GARMIN eTrex Venture HC Hand Held Receiver w/ Built in GPS Patch Antenna. New high sensitivity GPS receiver. 24 Mbyte of internal memory for storing detailed maps. WAAS enabled, 12 parallel channel GPS receiver. Built in GPS patch antenna. Display : 1.3 in W x 1.7 in H, 256 color, high resolution, transflective TFT /176 x 220 pixels. LED backlit display and keypad. Battery life : up to 32 hours typical use using two AA alkaline batteries.Includes a built in Americas autoroute basemap with automatic routing capabilities including highways, exits and tide data /USA only. 500 user waypoints with name and graphic symbol; 20 reversible routes, 50 points per route. Position formats include Lat/Lon, UTM, Loran TDs, Maidenhead, MGRS, user grid, and more. Audible alarms for anchor drag, arrival, off course and clock. Large numbers option for easy viewing, dual position display mode. Trip computer provides odometer, stopped time, moving average, overall average, total time, max speed and more. 10,000 point automatic track log; 20 saved tracks /500 points each/ let you retrace your path in both directions. Elevation computer /Summit HC/ provides current elevation, ascent/descent rate, minimum/maximum elevation, total ascent and descent, average and maximum ascent and descent rate. Built in celestial tables for best time to fish and hunt, plus sun and moon calculations. Fully compatible with MapSource products including BlueChart, City Navigator, U.S. TOPO 24K, U.S. TOPO and US Inland lakes. Waterproof, IEC 60529 IPX7, /Submersible 1 meter at 30 minutes

5 Responses to “Garmin eTrex Venture HC GPS Receiver”

1. pluckieduckie says:

   June 10, 2010 at 12:00 am

   you get the most bang for your buck with the venture hc. you have to know what this GPSr is for and not for. it’s great for geocaching, hiking, and marking waypoints. it is highly accurate and can receive signals in deep cover of trees. buildings can interfere with the signal but not even the top end GPSr will get you better reception. i usually get an accuracy within 8-11 feet. for me, the most important thing in a handheld is getting reception and accuracy.

   PROS:

   - good battery life, lasts at least 14 hours

   - highly accurate

   - great reception

   - compact size

   - downloadable points of interest

   CONS:

   - no external memory

   - if you load maps, refreshing screen is sluggish but not slow

   - hard to find maps but if you do a search, you’ll find it and it’s free

   - screen size is on the small side but you’ll forgot about it after a few uses

   - typing in waypoint names is a pain and cumbersome.
2. Ulises Lozano says:

   June 2, 2010 at 12:00 am

   I have used the GPS several times now for GeoCaching, i.e. treasure hunting based on GPS coordinates. For the most part, the GPS has been fairly accurate, however, last time I used it it was giving very mixed results. It would point my location in one direction and later show a complete different one. I was rather confused. The sky was a bit cloudy but not that bad. Although the battery was not fully charged, it was only one bar down from full so I don’t imagine this is what was causing such discrepancies. I was hoping to load a better map to it, but from what I gather, since this model only has the internal memory, you can’t. I would likely upgrade to the version which allows memory cards. Price was great for the functions it has!
3. Emil V. Scheidecker Jr. says:

   June 1, 2010 at 12:00 am

   We began geocaching with the Garmin we use when we travel but quickly found the pinpoint accuracy was questionable as our unit was not designed for this purpose. The new handheld unit brings us to within two feet of where we want to be.
4. Matthew H. says:

   May 30, 2010 at 12:00 am

   This is my first handheald GPS. I got it to insure I’d never be lost in the woods again. It tracks trails and marks waypoints wonderfully. It does everything I wanted it to do.

   That said it does lack some features. With out and electronic compass it you start in one place and rotate it won’t catch on that your facing a new direction. The installed maps leave everything to be desired. With the cost of topo maps being about $100 if you need them you should just get an upgraded model that already has them.

   That said the maps and compass are not a deal breaker, especially at the price point this comes in at. It’s a great easy to use unit. And since I have a Mac I’m very impressed at how easy Garmin made it to add and manage waypoints and tracks.
5. Grady Markland says:

   May 29, 2010 at 12:00 am

   If you want a gps that has topo map to reference yourself on get out your wallet cause you will pay as much for a map as the unit if you can figure out how to use it.

   Why buy it if you can’t use it. PS don’t count on any help from garmin they don’t care.