GPS: eTrex Vista vs. Rino 130

[mavs00]

I'm in the market for a new GPS. I currently have a eTrex Vista that I'll probably refurbish and then unload. I am happy with it and obviously (since I'm still here) it has served me well. Here's my dilemma. I could go with the Vista again, and I know I'll be happy with it.

However, I'm also looking at the Rino 130. It's a pretty comparable unit (with the addition of a 2-way radio and NOAA channel). Anyone own one? Do you like it? How's it work? Did you recently chose one over the other? and why? Let me know if you would.

I gotta let Santa know soon so step on it with the advice.

 

[mudhook51]

I'm in the market for a new GPS. I currently have a eTrex Vista that I'll probably refurbish and then unload.

When you say refurbish, is this a factory job? My vista, which I have been happy with, has a couple of times not worked,(not a reception problem) usally when I need it most. I hesitate sending it in for fear it will be worse. Have you had experiences with fixing them or refurbishing. Besides that, its a great unit, lots of features, and fairly reliable. I would get another. Of course the Noaa , and 2 way radio make a nice addition.

 

[DougPaul]

The Vista, in its day, was Garmin's top-of-the-line hiking GPS. IIRC, some of the Rino line have smaller feature sets. I suggest you check the feature set of the Rino model of interest to make sure it has what you want. (Off hand, the GPS feature set in the Rino 130 looks to be pretty similar to a Vista.) There is a very nice comparison chart feature on the Garmin website.

Note that the automatic position reporting feature will only work with another Rino, so unless your buddy has one, you will need to get two to use this feature.

The ranges stated on the website are under ideal (line of sight) conditions. In flat treed terrain expect about a half mile or less. If there is any terrain between units, the range can easily be less than 1/4 mile.

Use of the GMRS frequencies reqires an FCC license.

If you simply want a GPS and an FRS radio, it is cheaper to just buy them separately. Adequate FRS radios can be bought at about $25 a pair.

Doug

 

[SAR-EMT40]

I don't know that I would bother with the rhino. There are cheaper ways to talk to people with radios. And there are better ways to talk to other people with radios. Depends on what requirements you have.

If you are looking at the Vista C. The color version. I have one and like it. There are better ones but I am very satisfied with what I payed and the features that it has. I also have Mapsource both the 1:100000 and the 1:24000 mapsets. They are as good in the Whites as the USGS maps. I'll leave to your imagination how good that is. I assume you have used them so you know.

Any questions about the Vista C let me know. The 60CS is also a very nice choice as well as the 76.

Keith

 

[DougPaul]

I don't know that I would bother with the rhino. There are cheaper ways to talk to people with radios. And there are better ways to talk to other people with radios. Depends on what requirements you have.

I agree--for my personal usage. I have little use for the integration feature. (I own both a GPS and a set of FRS radios.) But some people do like them.

If you are looking at the Vista C. The color version. I have one and like it.

The 60CS is also a very nice choice as well as the 76.

Some people have been unpleasantly surprised by the lack of an RS-232 port on the Legend C and the Vista C and they do not speak the NMEA protocol. (They only have a USB port.) Much of the third party software does/did depend on the NMEA protocol over the RS-232 port, so make sure that you are ok with this before choosing the Legend/Vista C. Otherwise, they look like nice units.

The 60C and 76C have both RS-232 and USB ports.

Doug

 

[SAR-EMT40]

Some people have been unpleasantly surprised by the lack of an RS-232 port on the Legend C and the Vista C and they do not speak the NMEA protocol.

You got that right. That was a very unpleasant surprise for me. Screaming, yelling, gnashing of teeth and 4 letter expletives flew for quite a while. I do APRS so I need the NMEA out with the RS-232 port. After calming down and thinking it through I finally decided to relegate my old Garmin 12XL to APRS duty and am still using it for that purpose.

Keith

 

[ken]

Anyone own one? Do you like it? How's it work? Did you recently chose one over the other?

for years i have loved the $119 yellow etrex - i decided it was now time to get one with maps - i did a comparison of the etrex "vista" and the map60 (similar to the rino) and didn't really like the map60 - i went on a walk under every tree that i could find in about a 2 mile figure 8 - i had both mounted on my shoulder straps (and i thought the map60 with the little antenna on top would do better than the vista with the built in antenna) - while the vista had breaks in the track the map 60 didn't (sort of what i expected since the map60 had the antenna) -i didn't really zoom out to see the big picture yet - a few times i carried both units in my hand and watched as the map60 lost the satellites more often than the etrex vista and had a harder time recovering them (i decided that maybe the vista wasn't telling me everything???) - the "real" difference wasn't noticed till i put both tracks up on the computer screen and saw the big picture, using national geographic's "topo" software (much nicer than the garmin "mapsource" software) - the etrex had breaks in the track here and there so the software filled in the few blanks - the map 60 with no breaks went in without the software filling in any missing parts - the vista track showed a figure 8 covering all the contour features that i covered (hills, valleys, creek crossings, etc.) - the map 60 showed an oval shape - now i decided to look at the tracks in the GPS units themselves (zooming out) - the vista showed the same track as the computer (with a few breaks) and the map 60 showed the same track as the computer screen - - - the map60's software had filled in the blanks on its own using straight lines that were so long i didnt even have my figure 8 walk showing (remember i said that the map 60 lost the satellites more often) the vista didn't fill in anything by itself - imagine trying to follow your track back and following it someplace where you didn't go - i liked the missing track from the vista better than the filled in track from the map60 - i sent the map60 back and kept the vista (even if there was a setting to get rid of the map60's filling in the "blanks", it still didn't pick up the satellites as good as the etrex) - the extra $30 for the map60 surely wasn't for better reception - it is for all the bells & whistles (anchor drag alarm, alarm clock, etc.).

 

[mavs00]

Thanks all, that's good stuff.

Ken, I've noticed that effect on my Vista. The way I have been using my unit lately, I simply plot a distant waypoint (anywher from .5 - 1 mile) and meander hither and dale in that direction to pass close by or to reach it using mostly ObNav along the way. So track back and lots of those other features I really don't use much. The unit more or less prevent me from "bending" the real world terrain to much. Glancing at the unit occasionally and confirming stuff on the ground is generally enough to keep you on track anyway.

One of the most usful things I've found with my unit is not so much field navigation, but the funtions I use it for post hike data. I love the fact that my Vista only plots actual points (sometimes 1000s of them per hike) and doesn't try to connect them artificially. It's very helpful to see my ACTUAL route (based on ObNav field obsticles and decisions) compaired to my prehike plans and routes. It sometimes tells me alot in route planning for future stuff.

Perhaps I'll just stick with the Vista. My current one is a first generation unit anyway, so the upgrade in memory is a boost.

p.s. When I talked of refurbishing my other one, I meant taking care of little thinks like a broken wire in the battery comp. (that causes occastional cutouts) and other minor stuff that would make improve its functionality. I works and I still use, once I replace it, I'll probably fix it and dump it on ebay or give it away.

 

[arghman]

Rule #1 with GPS's -- understand your existing & future requirements.

Rino's really shine w/ tag-team operations (waypoint capture / transmittal). (look for one of my old posts...)
Otherwise if you don't anticipate using that, I'd think twice.

If you do lots of waypoint capturing, I recommend getting a GPS unit that has a flash memory card (beats the pants off of transferring data via rs232, if the unit is well-designed you can have multiple waypoint sets stored on the card)

for the basic use of a GPS as a navigational aid to where you are, I vote for simpler is better. The way technology moves, you can buy all these crazy gadgets to do things, but it will be 10 years before their designers sit down and think and get the user interface right.

 

[arghman]

I do APRS so I need the NMEA out with the RS-232 port.

APRS? :intrigued:

 

[ken]

One of the most usful things I've found with my unit is not so much field navigation, but the funtions I use it for post hike data. I love the fact that my Vista only plots actual points (sometimes 1000s of them per hike) and doesn't try to connect them artificially.

i like that best too (nothing artificial and putting the track on the computer when i get home) - i have been using my $119 yellow etrex for years and have never really needed anything more - and still don't need more, but i decided it was time for an "upgrade" and got one that i could put maps into - i already had the software (garmin mapsource topo) for the maps, someone gave it to me so i could figure out how to run the east disc from the hard drive and the west disk from the cd-rom drive for him (and i did figure it out, just a small change in the registry does it, if anyone wants to do it, i can send step by step info [email protected] ) - so anyway, i had a lot of cabela's points saved up and cashed them in for the map60 - i then noticed things that i didn't like about the map60 (see previous post) and decided to try the etrex vista - i could have saved $100 (100 cabelas points) by getting the legend but then i wouldnt be able to fit harriman, catskills, adirondacks, whites, taconics, with the legends's 8mb memory (i needed 11mb for all that, and what good is a map GPS if you get somewhere and the maps aren't in it) so the etrex vista had 24mb (and some bells & whistles that i really didn't need) so i got the etrex vista and i like it so far...

 

[DougPaul]

APRS? :intrigued:

Automatic Position Reporting System
Frequently done by amateur radio operators (hams).

Google will bring up lots of hits: http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=APRS&btnG=Google+Search

Doug

 

[DougPaul]

i like that best too - i have been using my $119 yellow etrex for years and have never needed anything more - and still don't, but i decided to get one that i could put maps into - i already had the software (garmin mapsource topo) for the maps - someone gave it to me so i could figure out how to run the east disc from the hard drive and the west disk from the cd-rom drive

You can copy images of all 4 cdroms onto hard disk and install from them. No need to play with cd-roms ever after.

by getting the vista but then i wouldnt be able to fit harriman, catskills, adirondacks, whites with the vista's 8mb memory (i needed 11mb for all that, and what good is a map GPS if you get somewhere and the maps aren't in it) so the etrex had 24mb (and some bells & whistles that i really didn't need) so i got the etrex and i like it so far...

I think you may have the units confused here: basic (yellow) eTrex: no map memory, eTrex Legend: 8MB, eTrex Vista: 24MB, GPSMAP 60: 24MB.

I started with an eTrex Legend and promptly exchanged it for an eTrex Vista because I needed the larger memory. Now have a GPSMAP 60CS (56MB), but would like still more memory...

Doug

 

[SAR-EMT40]

APRS? :intrigued:

Its an automatic packet reporting system that allows you to locate people, things automatically with the accuracy of a GPS. For free! An example is my trucks location, speed and direction at any given time. Also useful in SAR as well as other applications.

Where's my Truck? APRS example

If you need more information about this I can tell you offline.

Keith

 

[ken]

You can copy images of all 4 cdroms onto hard disk and install from them. No need to play with cd-roms ever after.

yes but if you copy to your hard drive and install from there, you must copy all 4 to your hard drive if you want to access them - you can't mix & match - if you don't have a big hard drive (many people put it on thier laptops) you don't want them all on it if you live in the east and want to use the west cd once in awhile - if you change the address in the registry you can just drop the one you use the most on the hard drive and still have access to the rest through your cd-rom.

you are right about mixing up the models (i corrected it in all my previous text) - i have the one i just bought (etrex "vista") with the maps mixed up with the "legend" (but i did get the memory amounts right) to cover the whites. cats, adks, you can get away with the 8mb "legend" - to fill in the spaces around and get hudson highlands and taconics (11mb needed) you need the more expensive "vista" with 24mb memory.

 

[Rick]

Ken ,
you were the VFTTer that sent me the directions several years ago to install all of my CDs on my hard drive.
I did get them on back then and was looking for your email & notes about 6 months ago (I lost hem somewhere). Look for my email to get another copy of your install directions with the registry changes.

 

[ken]

Ken ,
you were the VFTTer that sent me the directions several years ago to install all of my CDs on my hard drive.
I did get them on back then and was looking for your email & notes about 6 months ago (I lost hem somewhere). Look for my email to get another copy of your install directions with the registry changes.

ok rick - i'll get them out to you - - remember... you do not have to do all of them - just make the change for the one that you use the most - you will still be able to use the others in the cd-rom - - - - if you are looking to install all on the hard drive it is easier to drop the disks on the hard drive and install from the hard drive (that is how mapsource knows where to look for the data, from the installation) but if you already installed it, it is too late to do the above (then follow the directions that i send...).