Updates & Downloads

eTrex Vista software version 3.80

as of March 18, 2008

Download Preloaded Marine POI Database for eTrex Vista
If MapSource data is loaded to this unit, this unit's preloaded Marine POI database will be erased. Please download the file below to recover this Marine POI database. If you currently have MapSource data loaded into your GPS unit, it will be erased and replaced with this POI database.
Download (2.32 MB)

Download (1.84 MB)

View installation instructions and system requirements

Notes:

Reverting back to previously released versions will clear user memory.
Users are strongly urged to back up any user data they wish to save.
WARNING: If your current software is version 3.02 or lower, this software will clear all unit data including alamanac information, tracks, waypoints, routes, and settings. Back up all user data before upgrading. After installation is complete, place unit with a clear view of the sky for 15-30 minutes to re-acquire almanac data.
This Vista firmware now includes a Jumpmaster accessory. This accessory is intended for trained military jumpmasters. To learn more about this accessory, please download our supplemental documentation: Download Jumpmaster PDF

Change History

Changes made from version 3.70 to 3.80:

Updated WAAS.
Updated GEOID model.

Changes made from version 3.60 to 3.70:

Changes to support manufacturing.

Changes made from version 3.50 to 3.60:

Improvements to RCV_CPO support.
Added Croatian language support.
Updated various translations.

Changes made from version 3.40 to 3.50:

Fixed potential memory corruption problem that could occur when tracking more than one WAAS satellite simultaneously.

Changes made from version 3.20 to 3.40:

Updated French translations.
Improved WAAS/EGNOS satellite selection algorithm to select the satellite with the most beneficial corrections given the unit's current position. A unit will not use a WAAS/EGNOS satellite if the unit's current position is outside of a given WAAS/EGNOS satellite's service volume.
Added support for RCV_CPO data.
Improved external power detection.

Changes made from version 3.10 to 3.20:

Corrected problem that potentially rounded northing/easting values when entering or editing waypoints in UTM-based grids.

Changes made from version 2.50 to 3.10:

Increased active track log to 10,000 points.
Increased saved track log to 750 points.
Increased user waypoints to 1,000 waypoints.
Increased waypoints per route to 125 waypoints.
Added option on map setup page to specify the number of track points to plot. The most recent points will be plotted up to the specified number, not exceeding the size of the track log.
Improved South African grid.
Corrected problem where MapSource would give an error message after transferring a large number of map tiles.

Changes made from version 2.40 to 2.50:

Added Jumpmaster accessory.
Added South African Grid support.
Added Indian Grid support.
Added GPS Accuracy as a selectable field accessible from the trip computer, map, and compass pages.
Corrected problem where a full tracklog could potentially cause lockups and shutdowns.
Corrected potential calculator lockup or shutdown.
Added ownership page to be shown at startup. To enter owner data, select 'Owner Information' option from the main menu page’s option menu.
Added 'yards' label on trip computer page in big numbers mode.

Changes made from version 2.30 to 2.40:

Corrected tracklog so it would not segment on transitions from 2-D to 3-D or differential coverage. Tracklog will still segment when switching into or out of satellite coverage and will track elevation data when no coverage is available.
Corrected potential shutdowns on the calculator page.
Corrected potential shutdowns when doing find-by-name city searches with multiple maps types loaded.
Removed ability to enter consecutive decimal points into calculator.
Improved page layout consistency for units setup and system setup pages.
Corrected problem when using user north setting that would not remove the 'Hold Level' notice.
Set route list page menu options to an order consistent throughout the unit.

Changes made from version 2.28 to 2.30:

Added battery type selector.
Added page up and page down capability using zoom in and zoom for most lists.
Improved accuracy of WAAS EPE.
General improvements to the Altimeter page.
Improved error handling for scientific calculator.
Improved glide ratio to be calculated all the time.
Corrected display of City Navigator Points of Interest, and runways for some European and Canadian maps.
Improvements to map selection of city searches.
Restore defaults on map setup sets map to Land Mode.
General improvements to fix various shutdowns.
Changes to support hardware changes. No noticeable change to user.

Changes made from version 2.25 to 2.26:

Added Glide Ratio, Glide Ratio to Destination, and Vertical Speed to Destination configurable fields.
Enhanced compass pointer functionality while navigating a route. It now indicates the direction of the turn to the next point in the route in addition to the direction to the current point (when within 15 seconds of the current point).
Added elevation configurable field to the elevation page.
Made find by address searches display the street name of the previous search.
Added ability to do manual waypoint transitioning on routes.
Added a unit's selector for depth.
Added a unit's selector for vertical speed.
Improved responsiveness of vertical speed.
Added Hungarian Grid.
Changed operation to continue updating elevation related data when satellite reception has been lost.
Improved display update on the calculator after pressing the clear button or the clear entry button.
Improved translations for all languages.
Added the ability to search specific map sets on find by city searches.
Improved functionality of user datum.
Increased stability of firmware uploads and map uploads.
Corrected NMEA output of user magnetic variance settings.
Made user memory be cleared when backing up firmware revisions.
Fixed the use of yards on the horizontal axis zoom scale, on the elevation plot.
General improvements to the operating system that fixed various shutdowns.

Changes made from version 2.24 to 2.25:

Improved submerged icon visibility in land mode.
Fixed backspace button on the keyboard.
Added time zones for Auckland, Katmandu, and Helsinki.
Made the location field a long small number configurable field and also a big number configurable field.
Created a latitude/longitude configurable field. This allows for viewing two position formats simultaneously.
Added supports for yards as a distance.
Allowed GPS altitude to be viewed from the satellite page.
Added calculator accessory.
Various translation updates.
Added a calculate area enclosed by route feature.
Fixed area calculation accessory problem with Hungarian language.
General improvements to operating system that correct system lockups and shutdowns.

Changes made from version 2.23 to 2.24:

Reverted to outputting the GPGSA, GPGSV, GPRTE, GPWPL, and PSLIB sentences via NMEA.

Changes made from version 2.22 to 2.23:

Reverted display of active track log to three pixels.
Made water mode display map boundaries.
Added description to some BlueChart features.
Fixed the moon phase.
Reverted to outputting the heading sentence via NMEA.
Fixed Italian translation of nautical miles.

Changes made from version 2.21 to 2.22:

Improve WAAS operation when transitioning from areas of ionospheric data coverage.
Added a land mode and a water mode for the map.
Add support for blue chart data.
Fixed translations of power up warning.
Added RT-90 map datum and position format.
Fixed option menu on the MapSource information page to display all subsets of maps to be turned on and off as a set.
Made the external power down page count down by one and always pop up when external power is lost.
When saving a waypoint after a find by name, made the waypoint have a meaningful name.
Fixed shutdown problem related to European road and rec maps.
Fixed the route list displaying multiple active routes when more then 15 saved routes existed.
Fixed auto daylight savings time setting.
On the trip computer page, when using big numbers, made elevations over 10,000 ft display.
General improvements to operating system that correct system lockups and shutdowns.

Changes made from version 2.20 to 2.21:

Improve WAAS operation when more than one WAAS satellite is visible.
Added geocache icons.
Fixed shutdown problem related to low battery.
Unit will now save latest altimeter calibration information between power cycles regardless of how much time has elapsed between power cycles.

Changes made from version 2.18 to 2.20:

Fixed the pointer field on the compass page.
Fixed date field so it no longer allows invalid dates on the hunt and fish page.
Fixed a lock up problem in the track area accessory.
Saving a point of interest as a waypoint now gives the waypoint a meaningful name.
Fixed track log so it saves the user setting of on or off after the unit is powered off.
Fixed problem with overlapping maps where no map detail would be displayed at certain zoom levels.
Fixed sight and go off course problem where it was not displaying the correct value.
Added precision to distance fields.
Improved German translations.
Fixed appearance of small compass on the navigation page.

Changes made from version 2.17 to 2.18:

Allow negative elevations.
Changed the compass to displays MILS while the unit is set to MILS.
Fixed the delete notes on the calendar.
Fixed problem when activating a goto, where the waypoint is not on the active route. Now the route will be deactivated.
Added new NMEA sentence, PGRMM, for reporting datum parameters.
Added the ability to select more choices for the configurable fields on the map page, compass page, and trip computer page.
Added new accessory for calculating area of a track.
Display the area of a saved track on the track detail page.
Added measure distance feature to the map page.
Improved Swedish and Hungarian translations.
Fixed sight and go feature to lock in compass headings correctly.
Made the elevation ranges on the altimeter page more comparable for meters and feet.

Changes made from version 2.16 to 2.17:

Correctly determine the date the first time satellites are acquired after the unit has been stored without batteries.

Changes made from version 2.15 to 2.16:

Fixed a problem with the project waypoint feature that occurred when using a north reference other than true north.
Fixed the Transportation Points of Interest subtype menu to be in the correct order.
Improved support for the upcoming Points of Interest CD.
Improved support for the Fishing Hot Spots™ CD to display fishing areas on the map.
Improved Spanish, French, and Dutch translations.
Renamed existing Hu-Tzu-Shan datum to Taiwan, and added a new datum named Hu-Tu-Shan, which conforms to the NIMA definition.

Changes made from version 2.14 to 2.15:

Fixed map update anomaly.
Fixed map not updating after loading new maps.
Added support for finding Geographic points if they exist on map.
Fixed irregularities that occurred when switching from pressure plot to elevation plot on the Altimeter Page.
Backlight can now be turned on/off while changing elevation ranges.

Changes made from version 2.13 to 2.14:

Fixed bug that was introduced in software version 2.13 that caused the unit to freeze for several minutes when the Poor Satellite Reception page pops up.
Moved zoom scale back to the lower left-hand corner of the map where it was originally intended.

Changes made from version 2.12 to 2.13:

Added multi-language support (Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, and Swedish ).
Fixed the Turn configurable field so it does not apply north reference offset.
Fixed memory corruption that occurred when clearing all fields on the Find Address/Intersection pages.
Added Demo Mode to the System Setup page.
Added search indicator when doing a Spell 'N Find search.
Made cursor movement on keyboard smoother when doing a Spell 'N Find search.
Increased list-scrolling speed when doing a Spell 'N Find search.
Save User Grid Settings.
Fixed Delete All Waypoints Bug, where unit would shut off.
Improved support for the Fishing Hot Spots™ CD to display fishing areas on the map.
Added support for the Points of Interest CD.
Fixed inconsistent elevation values between marked waypoint and current elevation.
Fixed pressure field on Altimeter Calibration page so all the digits can be entered.
Fixed bug where elevation plot was not being completely drawn.

Changes made from version 2.11 to 2.12:

WAAS improvement in shaded and reflected signal environment.
Fixed logging incorrect elevation from altimeter during system mode transition.

Changes made from version 2.00 to 2.11:

The View Points option on the Altimeter page will now be disabled if there are no points logged.
Fixed bug when loading maps while GPS is turned off.
Fixed memory bug that causes unit to lock up.

Installation Instructions

It is recommended that you disable screen savers or other programs running on your PC while you go through the update process. Disruptions to the update process may render your GPS inoperable. If the transfer is interrupted, turn off the GPS and then turn it back on. Reboot your PC, go to step #9 and attempt the download again. GARMIN is not responsible for failed downloads of operating software to the GPS and factory resetting the GPS unit will fall under our Flat Rate Repair Policy.
Click on "Download" and choose to save the file to your computer.
Choose a location where you can easily locate the file by saving it to a location such as the "My Documents" folder or to "C:\".
Once the download is complete, go to the location where you saved the file.
Locate the downloaded file and double-click on it. This will launch the Self Extractor. This program compresses the data to allow for a faster download of the needed files.
A program window will appear asking you where to "Un-zip" the files. This is by default C:\Garmin. You can change this location if you like. Be sure to note where the un-zipped files are going to allow you to find them!
Click on the button labeled "Un-zip".
Once the un-zip process is complete, click on the 'Close' button to exit the Self Extractor.
Open the C:\Garmin (or other folder where you un-zipped the files), locate the file named "Updater" and double click on it.
Connect your GPS to your computer using a GARMIN PC Interface cable to an open serial port. Turn the GPS on, place it in Demo mode (refer to your owner's manual for instructions) and verify that the Interface Mode (found under the Main Menu page, refer to your owner's manual for instructions) is set to GARMIN, GRMN, GRMN/GRMN, or Data Transfer/Host mode.
Click on the "OK" button on the Updater program window to start the data transfer.

System requirements

IBM-compatible PC running Windows 2000 or later operating system and an available Com 1, 2, 3, or 4 port.
PC Interface Cable for your GPS unit. The PC Interface Cable may be purchased through your local Garmin distributor or ordered direct from our Online Store.