HCx Vista I'm looking for a GPS with altimeter. Is it an assumption that the Legend HCx has one or is it only on the Vista?
1521539
Thanks a lot. It's helpful but I already bought it. I want it for trekking and have never owned a GPS of any sort before so I suspect I'm in for a lesson or two! i guess I'll return it if it doesn't measure up.
1521540
Are you saying that you know this model has been made to not work (believable) or are you saying GPS, in general, does not work in planes (which would be wrong, this I am sure of.)
332935
I have an Etrex Vista HCx. It has amazingly good accuracy except in altitude. I plot all my trips on Google Earth and it is 95% of the time within 6' of the correct location. However the altitude information is so inaccurate compared to previous Garmins that I have owned that I suspect Garmin has deliberately sabotaged the vertical information. For example, I flew Southwest from Austin to Dallas back to Austin yesterday and the Vista never had me more that 1,600 feet above sea level. Believe me, at 450 miles per hour, 1,600 feet ASL would have been quite exciting, even in Texas.
1521541
Simpler GPS units use satellites to 'guestimate' altitude - they work in planes (I use old eTrex entry level model). More sophisticated GPS units use altimeters - ie, AIR PRESSURE, which is not accurate in planes with pressurized cabins (ie, all Jets I know of :), but works much better when you are driving or hiking around.
1521542
My Legend HCx Garmin eTrex Legend HCx Personal Navigator worked great in the plane as long as I was quite close to the window. A Cx might not. My GPS said we were a few thousand feet higher than the captain said we were but maybe he was wrong! It tracked very well. I could look down at a town and recognize it from the map on the gps as we flew over. Very cool!! On the ground my elevation is quite accurate with my topo maps loaded. IF you have the Vista you may need to calibrate it to the known elevation and air pressure any time the pressure changes much. I don't know this for sure as I haven't read the manual but other altimeters that use pressure need to be calibrated. My Legend HCx Garmin eTrex Legend HCx Personal Navigator worked great in the plane as long as I was quite close to the window. A Cx might not. My GPS said we were a few thousand feet higher than the captain said we were but maybe he was wrong! It tracked very well. I could look down at a town and recognize it from the map on the gps as we flew over. Very cool!! On the ground my elevation is quite accurate with my topo maps loaded. IF you have the Vista you may need to calibrate it to the known elevation and air pressure any time the... » Read More My Legend HCx Garmin eTrex Legend HCx Personal Navigator worked great in the plane as long as I was quite close to the window. A Cx might not. My GPS said we were a few thousand feet higher than the captain said we were but maybe he was wrong! It tracked very well. I could look down at a town and recognize it from the map on the gps as we flew over. Very cool!! On the ground my elevation is quite accurate with my topo maps loaded. IF you have the Vista you may need to calibrate it to the known elevation and air pressure any time the pressure changes much. I don't know this for sure as I haven't read the manual but other altimeters that use pressure need to be calibrated. « Show Less
840651
Interesting! I am looking at buying the 405 without the strap, as I still have the one from my now stolen 305. The Garmin support website says that some versions of the 405 are compatible with the HR monitor. How can you tell if the one you are buying is compatible? Or is it just a trick to make you buy the more expensive version?
1101422
The difference is the Vista has an altimeter and compass. To my knowledge that is it. Up to you if it is worth the extra $50-60. For me, it was.
1809952
So what about the Lifetime Map Updates? Some of the more recent reviews make it seem like they are no longer functioning. Is this true? And how old is this model/when was it first released? Thanks in advance!Edit: Thought I'd add that I just bought an XL 335 SE from Wal-Mart on Black Friday for $80. It works well, but it seems like this would be a significant upgrade from that model for only $10 more! Tell me if I'm wrong!
1140571
I've heard that motionbased.com adjusts the elevation readings now to reflect more accurate elevations. I don't own one yet, but am looking to buying one and have heard this from a few friends who own the 305. This, from what I understand, is the 305's biggest weakness! However, I still want one above any other of its kind...
44989
it doesn't have an altimeter. as of now, it has a pedometer, and tracks exercise such as running, walking, cycling or hiking. It needs to link to your Samsung device that has GPS for distance accuracy, especially for cycling.
362845
Gary, I have been researching the same use (snowmobiling) for the nuvi 500. sledgps dot com lists chips available either nationally or by region. The region maps are $50, the national $99. Did you get the 500, and do you like it? I want a crossover/multi mode unit and this one seems to be the only one available. I think the difference between this unit and the 550 is that the 500 has US road and US topo maps, and the 550 has north american roads but no topo maps. I don't know if sledgps maps will overlay on the topo. If anyone has tried this, please reply with info. I have not bought it yet, so can't answer your question directly (I want to be able to though). Finally I am torn on the mixed reviews on the unit. I can handle the missing USB cable, and AC adapter, but has everyone found the unit accurate, both on road and off road? Are the maps updated? Thanks...
1623276
just called logitech and they said it is not being discontinued and it is their best seller, and I couldn't find any other data to support the discontinued information. don't know what is right, but I am going to go with the orbital instead....same except for the inability to mount on monitor and it has auto tracking to follow my face if I move around while recording...
1128181
I ordered mine yesterday from Amazon, (249.29) got it today with free shiping! It does have the 2009 map. It came with 4.0 and it updated to 4.2 when I installed the Garmin Communicator. Not sure what this did for it, but it still does not recognize the new parts of our freeway, and my old 660 w/updated 2009 map does recognize the freeway. I just talked to Garmin, they say try it again tomorrow. They think it my have been some type of satellite allignment problem.
313419
I returned my explorist 710, the track time and date was always incorrect. I bought a Garmin Oregon, which I love. I use it to track my rides and hikes. I believe you can download maps, but I haven't. The altitude is extremely accurate.
1489340
You have to purchase a separate Garmin Astro. We are sold out of those currently.
73429
It's a discontinued model by Garmin. You get more bang for the buck when buying this model. I just updated it to the latest 2010 maps and operating system.
2137503
The last software upgrade for this model on Magellan's website is from 2010. The last map update I could find was from Dec 2007 (see http://gpsinformation.net/allory/magfeat.htm#rm3000). So yeah, I would say that the gps upgrades on both map and software sides are obsolete (4+ yrs old)
2253735
I wondered about that too .. although I'd trust Garmin's website and other 3rd party discussion sites ... the ?70 units are built to contain maps for both continents, and the ?80 are the first one's with MSN Direct.Perhaps there'll be a future ?90 (390/690) range that combines the two sets of new features? :)For now, I'm just wondering whether tot ake the plunge with the 660 and its FMt raffic/preloaded POIs, or wait for the MSN-direct 680 to be released (April?)!
184029
The 301 gives elevation info while tracking sats...it does not have the altimeter function like the 401 however the sat elevation is very accurate. Hope this helps.
1140567
I do a lot of mountain running & hiking & I own a Casio Pathfinder (Triple Sensor) which does have barometric altimeter readings, so were I to purchase the Garmin 305 (which seems likely at this point) I would be using them in tandem. Of course I could not upload the real time data from the pathfinder into any of the websites mentioned, but my question is this (and I hope this is not too tangential to the Garmin 305 discussion) - does anyone have any information on the accuracy of the Pathfinders altitude accuracy?
1140569
Forerunner 305 doesn't have a barometric altimeter, but it's still able to "approximate" the elevation/grade. As CompExpert mentioned, it does do the job, but it's flaky. If elevation/grade matters to you a lot you're better off with the Edge unit that has a barometric altimeter; however you won't be able to wear the Edge on your wrist.