Coordinates Not Matching Up

[birdprincess]

Just started geocaching, and am finding that when I find the hidden cache, my GPS still shows that I'm anywhere from 20 to 100 ft. away from the coordinate. I'm using a Meridian Color GPS. My model says it tracks within 3 ft, so what's the deal? Is this normal? Finding more difficult caches could be quite difficult if I'm having to search a large radius.

Edited March 5, 2006 by birdprincess

[+Nocturnal Navigators]

Your GPSr might at some points be as accurate as 3 ft...but that isn't the norm. I'm not familiar with your unit, but somewhere it should show how accurate you currently are. If I'm in a fairly wooded area it's not out of the ordinary for my GPSr to be +/- 30 ft accurate. You just have to take that into consideration. Look into your manual and you should be able to find the screen on your unit that shows how accurate you are.

 

Just keep finding the easier rated ones until you have a few more finds under your belt. You'll start to know more what to look for once you get close to the hide spot. Personally once I get within like 30 or so feet I tend to put the GPSr down and start looking for any obvious hiding spots.

[+fireman121]

Or think of it this way, your GPS is right on the money and the person that placed the cache is 100 feet off.

[+LostMontanan]

Or think of it this way, your GPS is right on the money and the person that placed the cache is 100 feet off.

 

HHAHA, been there done that...not quite 100' though. About 30, and it was enough to drive me nuts for awhile.

[+cary1952]

All units and all manufactures and even the same units of the same brand and model will track differently. This is normal, dending on the quality of the receiver, antenna, and sky coverage. Just remember that each .001 difference is about 6 feet and you can figure how far off you may be. If each unit (hider and seekers) is off 50 feet you could be 100 feet off. Hope this helps!

 

Cary in S.D.

[+scott9282]

The first thing you need to do is make sure you are using the same map datum as the geocaching page. If not, you will get erroneous readings.

 

Next, you need to understand that the person who hid the cache may not have had the best location, could have been off by 20-100 feet from where the GPSr says they are. Combine that with the EPE in your unit, and you can be off by quite a bit.

 

In addition, I'm not sure if the Meridian series suffers from the infamous "boomerang" effect. That is, you might get an indication that you have arrived at a cache, only to find that due to the unit deciding where it is on earth, you have to backtrack some. I'm probably not explaining the boomerang correctly, but you need to take that into account.