| Home -> Hiking -> GPS -> Garmin eTrex Vista HCx | Up to date as of 2009
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1. Introduction
2. Initialization
3. Adjusting the backlight
4. Viewing the current elevation
5. Viewing date, time, battery level
6. Compass
6.1 Disabling/enabling
7. Muting
8. Points of interest
8.1 Finding
9. Waypoints
9.1 Creating
9.2 Navigating
10. Tracks
10.1 Configuration
10.2 Creating
10.3 Navigating
10.4 Viewing a track profile
11. Routes
11.1 Creating
11.2 Navigating
12. Tranfering data
12.1 Tranfering data from PC to device
12.2 Tranfering data from device to PC
13. Viewing the device as a removable drive
1. Introduction
The Garmin eTrex Vista HCx GPS receiver features a high-sensitivity, WAAS-enabled receiver; microSD data card slot; electronic compass; and barometric altimeter.
2. Initialization
It is critical that the very first time you turn the unit on, you are outdoors with a clear view of the sky (clouds are fine). Leave the unit on outside in a single location for about 30 minutes. The unit is downloading almanac data from the GPS satellites. Turning the unit off before the download is complete can corrupt or delete the GPS chipset from the device. The device gives no indication of when the download is complete, but waiting for 30 minutes should be safe enough.
3. Adjusting the backlight
-> POWER -> Up on ROCKER -> ENTER
4. Viewing the current elevation
-> MENU -> MENU -> Satellite -> MENU -> GPS Elevation
5. Viewing date, time, battery level
-> POWER
When done: Wait 8 seconds or ENTER.
6. Compass
Hit the PAGE button until the compass screen appears.
6.1 Disabling/enabling
The compass consumes battery power, so turn it off when not in use. To enable/disable the compass, press and hold PAGE.
When the compass is disabled, the device will be able to correctly orient the map only when you are moving.
7. Muting
MENU -> MENU -> Setup -> Tones
Check 'Mute'
8. Points of interest
8.1 Finding
Hold down MENU -> All POI -> MENU -> Nearest Containing... -> <enter name> -> OK
<select poi> -> Map
9. Waypoints
9.1 Creating
Press and hold ENTER.
Hold down MENU -> Waypoints -> Select the waypoint -> Go to
9.2 Navigating
Hold down MENU -> Waypoints -> Select the waypoint -> Go to
To stop navigation and return to the normal map:
-> MENU -> Stop Navigation
To resume navigation:
-> MENU -> Resume Navigation
10. Tracks
MENU -> MENU -> Tracks
10.1 Configuration
-> Setup
Record Method: Distance
Interval: 0.05 mi
-> Data Card Setup
Check 'Log Track To Data Card'
10.2 Creating
Before hiking, clear the existing track memory:
-> Clear
After hiking, and when ready to save the track:
-> Save
10.3 Navigating
-> Select the saved track
-> TrackBack
Select the point that you want to track back to.
To stop navigation and return to the normal map:
-> MENU -> Stop Navigation
To resume navigation:
-> MENU -> Resume Navigation
10.4 Viewing a track profile
-> Select the saved track
-> MENU -> Profile
11. Routes
MENU -> MENU -> Routes
11.1 Creating
Create a route using MapSource:
-> Routes
Left click the points of the route on the map.
After clicking the last point of the route, right click -> Cancel.
11.2 Navigating
-> Select the saved route
-> Navigate
To stop navigation and return to the normal map:
-> MENU -> Stop Navigation
To resume navigation:
-> MENU -> Resume Navigation
12. Tranfering data
Connect the device to the PC via the USB cable.
12.1 Tranfering data from PC to device
MapSource -> Transfer -> Send to Device... -> Find Device
Select the types of items to send -> Send
12.2 Tranfering data from device to PC
MapSource -> Transfer -> Receive from Device... -> Find Device
Select the types of items to receive -> Receive
13. Viewing the device as a removable drive
If you wish to drag/drop files to/from the device directly from a PC (should rarely (never?) need to do this), you can make your device appear as a removable drive:
Connect the device to the PC via the USB cable.
MENU -> MENU -> Setup -> Interface -> USB Mass Storage
It takes a few seconds, but eventually the device will appear as a removable drive.
Note - you cannot transfer data to/from a PC using MapSource while the device is exposed as a removable drive.
