I'm having trouble with my eTrex Vista HC, and was hoping someone
here might have suggestions. I bought the unit new two years ago,
and it has worked pretty well for the most part. Over the last
several months the adhesive holding the rubber gasket got gummy,
and I cleaned it off and reattached the gasket with silicone
sealant about a month ago. It's worked fine since, until last
week when it started acting up.

I use it mostly on the handlebars of my bicycle, and the display
will just go blank. I think it's shutting down, because the only
thing that brings it back is hitting the on switch at which it
goes through the boot sequence and I also end up with separated
log files. One other factor--it was hot the day I first observed
this, and some sweat had dripped onto the unit. I didn't use the
unit again until yesterday, at which time it shut off twice in 20
minutes, then ran fine for over 3 hours.

Anyway, suggestions would be welcome. I've considered doing a
factory reset, but I fear it's probably a hardware problem and may
use this as an excuse to by a new unit (probably cycling specific
Edge).

Separate questions--if I buy a new Garmin device, can my current
mapsets be transferred to the new unit?

--
Theodore (Ted) Heise <(E-Mail Removed)> Bloomington, IN, USA

"Theodore Heise" <(E-Mail Removed)> schreef in bericht
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
>
> I'm having trouble with my eTrex Vista HC, and was hoping someone
> here might have suggestions. I bought the unit new two years ago,
> and it has worked pretty well for the most part. Over the last
> several months the adhesive holding the rubber gasket got gummy,
> and I cleaned it off and reattached the gasket with silicone
> sealant about a month ago. It's worked fine since, until last
> week when it started acting up.
>
> I use it mostly on the handlebars of my bicycle, and the display
> will just go blank. I think it's shutting down, because the only
> thing that brings it back is hitting the on switch at which it
> goes through the boot sequence and I also end up with separated
> log files. One other factor--it was hot the day I first observed
> this, and some sweat had dripped onto the unit. I didn't use the
> unit again until yesterday, at which time it shut off twice in 20
> minutes, then ran fine for over 3 hours.
>
> Anyway, suggestions would be welcome. I've considered doing a
> factory reset, but I fear it's probably a hardware problem and may
> use this as an excuse to by a new unit (probably cycling specific
> Edge).
>
> Separate questions--if I buy a new Garmin device, can my current
> mapsets be transferred to the new unit?
>
> --
> Theodore (Ted) Heise <(E-Mail Removed)> Bloomington, IN, USA

I had something similar, though not the same with my Etrex Legend. Sometimes
the screen was distorted, sometimes just blank. Knocking on the side of the
unit brought the display back up correctly. looked like a contact problem.
You could try this.

Kees.

On 05/06/2011 12:33, Theodore Heise wrote:
> I'm having trouble with my eTrex Vista HC, and was hoping someone
> here might have suggestions. I bought the unit new two years ago,
> and it has worked pretty well for the most part. Over the last
> several months the adhesive holding the rubber gasket got gummy,
> and I cleaned it off and reattached the gasket with silicone
> sealant about a month ago. It's worked fine since, until last
> week when it started acting up.
>
> I use it mostly on the handlebars of my bicycle, and the display
> will just go blank. I think it's shutting down, because the only
> thing that brings it back is hitting the on switch at which it
> goes through the boot sequence and I also end up with separated
> log files. One other factor--it was hot the day I first observed
> this, and some sweat had dripped onto the unit. I didn't use the
> unit again until yesterday, at which time it shut off twice in 20
> minutes, then ran fine for over 3 hours.
>
> Anyway, suggestions would be welcome. I've considered doing a
> factory reset, but I fear it's probably a hardware problem and may
> use this as an excuse to by a new unit (probably cycling specific
> Edge).

This is a fairly common problem with using the eTrex on a bike, probably
caused by vibration.
So you can fix this by stopping the eTrex from vibrating in the
handlebar mount. An easy way to do this is to add a couple of layers of
strips of duct tape on the handlebar mount, so the eTrex clip is snug in
it. This solved all of my problems with my eTrex switching off.

I've also seen suggestions of buying an oversized eTrex handlebar mount,
then you can put rubber/foam around the bar before attaching the mount.
Or you could use something like a RAM mount, though they are rather
bulky and heavy.

> Separate questions--if I buy a new Garmin device, can my current
> mapsets be transferred to the new unit?

This depends on which maps you are using. If you have bought something
like Garmin City Navigator, it includes an unlock code which lets you
install on one GPS device. It won't work on another device unless you
buy another unlock code (or use a key generator...)
If you are using Garmin MetroGuide (or free maps from OpenStreetMap
etc), they don't require unlock codes, so you can install them on as
many devices as you like.


--
Craig Wallace
http://craig.neogeo.org.uk
http://www.neogeo.org.uk

On Thu, 09 Jun 2011 13:51:26 +0100,
Craig Wallace <craigw84@fast_NOSPAM_mail.fm> wrote:
> On 05/06/2011 12:33, Theodore Heise wrote:

>> I use it mostly on the handlebars of my bicycle, and the
>> display will just go blank. I think it's shutting down,
>> because the only thing that brings it back is hitting the on
>> switch at which it goes through the boot sequence and I also
>> end up with separated log files. One other factor--it was hot
>> the day I first observed this, and some sweat had dripped onto
>> the unit. I didn't use the unit again until yesterday, at
>> which time it shut off twice in 20 minutes, then ran fine for
>> over 3 hours.


> This is a fairly common problem with using the eTrex on a bike,
> probably caused by vibration. So you can fix this by stopping
> the eTrex from vibrating in the handlebar mount. An easy way to
> do this is to add a couple of layers of strips of duct tape on
> the handlebar mount, so the eTrex clip is snug in it. This
> solved all of my problems with my eTrex switching off.

You are probably correct on this, though the heat may have been a
factor too. Since the last time, I've ridden (in cooler weather)
without any problems.

Also, there are two types of mount I'm aware of. The clip that
came with the unit screws onto the back of it, and was rather
loose. With that one I inserted a double layer of notebook paper
right into the clip itself, and that tightened up the fit nicely.
Not sure where I would use duct tape.

I lost that clip (for a time) and the last year or so I've used a
different style that I purchased online. It is a replacement back
plate that has a clip built in. That one was apparently designed
for the units without microSD card slots, so I had to chisel out
some of the interior material to get it to fit. It was initially
tighter than the original clip, but perhaps it's loosened over
time. I may try inserting a strip of paper in it.


>> Separate questions--if I buy a new Garmin device, can my
>> current mapsets be transferred to the new unit?
>
> This depends on which maps you are using. If you have bought
> something like Garmin City Navigator, it includes an unlock code
> which lets you install on one GPS device. It won't work on
> another device unless you buy another unlock code (or use a key
> generator...)

Sounds like I'm stuck here.

Thanks for the feedback!

--
Theodore (Ted) Heise <(E-Mail Removed)> Bloomington, IN, USA