whitneymvp

I have a Magellan Explorist 210 and Meridian Platinum ... also a Garmin Summit HC and 60CSx. This is the second 60CSx I've tried and don't like the way reported position (and therefore compass) jumps around much more than the others. I'm thinking I'm going to return it while I still can and get something else. Some articles have said that the MT chipset was just as sensitive but more stable than the Sirf. (The ideal would be a color Meridian Plat with high sensitivity!!) I don't know what my Summit has. Does anyone know for certain what is in the Summit and Vista HCx. The 60Csx is for sure Sirf. I like the 60CSx display but would rather have the Summit with me in the woods. Just my opinion though

I recently got a 60CSx from Walmart online. They have very good return polivies on everything, except GPS. They specifically say GPS must be returned within 15 days.

I'm N63 04.386 (Where N stands for nice guy and the last 5 digits are decimal since birthday) lol

Yes, I meant ADJUSTED

I've noticed the same problem with my 60CSx that I got about two weeks ago. I don't use it for car navigation at all. I have an Explorist 210, a Meridian Platinum, a Summit HC, and now the 60CSX. I've walked around the yard, gone caching, and run some simple repeatability tests around the yard and at corrected benchmarks. The Tracback feature seems not as repeatable as the Summit. I have been trying to convince myself that the 60CSx is a good thing but at this point I plan to return it tomorrow and try another one ... just because I truly want it to be the best one I have. The sensitivity, features and screen are great but its calculated position stability is worse than the other 3 (even the non-WAAS Meridian), and there seems to be a predictable offset from where a benchmark is versus where the 60CSx thinks it is. I did use Garmin WebUpdater to install the two latest firmware updates. The other units wander around as expected but they wander around the real position of the benchmark. I'm frustrated! To be honest, the old Meridian is the most stable and repestable of all of them, except it doesn't have the sensitivity or processing speed of the new ones. By the way, when I say jumps or wanders around, I mean by 25 feet in E-W direction and 35 feet in N-S direction. This is in the wide open sunny skies. This is not BAD but noticibly badder than the others. If I didn't have the chance to compare I may not have noticed it as much. I'm open for any good ideas anyone might have.

I agree totally with Thrak, but want to add. Any handheld GPS will help you find a cache just fine. I have found that if you're in the woods with trees and bushes all around, and every direction you look looks exactly the same, it is very reassuring to see yourself on a map and KNOW there is a road X miles in a certain direction ... or KNOW that the wetland you see should be on a certain side of you ... or that you should plan on taking a small detour to get around an obstacle up ahead. A basic TOPO map will give you this. It shows most all major and minor roads. It is not best suited for car navigation but its great for being in the woods. Without a map that is more detalied than the base map you can only see waypoints and your track or backtrack. If I were in an area where I always had good physical clues where I was, then a built in map wouldn't be as comforting. So far, where I've hunted, hasn't been far off roads, but they have all been in the woods.

That does make some sense ... radio waves, reflections, signals from each gps circuitry. I'm going to check out some local benchmarks tomorrow when it stops raining. Then it will be one unit at a time and allowing minutes between readings. Ya know, what I've found out is that choosing a GPS should be purely based on user preferences ... size, shape, readability, features. There are so many things that affect the real-world "accuracy" that "claimed accuracy" becomes less important. Figure it this way .. if you drive for 10 miles to get near a cache and a gps gets you within 30 feet of GZ .. thats when the real sleuthing fun begins. If you always knew that you were going to be guided right on top of the cache, what fun would that be! Dave

Thanks for the benchmark info. I'll check out some local ones. The Meridian Platinum is looking for the old satelites. I haven't been able to find a way to get it to look for the new ones. Any ideas? Thanks

Hi. I'm new to geocaching. I picked up an Explorist 210 and put in the 257 software, so it gets WAAS. I then got a Meridia Platinum that does not get WAAS. I also have a new Summit HC and 60CSx that have the latest SW installed. I liked the 210 and it took me to my first caches just fine. I have taken all 4 units at the same time on hunts (and around the yard) and got different results, so I thought I'd perform a backyard "test." I have a good sized open field where any gps gets a good signal and lock. I chose a spot and had a plastic fixture about 3 feet off the ground where I could place the 4 gps in a row. The row ran approximately N-S and the gps were placed about 10" apart withe the 210 and Summit placed horizontally and the Meridian and 60CSX placed vertically (I think that makes best use of the antenna in each one.) The 210 and Summit, when placed horizontally had the top end facing approximately East. I have placed the gps in the same positions, on different days, over the last 2 weeks. I made sure to turn on the units and allowed them to get a fix for at least 20 minutes before taking position data over the next hour or so. This produced 30 data points. I live in Massachusetts with coordinates N41 57 568 W070 51 700. Basically I was curious to see how the last digits compared between units, and over time. Ideally they'd all be the same. What my crude test showed was: 1. All units showed different poistions over time, as expected. In N coordinates, the Meridian was the most consistant with a +-1/2 digit variation. The other units varied by +-2 diguts. (About +-13 feet here). The 60CSx tended to vary more over shorter times. (This is what I had thought when out in the woods too.) In W coordinates, they all varied by about +-2 digits. (About +-10 feet) THESE ARE RESULTS THAT ANYONE WOULD BE HAPPY TO GET IN THE FIELD The interesting thing is that the Magellans usually thought they were further north than the Garmins by a digit or two (6-12 feet). The 210 and Summit usually thought they were 2 digits (10 feet) further west than the Meridian and 60CSx. (Is this because of the patch antenna in the 210 and summit?). I have no idea what the "correct" coordinates really are, but it bothers me a bit that they all don't produce the same average positions. It's a minor annoyance because once I get withing 50 feet of where a cache is I start to look around and not rely on the gps anyway. Does anyone have any thoughts on what I did? I was thinking of finding some local benchmarks. How accurately are they placed? Is that a good way to determine which gps is most accurate?

Thanks on the 210 patch info. Ya know, I feel that the 210 is as stable and as repeatable as the others. So far the 60CSX position is less stable/reliable when caching. I'm doing some crude repeatability tests now and may post them if the trends I have noticed, so far, continue.

Does anyone know the best way to hold these units to get best signal, accuracy, repeatability? I'm more interested in correct position rather then operation of any electronic compass. Magellan Meridian Platinum (I think vertically) Magellan Explorist 210 (I think vertically) Garmin Summit HC (I think horizontally) Garmin 60CSx (I think vertically) Thanks

Here's my two cents worth of advice on choosing a GPSr. Go for the most and best you think you'd ever want or need, to do what you want. It is pretty clear reading these forums that there are a number of very fine units to choose from. From my own personal experience I can tell you I have spent a lot of time and energy analyzing everything to death ... knowing the best choices but not doing what I really wanted, primarily because of money. You can get a great GPSr for geocaching for $100, or you can spend $300 for a realy great one. When I first started my search I thought that that $200 difference was a lot. It is ... but it isn't. In the last months I've spent too many hours thinking about what to do. I actually bought a Magellan Meridial Platinum, Explorist 210, and a Garmin Summit HC. They all find caches, and they are all fun. I just got a Garmin GPSMAP 60CSx that will do everything I want. If I had it to do again I would have gone right to the 60CSx (or other top end unit) and saved the time and money spent on the other 3! Sure, I have an extra (3 actually) gps for the grandchildren, but I could have gotten to this point with less stress and cost. Figure it this way ... spending $300 on something you're going to keep and enjoy for years isn't bad. The only real advice I'd give is to get a high sensitivity unit so it will work better in more places. When you're in heavy woods and the trees get heavy leaves you'll be glad. I find an electronic compass to be useful but I always have a regular compass in my pocket. I also find it reassuring to have something like a local Topo map installed, because it is nice to know "for sure" where and how close roads and civilization is when you're in the woods and every way you look looks the same. lol Have fun, lighten up, they all work, even the $50 EBay ones.

Thanks again. I was able to find GPS SW Version 2.60 and downloaded it OK. I'll try my little tests tomnorrow and let you know. By the way. When you look up the software version for the Summit it has two entries. The first one says "Software Version x.xx", and the second says "GPS SW Version y.yy". I ran Webupdater once and it only said I needed an updated version of Unit" Software Version from 1.10 to 2.70. There was nothing about the GSP SW Version 2.60. After I installed UNIT Software Version 2.70 I ran the Webupdater again and this time it did say there was a GPS SW Version update available. I guess I needed to upgrade the unit before it would accept the GPS SW update. So, it appears that the latest update for the Etrex Summit is: Software Version 2.70 GPS SW Version 2.60 Thanks

Thanks for the GPS SW tip. I'll try to find it and update. In my casual "tests" I was more concerned that over a months time and perhaps 100 different returns to the same point(s), the old magellans always brought me to the same physical location and the new garmin brought me back to locations that were much further from the actual location(s). I figure that how can you have accuracy with out repeatability. Hopefully I will find the new GPS SW update you mentioned and the summit will shine. It should because of it's better sensitivity. I'll let you know.

I've had a Magellan Meridian Platinum, and Explorist 210 for a while and recently got a Garmin Etrex Summit HC. For the last month or so I've gotten my excercise by walking around the yard (3 acres) with a gps and visiting a number of markers that I placed. I usually do this 3+ times a day. Part of it is to get exercise and the other part is to become familiar with each gps so operation is routine when I go into the woods. I have each of the markers stored as waypoints and I go from one to another at random. I find that both Magellans always always show me at GZ when I'm real close to actual GZ. The new Summit doesn't return me to the same locations each time. To be honest, all units put me within 25 feet (actual distance) but the old magallans are either as close to right on as you could imagine, or within 10-15 feet maximum. The Summit is WAAS enabled and shows it working , with estimated accuracies of as good as 9 feet. The 210 does get the new WAAS satelites and reports estimated accuracies of maybe 15 feet. The old Meridian Platinum does not receive WASS but still gets almost as good results as the 210. Over the last month I have tried re-defining the waypoints in the Summit, and used the averaging feature, but it still is not as stable as the 210. I even tried setting a way point, moving away, and returning 1 minutes later. The summit did worse than the others! Some of my markers are out in a wide open field and some are under light tree cover ... same results. I was really looking forward to the new Summit but I'm disappointed. It has Software Version 2.10 and GPS SW version 2.30. If I hadn't had the two other units to compare to I might have simply said that it was within normal tolerance under varying conditions. I'm curious if anyone else has noticed the problem that I noticed? *****I JUST used the Garmin Web Updater to install Software Version 2.70. The GPS SW version is still 2.30. I'll see how that performs tomorrow*****

Thanks for your advice. And, my car is far from a micro

Just make sure you have a fix, select the CAR waypoint from the waypoint list, click the menu button and choose "Reposition Here" (right down at the very bottom of the menu under "View Hunt and Fish"). Thanks. I guess I haven't spent enough time on the menu system. THAT is actually a better way than I use with Magellan because there is no typing ... just reposition this waypoint to the current position. Now that I am on the menu I see a choice called AVERAGE. Even though I'm inside right now it seem like that function can be used to reposition a waypoint???? If so, REPOSITION is quick and easy, and AVERAGE is longer and easy. Do I understand that correctly?

I have a new Etrex Summit HC and a couple of older Magellans. For Geocaching, I would like to be able to park the car and enter the car position as a waypoint called "CAR" each time I start a hunt. On the Magellans I can mark a waypoint and give it the name CAR. Magellan then tells me that I already have CAR, do I want to replace it ... and I say yes. Pretty easy. On Etrex, I set a waypoint and call it CAR, and Garmin says that CAR already exists and won't let me overwrite it. I then have to go back and give the waypoint a unique name, like "CAR1. Either that, or delete the original CAR and then enter a new CAR waypoint. Is there an easier method? I guess it's the same question as how to redefine an existing waypoint. Thanks

I will get a new Summit HC for my birthday this weekend and I THINK I'd like to put some local maps into it. The reason is that I'm new to geocaching and the few times I've been out in the woods with my other gps I thought it would be reassuring to see what local roads are around me. The base map only shows major roads. (I could always take a paper map) I do not need the entire US loaded in the gps ... only small selected areas where I intend to search for cache. It looks like my choices are either topo2008 or city navigator. I expect most of my searching to be done on fairly level/low altitude paths. Does topo show local roads? Are there other choices for Garmin Etrex Summit? Thanks

Thanks for the info and the link to FAQs. Guess I'll have to look around for cheap Topo 3D for Explorist. By the way ... the 210 seems to work just great for geocaching. It always gets me close, hangs on to sat signals, and the bactrack feature is useful. The grey scale display is very easy to read when there is ANY light at all, and the orange backlight is great in the dark. I got mine at Walmart for $59. It was marked higher but rang up low.

Hi, I have a 210 and have upgraded to EU257 and now have more screens and WAAS. I also have a CD titled MapSend Topo for the United States. The software works for the Meridian Platinum OK but I haven't been able to copy regions to the Explorist yet. I have conversion manager program also. Can I put detail maps on the explorist? What types of files does Explorer use in internal memory for detail maps ... *.imi or *.img. Thanks

YESSSSSSS!!!!! That was it!! I am so %&*# happy! (Can I use that word here?) I must have pushed down the positive tip of the battery without compressing the negative spring enough. In the process the positive contact was pushed down. It looked OK until you pointed it out to me. Thank you so much. I will sleep better tonight. I think the first cache I place will have a name somehow related to your name. It will be in Massachusetts and one day you'll se it posted on geocaching.com I have one question for you though. Did the spring actually become unsoldered from the board, and am I now depending only on friction to maintain contact? It doesn't look too hard to disassemble and solder if required but if it's OK it's better leave well enough alone. Actually two questions ... can you receive the new WAAS satelites. Mine is only searching for 122 and 12?, not 135 and 138. Any updates? Thanks again for your help

Hi, This topic may have been discussed before but I didn't see anything when I searched. I got a Magellan meridian platinum and when i first fired it up it seemed to initialize and work well in a few backyard tests. I put it in my desk earlier today and just took it out to learn some of the screens better ... but now it won't turn on. I DID leave it running for hours to initialize and get a good fix. I did play with it after that until I got a low battery warning signal. I DID power it on again for a few minutes after the low battery warning and it worked until I shut it off. The only thing I changed during my play time was how you turn on and shut off the unit. I changed it so that you had to press and hold power for a few seconds and then press enter to turn it on. .... and to shut it off you had to press power and then enter to confirm. The batteries are new and test good. It wasn't dropped or even handled rough. Any ideas? Thanks for whatever help you give. Even without WAAS it was looking like the meridian plat was a good unit and I'd sure like to revive it rather than return to Ebay seller.

It looks like the only difference between the 210 and 500LE is the color display. Is that all and is color better/easier to see? I saw a 210 at the local walmart marked down to $59 and a see a local ad for a sportrak color for about the same price. That's not a lot of $$ so I probably can't go wrong, but if one is better than the other I'd rather do it "righter" the first time. How important is electronic compass for geocaching?

I will be getting a Garmin Summit HC for my birthday in March. I still want to pick up a used handheld for geocaching with my grandson for well less than $100. All we will do is off-road stuff. Major roads would be nice, but not necessary. I like what I read about these Magellan units but I'm open to a Garmin also. I read that the Sportrak Pro is good and readable in sunlight but the Sportrak Color is just as good but not readable in sunlight?? I THINK an electronic compass would be nice but not necessary. I don't need the ability to download cache info because I'll probably enter manually. The only thing that a PC connection might be good for for me is to update firmware ... then USB is a must. Your advice will be welcomed. Thanks