Garmin eTrex Vista HCx

Price: (3 December 2007)

Amazon. com : US$ 238

GPSmurah.com : Rp. 3.100.000 (microSD 1GB)

Otomasi.com : Rp. 2.950.000 (microSD 256, Java Bali Singapore Malaysia Maps)

modified from Amazon.com review:
Neither deep foliage nor steep canyons will faze the rugged Garmin eTrex Vista HCx navigator. Equipped with a high-sensitivity, WAAS-enabled GPS receiver, the unit locates your position quickly and precisely and maintains its GPS location even in heavy cover. The advantage is clear: whether you're traipsing through thick woods or strolling near tall buildings and trees, you can count on the Vista HCx to help you find your way when you need it the most. The Vista HCx also includes a built-in electronic compass that provides bearing information even when you're standing still, along with a barometric altimeter that tracks changes in pressure to pinpoint your precise altitude. You can even use the altimeter to plot barometric pressure over time, which can help you keep an eye on changing weather conditions.

Adding maps to the Vista HCx is easier than ever thanks to the device's microSD card slot, which accepts cards preloaded with MapSource data for your land and sea excursions. Just insert a MapSource card with detailed street maps, and the Vista HCx will provide turn-by-turn directions to your destination. Plus, the card slot is located inside the waterproof battery compartment, so you needn't worry about it getting wet.

Besides appreciating its small size, users will also be happy with the Vista HCx's unique button layout, with five buttons located on either side of the unit. The benefits of this design are twofold: First, the Vista HCx is a breeze to operate with just one hand, and, second, with the buttons on both sides of the unit, the bulk of the front is dedicated to the 256-color, sunlight-readable TFT display. This makes it easy to distinguish map details regardless of the time of day.
The Vista HCx basemap, meanwhile, contains lakes, rivers, cities, interstates, national and state highways, railroads, and coastlines--in short, a host of helpful details for your outdoor adventures. Other details include an IPX7 waterproof housing, 1,000 waypoints with names and graphic symbols, a built-in patch antenna, a USB interface, a hunt/fish calendar, sun and moon information, and a geocaching mode. The Vista HCx, which runs for up to 25 hours on a pair of AA batteries (not included), measures 2.2 by 4.2 by 1.2 inches (W x H x D) and is backed by a one-year warranty.

What's in the Box
eTrex Vista HCx, basemap, MapSource Trip & Waypoint Manager software, USB cable, wrist strap, quick start guide, user's manual.

Product Description
GARMIN eTrex Vista HCx Hand Held Receiver w/ Built in GPS Patch Antenna. MicroSD card slot allows for storage of optional MapSource detail /MicroSd card not included. WAAS enabled, 12 parallel channel GPS receiver. Electronic compass displays accurate heading while standing still. Barometric altimeter with automatic pressure trend recording. Built in GPS patch antenna. Display: 1.3 in W x 1.7 in H, 256 color, high resolution, transflective TFT /176 x 220 pixels. LED backlit display and keypad. Battery life: up to 32 hours typical use using two AA alkaline batteries. Includes a built in Americas autoroute basemap with automatic routing capabilities including highways, exits and tide data /USA only. 500 user waypoints with name and graphic symbol; 20 reversible routes, 50 points per route. Position formats include Lat/Lon, UTM, Loran TDs, Maidenhead, MGRS, user grid, and more. Audible alarms for anchor drag, arrival, off course and clock. Large numbers option for easy viewing, dual position display mode. Trip computer provides odometer, stopped time, moving average, overall average, total time, max speed and more. 10,000 point automatic track log; 20 saved tracks /500 points each/ let you retrace your path in both directions. Built in celestial tables for best time to fish and hunt, plus sun and moon calculations. Fully compatible with MapSource products including BlueChart, City Navigator, U.S. TOPO 24K, U.S. TOPO and US Inland lakes. Waterproof, IEC 60529 IPX7, /Submersible 1 meter at 30 minutes.

On the Track
Go on an adventure! Thrill to the challenges of the wild outdoors. Get thee a shrubbery or meander in a mountainous forest. And always know where you are. With the Garmin Vista HCX, you'll never get lost. That makes the outdoor trek safer. Whether you hike, bike, or cruise, you won't lose your bearings. Built for the outdoorsman, the Garmin e-Trex Vista HCx features a high sensitivity GPS receiver, electronic compass and a barometric altimeter. Garmin has introduced a line of e-Trex units that feature a high sensitivity WAAS GPS receiver that are able to receive a signal, even under heavy tree cover. The Vista HCx has a built-in electronic compass to determine bearings while standing still, and a barometric altimeter for increased accuracy of elevation readings, to help you along on your next hunting or hiking excursion. At a tiny 4.2"H x 2.2"W x 1.2"D and only 5.6 ounces with batteries, the Vista won't weigh you down or take up too much room in your pocket or bag. Whether you are in a canyon, under heavy tree cover or in a city with tall buildings the Vista HCx will guide you along safely. Tiny Vista HCx includes the routable Americas Recreational basemap, including major highways, interstates and bigger lakes and rivers. The maps look great on the 1.3 ?x 1.7? high resolution color TFT display and it is even viewable in direct sunlight. The Vista HCx has a microSD card slot for memory cards that will accept detailed maps from Garmin's Optional MapSource software. With the Mapsource City Navigator North America software you will be able to get visual turn-by-turn guidance on this tiny wonder. Blank microSD cards are available in multiple storage sizes to hold loads of maps. Included with the Vista HCx is a USB interface cable, so map downloads are much faster than traditional handheld GPS units. Garmin has also added audible alarms for off-course, proximity waypoints, and anchor drag. The operation of the unit cou

Product Summary

The good: Lightweight; sharp screen; loads of memory.

The bad: No driving directions; expensive; additional MapSource programs are costly.

The bottom line: Although the eTrex Vista and its add-on programs may be a bit pricey, you will not find a more feature-packed GPS device in a smaller package.

GPS terms and definitions

To better understanding GPS unit operation and capabilities, it may be helpful to review the basic terms and concepts briefly explained below:

• 2D Operating: ModeA two-dimensional GPS position fix that includes only horizontal coordinates (no GPS elevation). It requires a minimum of three visible satellites.
• 3D Operating Mode: A three-dimensional GPS position fix that includes horizontal coordinates, plus elevation. It requires a minimum of four visible satellites.
• Almanac Data : satellite constellation information (including location and health of satellites) that is transmitted to your receiver from every GPS satellite.
  Almanac data must be acquired before GPS navigation can begin.
• Altimeter:An instrument for determining elevation, especially an aneroid barometer used in aircraft that senses pressure changes accompanying changes in altitude. The Garmin® eTrex® Vista and Summit models contain a basic GPS with a built-in barometric altimeter.
• Bearing : the compass direction from your position to a destination, bearing also call an azimuth
• Crosstrack Error (XTE): the distance you are off a desired course in either direction.
• Datum: A math model which depicts a part of the surface of the earth. Latitude and longitude lines on a paper map are referenced to a specific map datum. The map datum selected on a GPS receiver needs to match the datum listed on the corresponding paper map in order for position readings to match.
• Desired Track (DTK): the compass course between the "from" and "to" waypoints.
• Differential GPS (DGPS): An extention of the GPS system that uses land-based radio beacons to transmit position corrections to GPS receivers.
• Dilution Of Precision (DOP) A measure of the GPS receiver/satellite geometry. A low DOP value indicates better relative geometry and higher corresponding accuracy. The DOP indicators are GDOP (geometric DOP), PDOP (position DOP), HDOP (horizontal DOP), VDOP (vertical DOP), and TDOP (time clock offset).
• Estimated Position Error (EPE): A measurement of horizontal position error in feet or meters based upon a variety of factors including DOP and satellite signal quality.
• Estimated Time of Arrival (ETA): The time of day of your arrival at a destination.
• Estimated Time Enroute (ETE): The time left to your destination based on your present speed over ground.
• Geocaching: A high-tech version of hide-and-seek. Geocachers seek out hidden treasures utilizing GPS coordinates posted on the Internet by those hiding the cache.
• GoTo: A route consisting of one leg, with your present position being the start of the route and a single defined waypoint as the destination.
• Grid: A coordinate system that projects the earth on flat surface, using square zones for position measurements. UTM/UPS and Maidenhead formats are grid systems.
• Ground Speed: The velocity you are travelling relative to a ground position.
• Latitude: A north/south measurement of position perpendicular to the earth's polar axis.
• Longitude: An east/west measurement of position in relation to the Prime Meridian, which is an imaginary cycle that passes through the north and south poles.
• Navigation: the process of travelling from one place to another and knowing where you are in relation to your desired course.
• Point of Interest: A specific point location that someone may find useful or interesting
• Position: An exact, unique location based on geographic coordinate system.
• SiRFstarIII: the latest high sensitivity GPS microcontroller chip manufactured by SiRF Technology. The chip supports 20 parallel channels, meaning that the chip can listen to, or search for, the signals from 20 different GPS satellites simultaneously.
• Speed Over Ground (SOG): The actual speed the GPS unit is moving over the ground. This may differ from airspeed or nautical speed due to such things as head winds or sea conditions. For example, a plane that is going 120 knots into a 10-knot head wind will have a SOG of 110 knots.
• Track (TRK): The direction of movement relative to a ground position.
• Track Log: a features in GPS unit that allow the user to create a log (record) of the travels, which can save for later use.
• Universal Traverse Mercator (UTM): A grid coordinate system that project global sections onto a flat surface to measure position in specific zones.
• Velocity Made Good (VMG): The speed you are travelling in the direction of destination.
• Waypoint (WPT): A geographical location which created by marking current location.
• WAAS: Wide Area Augmentation System, a service to improve the overall integrity od the GPS signal for user in North America.
• WGS-84 World Geodetic System, 1984: The primary map datum used by GPS. Secondary datums are computed as differences from the WGS 84 standard.

Note: most of the definitions above used for Garmin GPS units.

GPS unit for beginner

So many question come from the gps beginner like this: what kind of gps is suite for the beginner? It is depend what kind of beginner you are:

1. I just want to know my position in a map, I'm happy if I can get my geographic position. For this type of user I suggest to buy a basic gps, non colour viewer, from any brand. You can chose Garmin, Magellan or Tomtom. It will cost you around US$ 75 to US$ 150. Basic Garmin GPS like 12XL is very tough and durable, I've used it for 12 year. It will give you a latitude and longitude coordinate (or UTM), and altitude. There are lot of datums available in this type of GPS.


2. I want to see a map in my gps, but not expensive. If you happy with black and white map you can go with Garmin e-trex Vista or e-trex Legend it will cost you around US$ 175 up to US$ 250.


3. I want to see full color map in my gps. Lot of choice for this type starting from US$ 300 for Garmin Legend Cx up to US$ 700 for garmin 276c. Also there is a durable gps with omni antenna like Garmin 60 Cx for around US$400, this kind of GPS is very sensitive, have 20 tracking capability (sirf III), water proof and can used in the difficult terrain, in some type also equipped with barometric altimeter.


4. I don't care about coordinates, datum and tracking capability, I just want to know my position on a map in colour display. Go for Garmin Nuvi or Street Pilot series, its very practical as long as you have a map for your area, it will cost you from US$ 350 up to US$ 800.


5. I've a bluetooth enable PDA, I want to use my pda as gps. Buy a bluetooth (BT) GPS like Garmin 10 or the latest 10X with price around US$ 180. There is also other product like Altina or Holux, its cheaper, around US$ 75 to US$ 100. Pairing this BT GPS with your PDA. You also need to install a gps software in your pda like Garmin Que or Garmin Mobile xt.

After having a various mapping gps unit for more than 17 years, I started using a gps with color map, how much it cost? US$ 75 for second had Ipaq 5500 PDA (large screen) and another US$ 75 for second hand Garmin 10, I'm happy with this combination, more than enough to show my way and tracks.

What kind of GPS for your car?

Do you have a GPS in your car? Five years ago, most of Indonesian car haven't GPS in their car. There was some in build up car, however the complete map was not available yet. But time is rolling and people getting more familiar to GPS (thanks to navigasi.net). Before you want to install a GPS in your car, here some notes to consider:

1. Map.No Indonesia complete free map available. Maps for certain area (Java, Sumatra, Bali) are available in Navigasi.net. However its only cover a big city and major province road. Actually this map is useful if you travelling in Java island. The is other map source from otomasi.com, this one is not free, but the price is not expensive. Other source are maps from solo system (expensive) and Nusa Map. In this current situation, map from navigasi.net is still the best for beginner.

2. GPS unit, what brand?If you want to use navigasi.net or otomasi.com map as your main map, you should buy a Garmin GPS because both maps were designed for Garmin GPS unit. You can also chose other brand likes Magellan or Tom Tom, but the map not available, so you only can received your position in longitude and latitude format.

3. GPS unit, what type?The Garmin GPs have a lot of types and series, which one is suite for you? For using GPS while driving, I suggest to used a GPS unit with wide screen. Garmin GPSmap 276c, Nuvi and Quest are the examples of garmin gps with wide screen.

4. Tracking facilities.Is it important for you? If yes, forget about the Nuvi, this type of GPS have no tracking facilities, is designed for area which have a good map. So go for GPSMap 276c, Quest or Street Pilot.

5. Any other options?Yes, you can use your pda pairing with garmin 10x bluetooth gps, or other bt gps (altina etc), for software you can chose GarminQue or Garmin.

6. How accurate?Standard GPS will give 5 to 15 m accuracy depend on the clarity from obstacles between the gps unit and the satellites.

7. How much it cost?For stand alone GPS likes Quest or 276c will cost around Rp. 4M to Rp. 6.5M (US$ 375 to US$ 600). If you already have a pda and want to pairing it with bluetooth gps it will cost around Rp 900k (Altina) to Rp. 1.8M (Garmin 10x)