pass by it
(but are off to the side). It'll eventually figure it out and switch
to the next point.

Yes, although it's sometimes convenient to pre-enter a track to show
you a trail that you plan to hike on in the future. Tracklogs allow
for a much larger number of points so they can show more detail.
[color=darkred]
> Thank you, any pointer how to enter route's.
> Entering the coordinates by hand on the device is a bit
> cumbersome.

Quite a bit of software is available to help. Garmin's mapping
software (the various MapSource products) is one choice. DeLorme's
TopoUSA and StreetAtlas software has a good interface to Garmin GPS
models. And there's also free software like USAPhotoMaps that lets you
enter routes on either aerial photo views of an area or USGS topomaps.
[color=darkred]

No, it's not. But 1900 mA-hr is pretty low capacity for NiMH AA cells
these days which makes me wonder if these are older cells that may have
lost some of their original capacity. To see if your Vista really has
a problem I'd do an experiment under ideal conditions. Get some fresh
good quality alkaline cells, turn off both the backlighting and
compass, set the Vista to Battery-Saver mode, and leave it turned on
somewhere with decent reception and where it's not too cold. If you
still get much less run time than Garmin indicates then the unit has a
problem. Otherwise you can conduct further tests to see if the 2 hours
is due to poor batteries or something in the unit such as a compass
sensor or backlight that are drawing more power than they should (but
these will reduce the run time compared with Garmin's stated 'typical'
values).

Ben Brugman

2006-11-30, 3:33 pm

>
> This is the "Course Pointer" which indicates not only which direction
> you should go in but also, by how far the middle part of the arrow is
> displaced, how far you off the set course. This is especially useful
> when navigating in a specific channel, like a dredged harbor channel,
> and need to stay within a certain distance of the planned path. You
> can also set the pointer to act as a "Bearing Pointer" in which case it
> won't have that broken line appearance. The broken line pointer is
> shown on page 17 of the current manual. If yours is an older manual
> you can download the current one from Garmin's site at:
> http://www.garmin.com/products/manu...ct=010-00243-00
>

Thanks for pointing this out. Although on a different page in
my manual it's actualy there. The offset I saw was huge (I wasn't
following a channel, but playing around). The offset in the manual
is little compared to what I saw and the 'course deviation indicator
(CDI)' text is missing in my translation. But present in the English
version of the manual.

I'll have a go through the complete English version to see if
I missed something else.

>
> As mentioned Garmin does have a video, but it really only covers the
> basics. The manual above is a better way to go along with just
> experimenting with the device everywhere you are going anyway. Also
> try selecting the MENU page whenever you think there should be more
> options - frequently there are.

The options are there, they are just not very well described in the
translated manual. (Only which options are there, not what they
actually do). But I'll go through the English manual, maybe that
that manual covers the options better.

>
> The TrackBack feature assumes you'll follow exactly the same route on
> the way back such as would be the case along a hiking trail. The unit
> evaluates the overall path taken and determines where the significant
> turning points were along the way. The pointer arrow then directs you
> to each of those turning points one after the other. If the return
> path isn't exactly the same then the pointer will sometimes continue to
> point back at the last turning point for awhile after you pass by it
> (but are off to the side). It'll eventually figure it out and switch
> to the next point.

As said I was playing around. Used it in the car to do some backtracking.
But you can not opperate the devise safely in a car. As a passenger I
did do the backtracking and for the same route (to the endpoint) that
worked well.
On my own on the bike taking turns after each other this didn't work
to well. This was happening in the city I live in, so I was more playing
around with it than actually navigating with it. (To get to know the
devise).

>
> Quite a bit of software is available to help. Garmin's mapping
> software (the various MapSource products) is one choice. DeLorme's
> TopoUSA and StreetAtlas software has a good interface to Garmin GPS
> models. And there's also free software like USAPhotoMaps that lets you
> enter routes on either aerial photo views of an area or USGS topomaps.
>
I saw some free routes but have no clue how to get these free to download
routes into the devise.
There is mapping for the area I live in but it's about 140 Euro's. (That
about
180 dollar). It's not my devise, and the owner of the devise does have an
apple machine not a windows.

Is there free software just to load the free routes.

>
> No, it's not. But 1900 mA-hr is pretty low capacity for NiMH AA cells
> these days which makes me wonder if these are older cells that may have
> lost some of their original capacity. To see if your Vista really has
> a problem I'd do an experiment under ideal conditions. Get some fresh
> good quality alkaline cells, turn off both the backlighting and
> compass, set the Vista to Battery-Saver mode, and leave it turned on
> somewhere with decent reception and where it's not too cold. If you
> still get much less run time than Garmin indicates then the unit has a
> problem. Otherwise you can conduct further tests to see if the 2 hours
> is due to poor batteries or something in the unit such as a compass
> sensor or backlight that are drawing more power than they should (but
> these will reduce the run time compared with Garmin's stated 'typical'
> values).

I did not do any scientific tests or measurements but the device
shows a low battery symbol within an hour of inserting fresh
and newly loaded 1900 mA-hr.
I have had twice that the device was shut down. I think this
was because of a detection of low batteries, but I am not
sure of that. (The second time was after inserting a fresh
pair only a quarter of an hour before).
The batteries where new, but as said not tested. So it
could be te batteries as wel. Should try another set of batteries.

Thanks for your pointers and explanations. I'll have to
reread the manual, this time the English version.

Thanks again,
Ben

>

Ben Brugman

2006-11-30, 3:33 pm

> http://www.garmin.com/products/manu...ct=010-00243-00
>
I just checked out the English manual, it's much better than the
translation.
One example (translated back to English):

In the English manual :
Auto Zoom: On or Off; automatically scales the map
to display both your current location and the next
point to which you are navigating.

The translation :
Auto zoom: On or Off

And this is the same for a lot of options.
Only repeating the options whitout a proper
explanation.

ben

peter

2006-11-30, 3:33 pm

Ben Brugman wrote:
ete English version to see if

> I saw some free routes but have no clue how to get these free to download
> routes into the devise.
> There is mapping for the area I live in but it's about 140 Euro's. (That
> about
> 180 dollar). It's not my devise, and the owner of the devise does have an
> apple machine not a windows.
>
> Is there free software just to load the free routes.

Sorry, I hadn't checked where you are located and directed you to some
US-specific software above.

Depends on what format is used by the free route download files. One
useful free program is G7toWIN:
http://www.gpsinformation.org/ronh/
which will work with files in .gpx, comma-separated-values text, and
many other common formats. If you have computer displayable maps for
your area then two programs I'd suggest are OziExplorer and GARtrip.
Both have free demo and pay registered versions and let you see your
routes/tracks superimposed on the maps you have on a PC and also let
you create routes/tracks by clicking on the displayed map. A variety
of other software tools are mentioned at the gpsinformation.net site.

Ben Brugman

2006-11-30, 10:33 pm

Succes,

Went to the site, downloaded the program and have
downloaded from the GPS and uploaded to the GPS.

So THANKS, this is exactly what I was looking for.

But offcourse another question pops up :

The uploaded (to GPS) track is almost a loop.
The start and the finish are close. I assume that
you can just pick up the middle off the loop and
go to the end. Then go to the start and go again
there to the end.

If the start and end are the same does the
GPS device still send you around the 'track' ?

Again thanks for your time and attention,
you were a great help.

Ben

"peter" <prathman@comcast.net> schreef in bericht
news:1164916721.246631.86330@j44g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
> Ben Brugman wrote:
>
>
> This is the "Course Pointer" which indicates not only which direction
> you should go in but also, by how far the middle part of the arrow is
> displaced, how far you off the set course. This is especially useful
> when navigating in a specific channel, like a dredged harbor channel,
> and need to stay within a certain distance of the planned path. You
> can also set the pointer to act as a "Bearing Pointer" in which case it
> won't have that broken line appearance. The broken line pointer is
> shown on page 17 of the current manual. If yours is an older manual
> you can download the current one from Garmin's site at:
> http://www.garmin.com/products/manu...ct=010-00243-00
>
>
> As mentioned Garmin does have a video, but it really only covers the
> basics. The manual above is a better way to go along with just
> experimenting with the device everywhere you are going anyway. Also
> try selecting the MENU page whenever you think there should be more
> options - frequently there are.
>
> See above.
>
>
> The TrackBack feature assumes you'll follow exactly the same route on
> the way back such as would be the case along a hiking trail. The unit
> evaluates the overall path taken and determines where the significant
> turning points were along the way. The pointer arrow then directs you
> to each of those turning points one after the other. If the return
> path isn't exactly the same then the pointer will sometimes continue to
> point back at the last turning point for awhile after you pass by it
> (but are off to the side). It'll eventually figure it out and switch
> to the next point.
>
> Yes, although it's sometimes convenient to pre-enter a track to show
> you a trail that you plan to hike on in the future. Tracklogs allow
> for a much larger number of points so they can show more detail.
>
>
> Quite a bit of software is available to help. Garmin's mapping
> software (the various MapSource products) is one choice. DeLorme's
> TopoUSA and StreetAtlas software has a good interface to Garmin GPS
> models. And there's also free software like USAPhotoMaps that lets you
> enter routes on either aerial photo views of an area or USGS topomaps.
>
>
> No, it's not. But 1900 mA-hr is pretty low capacity for NiMH AA cells
> these days which makes me wonder if these are older cells that may have
> lost some of their original capacity. To see if your Vista really has
> a problem I'd do an experiment under ideal conditions. Get some fresh
> good quality alkaline cells, turn off both the backlighting and
> compass, set the Vista to Battery-Saver mode, and leave it turned on
> somewhere with decent reception and where it's not too cold. If you
> still get much less run time than Garmin indicates then the unit has a
> problem. Otherwise you can conduct further tests to see if the 2 hours
> is due to poor batteries or something in the unit such as a compass
> sensor or backlight that are drawing more power than they should (but
> these will reduce the run time compared with Garmin's stated 'typical'
> values).
>

peter

2006-11-30, 10:33 pm

Ben Brugman wrote:
> Succes,
>
> Went to the site, downloaded the program and have
> downloaded from the GPS and uploaded to the GPS.
>
> So THANKS, this is exactly what I was looking for.
>
> But offcourse another question pops up :
>
> The uploaded (to GPS) track is almost a loop.
> The start and the finish are close. I assume that
> you can just pick up the middle off the loop and
> go to the end. Then go to the start and go again
> there to the end.

Yes, that should work ok. I don't have a Vista, but I think it works
about the same as on my older eMap. When initiating a TrackBack it
asks whether you want to go in the Original (i.e. Begin to End) or in
the Reverse (End to Begin) direction. That works fine for a loop path.
But when the recorded track is already an out-and-back path there can
be some ambiguity and the unit can start out by trying to send you in
the opposite direction from what you have in mind. Usually if I just
start walking or riding it'll straighten itself out after a short
period but sometimes I need to stop the TrackBack and restart it.

Garmin's newer models let you explicitly indicate the desired starting
and ending points of the recorded tracklog.[color=darkred]
>
> If the start and end are the same does the
> GPS device still send you around the 'track' ?
>
> Again thanks for your time and attention,
> you were a great help.
>
> Ben
>
>
>
>
>
> "peter" <prathman@comcast.net> schreef in bericht
> news:1164916721.246631.86330@j44g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...

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