Garmin Etrex Venture HC GPS Receiver | 
 enlarge | Brand: Garmin
Category: CE
List Price: $199.99
Buy New: $129.00 (On sale from $129.89)
You Save: $0.89 (1%)
New (33) Used (1)
Avg. Customer Rating:  107 reviews
Sales Rank: 244
Platform: Not Machine Specific
Media: Electronics
Memorabilia: No
Tracks: 10
Batteries: 2
Batteries Included: No
Native Resolution: 176x220
Display Size: 2.2
Includes MP3 Player: 1
Size: Garmin Part #010-00632-00
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3.1
Dimensions (in): 1.2 x 2 x 4.4
Legal Disclaimer: Warranty does not cover misuse of product.
MPN: eTrex Venture HC
Model: eTrex Venture HC
UPC: 753759072872
EAN: 0753759072872
ASIN: B000PDR230
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | High-Sensitivity, WAAS-Enabled GPS Receiver Provides Peak Performance In Any Environment | | • | Built-In Basemap Includes Lakes, Rivers, Cities, Interstates, National & State Highways, Railroads & Coastlines | | • | Features A 1.7-InchH X 1.3-InchW Screen With 256-Level Color Tft | | • | Usb Compatible For High-Speed Map Downloads | | • | 24 Mb Of Internal Memory Allows User To Load Waypoints & Routes From The Included Mapsource Trip & Waypoint Manager Software |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
eTrex Venture HC is an essential for any outdoor excursion. It features a high-sensitivity GPS receiver for peak performance in any environment and includes 24 megabytes (MB) of internal memory, a detailed basemap and crisp color screen.With its high-sensitivity, WAAS-enabled GPS receiver, eTrex Venture HC locates your position quickly and precisely and maintains its GPS location even in heavy cover and deep canyons. The advantage is clear - whether you're in deep woods or just near tall buildings and trees, you can count on Venture HC to help you find your way when you need it the most.eTrex Venture HC's basemap contains lakes, rivers, cities, interstates, national and state highways, railroads and coastlines. Venture HC also includes 24 MB of internal memory, so you can load waypoints and routes from the included MapSource Trip & Waypoint Manager software and add map detail from Garmin's entire line of optional MapSource mapping products. Its 256-color, sunlight-readable display makes it easy to distinguish map details - even in bright sunlight.
Amazon.com Product Description
An essential for any outdoor excursion, the Garmin eTrex Venture HC helps you navigate through the toughest terrain. The unit is equipped with a high-sensitivity, WAAS-enabled GPS receiver, which locates your position quickly and precisely and maintains its GPS location even in heavy cover and deep canyons. The advantage is clear: whether you're traipsing through thick woods or strolling near tall buildings and trees, you can count on the Venture HC to help you find your way when you need it the most. At the same time, the Venture HC's easy-to-use menu lets you create and view waypoints (up to 500), save and view 10 track logs, access setup features, and more. It even offers 24 MB of internal memory and a detailed basemap, so you can load waypoints and routes from the included MapSource Trip & Waypoint Manager software and add map detail from Garmin's entire line of optional MapSource mapping products. Besides appreciating its small size, outdoorsmen will also be happy with the Venture HC's unique button layout, with five buttons located on either side of the unit. The benefits of this design are twofold: First, the Venture HC is a breeze to operate with just one hand, and, second, with the buttons on both sides of the unit, the bulk of the front is dedicated to the 256-color, sunlight-readable TFT display. This makes it easy to distinguish map details regardless of the time of day. The Venture HC's basemap, meanwhile, contains lakes, rivers, cities, interstates, national and state highways, railroads, and coastlines--in short, a host of helpful details for your outdoor adventures. Other details include an IPX7 waterproof housing, a built-in patch antenna, a USB interface, a hunt/fish calendar, sun and moon information, and a geocaching mode. The Venture HC, which runs for up to 14 hours on a pair of AA batteries (not included), measures 2.2 by 4.2 by 1.2 inches (W x H x D) and is backed by a one-year warranty. What's in the Box
eTrex Venture HC, basemap, MapSource Trip & Waypoint Manager software, USB cable, wrist strap, quick start guide, user's manual.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 102 more reviews...
 An outdoor GPS receiver as revolutionary as the original eTrex February 4, 2008
146 out of 146 found this review helpful
Before buying this new Venture HC, I had spent many hours trekking with several of the original eTrex models over the years. I think it's fair to say that while the concept of the original eTrex was great, the execution was frequently disappointing.
It disappoints no more. This new Venture HC is the eTrex perfected. It remedies almost every shortcoming that plagued the original models. The new high-sensitivity receiver is amazingly effective. I wish I had a dollar for every time I've stood in wide open spaces cursing my old eTrex because it wouldn't acquire even a single satellite. Last night I turned on the Venture HC on the bottom floor of my two story house, and it locked on to 7 or 8 satellites...through the roof and the upper floor. No more "need a clear view of the sky" messages. Amazing!
The screen has gone color, and the user interface is now substantially more intuitive, while adding even more functionality. The old serial cable has become USB, another welcome improvement. The case is somewhat redesigned (it's wider), but it remains very similar to the original. If you owned an old eTrex you will find a lot of familiar design elements in the Venture HC.
A basemap is included but it is just that...basic. It shows the largest highways, bodies of water, and has some limited capability to display highway exit services. Still, if you need turn-by-turn street directions, an eTrex is not what you want. This is a GPS receiver true to Garmin's outdoor heritage.
Promised battery life (14 hours) is near the bottom of the range when compared to the existing eTrex models, but is still perfectly adequate and has posed no problems.
One weakness that remains is Garmin's waypoint manager PC software. It has the feel of a product whose version 1.0 was released circa 1992 and has never been updated. Garmin could certainly include a better PC interface. For $59 you can buy ExpertGPS, which is excellent. Or Topografix is giving away EasyGPS for free on its website. Either is superior to the Garmin OEM software. If anyone at Garmin is listening, you guys really should consider licensing the rights to ExpertGPS and throwing your current PC software out.
Still, this criticism is a quibble when third party workarounds are available. The Venture HC itself is great. It is a market changing product, in my opinion. Finally, an outdoor GPS receiver that I can wholeheartedly recommend.
Great for geocaching, astronomy! March 10, 2008
42 out of 44 found this review helpful
I got this unit after much research into different brands and, after settling on Garmin, different models. It's a great all-around GPS at a great price. It's my first, so I can't comment on the increased sensitivity of the HC chip, but I get plenty of coverage inside my house, and when I step outside the accuracy goes to about 9'. I would have liked the compass and altimeter of the Vista, but really don't have much need for them since I'm not an avid hiker, and didn't need to spend the extra money.
The Venture HC is great for geocaching. I took my family out on our first hunt last weekend, and although we only had about an hour to spare, we had a great time finding caches stashed around a park nearby. I can see this as a fun family activity on road trips as well. The Venture has built-in geocaching features that let you download waypoints directly from geocacher.com (using the free Garmin browser plugin), and even mark caches as found right on the GPS. The color screen is very readable in sunlight. Although the Venture HC doesn't have a proper compass, the "compass" page is very useful for closing in on the target.
The Venture HC is also great for amateur astronomers. My computerized telescope needs to know lat/long/time to accurately slew to and track objects in the sky. I can get coordinates on standard addresses on geocoder.us, but if I just want to set up at a dark site somewhere, a GPS is a must. Rather than pay $200 to get the GPS option on my scope, I can use this general purpose GPS and just plug the numbers into the telescope's controller, or even connect through my laptop. Although any GPS will give you the time and location, not all have as nice a backlit screen as this one, a good thing when you're out in the dark. The customizable color schemes (with automatic night mode) and the variable backlight intensity are also great for astronomy to keep stray light to a minimum.
If I'm disappointed with anything it is with the built-in base map. Again, because this is my first GPS I was somehow expecting more detail, not necessarily in terms of street names, but certainly with respect to canals, mountains, even major cross streets etc. The only features I've been able to distinguish are freeways, lakes and cities. There are many mountains where I live and none of them are shown on the map. More detailed topo maps are available, but cost anywhere from $80-$120. I'm not subtracting any stars for this, because I'm sure all basemaps are pretty much the same. And with 24MB of memory, there's room for decent quality maps.
Garmin updated the firmware for the Venture in February 2008, so one of the first things I did was download their free WebUpdater utility to automatically install updates. I had one scary moment when my GPS lost the USB connection in the middle of the process, and I was worried my unit would be disabled. But after turning it off and back on it came right back up and, after a second try, the new firmware was installed in about 5 minutes.
All in all, I'm very happy with the quality of this unit. It feels sturdy yet light weight, with a nice rubberized feel to it. It's also waterproof, so no trouble using it in the rain. The interface took a little getting used to, but after a while it becomes second nature. The Venture lets you customize almost every screen to your taste; for example, I wanted to have time, elevation and location on the same page for astronomy purposes, so I set one of the screens up to show all these fields. At $130, the price point was perfect: significantly lower than the next model up (sacrificing only the compass/altimeter and microSD slot), and not much higher than plain-vanilla black & white units without geocaching features.
I highly recommend it.
Better Reception with the eTrex Venture HC October 19, 2007
43 out of 46 found this review helpful
I was very pleased with the purchase of my new eTrex Venture HC. I've used a Garmin Legeng Cx for geocaching for the last year and coords jump off too much under heavy canopy. This is not the case with the new eTrex Venture HC. I was also able to load Topo and City maps without any trouble using my old software. I also had no problems loading waypoints directly using GSAK software.
I use this for geocaching. November 22, 2007
21 out of 21 found this review helpful
The Venture HC is great. Its easy to use and it is pretty accurate. The H in the HC means high sensitivity chip. This wont make it any more accurate but it will help you still receive a signal under tree cover.
If this unit is in your price range but the Vista is not then get it. Otherwise upgrade to the vista as it has better battery life and you can get the removable memory.
For me it was at the right price and has enough features for me. This was my first GPS unit and I havent had any issues with it. It has worked very well for geocaching.
Excellent GPS November 20, 2007
21 out of 22 found this review helpful
I wanted a GPS primary for hunting and have used Garmins with good success in the past. This model provided all the features I was looking for and more. I never once lost reception while hunting even in the deepest woods. The unit worked equally well in a pocket or inside the truck which wasn't the case with the previous GPS units I've used. I've recently started using my GPS while running to track milage and speed. The Trip Computer will track distance, max speed, average speed, time spent moving and time spent stopped. While you have to reset the data each time it's still a very useful tool.
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