Colorado vesus Vista Hcx

[Source_GPS]

If anyone has both a Colorado and a Vista (or other etrex), I would be interested in seeing side by side photo comparisons of size.

 

Thanks!

[teamdw]

If anyone has both a Colorado and a Vista (or other etrex), I would be interested in seeing side by side photo comparisons of size.

 

Thanks!

 

Here is a side by side photo. The colorado has nice grafix and a big screen, but with the poor back lighting what's the point. The screen is hard to see, day, night, inside and outside.

 

In the pic both have brand new batteries and the backlight is turned all the way up. I don't think a software update can fix this.

 

And one more thing, notice the colorado not showing the street names.

 

[cobra-ak]

If anyone has both a Colorado and a Vista (or other etrex), I would be interested in seeing side by side photo comparisons of size.

 

Thanks!

 

Here is a side by side photo. The colorado has nice grafix and a big screen, but with the poor back lighting what's the point. The screen is hard to see, day, night, inside and outside.

 

In the pic both have brand new batteries and the backlight is turned all the way up. I don't think a software update can fix this.

 

And one more thing, notice the colorado not showing the street names.

 

I like that big screen but the Colorado looks like it is in the "outside beta tester" phase. Edited January 25, 2008 by cobra-ak

[Source_GPS]

Thanks for the post!

 

I didn't realize that there was a fairly considerable difference in size (at least for someone looking to carry this in their pocket) between the two.

 

The problem with the Colorado's backlight is also discouraging.

 

How has the battery life been for each of them? What type(s) have you used in each? I have read in the other forums that the Colorado isn't getting nearly what Garmin claims it should be getting for battery life. Also there seems to be a problem with the unit measuring nimh battery life.

[teamdw]

Thanks for the post!

 

I didn't realize that there was a fairly considerable difference in size (at least for someone looking to carry this in their pocket) between the two.

 

The problem with the Colorado's backlight is also discouraging.

 

How has the battery life been for each of them? What type(s) have you used in each? I have read in the other forums that the Colorado isn't getting nearly what Garmin claims it should be getting for battery life. Also there seems to be a problem with the unit measuring nimh battery life.

 

I have used 2500 NiMH in both, great battery life in the Vista and poor battery life in the Colorado. I have updated the software on the Colorado to try and help with the poor battery life but it really did not help because when the Colorado thinks the batteries are at 50% it automatically dims the back light and makes the screen even harder to see. There is a problem with the Colorado measuring NiMH battery life, it shows one single red bar making me think it is time to change the batteries but continues to work for another 4-5 hours.

[Source_GPS]

I was afraid you were going to say that - that is not good - especially when you plan to be on camping expedition for a weekend and have no way to charge them (except a solar charger which is not efficient).

Edited January 25, 2008 by Source_GPS

[+Marky]

Thanks for the post!

 

I didn't realize that there was a fairly considerable difference in size (at least for someone looking to carry this in their pocket) between the two.

 

The problem with the Colorado's backlight is also discouraging.

 

How has the battery life been for each of them? What type(s) have you used in each? I have read in the other forums that the Colorado isn't getting nearly what Garmin claims it should be getting for battery life. Also there seems to be a problem with the unit measuring nimh battery life.

 

I have used 2500 NiMH in both, great battery life in the Vista and poor battery life in the Colorado. I have updated the software on the Colorado to try and help with the poor battery life but it really did not help because when the Colorado thinks the batteries are at 50% it automatically dims the back light and makes the screen even harder to see. There is a problem with the Colorado measuring NiMH battery life, it shows one single red bar making me think it is time to change the batteries but continues to work for another 4-5 hours.

I don't know if there is a difference in voltage curves on the Eneloop hybrid batteris and those of standard NiMH batteries, but I've gotten very good results with 2000mAh Eneloop batteries in mine (my Colorado 400t bot nearly 4 hours at 100% backlight before the first bar disappears). Just something to try.

 

--Marky

[yogazoo]

Thanks for the post!

 

I didn't realize that there was a fairly considerable difference in size (at least for someone looking to carry this in their pocket) between the two.

 

The problem with the Colorado's backlight is also discouraging.

 

How has the battery life been for each of them? What type(s) have you used in each? I have read in the other forums that the Colorado isn't getting nearly what Garmin claims it should be getting for battery life. Also there seems to be a problem with the unit measuring nimh battery life.

 

I have used 2500 NiMH in both, great battery life in the Vista and poor battery life in the Colorado. I have updated the software on the Colorado to try and help with the poor battery life but it really did not help because when the Colorado thinks the batteries are at 50% it automatically dims the back light and makes the screen even harder to see. There is a problem with the Colorado measuring NiMH battery life, it shows one single red bar making me think it is time to change the batteries but continues to work for another 4-5 hours.

I don't know if there is a difference in voltage curves on the Eneloop hybrid batteris and those of standard NiMH batteries, but I've gotten very good results with 2000mAh Eneloop batteries in mine (my Colorado 400t bot nearly 4 hours at 100% backlight before the first bar disappears). Just something to try.

 

--Marky

 

Yeah, I've noticed a difference between the "Hybrid" NIMH's and regular ones as well but the issues with the battery meter getting all wierd and operating for 5 hours on the single "red" bar is screwy. This unit still has power/power detection issues.

 

We could all do without the obligatory reduction of the backlight as well. Leave it up to me to decide when its time to turn it down. If I want to run em' dead with lights-a-blazin, than let me dam it.

 

But I digress. Yes the Vista is much smaller overall but so is the screen. Vista line is nice and compact though, you'll forget you even have it on you.

[+3 Hawks]

As it currently stands, the Vista HXc is far more functional than the Colorado. Caches show up on the map overlays in the HCx. You can mark caches as found on the HCx. The HCx has the "Find Next" function. The start up time of the HCx is faster. The maps on the HCx refresh faster. You can average coords on an HCx. You can see the street names on the HCx. The HCx is far less expensive. I could go on, and on, and on........

 

I just use standard batteries I purchase from Gander Mountain for about 38 cents each. I loaded in a fresh set this last Saturday and cached from 5:00am (dark) to 5:20pm (dark) in near to below zero conditions. My backlighting was employed at least 3 hours. I then cached for another 6 hours on Sunday and three more hours on Monday before changing the batteries before they even went dead. That's about 21 hours of operation time for under 80 cents.

 

The Colorado lets you view the cache descriptions, hints, and logs on a larger, but duller, screen. This sounds like one expensive, cumbersome, rather limited PDA.

 

The Colorado is still a baby and has a lot of growth ahead of it before it can compete with the big boys and girls.

Edited January 25, 2008 by 3 Hawks