ravnwood's Full Review: Garmin eTrex Vista HCx Handheld GPS Receiver
When you travel as much as I do, and move from place to place, having a GPS with you can be a real timesaver.
This model is Garmin's top of the line for handheld units. It has 24 MB memory compared to the Legend's 8 MB, and a built in compass and altimeter. The trip computer keeps tabs on your distance traveled, top speed, average speed, and various other statistics.
The basemap is quite detailed, and features most major US and state routes. With 24 MB available, there is plenty of room to add detailed city maps, planned routes, and waypoints.
To give you an idea of the space available, using Garmin's add-on Metroguide maps, you could add the entire Washington DC, and Baltimore Metro area and only use up 10 MB of space. That is Baltimore to Frederick, clear down to Quantico, and over to the Chesapeake Bay. That is a HUGE area. Obviously, the more dense a city is, the more space it takes up, but DC/Baltimore is a good representation.
Adding the detailed maps will give very accurate street level information. All side streets, rest areas, gas stations, restaurants, and various other stores were added when I used my Mapsource Metroguide USA software. You can usually find a better price if you purchase the software bundled with the GPS unit.
With detailed maps loaded into the unit, you can easily search for locations by street address, or intersection. This came in very handy when I was meeting a friend for dinner and wanted to know how far away he was.
Reception is adequate when you are in the car or outside. If you are inside, you'd better be near a window. I figure that is understandable, since GPS uses RF line of site to reach satellites 10,000 miles away.
I find this unit to be quite durable, and easy to use. I get about 14 hours usage from two hi-cap AA rechargeable batteries, and even more if I turn the internal compass off. Even with the internal compass turned off, you can still get directional bearings from the satellites, as long as you are moving. I would worry a bit about scratching the display, so investing in a case, probably isn't a bad idea.
One caveat is powerup time. When you turn the unit on, you have to wait about 20 seconds before you can flip between the pages. You have to wait another 30 seconds to a minute for it to get a lock on 3 or 4 satellites to begin actual navigation.
Another drawback is the lack of dynamic routing. That is, the GPS will not calculate a route between two points. You have to use the OPTIONAL software, which costs between $75 and $150 to calculate routes, and then upload them to the unit from your PC. You could also physically travel a route once, and then save it in the unit, but what is the point of that?
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