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Gpsmap60c Queries


Shrek & Princess Fiona

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Hi People,

 

Not being an expert in either map reading nor GPSr use, I need to know whether I should leave my GPSmap60c in TRUE NORTH mode or change to MAGNETIC NORTH?

 

Changing it to magnetic north reguires a possible setting for magnetic variation.

 

I wouldnt have a clue what that is for my part of the world (South Australia).

 

I have compared the compass on the GPSr to that of my magnetic compass and yes, alas, they are different.

 

So please tell me what mode to leave it in for navigating.

 

Furthermore, do most of you leave your map navigation orientation in TRACK UP mode or NORTH UP mode. I have been using TRACK UP mode for my general use, but when hunting for caches this gets a bit hard when trying to navigate.

 

Any tips?

 

Lastly, for Tracking where the selection for TRACK POINTS on mine shows 3000, I am not sure if this is right, or to adjust for more or less. I am not sure what this will affect (ie. more or less readings during a track route?)

 

Thanks to you all,

 

Regards,

 

Shrek :P

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GPS coordinates are based on true north .... so I prefer true north on my GPS. Your compass is magnetic north :P and you can find your magnetic deviation charts here.

 

I use my GPS for driving navigation and Track UP is my preference. Actually I could not even fathom trying to drive with the GPS having the mapping page up in front of me without the track being UP.

 

Yes .... I carry a Brunton 8097 compass with a special bezel that adjusts for magnetic deviation/declination.

 

For driving track points can be rather large .... but for walking in a maze like woods small track points make back tracking easier.

 

:P ImpalaBob

Edited by ImpalaBob
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I need to know whether I should leave my GPSmap60c in TRUE NORTH mode or change to MAGNETIC NORTH?

Whatever you prefer in the end. It depends a lot on how you use it. I keep mine set to True North. Most city streets in my part of the world are laid out on the true grid, and my compass has correctiion for magnetic variation.

 

Changing it to magnetic north reguires a possible setting for magnetic variation.

Your GPS doesn't care what you set it to and requires no manual setting of variation. Almost all of the settings that you can change on a consumer GPS affect only the user interface, that is, how things are displayed and how things are input manually. They don't affect how the GPS operates.

 

So please tell me what mode to leave it in for navigating.

I use True North, North up. Also, when navigating off road I keep the compass screen on and rarely pay attention to the needle, always watching the bearing, distance, and heading displays. Others will do everything different from me and wonder how I can stand doing it my way. That's why there are so many settings on a GPSr, so everyone can use it the way they see fit.

 

I suggest you play around with the settings a bit to decide what suits you. Then after you've settled on one way for a while and are used to it, fiddle around a bit more to see if other ways work better for you.

 

BTW, there's an easy way to find out what the magnetic variation is wher you are, using the GPSr.

 

Mark your position. edit the latitude to show a point a few miles due North (true) by adding or subtracting a few minutes. Set a go to that point; Set the GPS to show magnetic; Read the bearing to the waypoint. If magnetic North is West of True, then the bearing to the point is the West magnetic variation. If it's East, then you just subtract from 360° to get the East magnetic variation.

 

And since you're in Australia, you'll have to do all this while standing on your head or hanging by your ankles, or it won't work. :blink: But then you folks do that most of the time, anyway, right? :P What? you've heard that joke before? What? about six million times? Dang.

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I use my GPS for driving navigation and Track UP is my preference. Actually I could not even fathom trying to drive with the GPS having the mapping page up in front of me without the track being UP.

 

I tried doing the track up for a while, but found that I actually prefered north up, even for driving and navigating. I think part of it comes from the amount of redrawing it seems to have to do if you use track up, and I tend to like to know at a glance which way is north. (The fact that I have the S version might play into this some too, since if you sit too long at a stoplight it likes to start to rotate :blink: ).

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Your GPS doesn't care what you set it to and requires no manual setting of variation. Almost all of the settings that you can change on a consumer GPS affect only the user interface, that is, how things are displayed and how things are input manually. They don't affect how the GPS operates.

 

When I enter the heading page from main menu, and I select Magnetic north as my North Reference, it automatically comes up with 008degE in the magnetic variation area. This is unchangeable. However, changing North Reference to USER, I can put anything I want in for variation which I consider dangerous as in my mind it would throw out my position or bearing accuracy etc.

 

So I am not sure what BlindLeader means when he suggests that it wouldnt matter what setting I manually enter? I have been leaving it in true north setting as I believed that was simply easier. But if I begin to use a normal magnetic compass to assist in navigation, I have noticed there is quite a bit of difference in which way the needles point.

 

I only have a standard clear plastic map-reading Silva compass. From years ago.

 

Does everyone involved in Caching use a standard compass as well as their GPSr, or just, perhaps I say, Advanced Users??

 

I am still unsure of the Tracking issue. As previously stated, I have mine set for 3000. But as I am driving, and then on the occasional day trampsing through the environment for another Geocache, there is a mixture of driving/walking.

 

So I still dont know if 3000 is an appropriate figure to leave in for tracking. Simply becaused I am unsure what effect changing this value would have???

 

Thanks again,

 

Shrek :D

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When I enter the heading page from main menu, and I select Magnetic north as my North Reference, it automatically comes up with 008degE in the magnetic variation area.
And that's the magnetic variation at the last location your unit had a fix. I was unaware of this even easier way of finding that information out.

 

However, changing North Reference to USER, I can put anything I want in for variation which I consider dangerous as in my mind it would throw out my position or bearing accuracy etc.
None of the settings, least of all the North Reference, has any effect at all on position accuracy. AS far as bearings is concerned, as long as you adjusted the variation correction on your compass to match that of the GPS, everything would be just fine. Compass and GPS would then be in agreement. If you use a magnetic compass a lot, and it doesn't have adjustement for variation, then it would probably be best to keep the GPS set up to display magnetic bearings.

 

So I am not sure what BlindLeader means when he suggests that it wouldnt matter what setting I manually enter?
I didn't say it doesn't matter, I said the GPS doesn't care. And it matters to the user only if he or she is unaware of what he or she is looking at. To avoid that, keep it simple and choose either Magnetic or True. See the previous paragraph to decide which.

 

So I still dont know if 3000 is an appropriate figure to leave in for tracking. Simply becaused I am unsure what effect changing this value would have???
It means that when the tracklog is full it either stops recording, or starts overwriting the track from the beginning, depending on whether you have it set to wrap or not. I only use tracklogging for a specific purpose, like finding my way out of very unfamiliar or confusing terrain. 3000 track points would be sufficient for a thirty mile trip at the most excruciatingly detailed level (.01mi). But I'm not sure you can save large track logs as a single file. The garmin specifications imply that you're limited to saving 500 points at a time. The all-purpose answer is to play with it to find out how you want to use it.
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