ektelus

Unfortunately, they have not fixed the odomoter problem with the update. All of my comments have been with an updated unit (both software and firmware). A couple people note it isn't suprising to have the distance read high due to the minor fluctuations when stopped. That isn't the problem here and I wouldn't have complaints with that. The problem is that the odometer can read significantly short, even in a straight line. Unless I turn my unit off, it should always be able to assume I at least traveled the shortest distance from start to end. Furthermore, when I have contacted customer support about this, they claimed they hadn't heard of the problem and suggested I send my unit in to be checked. Clearly it was known and not an issue with just my unit.

I have never seen another GPS with this kind of error. What is the point of having a more accurate attena if it can't use it. I have had a Garmin III, the original Vista, and an Edge 305. None have ever had this kind of problem. The error here isn't minor. It isn't just off by a few feet. The drift excuse would work if it was on a curved or winding path. But in a straight line, it should be smart enough to know the minimum distance between two points. Last I heard, tele-porting hadn't been invented yet. For me knowing my distance while I am on an outing is important, not just once I am done. The unit does have a lot of benefits, mostly the hugely increased accuracy of position regardless of the terrain. The odometer problem is something that should be easy for them to fix and is unacceptable that they haven't.

The odomoter problem is clearly a software bug. If you travel exactly a mile, it shouldn't say .9 miles. The error is far (order of magnitude) more than the error from the sattelites. The unit is clearly getting the correct coordinates because if you save the track (track page / save), it correctly tells you that the track is a full mile. Further more, it does this even if you travel in a straight line if you are going slow. It seems to be randomly dropping distance from the odomoter if it was traveled below a certain speed. This error is enough that this unit is nearly useless for measuring distance when hiking for example. If I had bought mine locally where I could easily take it back, I probably would.

Calm down. It is not Garmin's fault. Try this. Mark a waypoint. Walk 100 feet away. Do a goto that waypoint and stand still. If the distance to the waypoint changes 30 feet because of error while you are standing still, what should the GPS add to the odometer? The coordinates for the waypoint didn't change so you must have moved, right? Some GPS's would add 30 feet and the HCX doesn't. All GPS psuedo odometers are bad IMHO. No, it is Garmins fault. Garmin is losing distance not due to accuracy but due to dropped distance. If you go 1 mile, the track you save (by going to tracks, and selecting save) accurately states 1 mile. The problem is the "Odometer" will say you have only gone something like 0.9 miles. if you are going slow. This is not a sattelite accuracy issue but a software bug.

I'm on hold too. Eventually we will know. Garmin seems to be moving on this, hope they continue until they get it right, if it is not yet right. What you guys don't understand is that if the accuracy is around 10 feet, then you can't count on ANY GPS to know you've moved at all unless you go at least 10ft from your previous point. The tracking is a series of estimates. The HCX and all the others do a great job of this, but unless you find a GPS with less than 1ft accuracy all the time, you won't be happy. I have used the HCx tracking on many occasions now and it works fine. Just don't expect your "speed" field on the display to show .3 mph when your accuracy is worse than 10ft or so... Good comment, still if I move a hundred feet linear at .3 mph (222 seconds) it should at least know I've moved somewhere between 80 and 120 feet and have calculated an average speed of .2 to .4 mph, should it not? As I understand it, the problem has been that you could move a mile, in an hour, and that the HCX will tell you that you haven't moved at all. If I move 3 miles in 3 hours and it tells me I have only moved .2 miles then that is not even close to being OK. Even with a fix within 15 or 20 feet, each time it takes a location point, it should at least give a total distance, total time and average speed that is pretty close....if you are walking in a reasonably straight line. On the other hand, if the trail has lots of turns and double backs then it would be reasonable for the odometer distance to have a lot of error. The problem with the odometer is definitely still there. After updating my unit, it still loses significant distance when going slow. Walking my dog on a known 0.75mile route, the odometer showed 0.67 miles. When I saved the track, it correctly computes 0.75miles. They did fix a problem where when walking slowly, your speed never shows zero. I had assumed these two issues were related.