RobRcer Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 (edited) Computer is fighting me!! Does anyone have a Garmin model that has Sirf. If so how much better does it help. Why doesnt Garmin make a cheaper model with Sirf in it? I just wanted to know if it was worth investing into at a later date. Thanks!! Robert Edited December 30, 2006 by RobRcer Quote Link to comment
+BigLarry Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 (edited) Computer is fighting me!! Does anyone have a Garmin model that has Sirf. If so how much better does it help. Why doesnt Garmin make a cheaper model with Sirf in it? I just wanted to know if it was worth investing into at a later date. Thanks!! Robert I have the eTrex Vista, with the old receiver, and the new 60CSx with the SiRFIII receiver for months now. I carry them both and often compare tracks. They're usually right on top of each other. The new SiRFIII receiver is indeed MUCH better at getting a lock, almost without fail (only failed a couple times in cities with big buildings). The new SiRFIII receiver gets better reception by lower noise electronics and averaging a lot more signal, 200,000 times versus 10,000 times for instance. Although the reception is MUCH better the new SiRFIII, and generally gives much better tracks which is why I carry it, the old receivers weren't that bad. Although the new SiRFIII receivers are hands down much better, there's three mitigating issues for the old receivers on my Vista, which is why I still use it.: 1. The Vista doesn't really loose lock that often, only a few percent of the time, and only for a minute or two. The problems usually occur on north facing steep hills with thick trees. 2. When you get a good signal, which is most all the time, I get the same accuracy from both old and new receivers. 3. In places where the Vista is having intermittent reception, it is accurate at the points it receives. Whereas the new SiRFIII receiver always shows having reception and indicates fair accuracy, it's sometimes off course by 100s to 1000s of feet. I have numerous clear examples of this happening. So don't be so excited about getting reception, which may be worse than no reception if the GPS is lying to you to save face. Edit: I wanted to be clear that the 60CSx showing a big error in position (while falsly indicating a low error) only happens on very rare occasions in areas of weak signal. In general, the 60CSx is only slightly more accurate, but most importantly has much less drop-outs than the Vista. Edited December 30, 2006 by BigLarry Quote Link to comment
robertlipe Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 They don't make inexpensive units with Sirf so you buy the expensive ones, of course. :-) The difference in reception is substantial. See http://www.mtgc.org/robertlipe/showdown for a side-by-side comparison of the reception of the 60csx (sirf) and 60cs(sirf-not) Quote Link to comment
QuigleyJones Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 (edited) If your walking through this its a must If your walking through this its an excessive accessory Edited December 30, 2006 by QuigleyJones Quote Link to comment
Barrikady Posted December 30, 2006 Share Posted December 30, 2006 If your walking through this its a must If your walking through this its an excessive accessory Perfect, I could not have said it, or illustrated it, better! Quote Link to comment
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