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| GARMIN 010-00630-00 Etrex Vista GPS Receiver | 
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| Brand: Garmin
Category: CE
Buy New: Too low to display
New (66) Used (3)
Avg. Customer Rating:  137 reviews
Sales Rank: 165
Platform: Not Machine Specific
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Tracks: 20
Batteries: 2
Batteries Included: No
Native Resolution: 176x220
Includes MP3 Player: 1
Size: Garmin Part #010-00630-00
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3
Dimensions (in): 2.2 x 1.2 x 4.2
Legal Disclaimer: Warranty does not cover misuse of product.
MPN: eTrex Vista HCx
Model: eTrex Vista HCx
UPC: 753759028329
EAN: 0753759028329
ASIN: B000PDR1LS
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Customer Reviews:
As expected July 7, 2008
2 out of 7 found this review helpful
Not the most user friendly device as we're still trying to figure it out after 3 weeks, but it seems accurate and has a ton of features. Altimiter seems to drift quite a bit but I'm not sure whether there are any that do better.. ?
 Garmin Vista HCX is a great GPS July 6, 2008
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
I spent a great deal of time selecting this unit. I wanted a GPS that had the following features. This unit made the cut on all the features except for the manual/documentation.
- turn by turn routing
- compass - magnetic and GPS
- bright color screen that provided clear detail
- ability to handle both land and marine maps and usage
- high sensitivity and high accuracy
- as water proof as possible
- over 500 waypoints along with at least 10 routes. It has 1000 and 20.
- reversible routes / tracks
- time to waypoint and to final destination
- distance to waypoint and to final destination
- eta to final destination
- needed to be good in the car and superb on the water.
- proximity alarms
- altimeter
- strong back light
- at least 12 hours of power from one set of batteries (easily meets this requirement with several hours to spare)
- needed to accept power from my iGo power supply
- several different screen color displays to get the most out of available light / too much light / not enough light conditions
- lots of options in terms of numerical data displays
- ability to have road and topo maps loaded at the same time
- reasonably easy to master (It is easy to use.)
- USB connection to the PC
- enough memory to store road maps for the entire country and Canada along with topo maps for at least two non-contiguous areas (it did it with a bit of room to spare using a 2 GB memory card)
- good to excellent manual (This is the area it failed miserably in. But, the unit is easy to use and there are lots of tips and tricks on the web to get you started. So, I let this one go in terms of the decision process.)
- under $300 for the unit and under $500 when I added in the maps and optional stuff like a car windshield mount. I went first class on the maps and the mount and still made it.
Cons
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1) The manual is next to worthless. It explains the buttons but does not detail how to use them. It does not show the all the sub-screens underneath the buttons/selections. If you are a first time GPS user you will need to buy a book or Google the tips and tricks along with the GPS basics. I have used a GPS and I just spent a few hours playing through all the screens and took notes on how to get back to the features / selections I know I would regularly need. I good manual would have made this extra work unnecessary.
2) The manual is next to worthless. (I won't type this in any more.) Garmin could and should do much better given the cost and the sophistication of this unit.
3) The car power supply sold by Garmin is way over priced. I chose not to use it. Instead I bought a USB adapter for my iGo power supply and used one of the short USB cords I had lying around. Cost $10 bucks and works perfectly for me.
 Be careful with this latest manufacturing batch July 5, 2008
6 out of 9 found this review helpful
Be careful with this latest manufacturing batch. It appears that Garmin is shipping junk, again. This most recent batch of units seems to be prone to locking up after limited use. See the following for more details.
[...]
or google search for "eTrex Vista HCX Locks up"
Does not appear to be isolated, and dose seem to indicate that you may want to hold off purchasing this unit until the problems are resolved.
Otherwise it is a good unit, it is just limited by the fact that it stops working after a few minutes.
Replaced the B&W Vista for cycling July 3, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
A few years ago I purchased the black and white eTrex Vista. I just replaced it with a Vista HCx with color. It is vastly superior.
The good: Obviously with the color I no longer confuse roads and rivers. When I hit a bump, it no longer shuts off. The sensitivity is fast and excellent even under tree and power lines. The batteries last twice as long - or even more. Tracks automatically log to the SD card. The menu system is much more intuitive. Though the old cycle mount back does not fit, the HCx includes a clip that hooks onto my old cycle mount - a much better solution. The altitude screen is configurable. The USB transfers data to and from my PC much faster than the old serial connection.
The bad: My old US Topo and Metro Guide software work for reading maps but does not work for routes. It requires another purchase of software - Garmin City Navigator NT North America. But on the good side, it re-routes on the fly - very impressive. You also have to buy a micro SD card. I bought a 2 gig one, they say the U.S. fits onto 1 gig and you have another gig for a history of your tracks (GPX format).
Overall: Garmin sells two mapping GPS for cycling. If you don't need cadence or heart monitoring, this is just as good, for far less money.
 It works great with a Mac but dismal documentation! June 28, 2008
42 out of 42 found this review helpful
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!
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