Problem With Compass, Please Help!

[+dontpanic0]

I am new to gps's, and I just bought a garmin etrex. It has been working for the past 2 days, but today the compass is not functioning properly. When I am traveling directly north, the north pointer on the map page points the correct direction, but the compass does not point right on north, it points a bit to the west (1 full line thingy). When I walk in a direction that makes the compass point north, the map arrow is off north. This happens with all directions. Does anyone know how to fix this problem?

[+Cache Heads]

On my 60CSx you go to the compass page, hit menu and select "calibrate compass". Don't know if it's the same on the etrex... (but hey, I'm bored so I might as well spew answers to questions I'm totally unqualified to respond to ). Seriously, though-- it does sound like some sort of calibration issue. Check the manual on that

[+dontpanic0]

No, mine doesn't have a magnetic compass, so it doesn't need/have the callibrating feature. It just judges the direction by where I'm moving from/to.

I have now added a waypoint at the north pole, and in the compass screen it is also off north by one notch. I think I might just get a better more accurate gps anyway, because the etrex was never very accurate.

Edited May 31, 2006 by dontpanic0

[+Team FUBAR]

Try changing from Manetic to True North. I thnk you might just be over analyzing it, but i could be wrong.

Bill

[Alphawolf]

The etrex is just as accurate as any other non-WAAS GPS (and WAAS is always turned of on my units anyway). Now about the compass (though you don't actually have a compass), find out if you are set to magnetic north or true north. I don't know where you live, but unless you happen to live in Macon County Georgia, Mag. north and true north or different. I am betting you are set to mag. north, therefore you are seeing the declination difference between the two.